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These homemade enchiladas are a scrumptious way to use up leftover birria meat! Lightly fried corn tortillas are stuffed with tender shredded beef and melty cheese, then topped with more sauce and cheese.
For more ways to use extra birria beef, check out these Birria Quesadillas and these Mulitas.
These homemade beef enchiladas are one of my favorite ways to use up leftover birria meat (and also pot roast meat!). I always have some enchilada sauce in the freezer and whenever I make tacos or pot roast I also store extra meat in the freezer for later. So, these enchiladas are the perfect example of how making extra sauce and saving leftover meat can equal a scrumptious Mexican dinner later. Even if I only have a bit of meat leftover, I freeze it. Eventually I’ll have a few ziploc baggies with the perfect amount of meat for an easy meal.
The recipe for these enchiladas features the smoky chipotle enchilada sauce I use to make these Avocado Enchiladas and these Black Bean Enchiladas. The birria meat is packed with flavor, so when you tuck that tender shredded meat into a lightly fried corn tortilla with just the right amount of Monterey Jack cheese, then top it all off with homemade enchilada sauce and more cheese? Truly mouthwatering. You’ll feel like you’re at a fancy Mexican restaurant!
Tips for the Best Birria Enchiladas
- Drain the tortillas after you fry them. It is important to give the tortillas a chance to drain on paper towels after you have fried them. You don’t need to set a timer or anything, just place them on a plate lined with paper towels as you cook them and by the time you’re ready to make your enchiladas they’ll be ready.
- Don’t skip the frying! Speaking of which, don’t skip frying the tortillas. This is an important step because it softens the tortillas and makes them easier to roll around the enchilada filling.
- Place the rolled tortillas seam side down. This is a simple trick that prevents your enchiladas from unrolling while you assemble them and also during baking. Just place the rolled tortillas seam side down in the baking dish.
- Tuck the rolled tortillas together snuggly. This is another trick to prevent the enchiladas from unraveling. In a regular 9×13 sized baking dish you should have just enough room to fit 12 rolled and filled tortillas if you place them snuggly against each other.
Variation Ideas
- Use other kinds of meat. While this recipe uses leftover birria meat, you could also use extra Instant Pot pot roast meat or leftover ground beef tacos meat. Even extra chicken chasseur or rabbit stew would be tasty! The trick is just to drain the meat so that you are not adding a lot of liquid to the enchiladas.
- Mix up the kind of cheese. You could use any kind of cheese you want really, though I recommend using a melty kind of cheese just because melted cheese is extra satisfying to eat.
What Goes with Birria Enchiladas?
This recipe goes well with my Instant Pot Mexican Rice and refried beans. And of course, a dollop of homemade guacamole on the side would be extra delicious.
I’m always down for a drink on the side and a Blood Orange Margarita would be fantastic. For a non alcoholic option, this Mango Lemonade is super refreshing!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Let your enchiladas cool to room temperature, then place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply place the amount of enchiladas you want to eat on a plate and zap them in the microwave until heated through. For more than a couple enchiladas I recommend cutting them in half for more even reheating.
More Mexican Recipes to Try
- Enmoladas
- Enchiladas Suizas
- Albondigas
- Cochinita Pibil
- Chilorio
Birria Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 batch of homemade enchilada sauce
- 12 corn tortillas*
- ½ cup olive oil
- Birria stew meat, about 2 cups
- 1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ – 1 cup shredded double cheddar cheese, depending on how cheesy you want it to be
Instructions
- Fry the tortillas. In a large frying pan heat the ½ cup olive oil over medium-high heat. It’s ready for frying when a small bit of tortilla sizzles immediately when added to the pan. Fry each corn tortilla for about 5-8 seconds per side, turning with tongs. Place the fried tortillas on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
- Preheat oven to 400F. Get a 9×13 baking dish and spoon half of your enchilada sauce on the bottom of your baking dish.
- Assemble the enchiladas. Divide the stew meat among the tortillas, spooning about 2-3 tablespoons worth down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of Monterey Jack cheese, then roll up and place in your baking dish, seam-side down. Press each filled and rolled tortilla snuggly up against the others when placing them in your baking dish.
- Top with enchilada sauce. Ladle the rest of the enchilada sauce on top of them and sprinkle with the double cheddar cheese.
- Bake. Spray a sheet of aluminum foil lightly with PAM or olive oil, then loosely cover the enchiladas sprayed side down. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce, is bubbly and the enchiladas are heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Store cooled enchiladas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
How much enchilada sauce = a batch?
How many pounds is 2 cups?
In the recipe card, there is a link to my homemade enchilada sauce recipe. By “one batch” I mean make that recipe and then use all of it. I don’t know what the equivalent is in store bought enchilada sauce because I have never used it to make this recipe.
These enchiladas are meant to use leftover birria meat, so you would use 2 cups of extras from making birria tacos. I don’t know how many pounds of meat that would be because I’ve never made birria just to make these enchiladas. You can also use 2 cups of leftover carnitas, carne asada, etc.
I hope this info helps!
Made this last night and it was very tasty. Simple and fairly quick to prepare, which is always appreciated. I used Trader Joe’s premade beef birria and it was the perfect amount for eight nicely filled enchiladas. I also dipped my lightly fried tortillas into the homemade enchilada sauce just before filling them with the cheese and meat. Since we like ours saucy, I baked mine in a casserole dish for about 20 minutes. Served with simple rice and topped with green onions and some sour cream. Will definitely make this recipe again.
Mind blown, I had no idea Trader Joe’s had pre-made birria now! Thank you for sharing your adjustments and glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Could you freeze this? before or after cooking? Thanks!
Yes, you can freeze these before baking them. Thaw overnight in the fridge when you’re ready to cook them up, then add a few minutes of bake time so that the insides are warmed through. 🙂
thank you!
What kind of corn tortillas did you use? These look big.
Hi! Sorry it took me a bit to reply, I had to go to the store to get some of the tortillas and see what size they were. The ones I used were 8-inch corn tortillas. But you could use regular taco-sized corn tortillas. If you do that, the width of the tortillas won’t equal the width of the baking dish. In that case, do one row of enchiladas as shown in my photos, then do a couple of additional enchiladas perpendicular to the row you just made. This way you can use up the extra space and make more enchiladas. 😀