“I Tried” Enchiladas and Rice

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Two meats, canned sauce, and zero apologies about either.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 25-30 minutes
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

For the meat:

• 1 pound ground beef
• Meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, pulled
• Taco seasoning (I use Budget Bytes’ recipe, it’s the only one I make anymore, credit to Beth for this one)
• Enchilada sauce, divided (see below)

For the enchiladas:

• 1 large can red enchilada sauce
• About 12 flour tortillas (corn works too, but flour holds up better and doesn’t fall apart on you)
• Mexican blend shredded cheese
• Black olives, optional

For serving:

• My Mexican-Inspired Fried Rice
• Lettuce, washed and chopped
• Roma tomatoes, chopped
• Fresh guacamole
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Brown the ground beef in one pan. In a separate pan, warm the pulled rotisserie chicken. Each meat gets its own pan, this keeps them from turning into one mixed filling and lets each stay distinct.
2. Season both meats with taco seasoning. Add a little enchilada sauce directly into each pan, this builds flavor into the meat itself instead of relying only on the sauce poured over the top later.
3. Pour a layer of red enchilada sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.
4. Build your enchiladas, rolling the beef and chicken separately. Layer them in the dish with chicken on one side and beef on the other, so anyone can grab whichever they want without playing filling roulette.
5. Top with the remaining enchilada sauce, then cover generously with shredded Mexican blend cheese. Add black olives on top if you’re using them.
6. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes so the cheese gets bubbly instead of just melted.
7. While that bakes, prep your rice, lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole.
8. To serve, layer in this order: rice on the bottom, enchiladas next, then lettuce and toppings over the top.

Notes:
This isn’t a from-scratch red sauce situation, and it doesn’t need to be. The canned sauce does the job, and nobody at your table is going to know or care that it came from a can instead of a Tuesday-long simmer.

Splitting the meats into their own pans and their own side of the dish is what actually elevates this from “dump everything in one pan” enchiladas to something that feels intentional, still easy, just built with a little more care.

Short on time? Skip building the layered plate and just serve the enchiladas straight from the baking dish with the rice and toppings on the side instead of stacked. Same flavors, less assembly, still looks like you tried.