Ohhh my gosh, hello new favorite meal.
These slow cooker beef enchiladas taste like heaven. Like I died and went to heaven. I don’t know what is better… the slow cooker beef or the white enchilada sauce that I practically want to drink with a straw. WAHOO. Let’s get into it.
This is another one of those meals that I like to have in my arsenal for December. Sort of like the bacon meatballs.
MY OTHER RECIPESEnchiladas make an excellent meal to serve at a holiday party, to make for guests that stay a few days, to make and freeze for later and heck, to even make ON the holiday itself!
Just…
look.
At that.
The bubbly golden cheese!
So here’s the thing. When I was sick early on in my pregnancy with Emilia, I had an aversion to pretty much everything aside from Mexican food. I mean, that could almost be daily life for me too (when do I NOT want tacos?) but this was bad. I wanted NOTHING else except for these shredded beef chimichangas at a local restaurant and it wasn’t even that I was craving them. It was just that they were the only thing that sounded good.
I’m pretty sure I ate them once a week for four weeks straight and Eddie was completely burnt out on any sort of shredded beef and tex mex meal. I knew that a request like this meal would come around again though, so I had to be prepared.
The best part! This beef can really be used for… anything. Any sort of Mexican or tex mex inspired meal. It’s a chuck roast that you slow cook overnight (okay, or throughout the day, whatevs) and season with lots of delicious taco-like spices. Once it is ridiculously tender and falls apart when touched with a fork, the beef goes inside warm tortillas and then gets a nice blanket of white enchilada sauce.
This freaking sauce. What the what. It is to die for. Just so delicious. There is no other word.
I just want to cover my entire life with it.
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients:
slow cooker shredded mexican beef
- 3 pound beef chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed/vegetable/canola oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
enchiladas
- 10 to 12 (4-inch) corn tortillas
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1 cup sour cream
- 12 ounces monterey jack cheese, freshly grated
- fresh cilantro for topping
- sliced green onions for topping
- sliced avocado for topping
- lime wedges for spritzing
Directions:
slow cooker shredded mexican beef
I find the flavor is best when the beef is seared first. My slow cooker sears the meat, but if yours does not, heat a large pot over medium to high heat and add the oil. Sprinkle the chuck roast with the salt and pepper, then add it to the pot or slow cooker and sear on all sides until deeply golden brown. If necessary, transfer it to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until it easily shreds with forks or kitchen tongs. Toss in the cumin, paprika, chili powder and garlic powder, mixing well. Your beef is now ready to use!
enchiladas
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
To make the sauce, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Add in the onions and green chilies with a pinch of salt, stirring well. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often, until the mixture smells nutty and fragrant. Very slowly pour into the chicken stock while stirring so the mixture thickens. Bring it to a simmer and let it thicken and bubble for 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream and the half and half. Stir until combined and cook for 5 minutes, until warmed through. Stir in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the cheese until it melts completely. At this time, you want to warm your tortillas so they don’t break – either pop them in the warm oven for two minutes or so or you can even microwave them.
Spoon a bit of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish, just to coat the dish. Take about 2 tablespoons of the shredded beef and roll it up tightly in the warm tortillas, placing them side by side in the dish. I can usually fit six of the small tortillas in two separate rows in a 9×13 dish!
Pour the rest of the sauce overtop of the enchiladas, covering every bit. Top with the remaining monterey jack cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is golden and cheesy and bubble. Remove and top with the cilantro and green onions before serving.
I love to serve these with avocado slices, lime wedges and tortilla chips!
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