Beef Instant Pot enchiladas or in Ninja Foodi pressure cooker are great with shredded, ground beef, sausage, chicken or pork inside. Smothered with cheese they’ll make your mouth water every time.
Looking for a yummy Mexican meal you can make in a pressure cooker? Instant Pot enchiladas ground beef may be exactly what you’re waiting for! Find this and 101+ more Instant Pot recipes here. (affiliate links present)
Ground Beef Ninja Foodi Enchiladas
If you need easy Ninja Foodi recipes, you can use that pot instead, or a Crockpot Express. As long as it has a saute function and high pressure too you are good to go. Choose which type of protein you would like to use with small tortillas and a can of sauce and let’s go. OH and cheese too, but dairy free shredded cheddar works too. 😉
You may know How Long to Cook Enchiladas in the oven but under high pressure is different. A great way to bake in small spaces and for just a few of you for sure. A favorite Mexican meal that can be made this way too is here.
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
Can you make enchiladas with leftover meat?
I always like to use leftover meat I have on hand to make these. It makes a great Instant Pot shredded pork recipe too if that is what I made the night before and don’t want to throw it away. I like having a few second day recipes on hand to make a new meal out of ingredients that need to be used up.
You can make Instant Pot chicken enchiladas as an easy leftover shredded chicken breast recipe as well. You can skip the sauteeing and cooking step if you have precooked meat. Just warm it with the taco seasoning and enchilada sauce to gather all of those flavors. Browning isn’t necessary in those cases.
Can you make enchiladas with frozen ground beef?
If I don’t think of it ahead of time I can first use the instructions to cook Instant Pot frozen ground beef until browned and then go from there. You do have to have the protein pre-cooked ahead of time for this cook time, that is important.
Keeping this in mind, there are a ton of variations you could make. I hate wasting food so it’s a great way to use all of that up in a fun and flavorful way.
How to Make Instant Pot Enchiladas with Ground Beef
Step 1 – Turn pot to saute and add ground beef and taco seasoning. Break apart and cook until no longer pink. If adding onions add with this mixture to soften. Drain grease when done.
Step 2 – Add 1 cup of your enchilada sauce and diced chiles. Cook another 4 minutes or so to cook the sauce down a bit so it’s thicker. Turn pot off. Empty contents into a bowl and clean pot out.
You are essentially making a flavorful mixture of taco meat essentially. I mean this is all about tons of flavor, and maybe a little bit spicy to it. If I have to add seasonings when done that is not a Mexican meal to me. 😉
Step 3 – Warm tortillas flour or corn tortillas in microwave for about 15 seconds so they bend well. Use store bought or make your own.
Step 4 – One at a time put 1/8 c. hamburger or add the chicken mixture inside + 2 heaping tbsp full of cheese. Roll up tightly and place into pressure cooker pot with seam side facing down.
Step 5 – Set to pressure cook high pressure for 7 minutes cook time followed by a natural release for 2 minutes. Release rest of steam. Open and serve with pinto beans.
Now this is more for a small batch of this meal. If you have more than a few people you may want to use the link below to make in the oven.
Ingredients
- Ground beef, ground spicy sausage, or precooked shredded beef, pork or make Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas
- Tortillas we like flour but corn works, just harder to roll up
- Enchilada sauce and cheese, lots of it
- Taco seasoning to flavor the meat
- Onion is optional but good
- Diced chiles I like to add to all the things
- A bit of chili powder could add a bit of heat
Enchilada toppings
- Guacamole or slices of fresh avocado
- Sour cream
- Salsa is always great
Just set it up in an assembly line of sorts once you have the meat done. You can brown that in your IP and clean out to go on to the next step, or use a pan on the stovetop. That part is up to you.
You can make quite a few of these at a time, this one used 1 package of 12 pre-made flour tortillas which was enough for about 5 of us. I would make them like this and not double the batch at the same time.
If you make too many all at once it would be hard to separate them and lift out. Also the center pieces may not get warm enough to your liking.
