Say what?!
Yes, beef and pineapple. A little savory, a little sweet, and a little spicy. Those three things are all you need to make something seriously WOW-worthy.
These super simple enchiladas are stuffed full of beef, black beans, pineapple, and jalapeños, which makes for a completely mouth watering flavor combination. Even though the filling was already like “POW”, I topped them off with my famous homemade enchilada sauce just for kicks. The filling is SO good, in fact, that I can imagine just spooning it over a bed of rice (a great gluten option), or stuffing it into some flour tortillas to make burritos. Basically, I want to eat this beef and pineapple filling every day, whether it’s in enchilada form or not. It’s that good.
Beef & Pineapple Enchiladas
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Beef & Pineapple Enchiladas
Servings 4 (3 enchiladas each)Ingredients
FOR THE ENCHILADAS
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.05)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 jalapeño (optional) ($0.10)
- 1/2 lb. lean ground beef ($2.38)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($1.19)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder* ($0.08)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 15oz. can pineapple chunks ($0.55)
- 2 green onions ($0.20)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro (optional) ($0.20)
- 12 6-inch corn tortillas ($0.72)
FOR THE SAUCE
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder* ($0.30)
- 2 cups water ( $0.00)
- 1/2 6 oz. can tomato paste ($0.27)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, optional ($0.03)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
Instructions
- Slice the jalapeño lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut off the stem and dice the remaining parts of the pepper. Mince the garlic. Sauté the jalapeño and garlic with cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat for one to two minutes, or until the garlic is soft.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet and continue to sauté until it is fully browned. Drain and rinse the black beans, then add them to the skillet along with the chili powder and salt. Stir to combine and heat through.
- Drain the pineapple chunks, then roughly chop them into smaller pieces (save the remaining half of the can for another use). Slice the green onions. Pull the cilantro leaves from the stems and give them a rough chop. Turn the heat under the skillet off, then stir in the pineapple, green onions, and cilantro.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To make the enchilada sauce, combine the vegetable oil, flour, and chili powder in a medium pot. Turn the heat on to medium and whisk the ingredients together. Once the mixture begins to bubble, continue to whisk and cook for one minute. Add the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne, cocoa, and salt. Whisk to combine and allow the mixture to come up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken. Turn the heat off.
- To make the enchiladas, warm the tortillas in the microwave, 4-6 at a time, covered with a damp paper towel. Fill each tortilla with about 3 tablespoons of the beef mixture, then roll it up. Place the filled and rolled enchiladas in a casserole dish, seam side down. Repeat until all of the filling is used (makes about 12 6-inch enchiladas, or 8 8-inch enchiladas).
- Pour the sauce over top and bake in the preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the tortillas are crispy and the sauce is bubbling.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
Start by removing the seeds from one jalapeño and then dicing it. Mince two cloves of garlic. Sauté both with 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat for about one or two minutes (until the garlic has softened).
Next, add 1/2 lb. of lean ground beef and continue to sauté until it is fully browned (if you are using a higher fat beef, you’ll want to drain it after it is brown).
Rinse and drain one 15-ounce can of black beans, then add them to the skillet along with 1/2 Tbsp chili powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir to combine and heat through.
Take note: “chili” powder”is different than red “chile” powder, which is usually very spicy. Chili powder is a mild blend of spices usually used to season chili.
Drain one 15-ounce can of pineapple chunks, then roughly chop about half of them. Add the chopped pineapple chunks to the skillet along with two sliced green onions and about 1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro (roughly chopped). What can you do with the leftover pineapple? Eat it as a snack or add it to some smoothies… OR if you want really pineapple-licious enchiladas, use the whole can.
Stir it all together and now you have the most magical, delicious enchilada (or burrito) filling! I seriously stood there and just ate it out of the skillet. Adding this over a bowl of rice would be the really easy way to go, but I kept on with my enchilada mission.
To make the enchilada sauce, add 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, and 2 Tbsp chili powder to a sauce pot. Whisk it together, then turn the heat on to medium, and let it start bubbling. Once it begins to bubble, keep whisking and cooking for about one minute more. (If you’re good at multi-tasking, you can do this while you cook the filling and save some time.)
Then whisk in 2 cups of water, 1/2 of a 6-ounce can of tomato paste, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne (depending on how spicy you want it), 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 tsp salt. Whisk it all together, then let it come up to a simmer over medium heat, at which point it will begin to thicken. Once it has thickened, turn the heat off.
Preheat the oven to 375. Add a little sauce to the bottom of a casserole dish or coat it with non-stick spray. Warm the tortillas in the microwave to make them more pliable (stack 4-6 at a time, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave for 30 seconds). Fill each tortilla with about 3 Tbsp of the beef mixture, then roll it on up.
Place the filled and rolled tortillas in a casserole dish, seam side down. I probably should have used a 9×13 dish as I could barely fit all 12 into this 9×9 dish! Pour some of the sauce on top (you might not use it all, add it to your liking) and bake for 30 minutes.
And then you have THIS! YUMMM.
