Ground Turkey Enchiladas

These delicious Ground Turkey Enchiladas are loaded with ground turkey, black beans and a simple red enchilada sauce with just the right amount of spice. And covered with all the cheese of course! A perfect make ahead dinner the whole family will love!

Nothing says comfort food like a cheesy pan of enchiladas. These Ground Turkey Enchiladas are a fun twist on a family favorite–black beans, cheese, ground turkey and all the spices.

My favorite part about this recipe? It is so easy to make ahead of time.

These green chicken enchiladas are another favorite if this is your kind of simple dinner recipe!

Try this turkey sweet potato skillet dinner as well as this ground turkey teriyaki stir fry or my current obsession, this ground turkey stroganoff if you love cooking with ground turkey!

Why You Will Love These Ground Turkey Enchiladas:

• A whole meal in one dish. I love enchiladas in general because they are so filling. These ground turkey enchiladas have it all: meat, beans, cheese–filling for sure. A meal in one! You can even add in some veggies for more goodness!
• Freezer friendly. You can make these enchiladas and then freeze for later. I like to freeze single servings and then grab one for on the go meals or when I want a quick meal but also want something warm.
• Great to prep in advance. The best part is that you can put these all together and then bake them just before dinner. That allows you to get things ready when you have time and then can get what you need done or have family time while they bake!
• Very easily adapted to meet your family’s needs. Use gluten free tortillas to keep this recipe gluten free. For dairy free, use your favorite vegan shredded cheese. You could even opt for meat free crumbles! Don’t forget these are great to individualize with everyone’s favorite toppings.

Recipe Ingredients:

• tortillas: Many enchiladas are made with corn tortillas. We prefer flour tortillas. That is what I grew up on. If you prefer the corn, that is fine. You can use 6-8 inch tortillas, and honestly, even something a bit bigger may work ok if it’s what you have. The size of tortilla will obviously be related to how many you need to use.
• ground turkey: for the best ground turkey enchiladas, don’t use a super lean ground turkey. The flavor and texture is just not the same. I like to use 85% lean ground turkey. You could technically use another meat if preferred. Ground beef, ground chicken or ground pork would work well. Make sure to drain any excess oil or grease after browning beef if you use it.
• onion: red onion is typically my preference. A yellow onion will work well too.
• black beans: canned, drained and rinsed. I prefer low or no sodium.
• jalapeño: you can use a milder green chile, a small poblano pepper or even a small can of diced green chiles.
• spices: a combination of chili powder, cumin, red pepper and oregano. You can add in some smoked paprika as well
• garlic: freshly minced garlic if possible. If you don’t have any, garlic powder will work, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.
• tomato sauce: not marinara, the sauce that comes in the jar. You could also opt for enchilada sauce but I like using tomato sauce and adding seasoning to it.
• cheese: freshly shredded cheese will melt much better than pre-shredded cheese package. Either will work though. I like to use colby jack or cheddar cheese but sometimes we use some pepper jack as well. Your favorite combo is great: monterey jack, a Mexican cheese blend, a bit of queso fresco, etc.

Step by Step Instructions:

• Chop all the veggies to prep. Combine the tomato sauce, spices and 2 garlic cloves and stir well to combine.
• Heat olive oil in a medium to large skillet at medium-high heat and add the jalapeño, onion and 1 garlic clove and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until the onions start to become translucent. Add the ground turkey into the pan and heat until there is no pink. Set aside to slightly cool.
• In a medium bowl, combine rinsed black beans, turkey mixture and 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir to combine.
• To avoid soggy tortillas, heat a drizzle of oil in a skillet and fry both sides of each tortilla for about 10-15 seconds and then transfer to a paper towel to soak up excess oil. This is optional, but strongly recommended.

• Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish or large casserole dish and cover the bottom of it with 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. Take each tortilla and scoop 1/8 – 1/10 of the turkey mixture on top, depending on how big your tortillas are (this doesn’t have to be exactly measured as I just spoon any extra right on top. So don’t worry!) Add a sprinkle of cheese on top of the turkey mixture and roll to enclose.
• Lay the rolled tortilla in the baking pan and repeat with all of the other tortillas.

• When the tortillas are filled and lined up, cover with remaining enchilada sauce. Cover the pan with foil and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cover with the remaining cheese, more if desired! Bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with lots of cilantro and sour cream!

Other Ground Turkey Recipes:

• Simple Ground Turkey Skillet
• Simple Turkey Chili
• Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce
• Ground Turkey Teriyaki Stir Fry
• Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs
• Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers

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Note: The original recipe included roasted sweet potatoes. However, I found myself omitting them every time I made this recipe because it was an extra step I didn’t have time for. If you would like to toss in some roasted sweet potatoes, feel free to do so!

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