I’ve 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 I’d share my tested and perfected enchilada sauce recipe today, in case you want to try it on your favorite enchilada recipe. It’s ready in under ten minutes, and I promise, it’s so tasty you won’t 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 didn’t 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 America’s Test Kitchen, I landed on the perfect enchilada sauce. Vegetable broth forms the base of the sauce, but it’s 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 sautéed in oil to bring out their best, and umami-rich tomato paste.
- The cinnamon is optional since some people just don’t 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 (that’s monosodium glutamate, which gives my mom migraines).
I love this sauce and I’m confident you will, too, since it’s 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
- Author: Cookie and Kate
- Prep Time: 3 mins
- Cook Time: 7 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Cuisine: Mexican
This homemade red enchilada sauce has authentic Mexican flavor! It’s so good and easy, you’ll 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 you’re sensitive to spice or using particularly spicy chili powder)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ 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 it’s 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 don’t step away from the stove!
- Once it’s 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 (don’t 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 Bob’s 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 won’t 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 Information
Anthony Harris
Kate,
Thank you! Your Enchilada sauce is amazing and makes the dish. By far better than anything you can buy. Also, enough in the recipe for two batches and just as good to freeze for next time.
Many thanks
Anthony
Maria Lopez
This one was a miss for us. We thought it tasted like curry kinda. We made potato taquitos with this sauce drizzled on the top. With rice and beans. Maybe we missed something I don’t know..
Norah
Not bad girl not bad. I did use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth and I used half of a fresh tomato instead of a canned tomatoe paste. After I boiled the watery enchilada sauce it did thicken so MUCH!. THANK YOU
Deanna Short
This was amazing! Hubby told me to not lose this recipe. Well done!
Phil T.
Why are the comments talking about chicken stock? The recipe says vegetable broth. And that was my question, what kind of vegetable broth? And since other mention it, does chicken stock work as well?
Kate
Hi Phil, some have asked to use chicken broth/stalk instead, which works. Any type of vegetable broth in the store.
Ella
Because not all of us are vegetarians or vegans and we have chicken broth in our pantries. It’s all good Phil.
Lea T
We especially like Better than Bouillon seasoned vegetable base!
Deidre
I didn’t have veggie stock on hand but I had Imagine brand “no chicken” broth!
Ellen
I used chicken broth and it was wonderful, I never seem to have vegetable broth handy but I alway have chicken & beef broth
Jaishree
How do I make tomato sauce? Is orange juice optional? Do I necessarily need to use vegetable broth? Any quick ideas on substitutes or how to make it without too much fuss? Thanks. This looks great!
Kate
Hi Jaishree. I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you are asking? You can buy tomato sauce at the store (it’s canned) and there isn’t orange juice in this recipe?
RKG
Let me start off by saying, I have NEVER liked enchiladas because I was never a fan of the sauce, no matter what different variations I tried. I saw your recipe and thought ‘what the hek, I’ll give it a try’, especially because all the other recipes I’ve tried of yours are spot on. I am SO glad I did because it is absolutely DELICIOUS! I made black bean and butternut squash enchiladas with it – so So so good. Thank you so much for sharing, I finally LOVE enchiladas and use this recipe often (sometimes I add smoked paprika to it). I’m baffled by some of the negative comments because this sauce is so flavorful (I’m South East Asian and strong, aromatic, fragrant spices are essential to our dishes). If the flavor is ‘dull’ it’s probably most likely that your spices aren’t fresh anymore. If anyone is having doubts making this, I encourage you to go ahead and do it because I’m certain you’ll love it!
Anita
I love this enchilada sauce, its perfect. I made this recipe with homemade tortillas and black beans from scratch ( you don’t need to go that route!) but please use the sauce!
Susan B
This sauce turned out great! I did go a bit light on the chili powder but next I may kick it up a bit. It thickened up when I refrigerated it until I made my enchilada casserole, but I just added a dash of water to thin it. Perfect!
Madi
Thank you for this recipe. I have made it a half dozen times the past few months for different enchiladas recipes and everyone loves it
Sona
I made this now, it was awesome. Thank you.
Nandi
I love this recipe! Have you tried pressure canning it?
Kate
I’m not an expert there, sorry! I do know it freezes well, Nandi.
Reema
Simple and amazing.
michele
I have just made your enchilada sauce and it is delicious. Previously have always used the packet sauce which we get here in South Africa in the ‘Mexican’ meal kit. Am so pleased i found your receipe.
