by Texas Homesteader ~
This cheesy enchilada casserole is simple to put together and uses slow-cooker convenience.
Ground meat, cheese, refried beans, tomato sauce, chili and corn tortillas makes this a simple yet delicious meal. Check out my easy recipe, y’all!
Stale Corn Tortillas Too Crumbly
I had enchiladas on the menu but my corn tortillas weren’t cooperating. They were older tortillas and kept breaking instead of rolling up.
(UPDATE: I now make my own easy corn tortillas fresh!)
Enchilada Casserole In Slow Cooker
I thought about a recipe for an enchilada casserole. Hummm… a casserole might solve some stubborn tortilla problems for me.
Since RancherMan & I had an appointment right around the supper hour I decided to make the casserole in my slow cooker.
Enchilada Casserole Ingredients
Here’s what goes into my casserole:
2 lbs of ground meat (Ground beef is good, but I often use ground wild pork)
Taco Seasoning (it’s easy to make homemade taco seasoning instead)
Chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
2 cans of tomato sauce
A can of refried beans (I make & mash Instant Pot Pintos)
1 can of chili (I used Homemade Chili from the freezer)
Corn Tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese
Cooking Meat & Onions For Casserole
I cooked the garlic & onions first in a small amount of bacon grease on medium heat until they were translucent. Then I added the ground meat.
When the meat was cooked I drained what little fat had accumulated. I returned the meat to my cast-iron skillet & added about 4 tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning.
Then I poured the tomato sauce into the skillet with the drained meat/onions. When all was thoroughly mixed I mashed some of my homemade pinto beans and mixed it into the meat mixture.
Layering Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole
Now I turned my attention to those dang stale crumbly tortillas.
~ I lined my large 8-quart slow cooker with those ornery corn tortillas, overlapping liberally in several places.
~ Then I topped them with 1/2 of my meat/bean mixture.
~ I sprinkled just a little shredded cheese on top and some sliced ripe olives.
~ Then I added another layer of overlapping corn tortillas and the rest of the meat/bean mixture.
~ I topped with another light sprinkling of cheese and a few sliced olives.
~ The entire casserole was topped with a final layer of overlapping tortillas.
~ Top the casserole with chili and a generous coating of cheese.
~ Add a handful of chopped chives and a few sliced olives if desired.
Wild Game Meat Option
You can make this casserole with ground beef of course. But RancherMan is an accomplished hunter so we always have wild pork in the freezer.
Sometimes there is other game in our freezer as well, but there’s never a shortage of wild pork. So I cook with it often.
(I’ve got a nice long list of wild-game recipes at the end of this post)
How Long To Cook Slow-Cooker Enchilada Casserole?
The ingredients are already cooked so I turned the slow cooker on low. Then RancherMan & I left for our appointment, which took us away from home for about 2 hours.
When we arrived home the house smelled Dee-LICIOUS!
What Goes With Enchilada Casserole?
Looking for something to serve with your enchilada casserole? What about:
Large Recipe Leaves Plenty Of Leftovers For Later!
Remember, my slow cooker is a large 8-quart model. And this recipe makes a lot!
So I’ve once again used the cook-once-eat-twice method of cooking there will be plenty for us to enjoy for lunch tomorrow. And several servings for me to put in the freezer for quick suppers later too. Gotta love it!
By using food I’d already prepared such as homemade pinto beans, chili and taco seasoning this recipe was very inexpensive too.
And those containers holding the leftovers in the freezer are all reusable so it’s environmentally friendly as well.
But even if you have to purchase those ingredients it’s an easy recipe that comes together quickly. And really, who doesn’t love slow-cooker convenience?
Did you make this Enchilada Casserole?
Please rate the recipe in your comment below!
Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole
We use ground pork from a wild hog harvested from our property, but you can use regular sausage or hamburger with the same great results. This recipe is enough to fill up a honkin' 8-quart slow cooker, so halve it if you have a smaller slow cooker. #TexasHomesteader
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Meat (we use ground wild pork)
- 2 medium Onions, chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic, pressed
- 12-15 Corn Tortillas
- 2 15-oz Cans Tomato Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons Taco seasoning
- 1 15-oz Can Refried Beans (approximately 3 cups)
- 1 15-oz Can Chili
- 1 16 oz Bag Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Cheese (or to Taste)
- Ripe olive slices & chopped green onions for garnish (Optional)
Instructions
-
Cook onions & garlic until translucent and add ground meat. Continue on medium heat until meat is cooked. Drain grease and stir in taco seasoning. Add tomato sauce & refried beans to meat mixture. Mix thoroughly
-
Line a slow cooker with tortillas, freely overlapping. Spoon 1/2 of the meat/bean mixture over the tortillas and sprinkle lightly with cheese. Repeat tortilla, meat/bean and cheese layer using the other 1/2 of your meat/bean mixture.
