If you’ve talked to me or if you are an avid reader of my blog, you know I use deer meat in everything. Yes, everything–from hamburger helper to meatloaf to soups. A few years ago I came up with this version of deer enchiladas.
It doesn’t have the traditional chili sauce topping, and I use flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas. It’s an absolute favorite at my house! My sons request them all the time. I think they’d eat them every day if I would fix it. They fill you up quickly and keeps you full for hours.
Feel free to print our recipe card:
Ingredients
- 2 lb of ground deer burger
- 8 flour tortillas, large
- 4 Tbsp. of chili powder
- 2 Tbsp. of ground cumin
- 4 Tbsp. of cornstarch
- 3 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper
- 4 tsp. of salt
- 8 oz pack of low-fat cream cheese
- 15.5 oz jar of chunky salsa
- 1 cup of Velveeta pasteurized prepared cheese product (cut into blocks)
- 1/4 cup of milk
Instructions
- Place the ground deer burger in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the burger as it fries. This should take about 7 minutes.
- Once it’s done, drain and excess fat and return it to low heat. Add the seasoning to the burger and stir well.
- Next, cut the cream cheese into small sections and add it to the skillet. Stir this often until it melts well and then add 10 oz of the salsa. Let this simmer on low heat for a few minutes.
- While that’s simmering, prepare the cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Measure out one cup of the cheese block and cut it into very small blocks.
- Place the cheese in a microwave-safe bowl with 1/4 cup of milk and heat one minute at a time until it melts well. Be sure to stir the cheese after every minute.
- Set the cheese aside for later and preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Next, it’s time to assemble the enchiladas. Use an 8″ x 11″ baking dish. Lay out a piece of wax paper, set a tortilla on it, and then add about 3.5 Tbsp. of the deer meat mixture into a tortilla. Spread the mixture close to the ends, but not all of the way.
- Roll the tortilla and place it in the dish with the seam facing downward. Continue this, setting them side by side in the dish until the mixture is gone. Sometimes you might need to rearrange them a little so you’ll have enough room in the dish.
- Take a fork and drizzle the melted cheese over the top of the enchiladas.
- Now, pour the remaining salsa on top of the cheese or wait until you take them out of the oven.
- Bake in the oven at 375° for about 7 minutes. You want the tortilla to be slightly crunchy and the cheese somewhat hardened.
Tasty Venison Enchiladas go great with a salad or fries. They make great leftovers too–that is if you have any leftovers.
The good, the bad and the delicious…
- Tasty Venison Enchiladas are high in protein, vitamin A, iron, and calcium.
- Unfortunately, they are very high in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium as well.
See tips below for making this a more diet-friendly recipe.
Tasty Venison Enchiladas Nutrition Facts
| Yields: 8 Enchiladas | Serving Size: 1 Enchilada |
| Calories 609 | Calories from fat: 53% |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 36 g | 55% |
| Saturated Fat 22 g | 109% |
| Monounsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 173 mg | 58% |
| Sodium 2616 mg | 109% |
| Potassium 533 mg | 15% |
| Total Carbohydrates 43 g | 14% |
| Dietary Fiber 4 g | 16% |
| Sugars 12 g | |
| Protein 39 g | 77% |
| Vitamin A 55% | Vitamin C 10% |
| Calcium 39% | Iron 30% |
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA, but were calculated by MyFitnessPal, Inc. by Under Armour, Inc.
To make this recipe more diet-friendly…
This recipe is really hard to change and make healthier without drastically changing the taste so maybe this meal will be best as a cheat day meal. As always, I do have some suggestions though.
- To help lower the cholesterol and fat you could use less fat in your ground venison burger. This recipe was calculated using 80/20 ground venison burger.
- To help lower the fat and cholesterol, even more, you can use a healthier low fat or fat-free cheese such as shredded cheese and not processed cheese. You could also use almond milk in place of the whole milk. This would cut down on fat, cholesterol, sodium, and calories.
- To help lower the sodium use a salt alternative for the added salt in the recipe or leave it out. You could also omit the Velveeta pasteurized prepared cheese product or make sure your enchilada doesn’t have much cheese on it or use healthier cheese. Also, make your own salsa or use a low sodium salsa.
- To help lower the calories you can do any of the above actions plus use a healthier tortilla, such as a corn tortilla.
- Whatever changes you make to your Tasty Venison Enchiladas, you can recalculate the nutrition facts at myfitnesspal.com
Bon Appétit
I’m totally making these this weekend. They look delish!
Thank you, Emmie. I hope you like them.
I’m from TX and now living in Buffalo, NY. I don’t get to hunt very often anymore. Mom always made enchiladas when I was growing up, but her recipe is entirely different than yours. It sounds good though and I’m planning to try it. I think my wife would enjoy your recipe better, but don’t tell mom. Your website has me homesick and hungry.
I’m sorry my website has made you homesick, but I’m glad it made you hungry. I won’t tell your mom! I hope you and your wife enjoy my recipe.