Michele – Durban, SA
Mary
Made enchiladas with this sauce for my husband and he deemed they were better than any restaurant. Now I make double batches.
kitty
Very easy, so delicious. Thank you.
Alexa
Just made this and WOW! Poured over chicken, sautéed garlic and onion, and cheddar cheese, that I’d rolled into corn tortillas…. So yummy. Flavor is so deep and complex. Boyfriend raved about it, I’ve been looking for easy, super tasty recipes to be able to make on the regular and this will definitely be one of those.
Christina Ralston
I love this recipe. Made several batches and froze them in ice cube trays. After set I placed them in air tight Lock N lock containers in the freezer. The reason for the multiple batches was because I raved on the recipe so much I had requests from close friends and family. They each received a batch and a recipe card. Thank you!!
Candy
Great tasting sauce. My enchilada were the best .Thanks for sharing
Michele
We absolutely LOVE this sauce!
Thank you so much for the recipe we made the black bean veggie enchiladas with the sauce earlier this week and I’m making them again tonight because we didn’t get enough. lol. Everyone asked for more. Big hit!
Kate
I’m happy to hear that, Michele!
Terri Jodi
This is a good start to enchilada sauce but it is nowhere near authentic!
Agalia Baker
I found this recipe because shopping for the canned stuff isn’t so easy anymore and man, I’m glad. This was so easy to make and was excellent! I didn’t make any changes. This is a keeper…printed off and in my fav folder.
Rebecca
What an amazing enchilada sauce recipe! It was my first time making it homemade and I’ll never buy the store bought again. The recipe was easy to follow. The flavor has a nice spicy kick but not too spicy at all. Hubby loved it too! Thank you so much for posting!
Deborah
Sounds yummy! Gonna try this recipe today. If happy with it, I will use it for my daughter’s “virtual” college grad party with family. Thank you!
Deborah
Sounds yummy! Gonna try this recipe today. If happy with it, I will use it for my daughter’s “virtual” college grad party with family. Thank you!
Do you have a recipe for green sauce?
Kate
Hi Deborah! Congratulations to your daughter. What an accomplishment! I don’t have a green sauce, yet. I have been playing around with the idea ever since last summer, but no recipe yet. I do use salsa verde in some of my enchilada recipes. It’s not the same, but could help you get some of what you are after!
Christy
At first my family was leery of this sauce because it is not bright red like the canned stuff.
Then they tasted it! They all wanted extra to drizzle over their rice.
I find myself looking to make enchiladas more just because of this recipe.
A fabulous sauce! Many thanks.
Destiney
I did a rendition of this recipe and it turned out great! Unfortunately I didn’t have any tomato paste, so I used 1 cup tomato soup in place of the tomato paste & reduced the broth to 1 cup to make up for the extra juice in the soup. It still turned out amazing! I bet if I had all the right ingredients it would’ve been even better(:
Kenzie
I made this tonight and it was amazing! I actually made it with your sweet potato black bean burritos because I was almost out of salsa verde. My favorite part was scraping the sauce/cheese out of the bottom of the pan with tortilla chips at the end! It got me wondering if there’d be a way to use this sauce as the base for some sort of layered dip…
Kate
That sounds like a great idea, Kenzie! Thank you for sharing.
BRENDA MARTYNIAK
Fabulous enchilada sauce! The next time, I am tripling the recipe and freezing the excess. DEFINITELY use the cinnamon, it gives another level of flavor…so good! Also, we like a little more spice so I doubled the chili powder and used Ancho Chili Powder. I simmered mine for about an hour. I don’t know if that made a difference, but the sauce was deep with flavor and a beautiful brown color. Can’t wait to make it for friends. THANK YOU!
Kate
I’m happy you loved it, Brenda! Thank you for your review.
Laurieo
Thanks so much for this recipe – it’s one of my favorites! I love the sauce and the veggie black bean enchiladas are fabulous. I usually go with a cauliflower/ kale/spinach mix for the filling, but the possibilities are endless. However, I made the sauce a bit too spicy for one of my spice-sensitive friends this time and have so far added a bit of lime juice, plain yogurt, a couple teaspoons of extra tomato paste, but it’s still too spicy. Do you have any other ideas to tame it?
Kate
Hi! When you serve it, you could add a little extra yogurt or sour cream to their portion. I hope this helps!
laurieo
Thanks for your suggestion, Kate. I actually ended up making a new batch of sauce without any chili powder and mixed in a bit of my spicy batch. I think the extra chili I added to the first batch would have been untamable otherwise. I served the enchiladas with Greek yogurt and avocado. They’re the best!
