Beef and Potato Enchiladas

Tender shredded beef and Potato Enchiladas are spicy, saucy, and satisfying. After slow cooking and shredding a juicy chuck roast, the meat and crispy hash browns are piled onto soft flour tortillas and baked in a zesty sauce. Serve with melty, gooey cheese, fresh herbs, and a spoonful of sour cream.

A restaurant favorite for many, potato enchiladas are a Tex-Mex classic that is always filling and delicious. Smothered in a tangy red enchilada sauce, stuffed with meat and potatoes, and wrapped up in a soft tortilla… What could be better?

My potato enchilada recipe takes all of the mystery out of this iconic dish. With a few simple steps and a bit of time, you’ll have enough enchiladas to feed an army! Or, at least a good number of your family and friends.

Potato enchiladas are also perfect for meal prep – simply wrap up and pop into the freezer instead of the oven, and you have a ready-to-go meal for your convenience.

This recipe uses my own Adobo seasoning blend, as well as my homemade Red Enchilada Sauce. There’s nothing more satisfying than making an entire dish from scratch, so I highly recommend trying these out!

INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS 

• Beef – 4 lbs of beef chuck roast is ideal, and makes enough for 14 enchiladas.
• Adobo Seasoning – A mix of Spanish seasonings including garlic, oregano, and turmeric. This seasoning can get pricey in the store, so I recommend making at home!
• Salsa – Your favorite salsa will fit right in. 
• Hash Browns – Shred them and make them fresh, or use frozen. They simply need to be cooked before they are added to the filling. Home fries would work as well.
• Cheddar Cheese – Sharp, shreddable, and easy to melt, cheddar is my go-to when making potato enchiladas. However, there are many suitable substitutes: white cheddar, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, and Colby immediately come to mind. 
• Flour Tortillas – Pliable and easy to use, I recommend using flour rather than corn tortillas. 
• Red Enchilada Sauce – Also known as Mexican red sauce, this spicy and tangy sauce is easy enough to make at home. You can also use your favorite store brand.

HOW TO MAKE POTATO ENCHILADAS

1. Sear the Beef. Thoroughly dust the chuck roast with the Adobo seasoning. In a pan over medium-high heat, sear until browned.

2. Pressure Cook. Transfer to the Instant Point and pour your salsa over top. Cover and set to Meat/Stew, on High Pressure, Normal for 90 minutes.

3. Shred. Perform a quick pressure release and transfer the beef to a cutting board. Shred the meat with two forks or your hands. Scoop out ½ cup of the cooking liquid from the Instant Pot.

4. Make the Filling. Add the shredded meat to a bowl with the hashbrowns and cheese. Pour the cooking liquid in and mix everything together.

5. Fill Enchiladas. Spoon some of the filling onto a tortilla lengthwise. Roll it up, set aside, and repeat.

6. Prepare to Bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and pour 1 cup of the enchilada sauce into the pan. Lay all of the rolled enchiladas in the pan and top with the rest of the sauce. 

7. Bake. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the pan, cover with foil, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Allow to cool before removing and serving with toppings of choice.

How do you make enchiladas not soggy? 

An easy way to give some body to your tortillas is by quickly frying them before baking! After filling and rolling, gently lay in a pan over medium-high heat and lightly brown both sides. 

Should enchiladas be corn or flour? 

I recommend using flour tortillas. They are easy to work with, are more pliable, and won’t tear as easily as traditional corn tortillas.

Corn tortillas are the more traditional option, and would work just fine if prefered. This will get you closer to what you might find in a Mexican restaurant. 

At the end of the day, however, it doesn’t make too much of a difference. Work with whatever you prefer and is easiest for you!

What other meats go well in enchiladas? 

Almost any protein would fit right into an enchilada. Shredded chicken or pork can be easily used in place of the chuck roast in this specific recipe, and would work well with the existing flavors. They would also complement the potatoes better than, say, seafood.

However, shrimp would also be delicious and would be bulkier as well.

Beef and Potato Enchiladas

Potato Enchiladas are stuffed with beef, cheese, and a spicy red sauce. Enjoy this Mexican classic right away, or freeze for later!

5 from 11 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main

Cuisine: American, Mexican, Tex Mex

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes

Servings: 14 servings

Calories: 507kcal

Author: Kevin Is Cooking

Ingredients

• 4 lb beef chuck roast
• 2 tsp Adobo seasoning
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 32 oz salsa (See Note 2)
• 3 cups hash browns (See Note 3)
• 3 cups cheddar cheese
• 14 flour tortillas
• 3 cups red enchilada sauce

Instructions

• Season the beef chuck roast on both sides with Adobo seasoning. In a cast iron pan or large skillet over medium-high heat add the olive oil. Sear the beef on all sides until browned.
• Place in an Instant Pot and cover with 32 ounce jar of salsa of choice. Close the lid press Meat/Stew, High Pressure, Normal for a total of 90 minutes. (See Note 1)
• Release pressure per manufacturers instructions and remove beef. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking liquid, discard remaining liquid from pot and shred meat.
• Mix together the shredded beef, hash browns and 2 cups of cheese. Add the reserved cooking liquid and mix together.
• Place the meat/potato filling on the tortilla lengthwise and roll up, this filling should make about 14 (distributed evenly).
• In the bottom of one 13″x9″ or two 8×8″ baking pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray, add 1 cup of enchilada sauce, shake pan to distribute on bottom and then place the rolled enchiladas.
• Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining 1 cup cheese. At this point you can cover with aluminum foil and freeze for later use if you like or bake @350°F for 25 minutes (See Note 4).
• Remove foil and cook another 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Toppings can be sour cream, chopped cilantro and sesame seeds if desired.

Notes

1. Alternatively, you could use a Slow Cooker (4 hours on High or longer until able to shred easily), or cook covered with salsa for 2 – 2.5 hours until easily shredded in a Dutch oven.
2. I use a 32 ounce jar of Mateo‘s gourmet salsa, but use whatever salsa you prefer.
3. Either shred your own or use thawed, frozen to make it easy. I recently found these amazing dehydrated ones at Costco from Idaho Spuds and they come in small cartons that after hot water is added, makes about 3+ cups of fantastic hash brown potatoes.  I’m not being paid by them either, just sharing a easy to use, tasty product. I use these often, but by all means you can use thawed frozen hash browns. Keep in mind that frozen hash browns aren’t just frozen shredded potatoes, they’re frozen “par-cooked” potatoes which means they’re actually already cooked/blanched in hot water a bit. So if using a raw potato and shredding it, you may want to cook or blanch in hot water a bit to cook.
4. If you made this and froze it for later use, allow to defrost completely and then bake as directed.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 1074mg | Potassium: 818mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 915IU | Vitamin C: 5.9mg | Calcium: 252mg | Iron: 4.9mg

Have you made this recipe? Let me know on InstagramTag @KevinIsCooking and hashtag me #keviniscooking!