Easy Birria Beef Enchiladas Recipe (2024)

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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.

Table of Contents

• Tips for the Best Birria Enchiladas
• Variation Ideas
• What Goes with Birria Enchiladas?
• Storing and Reheating Leftovers
• More Mexican Recipes to Try
• Get the Recipe

See Also

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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