This is the best beef enchilada lasagna casserole we have for dinner that my kids absolutely love! If you’re looking for a baked cheesy casserole packed with lots of flavor, this ground beef recipe is for you. Layered with Mexican flavors and corn tortillas it’s like an enchilada met a lasagna!
I wasn’t quite sure what to even call this when I made it the first time. We thought the name enchilada lasagna just made sense! Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Manwich. It’s a favorite quick and easy casserole. (originally published 2/17, affiliate links present)
Mexican Lasagna
We make a lot of Instant Pot casseroles but if you don’t have one of those machines, you can bake this in the oven. This one is a combination of our favorite foods put together to make a warm comfort food. Full of yumminess and of course lots of cheese! Similar to a sort of enchilada casserole, layered like lasagna but with tortillas.
We used canned corn and beans to make things even easier but cut off the cob and from dry homemade black beans would work great too. Rather use ground sausage instead of beef, no problem. Make the swap, I sometimes will use half spicy Jimmy dean and half regular for a bit of heat.
If you love the this layered classic dish with pasta you’re going to go crazy over this one. No noodles, but the same basic way to make it.
Beef Enchilada Casserole
You don’t just have to use beef but typically that’s what we use. If you have leftover chicken breasts you could use that too for sure! Even shredded pork would work, you’d just skip the browning part for precooked meat.
The prep work is under 30 minutes which is great and if you have any left over it’s great warmed for lunch the next day too.
- Layered with black beans, cheese, corn, mild chiles and a Manwich that gives it a kick of added flavor. This enchilada lasagna casserole is just the best. 😉
We used this classic sloppy joe caned ingredient to pack the flavors in there. It makes the whole thing really simple to make without mixing it all together yourself. You can find spicy versions or classic.
Beef Enchilada Lasagna
It is easier than traditionally making lasagna step by step since there is NO boiling required and the only thing you need to precook is the ground beef. If you’d rather make it vegetarian you can leave this step out and quite frankly it would still taste amazing.
- Mix all the Texas beef and other ingredients together.
You can use as little or as much cheese as you’d like too. We are all about cheesy goodness so we use it in between and on top of this dish. Now that my husband is lactose intolerant I thought we were done for, that this was off the table. Luckily I found a lactose free shredded cheese at Walmart and it has been a great alternative.
Kids have never been able to tell the difference, it still melts really well and tastes pretty close to the regular kind. Here’s the entire recipe for you to follow, let us know what you think!
Enchilada Casserole
This is what you’re going to need to make this goodie:
- Manwich will give it more of a tomato sauce flavor without any heat – 15 oz. can
- could alternatively use a can of mild or hot enchilada sauce
- Corn tortillas
- Corn – canned is what I use
- Black beans
- Diced tomatoes – I like petite
- Diced chiles – canned
#6 can be omitted but I add these to like everything we make, you can choose mild or spicy. If you wanted to add some heat to make this spicy there are a few options you could take. I would mix any of these into the canned sauce so it incorporates well.
- Sriracha works quite well
- You could add some red pepper flakes
- Chili powder will add some spice but not as much
And then there are really hot options like hatch chiles or diced jalapeños.
Mexican Tortilla Bake
Ok and the ingredients continue on there. As far as the meat is concerned you could use a lot of different things, or a combination of them all. If I had to say which was my favorite I would say half a roll of Jimmy Dean sausage + 1/2 roll of their maple version is killer.
- Onion and garlic minced is a nice addition too if you like
- Cheese – Cheddar and Jack
- Ground beef or shredded chicken could make a chicken enchilada lasagna
- Drained can of 4 oz. diced green chiles would be good too
- A dash of chili powder would add a bit of heat
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper before serving
Make a batch of our Jiffy Mexican cornbread to serve on the side and a great duo is created.
Looking for more easy casserole recipes? You can make no boil easy Crockpot lasagna too. This is a delicious one with all the flavors you love but a lot less work for you.
- No noodle lasagna is wonderful if you have a bunch of zucchini and want a lower carb version of this favorite meal
- You can make a similar Crockpot enchilada casserole some night too.
- Easy chicken pot pie casserole is a fun one where you can use shredded rotisserie or even canned chicken
- Pressure cooker sausage rice casserole is a great hatch chile recipe we make during the July/August months when they’re in season.
Crockpot lasagna casserole is great for a throw it all in and leave for the day one pot meal
Enchilada Lasagna with Noodles
Our Instant Pot sloppy joe casserole uses Manwich too so you’ll love that! It uses pasta instead of corn tortillas so if you prefer noodles give this a whirl. For other ideas think outside of the box more often. Deconstruct your favorite labor intensive dish to make it more often.
Enchilada Lasagna Recipe
Layering is the trick, and lots of cheese is the way to go for us. When it’s cooking all the flavors meld together, soften the tortillas, and creates a warm dinner that is perfect as is or topped with a bit of sour cream and chives! If you’ve never thought of using Manwich outside of sloppy joes this is a great new recipe to try.
- In a large skillet brown your meat on the stovetop over medium heat with a bit of olive oil and diced onions. Add meat and all of the other ingredients (excluding tortillas and cheese) into a bowl and mix well.
- Spray a 9×12″ dish with non stick spray and add a small layer of your meat mixture. Add layers of tortillas, about 6 overlapping a bit so it covers your meat layer. Sprinkle 1 c. of cheese on top of tortilla layer.
- Repeat layers of meat mixture, then another tortilla layer, cheese on top of that. The last top layer is the remainder (1/3 on each layer) of your meat mixture.
- Cover with tinfoil and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Take foil off and sprinkle last 3/4-1 c. of cheese and bake for 10 more minutes uncovered.
Could add a dollop of sour cream on top and chives when serving too! If you want it to stay together like lasagna and come out in a less messy allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes when it comes out. There won’t be any leftovers of this for sure.
Try it for dinner tonight!! It’s a great recipe that’s like a casserole form and a feel good meal y’all will love.
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
Looking for more easy family recipes and tips? LIKE The Typical Mom Facebook page?
Then sign up for my free newsletter, and follow me on Pinterest! 😉
***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉
Enchilada Lasagna
Ingredients
- 12 tortillas small corn
- 1 can Manwich 15 oz.
- 1 can corn drained
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can diced tomatoes I like using petite
- 1 small can diced chiles we use mild but you could use hotter
- 1/4 onion diced
- 3-4 c cheese we use 4 for the whole thing
- 1 lbs ground beef
Instructions
- Brown your meat on the stovetop with your diced onions.
- Add meat and all of the other ingredients (excluding tortillas and cheese) into a bowl and mix well.
- Spray a 9×12″ dish with non stick spray and add a small layer of your meat mixture.
- Then add 6 tortillas overlapping a bit so it covers your meat layer. Sprinkle 1 c. of cheese on top of tortilla layer.
- Add another layer of meat mixture, then another tortilla layer, cheese on top of that, and then last top layer is the remainder (1/3 on each layer) of your meat mixture.
- Cover with tinfoil and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Take foil off and sprinkle last 3/4-1 c. of cheese and bake for 10 more minutes uncovered. Serve! Could add a dollop of sour cream on top and chives too!
- If you want it to stay together like lasagna and come out in a less messy way allow it to cool for about 15 minutes when it comes out before cutting…but either way it is delicious.
Video
Jeanie
Thursday 29th of November 2018
What if I don’t want to use Manwich? Ground beef and what?
The Typical Mom
Thursday 29th of November 2018
I might substitute half spaghetti sauce and half diced tomatoes for the same amount as the can of Manwich.