A girlfriend and I were recently reminiscing about how we used to dip everything in ranch dressing in college. Pizza, breadsticks, sandwiches…LASAGNA. Nothing was safe!
In addition to our ranch dressing obsession was a hankering for all things south of the border from Carlos O’Kelly’s, a Midwest staple in Mexican chain-dining. Their salsa is the one I modeled my Restaurant-Style Salsa recipe off of, and I consumed so many of their shredded beef enchiladas that you’d think I’d never want to see one again.
WRONG!
Shredded Beef Enchiladas have remained one of my favorite foods since college, so I decided to give them a crock pot spin for you. Crock Pot Shredded Beef Enchiladas are off the charts delicious!
Seasoned chuck roast is slow-cooked in a crock pot then shredded and rolled in corn tortillas with cheese, smothered in enchilada sauce, and then topped with more cheese, and baked until golden brown and bubbly. DIVINE. Juicy, cheesy, savory – a total treat!
I top my enchiladas with lots of salsa and fresh avocado. Ranch dressing need not apply. ;)
How to Make This Recipe:
Start by trimming a 2-3lb chuck roast of any excess fat then cut into 6 big hunks and place inside a large crock pot.
Add a beef broth, chopped onion, and smashed garlic cloves into the bottom of the crock pot then nestle the beef hunks on top.
Finally, sprinkle in chili powder, cumin and LOTS of garlic salt and pepper then pop a lid on top and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until the beef shreds easily.
Shred the beef with two forks then add enough of the cooking liquid to make it juicy, but not dripping, and then stir in canned chopped green chiles.
Time to roll. You’ll need 10-12 gluten-free corn tortillas, depending on how full you stuff them.
Wrap half the tortillas in a damp paper towel then microwave for 30 seconds to make them pliable. Spread ~1/4 cup of the shredded beef mixture across the center of each tortilla then add shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top and roll.
Spread a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish, or two smaller baking dishes that have been sprayed with nonstick spray, then place the tortilla seam side down in the baking dish. Continue until all the ingredients have been used up.
FYI: don’t be upset if your tortillas crack. Corn tortillas are notorious for cracking or splitting, but they’ll be covered up with sauce and cheese so nobody’ll know the difference!
Once all the tortillas have been filled and rolled, pour the more enchilada sauce – here’s my INSANE homemade enchilada sauce recipe! – over the top then sprinkle on more shredded cheese.
Cover the baking dish tightly with foil then bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the foil then continue baking for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbly. Wait 5 minutes (if you can!) before serving with lots of yummy toppings like salsa, chopped avocado, and fresh cilantro.
Similar Recipes:
- Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas >
- Roasted Poblano Salsa Chicken Enchiladas >
- Cheese Enchiladas with Red Sauce >
- Chili Cheeseburger Enchiladas >
free email bonus!
5 Day Clean Eating Guide
Fresh and craveable recipes + healthy eating tips!
Crock Pot Shredded Beef Enchiladas
Description
Gluten-free Crock Pot Shredded Beef Enchiladas are seriously succulent. Skip the restaurant and make easy enchiladas at home.
Ingredients
- 2-3lb chuck roast
- 1 large onion, peeled then roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled then smashed
- 15oz can gluten-free beef broth
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- lots of garlic salt and pepper
- 4oz can chopped green chiles
- 10-12 gluten-free corn tortillas
- 8oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
- 2-10oz cans gluten-free enchilada sauce or 1 batch homemade sauce (recipe link in notes below)
- Toppings: salsa, avocado, sour cream, cilantro
Directions
- Trim large pieces of excess fat from roast then cut into 6-8 big hunks. Add onion, garlic, and beef broth into the bottom of a 5.5 or 6 quart crock pot then nestle beef into mixture. Sprinkle in chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and pepper and then place the lid on top and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until beef shreds easily. Remove beef then shred and place into a large bowl with enough cooking liquid to make it juicy, but not so much that it's dripping. Stir in green chiles. Discard remaining cooking liquid.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees then spray a 9x13" pan or two smaller pans with nonstick spray, and then spread a couple Tablespoons of enchilada sauce in the bottom. Divide shredded cheese in half, reserving half for topping the enchiladas.
- Wrap half the tortillas in a damp paper towel then microwave for 30 seconds. Spread about 1/4 cup (just eyeball it) shredded beef across the center of each tortilla then top with 1 Tablespoon shredded cheese and roll. Place seam side down in the prepared pan then repeat with remaining ingredients. Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top, then top with remaining cheese.