Rachel C
This was so delicious. We eat enchiladas pretty regularly and usually use store bought sauce – I don’t think we ever will buy canned sauce again! Thanks for another great recipe, your site is becoming my go-to for great food!
Steph
This is a good sauce which is quick and simple to make. I’ve always disliked canned enchilada sauce but figured it was some arduous process to make. Just a quick seasoned light roux, basically, and tomato, broth and vinegar. (I LOVE the vinegar tanginess at the end). Thanks so much!
Devashree
What if store bought tomato sauce is not an option.. Can i substitute its with either Ketchup or fresh tomatoes pureed?
Kate
Hi Devashree! I don’t think ketchup will work well. You could attempt a tomato puree? Let me know how it goest if you try it!
Shawn
Oh so excited! My last phone croaked and in the mayhem I lost this site/recipe! I’ve been looking for you, you little angel! Now that I’ve got you again I’ll never let you go! Thank you Kate for the perfect sauce recipe to go on my pork carnitas enchiladas! Guess what’s for dinner? YUMMMM
Kate
You are too funny and kind! I’m happy you found your way back, Shawn. Thank you for your review!
Kat
super adaptable and easy to make!
Kate Kirkham
Hi Kate! Enchiladas are a favorite in our house, and I usually buy Simply Organic packaged sauce. Haven’t made my own sauce till now. This recipe was easy and turned out great! I used home made chicken bone broth. Now to put the enchiladas together. Thanks! Kate in Portland
Jennifer
This is the sauce I’ve been looking for!! It’s delicious! Thank you
Rachel Woodward
The cinnamon gave this such a funky taste! Will definitely leave out next time. Overall the sauce was just okay. It didn’t knock my socks off.
Jackie J
I love this sauce. Thank you so much for the easy-to-follow recipe.
Jackie J
Broken Arrow, OK
Blair B.
Here’s a twist: Instead of vegie broth I used fish broth I made from fish carcasses after I filleted them. At first it didn’t have the right aroma but the nose doesn’t always know because the sauce was delicious! It will be used on fish tacos but also for chicken enchiladas. Looking forward to both.
Trenna Hayes
I don’t have Vegatable broth. Can I use chicken or beef broth?
Kate
Hi Trenna! I know others have used both of those and didn’t mind the results.
Tammy Ashurst
Thank you so much! Excellent sauce, followed the recipe exactly. The vinegar and pepper at the end are what made it. My go to echilada sauce from now on.
Maria
OMG! We tried this recipe last night. It was a big hit with the family (6 year-old included). And you are correct, we will never use a store-bought enchilada sauce again. I made a few changes in order to work with what I had on hand: (1) added powdered consommé de pollo (powdered chicken bouillon) to the dry mix, (2) used a small can of tomato sauce in lieu of the tomato paste and then whisked in 2 cups of water.
Darlene
Absolutely delicious and so easy! I made the recipe exactly as is except cut the chili powder in half! I also use ground California Chile powder which is a bit milder. I don’t use the chili powders that have other spices pre-added. So smooth and just the right amount of spice. This is now my go-to enchilada sauce. Perfect!
Cheryl Cord
Thank you for a great dinner tonight. I made Chicken enchiladas but used the veggie broth as in your receipe. Delicious
josh
This was a real success. One of the better enchilada sauce recipes I’ve seen. Love that the roux does not use butter, and that it calls for veg stock rather than chicken stock. I and my girlfriend both really enjoyed this. Definitely goes into my saved recipes list.
Pat
absolutely delicious, made double so I can freeze the rest for latter use. It did tend to dominate the enchiladas with broccoli, though. Will have to work on that recipe a bit.
Elizabeth
Made this recipe because I needed a smaller batch of sauce, and now I can for sure say I will never go back to the canned sauce after tasting this flavor. followed the directions to a T (except for the cinnamon) and turned out great, not to spicy, but the perfect amount of flavor. You could probably add more or less of the chili powder depending on preference. My husband doesn’t like enchiladas, but I think this sauce actually converted him – it’s that good!
Sarah
Terrific recipe! Easy, delicious, and better than what you buy in a store.
Gwen
This sauce made my enchiladas go from tasty, home made enchiladas to amazing, restaurant quality enchiladas! Loved the recipe, especially the notes of getting everything ready before starting so you aren’t flapping around the kitchen screaming. The sauce is great, far better than what I previously made. Check out Kate’s cashew sour cream recipe as well.
