Santa Fe Enchiladas is one of those dreamy recipes you make when you’re in the mood for a Tex-Mex fix. I love enchiladas! Especially when they have a great tasting beef filling and are covered in cheese! Well, that’s how Santa Fe Enchiladas taste.

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This wonderful recipe is quick and easy to make, too. You can make up a batch of these enchiladas for dinner and have them ready to serve in just an hour. It uses Velveeta cheese and diced chilies in the cheese topping and the beef mixture uses taco seasoning and tomato paste.

For those of you who don’t like beans in your enchiladas, then this is the recipe for you. Santa Fe Enchiladas are made without beans. If you want to make this recipe a little healthier than try using my Homemade Taco Seasoning in the beef mixture and regular cheddar cheese for the topping.

This is another great recipe I found in my Taste of Home cookbooks. I think they specialize in Tex-Mex and Italian but their focus is a whole lot broader than just those two categories. If you like Tex-Mex and enchiladas in particular you will love this creamy, cheesy recipe. I served this at a baby shower last night where we had a potluck meal included. This recipe went down really fast, along with my Espinaca Dip. Both recipes were winners!

When I initially posted this recipe in June 2012 it was the very beginning days of my blog. I retook the pictures early 2013 but I was still using an iPhone so the pictures were not very good. Plus I was trying to take them in a darkened kitchen. Yeah, it did not work out so well.

I’ve been remaking all those first-year blog recipes and I recently made Santa Fe Enchiladas for company (June 2016). We have some dear friends moving to Florida so I made up a batch of this entree, Mexican Taco Salad with Easy French Dressing and Chunky Homemade Guacamole.

Everything was a hit and these cheesy enchiladas were well received. I do make two recommendations for this recipe: first, melt the Velveeta cheese over a very low heat before adding the green chilies so the cheese doesn’t scorch.

When baking the entree in the oven, cover the dish with foil the whole length of cooking time so the cheese doesn’t burn. Velveeta is a little bit “high maintenance” in this recipe, but if you’re willing to baby it along a little bit, it’s worth it.

Santa Fe Enchiladas are a wonderful tasting beef enchilada with a creamy, cheesy, green chilies sauce.

A delicious beef filling is rolled up inside each tortilla. We seemed to inhale these lip-smacking Santa Fe Enchiladas! Serve with a side of Guacamole and tortilla chips and you’re good to go.

We love these cheesy enchiladas. They’re so easy to make and great for company. Just be careful to cook the cheese over a low heat and cover the enchiladas when baking. That way the cheese won’t scorch.

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients plus water. I used Homemade Taco Seasoning to cut down on some of the preservatives. H-E-B grocery stores makes their own tortillas so I used their brand.

If you want a healthier recipe, use regular cheddar cheese and melt with about a quarter cup of milk before adding the green chilies.

Brown ground beef. Add diced onion. I use 93 or 97% lean ground beef so I rarely have to drain the ingredients, but this time the meat needed to be drained. 

Add taco seasoning. Or if you are trying to eat healthier, try my Homemade Taco Seasoning. It’s quick and easy. Add water and tomato paste.

Stir to combine ingredients and heat through. Set aside.

To assemble enchiladas: Place a couple of heaping tablespoonfuls of beef mixture on flour tortillas. It is actually easier to put it toward the end instead of the middle.

Roll tortillas up tightly and place seam-side-down in two 9×13″ glass baking dishes that has been sprayed with cooking spray. You will have a lot of leftover beef filling. Set it aside for the topping.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, add cubed Velveeta cheese and melt over a very low heat. If you want to use regular cheese you will probably have to add a little butter and milk and melt it down some. 

Add diced green chilies to Velveeta cheese cubes and melt together over low heat until smooth. 

Stir occasionally and continue melting the Velveeta cheese and diced green chilies. 

Pour cheese sauce over top of the enchiladas. This recipe makes about 14 enchiladas.

Spoon the remaining beef mixture down the center of the enchiladas.

Cover casserole with foil and bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes, until casserole is bubbly.

Serve Santa Fe Enchiladas with your favorite Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, sour cream and tortilla chips. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.

I served these at a baby shower the first time I made them and they were a hit. These gooey enchiladas are filled with a tasty beef/tomato sauce mixture and then drizzled with cheese that has green chilies. 

Santa Fe Enchiladas don’t have beans in the filling, so if you’re looking for an enchilada recipe without beans this one is a great one for your repertoire.

Here’s the recipe.

SANTA FE ENCHILADAS

(Recipe adapted from a Taste of Home Quick Cooking 2000 Cookbook)

Santa Fe Enchiladas

Teresa Ambra

Santa Fe Enchiladas are outrageously good! This amazing enchilada recipe is filled with a tasty beef mixture then covered with a green chili-Velveeta cheese sauce and additional beef mixture. It's a great Tex-Mex recipe that's excellent for week night suppers, company dinners, potlucks or Cinco de Mayo.