- Generously spray a large piece of foil with nonstick spray then place sprayed side down on the pan. Bake for 20 minutes then remove foil and bake for 5-10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving with toppings.
- To freeze: Wrap the unbaked enchiladas with plastic wrap then foil, and then freeze. Thaw for 24 hours in the fridge then remove the plastic wrap, reapply foil that's been sprayed with nonstick spray, and then bake as directed above.
Notes
- Swap the cans of enchilada sauce for my homemade enchilada sauce if you like!
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Ok, as weird as it is that you dipped lasagna in ranch..that also sounds AH-MAY-ZING!
But, these sound more amazing. I love a good enchilada…especially when I can throw it in the crock pot and not slave in the kitchen all day! Pinned!
There’s something about college girls and Carlos O’Kelley’s. I was just thinking about it the other day. My roommates and I would make pretty regular trips up to Wichita to go to target and get our Tex-Mex fill there. I haven’t been to one since I graduated.
I only just recently discovered enchiladas! I know, where have I been!? But I am in love and I am definitely going to try this recipe!
We have had a TON of Mexican lately but I can’t wait to make your recipe! It looks amazing!
I was on the same page with the ranch dipping in college, and high school. I grew up in Iowa, I think ranch was just the think to have! ;)
I just heard angels singing in my ears when I say the title of this post. My kids love taco tuesday but we are all getting a little tired of the same thing. Cue the harps!!!! Enchiladas!!! YES!!!!! So you can guess what dinner will be tomorrow!
Oh YUM! Mexican food is my love language…
Any recommendations for store bought enchilada sauce? I’ve made my own in the past and it’s delicious but not quick. Would love to know a good one to buy. Thanks and this recipe sounds amazzzzing just like all your other recipes :-)
I just used Old El Paso! I’ve made my own before, but I (gasp!) like the taste of canned better. :)
why do i not make enchiladas more??they are everything good. these might need to go on my “meals to freeze before baby comes” list.
Mexican food is my absolute fav, yum!
Kristin, Carlos O’Kelly’s (at least the Cedar Falls one) has a whole gluten free menu! It’s one of the few places I feel safe eating at in CF!
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
Carlos chips and salsa is practically my husband’s religion! Well, all things Carlos O’Kelly’s, really. Growing up in I.C., he and his high school friends would go out to lunch and dinner there at every opportunity. Even this week, when his best friend is coming home from spending 2 years in South Korea, it’s the first place he wants to go out to lunch with my husband! Also, I’m making these enchiladas ASAP, thanks for sharing them!
I adore shredded beef enchiladas and these look delicious! Court Ave. Brewery has them on their menu and they are fabulous. I ate almost the entire plate after spending time at the state fair, if that tells you anything about how good they are :) Thanks for sharing this!
Is there any reason why a pork sirloin roast couldn’t be substituted for the beef chuck roast? It cooks and shreds well when using a slow cooker, it’s leaner than beef, takes the same amount of time, and is much less expensive than beef [it’s like $2.29 per pound when purchased in Costco’s 4 pack].
I think that’d be just fine!
I make pork enchilas with green enchilada sauce and flour tortillas. Used to get them in San Diego but could not find in Des Moines. I also use spicy Monterey Jack cheese. Spicy but good.
Making these this week! Just wondering what brand of enchilada sauce you use?
Old El Paso!
Yum! We’ve made crockpot chicken enchiladas, but never beef. Gotta try this!
What brand did you find had GF beef broth? Thank you!
I used Pacific brand – love both their chicken and beef broth!
I’ve been afraid to go to Carlos O’Kelly’s because the name made it hard to figure out what kind of restaurant it is…like mexican food meets irish food? Anyway, if you like it, it’s good enough for me, so we’ll give it a shot!
Carlos O’Kelly’s and everything with a side of ranch? That pretty much sums up my college experience. And I can’t wait to try this recipe, probably with some espinaca queso on top :)
RIP Des Moines Carlos O’Kelly’s. It was a sad, sad day when they closed.
This looks soooo good. I can’t wait until I get back to the US to get some good Mexican food.
This is one of my favorite Mexican dishes. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. Your pictures are just beautiful.
