These cheesy venison enchiladas are easy to make and have the perfect red enchilada sauce that goes great with wild game.
If I’m out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, I’m probably getting enchiladas. Like 8/10 chance. 100% chance of guac. But, I’m so glad I have a venison enchiladas recipe to make at home, because boy do I get a craving for them once in a while!
One things that’s hard about living in a small town is the lack of restaurants. We have some gems but the one thing that we’re missing is a really good Mexican restaurant. And GOSH do we need one because Mexican food is like our favorite kind of food.
Seriously, Jared and I could eat Mexican food all of the time. So, since we can’t get it out, I make it all of the time at home. We make these enchiladas and these burrito bowls ALL of the time.
I do love it because it’s easy to make it healthier, but sometimes I can only do so many lettuce taco wraps (try the Barboca meat from my cookbook!) and chicken fajita bowls. Sometimes, you just need a real deal enchilada.
How do you make enchiladas with venison?
It’s so easy to make enchiladas with venison. You just need some ground deer meat (elk, bear, antelope, moose work, too!) and all of the regular enchilada suspects – tortillas, cheese, spices, beans and enchilada sauce.
The real kicker here is the homemade enchilada sauce. Of course, you can use canned, red enchilada sauce, but I’d really encourage you to take the extra 5 minutes and make your own! It’s SO easy and mega flavorful.
Once you cook up the enchilada filling, you just spoon rap, roll, and go! I love the extra acid this recipe uses (which is one of my favorite wild game tips – get the rest of my tips for free here).
It bakes up so golden, delicious and bubbly. I like mine with a serious dollop of sour cream and some cilantro.
*pro tip – make a double batch and freeze one, it works like a charm and is a real lifesaver!
Need more venison recipes? Go checkout my cookbook!
PrintVenison Enchiladas
These cheesy venison enchiladas are easy to make and have the perfect red enchilada sauce that goes great with wild game.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 enchiladas 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican American
Ingredients
For the enchilada sauce (you can do storebought, you’ll need 2 cups of sauce):
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 15 oz (or 2 cups) tomato sauce
For the enchiladas:
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 lb. ground venison (or elk, moose, antelope, bear, etc)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 (15 oz) can beans (black, pinto, or kidney)
- 1 cup enchilada sauce + 1 cup enchilada sauce for the top
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese + 1 cup pepper jack cheese for the top
- 8 tortillas, I like flour or brown rice tortillas, I haven’t made this with corn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Start by making the enchilada sauce. In a small saucepan, add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and cook in the oil for 2 minutes to release the flavor. Then, add the tomato paste and tomato sauce and mix well. Let the sauce simmer covered on low heat while you make the filling.
- To make the enchiladas heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and saute for 4-5 minutes before adding the meat. Brown the meat, this takes about 7-8 minutes.
- Then, add the garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper to the meat mixture and cook for 2 minutes before stirring in the beans, 1 cup of the enchilada sauce, and 1 cup of the cheese. Mix well and remove from the heat.
- Then, get out a large casserole dish (I use an 11×7, but any large dish will work) and lay 1 tortilla in the dish. Spoon about a 1/4 cup portion of filling in a line on the tortilla and wrap the tortilla around the filling, making an open-ended burrito. Do this with the 8 remaining tortillas, stacking them against each other, until they’re all filled.
- Top with the remaining sauce and cheese and cover the dish with foil. Bake for 20 minutes covered, and 10 minutes uncovered in the oven, or until the cheese is bubbly.
- Serve with any desired toppings & enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 enchilada
- Calories: 415
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 780 mg
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 41 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 24 g
- Cholesterol: 48 mg
I have made this several times for my kids and grandkids. It is a big winner.
Excited to try bear for the first time with this recipe! If you freeze, how far do you go through the instructions? Assemble and add sauce but add cheese and bake after thawing?
Yes, exactly! You can even add cheese and freeze if you really want, but adding it fresh is best. I’ll add this as a note!
Thank you! We made with bear meat last night. So delicious! I’ll have to try with the venison as well!
I made these today and it was delicious! Just now emailed this recipe to my daughter. Thank you for sharing, it’s a keeper for sure!
Made this last night for dinner. It was delicious, but I have to say the real kicker of the dish is the enchilada sauce. Dang, that’s good! So little effort to get that kind of flavor was amazing. I was afraid as the spices darkened that I’d lost my focus and burnt some, but evidently I hadn’t. As you can tell, it’s still on my mind.
Sorry, I lost my focus. 5 stars!
5 stars on your Venison Enchilada Recipe. We made it per the instructions and dinner was absolutely delicious. So glad we opted to make your homemade Enchilada sauce. It was worth it. The sauce was flavorful, as well as quick and easy to make. A dish we definitely plan to enjoy again!
My husband says these are the best enchiladas I’ve made. He eats them with jalapeno rice. Have made them several times!
Ahh yay! This sounds so perfect, Deb! I am so glad you have this recipe a try and you both are loving them!
Making these tonight! I assume you drain the can of beans before you add them? Can’t wait to try them! We loved the meatloaf recipe 🙂
Hi Ashley! Yes, you will want to drain the beans before adding them! Enjoy!
I can’t print any of your recipe’s or look at them because ads are popping up!! I really like them but there are so many ads that it makes it where I just leave your site because of them.
Hi Shannon – If you scroll to the recipe card or select “jump to recipe” and then select the “print recipe” on the recipe card. There won’t be any ad’s there. Hope that is helpful!
Wow. Just simply amazing. I don’t leave reviews unless it’s necessary to let other people know they HAVE to try this recipe. I made it exactly how the recipe calls. My husband said “I think these are the best enchiladas I have ever had”, and I have to agree with him. Thank you for a new staple in our home!
Another winner. These are delicious and not difficult to make. We love all of your recipes!