3.67 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Beef Main Dish

Cuisine Tex-Mex

Servings 8

Calories 489 kcal

Equipment

• 2 9x13" glass baking dishes
• 1 large skillet
• 1 hamburger chopper to cut meat down in small pieces while frying
• 1 spatula
• 1 wooden spoon
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
• 1 small sauce pan
• aluminum foil

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 lbs. 93-96% lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 12 oz. can tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning or use Homemade Taco Seasoning
• 14 flour tortillas
• 7 oz. can green chilies chopped, I used a 4-oz. can hot green chilies and one 4-oz. can mild green chilies
• 16 oz. Velveeta cheese cubed

Instructions

 

• Fry beef and onion in skillet until beef is no longer pink.
• Use a hamburger chopper to break meat down into tiny pieces while frying.
• Drain.
• Add tomato paste, water and taco seasoning.
• Heat through.
• Melt Velveeta in small saucepan on very low heat on top of stove.
• Add diced chilies to Velveeta and stir in.
• Place a couple of heaping tablespoonfuls of meat mixture on edge of tortillas and roll up.
• Place in two greased 9x13” dishes seam side down.
• Cover enchiladas with Velveeta mixture.
• Spoon remaining meat mixture down center of enchiladas in each baking dish.
• Bake about 20-30 minutes, covered with foil, at 350° or until bubbly.

Notes

NOTE: You will have to cover these enchiladas for the duration of the cooking time. Otherwise the cheese will burn.

 

NOTE: Don’t melt the cheese at a higher temperature or it will scorch.

 

NOTE: You can substitute cheddar cheese for the Velveeta. You may have to add a little butter and milk (1/4 cup each) to get the same consistency.

 

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 489kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 42gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 1791mgPotassium: 1105mgFiber: 5gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 1217IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 432mgIron: 6mg

Keyword beef, casserole, cheese, enchiladas, ground beef, main dish, Tex Mex

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Here’s another close up so you can see the texture of these delicious enchiladas.

Santa Fe Enchiladas are so quick and easy to make up. You can have the whole recipe ready in an hour! These enchiladas are quite tasty. Your family will be in for a treat when you serve them.

If you’re having company over that enjoys Tex-Mex food, they’ll love these tasty enchiladas.

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Hearty Beef Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Chalupa

Santa Fe Enchiladas

Teresa Ambra

Santa Fe Enchiladas are outrageously good! This amazing enchilada recipe is filled with a tasty beef mixture then covered with a green chili-Velveeta cheese sauce and additional beef mixture. It's a great Tex-Mex recipe that's excellent for week night suppers, company dinners, potlucks or Cinco de Mayo.

3.67 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Beef Main Dish

Cuisine Tex-Mex

Servings 8

Calories 489 kcal

Equipment

• 2 9×13" glass baking dishes
• 1 large skillet
• 1 hamburger chopper to cut meat down in small pieces while frying
• 1 spatula
• 1 wooden spoon
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
• 1 small sauce pan
• aluminum foil

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 lbs. 93-96% lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 12 oz. can tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning or use Homemade Taco Seasoning
• 14 flour tortillas
• 7 oz. can green chilies chopped, I used a 4-oz. can hot green chilies and one 4-oz. can mild green chilies
• 16 oz. Velveeta cheese cubed

Instructions

 

• Fry beef and onion in skillet until beef is no longer pink.
• Use a hamburger chopper to break meat down into tiny pieces while frying.
• Drain.
• Add tomato paste, water and taco seasoning.
• Heat through.
• Melt Velveeta in small saucepan on very low heat on top of stove.
• Add diced chilies to Velveeta and stir in.
• Place a couple of heaping tablespoonfuls of meat mixture on edge of tortillas and roll up.
• Place in two greased 9×13” dishes seam side down.
• Cover enchiladas with Velveeta mixture.
• Spoon remaining meat mixture down center of enchiladas in each baking dish.
• Bake about 20-30 minutes, covered with foil, at 350° or until bubbly.

Notes

NOTE: You will have to cover these enchiladas for the duration of the cooking time. Otherwise the cheese will burn.

 

NOTE: Don’t melt the cheese at a higher temperature or it will scorch.

 

NOTE: You can substitute cheddar cheese for the Velveeta. You may have to add a little butter and milk (1/4 cup each) to get the same consistency.

 

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 489kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 42gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 1791mgPotassium: 1105mgFiber: 5gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 1217IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 432mgIron: 6mg

Keyword beef, casserole, cheese, enchiladas, ground beef, main dish, Tex Mex

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!