My sister taught me this little secret years ago, back when our kids were small and the days felt too short to fuss with chopping and simmering. She called it her “no-work Sunday supper” – just four humble ingredients layered in a pan and baked until it comes out bubbling, hearty, and smelling like you spent all afternoon in the kitchen. This oven baked 4-ingredient beef enchilada casserole isn’t authentic to any region of Mexico, but it’s very true to Midwestern farm kitchens: practical, filling, and meant to feed a hungry crowd with almost no prep work at all. You open a few packages, brown some meat, and let the oven do the rest.

I like to scoop this casserole into shallow bowls so all those layers of tortillas, saucy beef, and melted cheddar stay nestled together. It’s plenty filling on its own, but it plays nicely with simple sides: a crisp green salad with ranch dressing, a bowl of corn or green beans, or even some buttered canned corn if that’s what you have. Put out sour cream, jarred salsa, and a few sliced green onions if you want to dress it up a bit, and serve with tall glasses of iced tea or cold milk, just like we did on the farm after evening chores.

Servings: 6

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish; a white dish looks especially pretty with the red sauce and golden cheese.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and break it up with a spoon as it cooks. Cook until the beef is no longer pink and any liquid has mostly cooked off, about 7–10 minutes.

Season the cooked beef with the salt if using, then pour in the enchilada sauce. Stir well so all the meat is coated and the mixture is evenly saucy. Turn off the heat and let it sit while you get the tortillas and cheese ready.

Lay 5–6 corn tortillas in the bottom of the prepared baking dish, tearing a few if needed so you have a fairly even layer covering most of the surface.

Spoon half of the beef and sauce mixture over the tortillas, spreading it out to the edges. Sprinkle with about half of the shredded cheddar cheese, making a generous, even layer.

Add a second layer of corn tortillas over the cheese, again tearing as needed to mostly cover the surface. Top with the remaining beef and sauce mixture, spreading it evenly. Finish with the rest of the shredded cheddar cheese, covering the top well so it melts into a bubbly, golden blanket.

Cover the baking dish loosely with foil, tenting it slightly so it doesn’t stick to the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 10–15 minutes, or until the casserole is hot all the way through and the cheese on top is melted and starting to brown around the edges.

Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. This helps the layers set up so you can scoop out nice portions instead of everything sliding apart.

Serve warm, scooping down through all the layers so each serving has tortillas, saucy beef, and plenty of melted cheddar. Leftovers reheat well in the oven or microwave for easy meals later in the week.

This casserole is meant to be a no-prep, four-ingredient wonder, so I like to keep it simple. If you want to stretch it without adding much work, you can stir a drained can of black beans or corn into the beef and sauce before layering. For a little extra comfort, swap half the cheddar for Monterey Jack or Colby Jack, which melt very smoothly. If your family prefers a bit of heat, use medium or hot enchilada sauce and sharp cheddar; for a milder crowd, stick to mild sauce and a mild cheddar. You can also build this in smaller baking dishes to freeze in portions: assemble, cover tightly, and freeze unbaked, then thaw in the fridge and bake as directed, adding 10–15 minutes as needed. If corn tortillas aren’t your favorite, flour tortillas will work in a pinch, though they turn softer and more like a layered bake than a traditional enchilada; just keep the same simple four-ingredient idea so it stays true to the spirit of the recipe my sister passed down.