Easy Beef Birria Enchiladas
Delicious & cheesy beef birria made in the Instant Pot and turned into enchiladas- what could be better?
Servings: 12 enchiladas
Calories: 230kcal
Cost: $20
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker ie: Instant Pot -- Can also use slow cooker, see recipe notes for instructions
Ingredients
- 3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo - see notes if you don't like spice
- 1 large white onion - divided
- 4-5 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon guajillo chili powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder (regular)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2-3 pound Bottom Round Roast - or sirloin, arm, or chuck roast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 8 ounce Oaxaca Mozzarella - or regular part-skim mozzarella
- 2 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 12 low-carb tortillas - 6-inch, fajita size
Instructions
- Into a blender, add the chipotle peppers in adobo, half of the white onion (roughly chopped), garlic cloves, lime juice, chile powders, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and beef broth. Blend for 10 seconds.3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo, 1 large white onion, 4-5 cloves fresh garlic, 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon guajillo chili powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder (regular), 1 teaspoon cumin, 2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoon lime juice, 2 cups beef broth
- Plug in the Instant Pot and press the saute button. As it heats, trim any visible fat off your beef roast & cut it into 4 smaller pieces for even cooking. When the pot is hot, add some olive oil and the beef. Brown each side for 5-8 minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot when finished.2-3 pound Bottom Round Roast, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Pour the birria sauce into the Instant Pot over the meat. Put the lid on the pot and close the sealing valve. Press "Pressure Cook" and set the timer for 20 minutes per pound of roast (40-60 min for 2 to 3 lbs). When the timer goes off, allow the meat to natural release for 10-15 minutes before removing the lid.
- While the meat is cooking, prep the enchilada ingredients. Dice the other half of the white onion, chop the cilantro, and shred the block of mozzarella.1 bunch cilantro, 8 ounce Oaxaca Mozzarella, 1 large white onion
- After the meat is done cooking, release the pressure and remove the lid from the pot. Take out the beef pieces and place them on a cutting board. Use two forks to shred them.
- Add arrowroot powder to a small bowl. Use a ladle to scoop some of the sauce from the Instant Pot into the bowl. Whisk to combine, then pour the arrowroot mixture into the pot. Whisk the whole pot for sauce until thoroughly combined and sauce starts to thicken. Add the shredded beef back to the sauce.2 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop some sauce from the pot into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and spread it out to evenly coat. Grab a tortilla and fill it with some of the saucy meat and a pinch of shredded mozzarella (save half of the mozzarella for topping). If you wish, you can also add some cilantro and onion to each enchilada. Wrap up the enchilada and place it seal-side down in the baking dish. Work your way through all the tortillas until your pan is filled in a single layer. I usually get 8 enchiladas in one long line, and then a 2x2 block of enchiladas on the open side, for a total of 12 enchiladas.12 low-carb tortillas
- Spread the second half of the mozzarella on top of the enchiladas. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is sufficiently melty.
- Top with diced fresh onion and chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream if desired. These enchiladas are ready to serve!
Video
Notes
This sauce gets its spice from the chipotle peppers in adobo and guajillo chile powder. Chipotle peppers and guajillo chiles are considered "medium" heat, but if you're sensitive to spice it may feel hot. To make a milder sauce, reduce the chipotle peppers to only 2 peppers, and you can cut the guajillo chili powder in half, or eliminate it and replace its quantity with more ancho chili powder. Ancho chiles are milder.
See also my Quick Birria Sauce recipe which is designed to be milder.
To make this dish in the slow cooker instead, simply place the meat and sauce in your crock pot in the morning and cook on low for 8 hours.
Nutrition
Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 517mg | Potassium: 342mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 2mg