One Skillet Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole [+Video]

Nothing is better than a large skillet piled high with saucy meat, flour tortillas, and gooey cheese. This one-skillet ground beef enchilada casserole is perfect for family dinner!

Easy Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole

Stop the bus. Hold the phone. Wait right there, missy. I’m about to introduce you to your new favorite family dinner recipe and the best part is, I froze it and it totally worked so it’s also a freezer meal.

For a little while, Cade lived in Arizona where there’s a lot of Mexican-inspired foods, so I thought for sure he’d have some good recipes or a love of Mexican food when we got married, but he didn’t really. I mean, he loved to eat Mexican but he was more drawn to southern or Italian recipes.

The longer we’ve been married the more he has been pulled back over to Mexican food and this one-skillet ground beef enchilada casserole is for sure one of his new favorites.

Cooking with Cast Iron

Our good friend from Country Cleaver wrote a new cookbook called, Cast Iron Gourmet, and if you haven’t gotten it yet, you pretty much should. There’s a strawberry chocolate panini that is calling my name.

Oh!! And the pesto-and-mozzarella-stuffed dinner rolls look like melty cheese, nuggets of awesomeness.

There’s everything from breakfast and sides to main dishes and desserts and I’m not kidding, I suddenly want to buy every cast iron skillet in every size and color.

If you haven’t cooked with cast iron before, well first of all you should stop reading this and buy our favorite Lodge Cast Iron skillet off of Amazon and get on that because the flavor and even cooking will sell you for life. But also, Megan covers everything you’ll need to know about it so you’ll never have any questions about what you’re doing.

Blast, I got off subject. Let’s chat more about this ground beef enchilada casserole, shall we?

Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole Ingredients

This Mexican casserole with tortillas is a cinch to make and requires very few ingredients. Here’s what all we used in this ground beef enchilada casserole recipe:

• Ground Beef: We like to get 80/20 or 85/15 for maximum flavor.
• Taco Seasoning: Make your own or grab your favorite store brand.
• Yellow Onion: adds flavor and texture
• Cremini Mushrooms: adds flavor
• Red Enchilada Sauce: Las Palmas is

Tender bites of steak, spicy sausage, five different varieties of beans, tomatoes, and green chili add up to an irresistible steak chili that is a family favorite all winter long.

Start the chili in the morning and let it simmer though the day for a dinner that will have everyone smiling. Does anything smell better in the fall than a spicy pot of chili simmering on the stove?

Once upon a time, probably 15+ years ago now, my friend Shannon brought a huge pot of chili to a party – and that chili was absolutely perfect. I’d been making chili for years and mine was never bad, but it was also never amazing.

I ate two huge servings of her chili and then pestered her for the recipe. Lucky for all of us, she was sweet enough to send it to me. I could not believe that our chili recipes were virtually identical save for one ingredient.

Chili with Ranch Style Beans

That one ingredient though? It made the difference between an “okay” chili recipe and a chili that can knock your socks off. The ingredient is the Ranch Style Beans!

This chili makes me so happy. It makes me grin when I smell it throughout the house and I look forward to dinner all day long. Whether I make it on the stove or in the slow cooker, the smell of chili simmering brings so much joy and comfort to my day.

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The Ultimate Leftover Turkey Sandwich (aka The Gobbler!!)

Make the most out of your Thanksgiving leftovers with this mouthwatering sandwich recipe. Filled with all your favorite holiday flavors, this leftover turkey sandwich is the perfect way to use up those extra turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce leftovers.

Inspiration for the Gobbler

Cade and I had noticed a little bread and sandwich shop in kind of an awkward little corner of a shopping area when our first daughter was just a little toddler. We’d passed it so many times and had become quite curious about it. I’d never been a fan of cranberry sauce nor stuffing but I’ll tell you what, this shop literally changed me.

A very nice man was there one evening when we stopped in and to this day it breaks my heart to remember him and his little dream he was trying to build. We bought some cinnamon bread for French toast and asked which sandwich to buy. He raved about his thanksgiving sandwich so we dove in.

