Layered Meat and Bean Enchilada Bake
This Layered Meat and Bean Enchilada Bake is an easy-to-make, tasty meal with hearty servings that are sure to please the whole family! This casserole is kind of like making a lasagna, but using enchilada ingredients. You’ll layer corn tortillas with beans, ground turkey and ground beef, vegetables, cheese, and smother all the layers in plenty of enchilada sauce. I find it to be quicker and easier than filling and wrapping traditional enchiladas, and the flavors are still just as delicious! Plus a big, satisfying serving is just 415 calories or 8 WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
Enchilada Sauce Brands
I don’t know why, but lately I prefer store-bought enchilada sauce from a packet/pouch rather than from a can. I really like the Frontera Red Chile Enchilada Sauce, but none of my local grocery stores have had it in stock recently. I decided to try La Victoria Enchilada Sauce for this recipe, which I found in pouches at Wegmans (though it seems it is also sold in cans), and I like that one a lot as well! There is absolutely nothing wrong with canned enchilada sauce, you can definitely use that instead, I’ve just been into the pouches lately.
The problem with developing a recipe using store-bought enchilada sauce is that canned enchilada sauce usually comes in 10 ounce cans, whereas the Frontera packets are 8 ounces each and the La Victoria ones are 12 ounces. For this recipe, I recommend using between 20-24 ounces of enchilada sauce. You can use two (10 oz) cans, or two (12 oz) pouches, or three (8 oz) pouches, or use some of each or whatever you prefer/find/have on hand. I calculated the nutrition information and WW points using 24 ounces, but using 20 shouldn’t make a dramatic difference or change the WW Points per serving.
Tortilla Layout
Recipe Notes
- Meat: I like to use lean ground turkey breast because it’s low in calories/fat/WW Points, but I love the taste of ground beef in Mexican-inspired dishes. Mixing in some lean ground beef gives delicious beefy flavor while still remaining lighter overall. I usually use ground turkey breast because it’s easier to find in stores near me than ground chicken breast, but if you can find that it would work great mixed with the ground beef as well.
- Vegetables: Obviously onion adds great flavor to this dish, but I also like to mix in shredded zucchini to add a hidden vegetable! Yellow squash would of course work as well, or you can always try substituting diced mushrooms or bell peppers if that’s your preference.
- Better Than Bouillion: I think this bouillon paste adds delicious beefy flavor to the recipe and if you haven’t tried Better Than Bouillon before, I highly recommend it! However, if you don’t have this on hand you can easily omit it and the recipe will still turn out delicious.
- Tortillas: I highly recommend using Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas in this recipe. They’re 40 calories or 1 WW Point each and they taste great! They also make great tortilla chips if you spray them with cooking spray, sprinkle them with salt, cut them into wedges and bake or air fry them until crispy.
- Serving Size: Since this is a layered casserole, similar to a lasagna, I recommend just cutting it into six servings after cooling a bit and then serving it from there. However, I did measure out a serving and it’s about 1 & ¼ cups. I decided to make six large servings from this, but you could certainly make it eight smaller servings and recalculate the nutrition info/WWPoints if you’re tracking them.
- Make Ahead: If you want to prep this Layered Meat and Bean Enchilada Bake ahead of time, you could definitely cook the meat/veggies and layer it together in the baking dish (probably up to a day ahead) and then refrigerate until you’re ready to bake.
More Tasty Lightened-Up Mexican-Inspired Recipes
If you’re looking for more tasty recipes inspired by Mexican flavors like this Layered Meat and Bean Enchilada Bake, check out my Turkey and Chorizo Enchilada Rice Bake, Chicken Taco Rice Skillet, Mexican Street Corn Chicken, Easy Cheesy Bean Dip, Cheesy Spicy Black Bean Skillet, Loaded Guacamole, Breakfast Tostadas, 7 Layer Dip, Easy Chicken and Bean Enchiladas, Deep Dish Taco Casserole, Easy Salsa Rice, Fiesta Stuffed Chicken, Mexican Chicken Cauliflower Rice Skillet, Beef Taco Soup, Layered Chicken Enchilada Bake, Taco Chicken Salad, and so many more in the Mexican category of my recipe index!
Layered Meat and Bean Enchilada Bake
Ingredients
- 20-24 oz red enchilada sauce, divided (amount depending on the size of your cans/packets – see post above)
- 9 (six-inch) corn tortillas, divided (I use Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas)
- 16 oz can fat free refried beans
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 lb uncooked 99% lean ground turkey breast
- ½ lb uncooked 95% lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Beef Base, optional
- 1 oz reduced sodium taco seasoning
- ⅓ cup queso blanco dip
- 5 oz shredded 2% milk sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Drizzle about 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce across the bottom of the dish and spread around with the back of a spoon to lightly coat the bottom of the dish. Arrange 4 ½ of the tortillas across the bottom of the dish to cover the majority of the space (my arrangement is pictured above). Use a spatula to spread the refried beans evenly across the tortillas, forming an even layer across the whole dish. Set aside.
- Drizzle the oil into a large sauté pan or skillet and bring over med-high heat. Add the ground turkey and ground beef and break into small chunks using a cooking spoon or spatula. Once the chunks start to brown a bit, add the chopped onion and shredded zucchini and stir together. Cook for around 10 minutes total, draining as needed as the zucchini will release water, until the meat is cooked and the onions are softened. Add the minced garlic and the Better Than Bouillon Beef Base and stir into the meat mixture. Allow to cook for another minute. Add the taco seasoning, queso dip, and 10-12 ounces of enchilada sauce (likely one can/packet) and stir together. Cook for another minute or so until well combined.
- Spoon about half of the sauced meat over top of the refried bean layer in the baking dish. Sprinkle two ounces of the shredded cheddar cheese across the top. Arrange the remaining 4 ½ tortillas in a similar style to step 1 (I did the same but flipped the layout so any small missing spots from layer 1 would be covered and vice versa). Spoon the remaining saucy meat mixture evenly across the newly laid tortillas. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle the remaining three ounces of shredded cheese across the surface.
- Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to set/cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting into six servings.
Notes
415 calories, 38 g carbs, 3 g sugars, 15 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 37 g protein, 6 g fiber, 1935 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com) Weight Watchers Points Plus:
11 per (1/6th of the dish, about 1 ¼ cup) piece (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)
Another great recipe, Emily! Made this for dinner last night and the portion size is generous and filling! Although it was so good I probably could have eaten half the pan myself 🙂
This is delicious! My picky four year old even asked for seconds! Thanks for a yummy recipe 🙂
Made this tonight using my leftover taco meat and beans, flour tortillas, left out the sour cream part. Also made your sauce with a few minor changes. Hubby liked it. Yeah! Have a winner.