I’m in the UK, our tomato paste is concentrated so I added a bit less than a tablespoon. If you’re another UKer, keep that in mind!
Constantine Garcia
How many enchiladas does this make have to make for 24 people
DY
Made this sauce and it was great! I substituted McCormick Taco Seasoning for most of the dry spices and used chicken stock to make black bean, corn, green chilis (ortega) and cheese. Even a friend, who eats nothing with flavor loved it, it’s a crowd pleaser (crowd of two).
Martie
The recipe was amazing but I made a few adjustments. Added an additional tbsp of chili powder and instead of veggie broth (which I was out of) I substituted it with 2 cups of dandelion root tea. I didn’t use the cinnamon. I will definitely make it again!!!
L
Nope. Nope nope. None of this is authentic and my ancestors would be rolling over in their graves if I tried to pass this off as enchiladas
Kate
Hi L, I appreciate your feedback. I try to stay true to the essence of the dish, while adding my own spin as a recipe developer. If you have a chance to try this one out, I’d love to hear what you think!
Daniela
I’ve been trying to learn how to cook on my own since my mom’s a little too busy to always be teaching me. I made these for breakfast and she told me my grandma would cry at this. 0/10 authentic. It doesn’t taste awful, I was able to eat it, but it is definitely not what I’m used to, coming from a Mexican family. My mom said most of the ingredients (like the flour) were plain weird to add. I will now have to beg her to not tell anyone what I’ve made
(T-T).
Concha
Gosh I really wanted this to work, but it is so far from the authentic enchilada sauce. We gave it a go and it just did not taste even close to real Mexican enchilada sauce. :/ sticking to our homemade recipe…. thank you for trying.
Peter Birk
Hi Kate,
Made this sauce about 6 weeks ago making it again tomorrow with some Burritos I’m making. I like that it’s easy to make and tastes great.
Excellent!!!
Peter
Linnea
I just made these with the your enchilada sauce, and it was AMAZING!
We supplemented cheese with some vegan cheese, and we also used frozen spinach instead of fresh.
Will definitely make these again, thank you so much!
Vicki M Kier
I made your enchilada sauce last night to get ready for today’s dinner. It is very tasty. The enchiladas are in the oven now. Can’t wait for that first bite. The sauce came together just as quickly as you said. I’m glad I followed your advice and had everything ready to gom
Brianna Savage
I love this recipe.
Thank you.
What is the music in the video?
Shazam doesn’t know.
Kate
Hi Brianna! I’m so glad to hear it. The song is called “Latin Adventure” but it’s from a song download site, so that’s why you didn’t find it on Shazam.
Wendy
I wanted to make enchiladas with some leftover veggies and beans, but I had no canned sauce on hand.
Turns out, I will never need it again! This is SO tasty and easy.
I ended up using a bit more water than indicated on the recipe to get the right texture. Next time I think I’ll add some fresh tomato chunks just for texture.
Will definitely be making this over and over.
Nancy Olesen
This enchilada sauce is an awesome sauce! I enjoy cooking not only because it always tastes better but, because it’s a mindfulness exercise for me in these stressful times. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!
Nicole Rose
Hi, Kate! Love your website and recipes! (And love that you are a fellow Kansas Citian!) This is my go-to enchilada sauce recipe after having tried several others from different websites. It’s fast, easy, delicious and I can make it low sodium (which is required for my family right now). I made it last night for probably the 5th time and decided I really needed to leave a comment and some stars. Thanks for continuing to serve up amazing, tasty food!
Adri
Thank you for sharing. Best enchilada sauce recipe!
Samantha Coca
Can I just say.. YUM! First time making enchiladas and this sauce definitely made the whole dish! Hubby gobbled them up. Can’t believe the sauce was so easy to make, I had every ingredient pretty much already in my pantry. I omitted the vinegar and substituted tomato paste for sauce. I also only had Chile y Lime powder but I feel like it complimented it well!
S
Delicious and super simple! Had all the ingredients handy at home too. Will be using this from now on! A little spicy for me though so next time will cut back on the chilli powder! Thanks
Virginia Ford
Super quick and easy! Who knew!?! I will never buy the canned stuff again! Thanks for the great recipe.
Kate
You’re welcome, Virginia! I appreciate your review.