My gosh, it was the most satisfying thing I’d ever sunk my teeth into. The flavors, the texture. All of it! I hate that his shop never took off. The bread and sandwiches were legit amazing. I think the location just killed the possibilities, but for me, it was the best of the best.

What Do I Need to Make a Leftover Turkey Sandwich?

It’s not every day that a sandwich or dish gets its own name. We have “The Soup” which is our most popular soup recipe here on the blog, and our Busy Day Casserole which has been a top performer for years. This leftover turkey sandwich needed it’s own name. It’s that good! The Gobbler was born! Pull out your Thanksgiving leftovers and here is everything you will need:

• White Bread
• Leftover Stuffing
• Turkey Gravy
• Cranberry Sauce
• Leftover Turkey
• Shredded Lettuce
• Mayo or Honey Mustard

What Type of Bread to Use

Usually I’m all about the multi-grain bread with loads of seeds and crunchies in it, but for this recipe, it’s all about the plain ol’ white bread. You want a good quality white bread that will hold up to all the delicious layers that will go into this sandwich. Sourdough bread would also be a delicious option!

How to Make the Gobbler

I love this sandwich recipe because I can use up leftovers in a creative and delicious way and i

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” – Mother Teresa

Instead of sharing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals with you this year (and potentially buying all sorts of things I don’t even need!), I’m hoping you’ll join me in helping feed the hungry this holiday season.

Barefeet In The Kitchen will donate $5 to Feeding America for every comment on this blog post. In addition to that, on December 4th, we will match all donations made to Feeding America through this link, up to $25,000.

As we sit down at tables overflowing with food to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I’m reminded that the struggle to put food on the table is part of everyday life for so many families.

The number of people living in food-insecure households in the United States in 2023 increased to 47 million, including nearly 14 million children, according to the report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is a significant increase over the previous year and it is the highest rate and number of individuals and children since 2014.

A gift of $10 will feed a family for more than three weeks. How many families could we feed if we work together to donate what we can? For every dollar donated through Feeding America 10 meals are provided – TEN meals, my friends, that is no small thing.

We are all in the presence of hunger, seen or unseen, and even a dollar or two can make a difference. If we hit our goal of $50,000, together we will provide 500,000 meals!

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How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream

Whipped cream that doesn’t weep or melt after it has set for a while is mostly likely stabilized whipped cream. It sounds a little fancy, but it is super easy to make!

Have you ever bit into a cupcake from a bakery with perfectly piped frosting expecting buttercream only to find that it’s whipped cream? How does it hold that perfect shape? Let’s learn How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream!

I use this stabilized cream to top pies, cupcakes, cakes and cheesecakes. I love it because it’s not overly sweet and is light and airy, and it will hold it’s shape for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

The secret to making it stabilized is gelatin. It doesn’t taste like anything so it doesn’t affect the flavor at all but will add structure and make the whipped cream more stable so it won’t deflate.

We will walk through the steps of how to do it and then you’ll be ready for all the holiday baking!

What Ingredients Do I Need for Stabilized Whipped Cream?

You only need 5 ingredients for this recipe! Jump down to the recipe card for the exact measurements.

• Water (should I count that as an ingredient??)
• Gelatin (unflavored) – usually found on the top shelf by the Jello
• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Powdered Sugar – also called confectioner’s sugar
• Vanilla Extract

How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream

I promised earlier that this was super easy, so here is how to do it…

• Add water to a microwave-safe bowl and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin powder evenly over the top. Allow to sit for a few minutes to let it bloom. It will look like the first picture below.

• Transfer the gelatin mixture to the microwave and microwave until the gelatin is fully dissolved (this can also be done on the stove top in a sauce pan). This will be super quick, like 5-7 seconds. Stir the mixture, then set aside to cool.

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (an electric mixer will also work), combine the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and whip on medium high speed until the mixture starts to thicken and soft peaks form. A soft peak is when you pull the beaters out and the cream holds its shape for a couple of seconds but then falls.
• Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly pour in the gelatin mixture until well combined, increasing the mixer to medium speed and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks are when you pull the beaters out and the cream holds its shape indefinitely.
• Place the whipped cream into a piping bag with your favorite tip. Pipe onto your dessert and refrigerate until ready to serve.