Ground Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas cooked with a delicious chipotle sauce, and topped with melted cheese. An easy and satisfying recipe! Gets even better paired with a very good red wine from Moldova (Disclosure: wine provided as a complimentary sample).
Enchiladas have been on my mind lately.
Well, enchiladas are a scrumptious combo of savory and spice, so that is one good reason. But on top of that, I’ve noted lately that my Wine for Enchiladas article gets some steady traffic, and I figured it could use some updated information.
I still had a couple of bottles of red wine to try for the upcoming Moldovan wine day. A Saperavi based Moldovan red had worked well with our Ground Beef Chili recipe, so I speculated a similar wine could work nicely with enchiladas. Spoiler alert: I was right!
Recipe Inspiration
It’s been quite some time since I made enchiladas. When I have made them at home, I’ve tended to follow a recipe from the Vegetarian Planet.
Given that I was looking to pair the enchiladas with a bold red wine, I figured some beef in the filling would help make it work.
Not sure how the cookbook’s author, Didi Emmons, would feel about combining her sauce with beef enchiladas. Maybe she’d be OK knowing I used a moderate amount of beef, with black beans included to provide additional substance and nutrition.
Anyway, the sauce is delicious, and works very well as a topping for our beef and black bean enchiladas! You could put this together with some store bought enchilada sauce, but the homemade version is worth the extra fifteen minutes or so if you can spare it.
Making This Recipe
Here are some of the key steps and tips for making these beef and bean enchiladas. Head down the recipe card for the full details, and play the video above for step by step photos.
- Start by making the sauce — the sauce ingredients get heated in a sauce pan, then pureed with toasted pumpkin seeds (Amazon link provided).
- Just put half of the sauce into the food processor at a time, the liquid sauce can get a little messy if you fill it too high.
- Make the filling by cooking the ground beef with the onions in a skillet, followed by the black beans and corn.
- Divide the cooked beef and beans into four equal sections to get ready to fill the enchiladas.
- Scoop the beef and bean filling into the center of tortilla. Fold it over the long way first, on both sides. Then fold the top and bottom to close up the enchilada. (take a look at the photo in the step by step video slide show above to get a better sense of how to put the enchilada together.)
- Place the filled enchiladas into a baking dish. Pour the sauce over them, filling the pan so that the sauce is about halfway up to the top of the enchiladas on the side. You may have a bit extra sauce for another use.
- Sprinkle the cheese over the enchiladas, and they are ready to bake! After 20 minutes you will be ready for a delicious meal!
What to serve with this recipe
Wondering what to serve with this ground beef enchiladas recipe? If you want to get beyond the basic chips and salsa, be sure to check out our post What to Serve with Enchiladas – 15 Best Sides. And for another good enchiladas recipe, check out our Ground Turkey Enchiladas. We also have a Mexican recipes category here, for more delicious recipes drawing upon this cuisine.
Wine Pairing
As I mentioned, we had a bottle of wine from Moldova in mind to go with our beef and bean enchiladas. The wine was sent as a complimentary sample.
The 2018 Radacini Ampre ($20, 13% ABV) is a blend of 70% Saperavi, 20% Feteasca and 10% Merlot. An intense nose, with the scent of the woods on a warm day along with some black pepper notes.
On the palate, blackberry fruit and some notable acidity. The wine tasted young, so I decanted for about 20 minutes while finishing the enchiladas.
The wine opened nicely upon decanting. While sipping it with the enchiladas, I got black pepper along with the fruit, which made for a nice pairing with the chipotle enchilada sauce.
The Saperavi based blend definitely had the heft to stand up to the beef in the enchiladas as well as the spices. Definitely a great pairing for the meal!
If you don’t get ahold of this Moldovan wine, I would consider trying a Malbec or Zinfandel.
PrintRecipe card
Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas
Ground Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas cooked with a delicious chipotle sauce, and topped with melted cheese. An easy and delicious recipe! Note: sauce adapted from a Vegetarian Planet recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 50
- Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: stove top + baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 cups diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup dry red wine
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 ⅓ cup water
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 chipotle chile pepper (from a can with adobo sauce)
- ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
- ¼ tsp salt
For the filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot or onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp bell pepper
- ½ lb ground beef
- 14.5 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup frozen corn
- 4 large flour tortillas
- ½ cup of shredded cheese such as Monterey Jack
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium.Add the garlic, chili powder and cumin seeds. Stir frequently for about 1 minute, until the seeds begin to pop. Add the tomatoes, followed by the wine, vinegar and water. Simmer for 4 minutes. Add the cinnamon and chipotle, simmer for another 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool.
- Finish the sauce: Add the pumpkin seeds to a food processor. Pulse to chop the seeds. Then add half of the sauce from the pan, and puree with the pumpkin seeds. Pour that portion into a bowl, then pour the remaining sauce from the pan into the food processor. Puree, then pour that sauce into the bowl, where it is ready for making the enchiladas.
- Start making the filling: Heat a tablespoon olive oil in large cast iron skillet or other frying pan. Add the onion or shallot, along with the bell pepper. Cook until the onions softens, about 5 minutes.
- Cook the beef: Add the beef to the skillet, stirring occasionally. When the beef has browned on the outside, after about 5 minutes, stir in the beans and the corn. Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the beef is cooked through. Remove skillet from heat.
- Assemble enchiladas: Lay a tortilla shell on a work surface. Add ¼ of the filling to the center of the enchiladas, spreading the filling into a rectangular shape, leaving plenty of room around the edges. Fold the tortilla, first at the top, then the bottom. Then fold the tortilla the longer way, bringing the left, then the right edges over to close it up. Place the enchilada fold side down in a large baking dish. Repeat the process for the remaining 3 enchiladas.
- Add the sauce & cheese: Pour enough sauce over the enchiladas to completely cover them, and have the sauce about halfway up the sides of the enchiladas. You may have a bit of sauce left over. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the enchiladas.
- Bake the enchiladas: Cover the baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes, covered. Remove the enchiladas from the oven. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The Vegetarian Planet sauce recipe calls for almond slices rather than pumpkin seeds. We don’t use nuts in our house, and find pumpkin seeds to be a good substitute. You could use either with good results.
- I find it easiest to use canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. You do then wind up with extra chipotle and sauce to use for something else. Alternatively, reconstitute a dried chipotle pepper in water for 30 minutes, and chop it up before adding.
Keywords: beef and bean enchiladas, beef enchiladas, enchiladas with chipotle sauce.
Marlynn
Such a wonderful recipe for delicious enchiladas! Love the wine pairing too. It’s hard to find Moldovan wine here, but I will have to seek this one out next time I make these yummy enchiladas!
★★★★★
Cooking Chat
Moldovan wine can be hard to find! I will make this again soon and test with some easier to find options.
Pam Greer
I love your wine pairings! I’m going to have to run to the store and look for this wine, because I definitely want to try these enchiladas!
★★★★★
Sally Humeniuk
I love the amazing spices in this recipe! And thanks for the wine pairing information. I’m going to make the enchiladas this weekend but will need to omit the ground beef since I have a vegetarian in the house. Thanks for sharing this great one.
★★★★★
Cooking Chat
This would be great with something like the ground Beyond Meat, in fact might have to test out as I have some in the freezer!
Dannii
Oh I am totally craving enchiladas now. These look epic.
★★★★★
Cooking Chat
Thanks, epic would be a good word for them!