These look soo amazing and delicious I have just pinned these to my cooking board on pinterest so I remember to try out the recipe !! AMAZING
This looks delicious!!! I’ll definitely make this recipe some time next week. :D
I don’t have a crockpot, but can easily cook the meat like that on the stove or in the oven first. This looks great, and GF! Thanks ;)
my beef is in the crock pot right now in prep for dinner tonight! cant wait to try it :)
Have you ever tried the Graddy’s restaurant style salsa? It’s an all natural fresh salsa from Carroll, Iowa and they sell it in Hy-Vee. Their tomatoes and salsa products are to die for!
That’s Ben’s all-time favorite salsa!
Just wanted you to know your ZipList link is broken. Its calling a JavaScript Void error and does not take me to ZipList. Hoping you can fix it – and thought you’d like to know.
Love your blog – keep up the good work.
Yes, thank you for telling me, Cindy! I was able to use it without an error in Chrome. Can you tell me what browser you’re using? Thanks!
I will for sure be making these. Mexican food has a special place in my heart – possibly because we always make guac to go alone with it!
I have that exact HyVee roast just waiting in my freezer for this recipe. I keep looking at it thinking I would make barbecue beef, but this sounds much better. My kids love Mexican and request it every week, but it’s been a few weeks. They love to load up their dishes with corn, beans, avocado, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, any roasted veggies and of course a little ranch. Love my little foodies! Is Lincoln showing signs of being a little foodie in the making?
These are in the oven as I type… the meat tastes awesome. Might only make the meat next time to tacos or burritos!
I think the ranch is an Iowa thing. As a born and raised Iowan, I still dip my pizza in ranch….it’s the best!
Carlos o Kellys is soooooo good. The queso is so good it’s evil.
Also, this recipe is in the crockpot right now and it smells amazing!
Wow! These look absolutely delicious! Sending the wife the link to this page immediately!
Ha! The ranch revolution. I remember eating a “salad” consisting of iceberg lettuce, nacho cheese Doritos and ranch dressing for lunch nearly every day my senior year of high school. So far every recipe of yours involving a crock pot and beef has become a husband favorite so I’m adding this to the rotation for sure!
I intend to make these this week. What size are the corn tortillas?
I’ve only ever seen one size of corn tortilla, so it’s just the “standard” size. I think maybe 6″?
I just made this – it was the best beef I’ve ever made!
So glad to hear!
[…] to expect after both vaginal and c-section deliveries and ways to help and soothe yourself! Shredded Beef Enchiladas. I made these the other day and they did not disappoint. The shredded beef was the best beef […]
[…] Crockpot Shredded Beef Enchiladas by Iowa Girl Eats. This is a new recipe that looks really good. Bonus points for using the […]
These will be going in the oven shortly. The meat smelled so good cooking all day
I made these last weekend and they were AMAZING!!! My bf and I couldn’t wait to eat the leftovers for the next night’s dinner, and polished all of them off in two nights.
I followed your recipe exactly except for using flour tortillas and halving the cumin (just bc I was running low), and garnished with fresh cilantro alone.
I served them with a lime cilantro basmati rice (a Chipotle copycat recipe) and a green salad – that I dressed with your cilantro-lime vinaigrette from your fajita salad recipe, and margaritas :-)
Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us. Love your blog!
I made these for the second time today. This recipe is amazing!!! We live in NC, so anything you can cook first in the crock pot in June is great, but something this delish is heavenly. I love your blog!!!
Thanks so much, Regina, I’m glad you love the recipe too!! :)
[…] Crock Pot Shredded Beef Enchiladas recipe by Iowa Girl Eats […]
AMAZING!!! I’m making these yummy morsels for the second time! Hubby even brought the crock pot to the kitchen without asking, how about that?
So glad to hear!
I’m married to a hunter up in lovely Alaska, so I made them with moose, and the family loved them! We always have roasts left over and I am always trying to find delicious ways to serve them up. (Really, who doesn’t eat the steaks and burger first!?!). Thanks for the recipe!
Made these last night. And out of all the recipes I’ve ever made (I’m 33, and I love to cook), this might be my favorite one. So good! I’m passing it on to my friends.
[…] iowagirleats.com […]
If I make these ahead of time, will they reheat in the oven well? I am thinking this might be a good make ahead camping dinner.
You could assemble them the night before then cook the day of!
I seen this recipe today and decided to make them . My hubby bought me a crock pot 2 Christmas’s ago and todays the first time I used it!! I used the las Palmas sauce, its very good,, I will post picks soon,, cant wait to taste them.
Yummmmy!! I am more of a Chicken Enchiladas, but made the beef and it was pretty darn close to a local mexican restaurant near me. Awesome!