The 4-Ingredient Dinner I Make Every Week

My partner and I love eating at our neighborhood Mexican restaurant once (sometimes twice) a week, but it doesn’t help us stick to our budgeting goals. So, in an effort to stay on budget but still have delicious, quick Tex-Mex food, we’re trying to recreate some of our favorite flavors at home. This dish has all that enchilada taste but simplified in just one pan: our trusty cast-iron skillet.

You only need a few simple ingredients for this easy enchilada skillet. First, brown ground beef and stir in the store-bought enchilada sauce. Next, lay five small corn tortillas on a cutting board and cut them into four equal triangles before gently folding the tortilla triangles into the saucy ground beef mixture. Finally, top with shredded cheese and bake.

From there, you can dress up the enchilada skillet with fresh toppings of your choosing. My favorites are sour cream, jalapeños, and diced tomatoes.

Quick Tips for Making My Enchilada Skillet

• Drain the grease: Be sure to drain the grease after cooking the ground beef. If there’s excess grease in the pan, then the enchilada sauce won’t mix in properly. Just be sure to never pour the grease down your kitchen sink. Instead, pour it into a sealable container that can be tossed in the trash. 
• Mixing in the tortillas: Corn tortillas are what I recommend for this enchilada skillet because I love the texture and flavor they bring to the dish. However, they do tend to break apart easily, so be gentle as you fold them into the beef. And don’t worry if they don’t distribute perfectly evenly. The rustic nature of this dish is part of its charm.
• Make it stretch: To make this dish feed a few more mouths, you can make a batch of rice and serve the enchilada skillet on top. You can also add in some ingredients like pinto or black beans, bell peppers, onion, or Rotel. I also love to mix up a batch of the Aldi Southwest Salad and use it as a topping for a more filling meal. 
• Optional toppings: Toppings are where this dish can be really fun. You can do just a few simple additions like I did, or go big and make yours loaded with toppings like salsa or pico de gallo, jalapeños, guacamole, sliced green onions, sour cream, cilantro, or shredded lettuce.

How To Make My 4-Ingredient Enchilada Skillet

For four servings, you’ll need:

• 5 small corn tortillas
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 2 cups three-cheese Mexican blend shredded cheese
• Optional toppings like sour cream, jalapenos, and diced tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice each tortilla into four equal triangles and set aside.

Add the ground beef to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and cook over medium heat until no pink remains. Drain the grease into a separate bowl and discard it in a sealed container in the garbage can.

Add the enchilada sauce to the drained ground beef in the skillet. Stir until fully combined. Then gently fold in the tortilla triangles. Distribute them as evenly as you can, but it’s okay if a few are lumped together. Top with the shredded cheese.

Bake until the cheese is melted and browning around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. We want ooey-gooey melty cheese for this dish.

Add any toppings you like and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat on medium heat in 20-second increments until warmed through, being careful not to overheat. 

Make It Your Own

I love to change things up by substituting ground beef for ground turkey or ground chicken. This makes for a lighter-tasting but just as satisfying meal. For a vegetarian version, I like to use one can of drained black beans and one can of drained pinto beans. The pinto beans create a nice, thick texture while the black beans add a more authentic Tex-Mex flavor. If you’re partial to one bean over the other, you can just do two cans of your favorite.