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Today I am sharing How to Make Enchilada Sauce at home. It is so easy and you control the ingredients in the sauce. It is perfect for enchiladas, soups, adding to tacos and more. You can have this delicious sauce ready for your enchiladas in under 5 minutes!
I am excited about today’s post for so many reasons. This easy enchilada sauce recipe is one I make time and time again.
Today I am going to show you How to Make Enchilada Sauce at home. It is hands down my favorite enchilada sauce that I have tried. And it is homemade. Forget the canned stuff.
You control the ingredients, the spice and know exactly what is going into it. It is the recipe my sister has been using for years now to make her own red enchilada sauce recipe.
Whenever she makes enchiladas for us I can’t stop talking about the enchilada sauce and how much I love it.
You put all of the ingredients in a blender, push the button and watch that enchilada sauce come to life. It is ready in under 5 minutes and perfect for your favorite enchilada recipe.
If you want the flavors to develop a bit more you can simmer the sauce after you blend it for 15-20 minutes. The nice thing is this sauce tastes wonderful even if you don’t simmer it.
It is perfect in this One Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta, Chicken Enchilada Sliders and these Beef Enchiladas.
Recipe Ingredients
You will love this easy recipe and the simple ingredients it uses for the marinade ingredients. It is one of my favorite recipes!
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil if you can.
- Spices: The spice mixture is the best part of the enchilada sauce. This recipe uses chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne red pepper. I use 1/4 cup of chili powder because mine is mild. If your chili powder is spicy you can start with 2 tablespoons and adjust from there.
- Tomato Sauce: The tomato sauce helps flavor the enchilada sauce and balance the spices.
- Broth: You can use chicken broth, vegetable broth or just water for the sauce. I suggest low-sodium broth to control the salt.
- Flour: The flour is added to help thicken the sauce a bit.
How to Make Enchilada Sauce
This enchilada sauce is so easy to make, uses simple pantry ingredients and a great addition to mexican food. You can have it done in under 5 minutes.
Step 1: Add Ingredients to Blender: Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Step 2: Pour into Mason Jar: Pour into a mason jar with an airtight lid and refrigerate until ready to use.
You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze it in an airtight container. This works so well on enchilada recipes or in soups.
Pro-Tip: You can easily make a double batch of this recipe if you are making a lot of enchiladas or want to use it for multiple recipes.
Recipe Tips
- Thicken: If you want to thicken your enchilada sauce try adding tomato paste to this homemade sauce.
- Thin: When you make your sauce if you think it is too thick you can thin it out with beef broth, chicken broth, chicken stock or vegetable broth.
- Spices: Other spices that are nice in this enchilada sauce is adding a small amount of garlic powder, chipotle powder for smoky flavor or crushed red pepper for heat. All of these will help make a flavorful enchilada sauce.
- Garlic: I used garlic powder but if you have fresh garlic that is even better.
- Spice: If you want a spicy sauce you can use a more intense chili powder, chili peppers, jalapeños, mexican oregano which is spicier than the normal oregano, cayenne red pepper or crushed red pepper. If you want a less spicy sauce you can use a mild chili powder.
- Gluten-Free: For a gluten-free sauce use a gluten-free flour blend or skip the flour. It just helps thicken it.
Pro-Tip: If you have spicy chili powder start with 2 Tablespoons and go from there. Mine is pretty mild so a 1/4 cup isn’t too spicy.
Storage Tip
You will want to store this enchilada sauce in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
Ways to Use this Enchilada Sauce
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How to Make Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth (or you can use water)
- 1/4 cup chili powder , if you have spicy chili powder start with 2 Tablespoons and go from there. Mine is pretty mild so a 1/4 cup isn't too spicy.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper, optional for spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a mason jar with an airtight lid and refrigerate until ready to use.
- You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to five says or freeze it in an airtight container.
Notes
- If you want to develop the flavors a bit more I suggest you blend the sauce and then transfer it to a pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes. But I will say I use it out of the blender usually and love the flavor!.
- If you have spicy chili powder start with 2 Tablespoons and go from there. Mine is pretty mild so a 1/4 cup isn’t too spicy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Please add the size of can for tomato sauce.
Sorry 1 -15 ounce can of tomato sauce (or 16 ounce if that is all you can find).
Why do you add flour ?
Flour is added to enchilada sauce to thicken it and create a smoother, more appealing texture but you can leave it out if you don’t want to use it! It might be thinner.
Way better than store purchased options
I like tacos, they can be made with anything, really
Confiding in Julia’s’ proposals and truly requiring a cutting edge blender, I could without much of a stretch make my Sour Cream chicken enchiladas or my Verde Enchiladas, That would an awesome begin to 2016!
I made this sauce to use it in pasta enchiladas . The best part of this recipe is it is low in sodium compared to the store bought enchilada sauce and it uses ingredients I keep on hand in my pantry .
Thanks for letting me know that you liked it! And yes! So much less sodium which is great for those that need to watch the sodium in their diets!
My favorite Mexican dish is pork carnitas tacos
quesadillas
My Favorite Mexican Dish Is Pork Carnitas!