-
Top this with more tortillas, freely overlapping, and spread a can of chili over the top. Sprinkle with about a cup of cheese. Decorate with sliced ripe olives and a sprinkling of chopped green onions if desired.
-
Put lid on slow cooker and turn on low until all is heated through and cheese is melted, about 2 hrs.
~TxH~
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Want to see other Leftover Pork Roast Meal Ideas?
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I made this for my family but used ground beef It was delicious. I didn’t have olives so I topped it with chopped chives from the garden. It made a lot so I have plenty for future meals. I might freeze some too for convenient meals when I just don’t want to cook.
These look really good! We hunt a lot of wild hog too. Thanks, for sharing! It is always nice to hear tips and recipes from someone else in East Texas!
Anne, it’s so good! RancherMan typically eats whatever I fix for supper without complaint. He’s usually complimentary of the meal. But when I serve THIS – he raves over & over again about how I can make this whenever and as often as I like! LOL ~TxH~
Awesome, I’m pinning this! I’m using my slow cooker every day this whole year, and this is just perfect!
This looks fantastic and once again you will have some spare to put in the freezer for later. Thanks for sharing at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings
Chicken Enchilada Casserole is one of my family’s favorites. Thanks for sharing your recipe at This Is How We Roll Thursday. Can’t wait to try this!
I never had wild pork, although I had some other game. I bet it tastes great! I’m so glad you linked it with us at Thursday Favorite Things!
Our wild pork is very lean and provided it’s a sow it’s pretty mellow in flavor as well. ~TxH~
Oh my goodness, that looks good! We don’t have wild pork so much here in Virginia, but I will have to try this with the farm-raised pork.
Wild hogs are outta control here in NE Texas and they’re destructive little beasts, quickly rooting deep tractor-jarring holes in the pastures overnight. So we harvest them as often as we can for double-benefit – delicious low-fat protein and to reduce their damaging numbers. But farm-raised pork or even ground beef would be great in this recipe. Give it a try Amy. ~TxH~
This looks and sounds good… I laughed when I saw that you can’t stick to a recipe, but have to change it… I do the same thing. đŸ™‚
That looks delicious, minus the olives, lol! We eat lost of venison as my husband and children hunt.
A secrete I found to make corn tortillas “behave” is to nuke them in the microwave for about 30 sec. working with 3-4 at a time. They moisten up beautifully. CJ
I think these corn tortillas had pretty much done their tour of duty in my fridge and they were just a bit too dry & brittle to roll like I wanted them to. I even tried adding a damp cloth in the microwave to steam a little moisture into them but with no luck. BUT they worked beautifully in my casserole so I was happy I could get them used up. ~TxH~
I loved this recipe so much! I thought it was the perfect meal for the busy mom. We are going to feature this recipe this Sunday at the Sunday Social! Go grab a button if you like : )
That’s awesome Angela – Thank you! RancherMan & I really did love this recipe and it makes enough to enjoy again and then freeze some for later. Gotta love Cook-Once, Eat-Twice (or more) suppers! ~TxH~
I am making this right now, with ground turkey rather than pork though (I do look forward to fresh wild hog meat in my near future). I used half the recipe and it pretty much filled up my large crockpot, yours must be huge! Thanks for sharing.
Yes ma’am, the slow cooker my sister gave us years ago was huge, it had to feed six of us! Even now with only 2 of us here I pull it out & use it often for the cook-once, eat-twice method of cooking. Hope you love this casserole as much as RancherMan & I did! ~TxH~
Now this is a dish I can get behind! I was just wondering about the tortillas (figuring you used soft tortillas) how did they serve up. Did they form a lasagna noodle like layer or was it more like tomalito (wet corn muffin) ? Also, like you I think of recipes as guidelines & suggestions. I do not have a slow cooker so I’ll use one of my many Dutch ovens (why have a slow cooker when you can have an excuse to collect Dutch ovens?).
I love dutch ovens! I only have 1 but I envy collections. The corn tortillas stayed the same consistency they would if they had been made into enchiladas – they held together fine, I’d guess like you described as “lasagna noodle-like layer”. I thought my casserole could have used just a little more tomato but it wasn’t dry, just not as moist as I would have preferred, so I added some tomato in the actual recipe that I shared. Let me know how you enjoy it! ~TxH~
Taylor this looks delish and like a meal my guys would love! You know they are both hunters and I am hoping this next hunting season will be the big year for them! Thank you so much for linking up to the “From The Farm” Blog hop too! Hope to see you next week!