Traditionally in restaurants they will use corn. Flour are much softer and easier to roll though so for homemade I choose these.
You would need to cook them at home first. Land of Fresca has some in the refrigerated section that come formed but need to be heated up. They’re great but can’t be used raw.
You can lightly fry the tortillas before filling them and topping with sauce. The only down side to this is it is harder to roll them up tight.
Once they are done you can transfer 1-2 on each plate or put them all inside a baking dish to serve. If you want to make a few batches for a larger crowd, transfer to a slow cooker set to warm with the lid on.
What can you serve with enchiladas?
Homemade Enchilada Sauce can be made too if you want to go all out. Homemade sauce recipe is very popular so I’d try that. I am always more interested in quick and easy so I don’t bother with all of that.
- We’ve made Instant Pot black beans. From dry to tender with tons of flavor in less than an hour, they’re always a hit.
- Another favorite is a batch of pressure cooker refried beans from scratch! You will never buy canned again after making and serving these.
- If you just want these to be a one pot meal you can just put together a bar of toppings such as:
- Sour cream
- Sliced avocado
- Olives
- Jalapenos
- Diced chives and/or onions
How long are leftover enchiladas good for?
If you store them properly in an airtight container in the fridge they’ll stay good for about 3 days. They will continue to soften over time so eat them as soon as possible for best results.
Can you reheat enchiladas?
Of course you can. Yes you can put them in a shallow dish and in the oven at about 375 degrees for 15 minutes or so until warmed. Personally I use the microwave in 30 sec. increments making sure to turn it regularly. Add a bit more shredded cheese on top to melt and make moist once again.
Other easy Mexican Instant Pot recipes you’ll love
We have a bunch of other easy pressure cooker recipes you can try beyond this one too though! Our Instant Pot taco casserole is amazing too with many of these same flavors. We use spicy sausage to take it from great to fabulous.
But don’t stop there!! If you love all of these flavors but want a quicker throw together meal, then give our layered Instant Pot enchilada casserole a whirl too. This should keep you busy for the next several Taco Tuesdays right??With meat, pasta and this same sauce all together it’s just delish.
Below is a printable version of our recipe. Keep it on hand or come back because we love to “see you!” If you add anything into the filling let us know so we can try your version next time too. It is a fun dish that can be “dressed up” so many different ways.
Instant Pot Enchiladas
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef, or spicy ground sausage, ground turkey, or precooked shredded chicken or pork
- 1 packet taco seasoning, 2 tbsp
- 1 can green chiles, diced, 4 oz.
- 4 c cheese, shredded
- 12 tortillas
- 1 can enchilada sauce, 28 oz.
- 1/2 onion, diced, optional
Instructions
- Turn pot to saute and add ground beef and taco seasoning. Break apart and cook until no longer pink. If adding onions add with this mixture to soften. Drain grease when done.
- Then add 1 cup enchilada sauce and diced chiles. Cook another 4 minutes or so. Turn pot off. Empty contents into a bowl and clean pot out.
- Warm tortillas in microwave for about 15 seconds so they bend well. One at a time put 1/8 c. meat mixture + 2 heaping tbsp full of cheese. Roll up tightly and place into pressure cooker pot with open side facing down.
- Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top of the whole pile inside pot.
- Top with 2 c cheese on top, seal lid and vent.
- Set to pressure high for 7 minutes followed by a natural release for 2 minutes. Release rest of steam.
- Open and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Okay so my sauce was pretty thick so I added some water a few times. I also added some sauce at the bottom of the IP. One dozen were packed in there like sardines. The IP wouldn’t seal because it kept saying to add water. However, with the two times I set it, they cooked well enough to eat. Maybe next time I’ll put lots of sauce in the bottom and not pack them in there so tight. With all of that being said, using the homemade enchilada sauce was so spot on, they were delicious! I just gotta work out the kinks. Also, I added black olives to lime. We’re an olive family.