How to Make Enchilada Sauce
Enchilada sauce is so easy to make! This red enchilada sauce recipe comes together in ten minutes. I've tried all the other recipes and this is the best!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 28, 2024
Iโve been working on my enchilada game lately, for both the cookbook and an upcoming enchilada recipe. There is an art to making great enchiladas, and the sauce is a key component.
I thought Iโd share my tested and perfected enchilada sauce recipe today, in case you want to try it on your favorite enchilada recipe. Itโs ready in under ten minutes, and I promise, itโs so tasty you wonโt want to go back to the store-bought kind again.
When I developed my go-to sauce (first seen on my spinach artichoke enchiladas), I tried at least five of the top sauce recipes on Google, all with different ingredients and techniques.
I tried making sauce with tomato sauce, which tasted too raw and was kind of goopy. I tried making sauce with blended diced tomatoes, and it had the same issues. I tried sauce without any tomato ingredients, and it didnโt taste quite like the enchilada sauce I grew up eating, or the sauce at my favorite Mexican restaurants. I tried sauces made without any thickener (like flour or cornstarch), and they pooled at the bottom and turned my enchiladas into a soupy, texture-less casserole.
Finally, after some experimentation and cross-referencing with Americaโs Test Kitchen, I landed on the perfect enchilada sauce. Vegetable broth forms the base of the sauce, but itโs only added after you make a simple roux of flour and oil. You need a full three tablespoons of each to properly thicken the sauce. I tried making this sauce with a gluten-free flour blend and that worked great as well.
The Best Enchilada Sauce
Four reasons to love this recipe:
- This sauce is full of authentic Mexican flavor. It comes from a combination of dried spices, which are sautรฉed in oil to bring out their best, and umami-rich tomato paste.
- The cinnamon is optional since some people just donโt like it in savory applications, but just a pinch adds some lovely warmth and complexity.
- The final kicker is a tiny splash of vinegar, which really amps up the flavor.
- Unlike canned enchiladas sauces, this homemade sauce is free of unnecessary processed ingredients and MSG (thatโs monosodium glutamate, which gives my mom migraines).
I love this sauce and Iโm confident you will, too, since itโs gotten rave reviews on my spinach artichoke enchiladas and veggie black bean enchiladas.
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! Your feedback keeps me going.
Watch How to Make Enchilada Sauce
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
This homemade red enchilada sauce has authentic Mexican flavor! Itโs so good and easy, youโll never go back to store-bought sauce again. You can even make a double batch and freeze half of it for later. Recipe as written below yields about 2 cups (16 ounces) sauce.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons flour (whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and gluten-free flour blends all work!)
- 1 tablespoon ground chili powder (scale back if youโre sensitive to spice or using particularly spicy chili powder)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- ยผ teaspoon dried oregano
- ยผ teaspoon salt, to taste
- Pinch of cinnamon (optional but recommended)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- This sauce comes together quickly once you get started, so measure the dry ingredients (the flour, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt and optional cinnamon) into a small bowl and place it near the stove. Place the tomato paste and broth near the stove as well.
- In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, warm the oil until itโs hot enough that a light sprinkle of the flour/spice mixture sizzles on contact. This might take a couple of minutes, so be patient and donโt step away from the stove!
- Once itโs ready, pour in the flour and spice mixture. While whisking constantly, cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Whisk the tomato paste into the mixture, then slowly pour in the broth while whisking constantly to remove any lumps.
- Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, whisking often, for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit and a spoon encounters some resistance as you stir it. (The sauce will thicken some more as it cools.)
- Remove from heat, then whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Add more salt, if necessary (I usually add another pinch or two). Go forth and make enchiladas!
Notes
Enchilada sauce recipe adapted from my spinach artichoke enchiladas.
Storage suggestions: Extra enchilada sauce will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or, freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it cool to room temperature before transferring to a wide-mouth mason jar, leaving some room at the top for expansion (donโt screw on the lid completely until the mixture is fully frozen), or a freezer bag (remove excess air before sealing).
Make it gluten free: Just use gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. I tried with Bobโs Red Mill brand and it worked great.
Make it tomato free: You can omit the tomato paste. You might want to up the spices a bit. The sauce wonโt taste quite like the enchilada sauce you might buy at the store, but it will still be good!
Change it up: The chili powder, cumin and garlic powder are essential here, but feel free to change up the other spices to suit your preferences.
If you love this sauce: Check out more of my Mexican recipes here!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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Yum, yum, yum and so quick to make. I am from Calif but live in England now & desperate for good Mexican food. I have to order everything online at a premium price. This is a really great enchilada sauce recipe. Thank you! I did use dried Ancho Chilli powder and the smoked paprika & dried coriander someone else mentioned in comments. So happy! Yum
I love this recipe! I have made it multiple times and my kids like it too. So much flavor!
Is it spicy at all? How does it taste compared to can sauce? I am very sensitive to any spicy food, like VERY sensitive and cannot have ANY spice until my mouth heals from radiation. I love enchiladas and use Old El Paso Red Enchiladasauce but it us now too spicy. Thank you so much.
Hi Vickie, the heat comes from the chili powder, so I would suggest scaling back if that is an issue.
The best sauce ever! I used ancho chile powder (less spicy) and halved the cumin bc I donโt like it too strong. Also better than bouillon chicken (instead of stock โ adds rich flavor). It was perfection
Your recipe for enchilada sauce is excellent. It is so much better than store bought. I will usually make a double batch use part of it immediately and freeze the rest for a couple weeks until needed.
I made this recipe today. It was fantastic I will never buy store made again. I did add add 2 tbs of jalapeรฑo juice and 1/4 tp cayenne pepper. The whole family LOVED the flavor. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Any thoughts on using chicken broth instead of vegetable broth? Iโm snowed in and have everything to make this except for veggie broth.
Hi Beth, yes that will work fine. You may want to adjust the salt to taste.
Cinnamon added a weird flavor and really ruined it. Kids and husband didnโt like it, and I didnโt like it either. It was tasting and smelling good before, then I added that pinch of cinnamon and the entire flavor profile went bad.
This was good, but something strange happened. I followed the recipe exactly using Bobโs Redmill one-to-one gluten-free flour. All went well and after simmering, I tasted and it was good, but after letting it cool, when getting ready to transfer it to a mason jar, there were numerous lumps and I had to whisk it vigorously to return it to a smooth sauce. Thoughts??
Hi Cheryl, I wouldnโt expect that. You might have good luck with cornstarch for a gluten free version.
This is my enchilada sauce from now on. Wanted some Tex-Mex this weekend and your recipe made it the best ever. NO MORE CANS!
Hi! Can I use beef broth instead of vegetable broth?
Hi Michelle, yes that will work fine. You may want to adjust the salt.
Yo, random thought: Feta cheese in the spinach artichoke enchiladas with the sauce. I just imagined feta when I reread the recipeโฆ Spinach, artichoke, feta, enchilada sauce. Mediterranean meets Tex-Mex.
Hi Aaron, what an interesting idea!
Best sauce in the world! Not exaggerating. Easy and sooo tasty. Iโve been making it for a year and never left a message. Thank you for creating it!
Iโm so glad I found this sauce! I like making things from scratch. Iโve made this 3 Xโs now and Iโll never go back to store bought! Thank you!!
Brilliant recipe and absolutely delicious. Really lovely depth of flavour and much much better than shop bought stuff. Thank you!