They’re so good, I can’t even…
Ohhh yeahhhh.
I liked it. I added a dash of brown sugar an used fresh pineapple. I think I’ll try taco seasoning or fajita seasoning for even more flavor. I added Monterey Jack cheese on the top.
I haven’t even eaten them yet since they are still in the oven. But after snitching a bite of the enchilada mixture and taste testing the sauce, I can already tell it’s a home run dish! So many of the recipes here on budgetbytes sound so interesting and so good I can’t wait to try more. So glade I came upon this site!
Made this as an enchilada casserole because I’m lazy and get super frustrated rolling enchiladas, even though I love them. Ended up wonderful!! I just put down a layer of tortillas, dumped the filling on top, poured half the sauce on the filling, put another layer of tortillas down, and poured the rest of the sauce on top. Also put a handful of shredded cheese on top. Will definitely be making this one again!
This one was a meh for me, but most of it was my fault. You should definitely use fresh pineapple, the canned tidbits I got from Aldi were pale and flavorless. I also used dry cilantro since we’re limiting grocery trips for obvious reasons. I had to add a lot of extra salt, but still ate 5 in one sitting lol. I will try again next time I have a fresh pineapple!
Okay, I made this again with fresh pineapple (about 9 oz) and left more fat in the ground beef for flavor. It was 10x better.
Just an FYI, when you increase the servings, the amount of black beans needed goes up as follows:
5 servings 143.75 oz
6 servings 172.5 oz
7 servings 201.25 oz
etc etc
Probably just a spacing issue in that line, but I thought you all might want to know.
This is one of my absolute favorite recipes! I’ve made this at least 10 times and it has become a regular dish in my rotation. I also will sometimes use store-bought enchilada sauce for speed, or to accommodate a gluten-free guest. Good with and without cheese on top.
Could I use flour tortillas for this?
Yes, you can. :)
Good recipe, but have a tub of sour creme and a bunch of lime wedges at the ready when you serve the dish. I added way more salt and spices than the recipe called for, but it was still slightly bland tasting. After putting the enchilada on my plate, I added some heavy dollops of sour creme on top of each enchilada, along with a generous amount of lime juice, then sprinkled salt on top. SO GOOD. Without those additions the recipe would just be too dry for my tastes.
Thank you for the recipe! The flavor was amazing, but my corn tortillas were very mushy when I took it out of the oven. It slopped onto my plate. I ended up eating it with tortilla chips like nachos! Can anyone give me a tip on how to make sure my tortillas don’t turn to mush next time?
Try toasting them in a dry skillet first until they’re slightly browned on each side. That might help. And make sure that pineapple is very well drained (try to squeeze it a bit with the lid of the can).
I made these this week for my husband and I and we both loved them. He’s very picky, so it’s really hard to find recipes he likes. This one will be going in the keeper file for sure! I used the jalapeño and the cocoa powder, but did not use the cilantro.
My corn tortillas (for me, this used 15 6-inch corn tortillas) got pretty cracked and were sorta falling apart once I got everything in the pan, so it was not a beautiful dish once it was scooped out onto the plate. But that doesn’t matter a bit, to me (and is only a testament to my own poor tortilla-rolling skills, anyway). They were delicious!
Thank you so much for this recipe. My husband is a big salty & sweet kind of guy, so I was excited to spot this recipe. I’ve somehow never made enchiladas before, despite being one of my favorite foods! I made these exactly as the directions mentioned. So, so good!
Just had this for dinner tonight and it was awesome! Thanks, Beth!
Would using fresh pineapple negatively effect this recipe?
Fresh pineapple would work just fine and probably be even more delicious. :)
This was delicious, even though my corn tortillas fell apart and I skipped the jalapenos (due to a spice-averse daughter). It was so delicious, and it didn’t even have cheese! So far all your recipes have been a hit with my family, which doesn’t happen often.
Out of curiosity, is it possible to make a double batch and freeze half of it for later? Would I freeze it before or after baking?
To freeze this one, I’d cook the filling as instructed, then fill the enchiladas. Cover the dish and freeze it without the sauce. When you’re ready to make them, whip up the sauce real quick (it only takes about 10 minutes), pour it over the enchiladas, and bake. The baking time may increase a little since they’re going in frozen instead of already warm.
Hi Beth. I love your site so much and so many of your recipes are staples in my house, including this one! I am wondering, if I want to make more of the sauce is it safe to just double the amounts, or better to make two batches? I know sauces can be finicky sometimes so I thought I’d get your opinion! Thanks for all the yummy recipes!!
Yep, you can definitely just double the quantities and use the same technique for that sauce. :)
I made this last night and though it’d be good but maybe not GREAT. Well, I was wrong. It was awesome! I even made an extra batch of the enchilada sauce to use on whatever I can find for the rest of the week.
These were amazing. We were very unsure of the pineapple combo (sweet, salt, heat) but it was GREAT. Only issue was not enough sauce as we had leftovers and took to lunch and during micro reheat, some sauce was cooked out. Next time more sauce. But a def repeat. Even the picky eaters liked them!
