‘The Pioneer Woman’: Ree Drummond’s Simple Perfect Enchiladas Are a Total Crowd-Pleaser

Ree Drummond’s easy enchiladas are full of delicious flavor and simple enough to pull together. Find out how to make The Pioneer Woman star’s enchilada recipe, which she serves with a side of garlic cilantro lime rice.

Ree Drummond makes her ‘simple perfect enchiladas’

Drummond demonstrated how to make her simple perfect enchiladas on an episode of The Pioneer Woman. She explained the origin of the recipe as she got started on the sauce.

“My mom used to make these enchiladas and they originally came from my father’s mother’s husband’s sister’s husband, I think,” she said. “But he was actually from Mexico so he had all these great recipes. I think he was technically my great uncle — but it’s more fun to describe it the way I did.”

Drummond mixed canola oil and flour together in a skillet to make a paste, then poured in chicken broth. Once the mixture thickened, she added a can of enchilada sauce, salt, and pepper and whisked it together.

While the sauce simmered, she prepared the meat filling. In another skillet she sauteed diced onions in canola oil, then added ground beef and crumbled it as it cooked and browned. “This recipe only uses a pound of beef but it actually feeds quite a few people,” Drummond said. “You get about 14 enchiladas out of the deal.”

She admitted that, while the recipe is simple, there are some different elements to prepare. “These enchiladas actually have quite a few steps to them,” the Food Network star said. “They really are simple — each step is really easy but there are quite a few things to do.”

In another skillet, Drummond heated canola oil over medium-high heat and lightly fried corn tortillas. “The idea is just to moisten ‘em up,” she explained. “You don’t want to fry them until they’re crisp.” She cooked the tortillas for about 10 seconds and moved them to a paper towel-lined plate.

Ree Drummond’s enchiladas are easy to assemble

To assemble the enchiladas, Drummond put some of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. She dipped a tortilla in the sauce to coat it, placed it on a plate, and spooned on the meat mixture, diced black olives, sliced green onions, green chilies, and cheese. Then she rolled the tortilla and placed it seam-side down into the pan. She repeated the process with the remaining tortillas and fillings.

Drummond poured the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas, sprinkled the remaining cheese, green onions, chilies, and olives over the top. Then she baked the enchiladas in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes. She sprinkled cilantro over the top before serving.

The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.

‘The Pioneer Woman’ star served the enchiladas with a cilantro lime rice side dish

Drummond made an easy garlic cilantro lime rice to serve with the enchiladas. She heated oil in a skillet, added onions and garlic and cooked them for 3 to 4 minutes. She reduced the heat and added rice and salt, cooking the mixture for 3 minutes. Then she added lime zest, lime juice, and chicken broth and let it come to a boil. Drummond reduced the heat, covered the pot, and cooked the rice for 10 to 15 minutes.

“I love serving rice with any Mexican dish,” she explained. “Since the enchiladas have so many different flavors going on, I thought the lime and the cilantro would go really well with them.”

You can find the full recipe on the Food Network site.