School is back in session around these parts and our search for quick and easy weeknight meals continues. Sure, we’ve got our favorite old standbys like my Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Pan Sauce and my 5 Ingredient Beef Enchiladas, but it’s always fun to throw something new and different in the mix, too.
So when I was making a batch of my Peach Dumplings not too long ago, I thought… “I wonder if there’s a way to make a savory version of this?”
If you’re not familiar with the Peach Dumplings, they’re fresh peaches wrapped in canned crescent roll dough that are then baked in a sugar syrup mixture made with lemon lime soda. They’re amazing! So, I figured there had to be a way to morph that basic idea into something more savory.
Thinking about those 5 Ingredient Beef Enchiladas is what was the catalyst for this recipe. They’re so easy, but so flavorful, I knew it would be a great way to start creating a new savory version of the Peach Dumplings.
So I made a meat mixture of ground sirloin and salsa and rolled it up in the crescent rolls with a little cheese. I then placed the roll-ups in a baking dish and topped them with enchilada sauce and more cheese and baked them. They turned out fantastically! The slight sweetness in the crescent rolls goes perfectly with the super savory and spicy (spice spicy, not hot spicy) enchilada flavors.
As with most of the ideas where I think I’ve found an amazing new recipe, I was sadly mistaken. I’m always a day late and a dollar short. ????♂️
There are a few other versions of this out there, but they all are a little different. Regardless, it doesn’t make these any less delicious.
A few tips for recipe success:
There are only a few ingredients in this recipe, so there are fewer places to get in flavor. With that in mind, be sure to pick your favorite flavorful salsa and enchilada sauce to make these even better. I find many of the canned enchilada sauces to be super bland. When I was working on the 5 Ingredient Enchiladas, I taste tested every canned sauce I could get my hands on and loved the Hatch brand best. It had the most flavor.
Crescent roll dough is easiest to work with when it’s cold, so I keep mine in the fridge until I’m ready to use it. Once it gets warm it stretches easily and can be harder to roll up.
This process is a bit messy when it comes to filling up and rolling up the crescents. Just don’t worry about it too much. Get as much of the filling to stay in there as you can and then sprinkle any extra meat mixture or any that fell out of your roll-ups right on top before you bake them.
These are great all by themselves, but I like to top them with some diced tomatoes, diced avocado, and even a little sour cream.
Recipe Card
Beef Enchilada Crescent Roll-Ups
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef (I use ground sirloin)
- 1/2 cup salsa
- salt
- pepper
- 1 (12-ounce) can refrigerated Pillsbury Grands! crescent rolls (8 count)
- 1 (8-ounce) package Mexican blend shredded cheese (2 cups)
- 1 (15-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (I use Hatch)
- toppings: sour cream, diced tomato, diced avocado, salsa, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat until cooked through. Drain away excess grease. Add the salsa to the meat in the skillet and cook on low for about 5 minutes or until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool slightly.
- Unroll the crescent rolls and place about 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture on the wide ends of each crescent. Add a generous pinch of cheese. Roll up each crescent and place it into the baking dish. It's a messy, imperfect process, so don't worry if some of the filling falls out.
- Pour the enchilada sauce over the crescents and top with the remaining cheese. Leftover meat mixture or filling that fell out when rolling can be sprinkled over the crescents as well.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the crescents are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly then serve with toppings of your choice.
Please note:
If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
I will stick to my own enchiladas with real homemade red chile.
Scratch recipes are always best because you can tailor them to your specific tastes. These shortcut recipes do sometimes sacrifice some things to make them super easy. And of course, this wasn’t ever created to replace traditional enchiladas. Sorry you didn’t enjoy this one more.
Love this, like so many other things I have tried from your website. Quick, easy and flavorful. I bought your cookbook too!
Thank you so much!
We loved this! But my husband (which is a meat man plus was a meat cutter in our grocery store) said use the whole 1-lb. which we had more meat around the crescent rolls but still delicious! He informed me that this was a keeper! I know I had to change it but that’s how he wanted it! Also, I was able to find Hatch at our local grocery store. Thanks for sharing your great recipes and the progress on your home and test kitchen.
So glad y’all enjoyed it, Ann!
No Hatch Enchilada Sauce near us; what be a good substitute or what to add to make it better? I was also, wondering if this could be reheated for another meal. Thanks for sharing your great ideas, and recipes! They are really appreciated as there are only two of us like only three of you so usually leftovers.
I’ve also used the La Preferida brand. Otherwise, I usually add a little salt, cumin, and smoked paprika to the more bland sauces.