This was delicious and I will make it again! (and again!) I didn’t have any beef so I made it vegetarian by eliminating the beef and using the entire can of pineapple. I also added cheese because…you have to have cheese!
The enchilada sauce was to die for! This is a keeper if just for the enchilada sauce!
I am going to make this in a few days as I have most of the ingredients on hand. HOWEVER, I don’t have corn tortillas, but I have tortilla chips. I am considering making a layered enchilda-type casserole in my crockpot, using the (lime flavored) tortilla chips in between layers of filling. Other changes I am making is using “multipurpose shredded beef” that I have in the freezer, and canned enchilada sauce. If anyone reading this has any tips for me doing it as a tortilla chip casserole, I’d like them ;p. I’ll update with how it goes.
That sounds SO delicious!!
I am returned from making this twice! I ended up using freezer beans and having to use half a can of pineapple and half a 1lb of beef, so I had the ingredients in my freezer for an emergency batch. The enchiladas are amazing, but my personal opinion about spooning it over rice (my first preparation, running low on time) is that the filling alone was quite dry on rice, so my rec would be to either make the whole enchilada (hah!) or at least put some sauce with the filling over rice. I love this recipe though, smell and flavor of sweet, sweet beefiness but like 50% beans!
I made this tonight and figured that my family would love it or hate it– they *loved* it! I was surprised. I did put a small amount of anaheim pepper instead of jalapeno. And I took a fresh ear of corn, blanched it for a few minutes, and then cut the corn off the ear and added that to the black beans.
SO tasty! Thanks! LOVE, LOVE your website. LOVE!
Yo. Yo. Yoooooooooooo. This. Is. Divine!!!! First, let me say I’m not big on pineapple, but the boyfriend is. So I figured I’d give it a shot. So glad I did.
I’ve been making an enchilada sauce close to Gina’s from Skinnytaste for years. It’s good and beats stuff from a can. I use cocoa powder in my chili so I don’t know why I never thought to throw it in my enchilada sauce, but, wow.
To be fair, I changed only a couple minute things. I added a chopped habañero to the filling along with the jalapeño, because that’s how we roll around here. I also used my own homemade chili powder. I live across from a cheap Latin market. All sorts of dried chili peppers. I seed a bunch, roast them with cumin and coriander seeds for a few minutes. Cool, and grind in a coffee grinder. I add some garlic and onion powder. I end up with a pint Ball jar full, and it tastes way better and is at least a quarter the cost of store-bought.
I also made it into a layered lasagna-like thing because I was far too lazy tonight to roll individual enchiladas.
8×8 pan. Spray with cooking spray. Put some sauce on bottom. Put 4 corn tortillas overlapping. Spread half the filling. 4 more tortillas. Some more sauce. Other half of filling. Last 4 tortillas. Top with more enchilada sauce. Throw maybe a little shredded cheese on top if you have it. 375 for half hour.
It doesn’t look pretty, but you bet your arse I’ll be making it again!!!! It’s a great portion size, too. I’m a bigger girl and it was plenty filling. I could easily see myself digging this out for breakfast tomorrow!
I added rice too, and they were awesome. Anything with pineapple is always amazing!
I made this tonight and it was a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe. I swapped ground pork for the beef and added some shredded cheese because my family loves cheese.
This recipe was fantastic. I doubled the filling and used the extra to make freezer burritos. I added cilantro lime brown rice, cheese, and a little enchilada sauce to the burritos. Both the enchiladas and the burritos were delicious! Thanks for this recipe.
These are phenomenal! Just made them tonight. You are the best, Beth!
These look great; I’ll have to try them out. I just made your sweet potato & chorizo enchiladas and they were AMAZING.
Wow. These look sooo good. But cocoa powder in enchilada sauce? I’ll trust you and try it :) Do you think it would be possible to substitute tempeh or similar for the beef?
Also just wanted to say how much I love your site. I stumbled across it about a month ago and have already tried four of your recipes. They all turned out remarkably well and were so easy to make. Thank you!
The cocoa powder adds a nice earthy flavor. That’s what makes mole sauce so awesome! :D But, if you’re unsure you can skip it and it will still be an awesome sauce. I’ve never cooked with tempeh, but I think people do use it in place of ground beef a lot, so it would probably work. :)
Just trust her, Lisa. Her enchilada sauce is to die for. :)
You’re right! Tried the sauce tonight and – yum. Cocoa powder – I’m learning something new every day here :)
Yeah, definitely don’t skip the cocoa powder. It adds a great depth of flavor and smoothness the sauce.
Chocolate shows up in mole type sauces and is used often in Mexican cooking–this particular sauce is delicious! And for substitution, you can buy soy based crumbles in your supermarket’s frozen food section that look just like ground beef. My daughter is vegetarian and we often put those in chili, spagetti sauce, or casseroles when she is here and my carnivorous grandchildren don’t know they aren’t eating ground beef. I personally can’t tell the difference once they are included in a flavorful sauce. A also think these enchiladas would be delicious with shredded chicken!