Megan
DH and I tried this tonight as the base for Chilaquiles and it’s definitely a keeper for us. Thanks for the heads up to measure everything out first. It went together FAST and would have gotten away from me if I hadn’t gathered everything up first.
Ann
Absolutely perfectly fantastic! Followed recipe exactly!
Chelsea
This sauce is delicious and easy to make! I made it with oat flour and it turned out perfectly.
Melissa Tidwell
Kathryne, this sauce is absolutely divine. I may have measured the ingredients a little under or over than the suggested measurement, however it came out so yummy. Something about cucmin and cinnamon…what an aromatic mixture. Will cherish this recipe with the uttermost appreciation and admiration.
Richard Major
Excellent job and I made a large batch and canned some for future.
Allyson
I’m mediocre at best at making a roux, so my first attempt at this was an epic fail (burned the flour). The second try was slightly burnt and lumpy, but salvageable. The flavor was good though, so if I make it again, I think I’d try to make the sauce first and then thicken it in a more foolproof way, or just leave it thin.
Nancy Alderton
Have you tried using Masa Harina (corn meal flour) instead of regular flour? I use it in my chili and it gives it such an authentic flavor. I think if I make yours I will use the masa harina.
Kate
I haven’t, Nancy! It sounds interesting. Thank you for sharing!
Julia Masse
Thank you so much! This was the best recipe I found with a video & great directions. I did adjust it a bit but followed all your directions. I decreased the oil to 1/2 tsp (I took out the flour & used a 6 oz can of tomato paste instead of making a roux) but followed your directions about mixing the oil & spices but then added the tomato paste to mix with the spices before adding the chicken stock; added 1 TBSP honey & 1 TBSP sugar (I might omit the sugar next time); used 2 clove of minced garlic & 1 large onion minced (recently sauteed together) plus 3 TBSP of minced carrots previously steamed (so our sauce was a bit chunky). I was a bit skeptical about the cinnamon (as I usually don’t like it with savory items) but a pinch is exactly what was needed! The sauce was very tasty & the perfect pairing with my cream cheese white sauce I put on top. Thank you for making my enchiladas better than they would have been. :)
Kate
Thank you for sharing how you adjusted this to fit your needs!
Erin
This sauce is amazing! I added some cayenne for heat and juice of half a lime for a bit more acidity. We had it with your black bean enchiladas. I have yet to find a recipe of yours that I don’t love. Thanks!
David
I butchered your recipe adding all the ingredients in the wrong order but it’s a very nice tasting enchiladas sauce
Bec Watkins
Hiya, Sorry if you’ve answered this question somewhere else but do you have a recipe for chilli powder that you use? In Australia chilli powder is ground up chillies and a tablespoon would make the sauce inedible. I understand that chilli powder in the USA is a blend of spices with paprika, garlic powder etc? Looking forward to making this sauce. Thanks.
Kate
Hi Bec! I don’t have a recipe. And yes, I have heart that about Australia. I know others have tried a teaspoon and then adjusted in your case. Let me know what you think when you try it!
Marni
I made the sauce (with chicken broth) and it was AMAZING. The flavours achieved in this sauce blew my mind! I would definitely recommend it and will be using it again and again x infinity. Thank you for the great recipe.
Adeeti Sanghvi
Hi! The sauce sounds amazing, want to make it but unluckily not able to get my hand on veg broth anywhere. Please can you tell me a vegetarian broth recipe please to use in the sauce. Thank you!
Monica Smithers
I just made this enchilada sawce and it turned out bomb! I didn’t have tomato paste or vegetable broth but I did have a large can of diced tomatoes, so I pureed the tomatoes and followed the recipe from there. Looks amazing!
Marci
This enchilada sauce was the bomb! Husband and I both agree it was the best we’ve ever had. I reduced the chili powder by a tablespoon and added that much smoked paprika plus 2 tablespoons of ketchup because we like a hint of sweetness. So good!
Thank you for sharing!
slarson067
I will never buy canned sauce again. This was AMAZING! Usually I spend more time on the filling because enchilada sauce is bland… this sauce was the star!
Thanks for sharing!
Dawn Campbell
Love you’re recipes Kate! I used your enchilada sauce and made a vegetarian enchilada filling with Swiss chard, sweet potato, zucchini, black beans, onion and garlic. It was delicious!
Gayle
Made this recipe when my husband decided he wanted tamales and I didn’t have any canned sauce in the house. I liked that I had all the ingredients in my pantry and it was super easy and fast. My husband loved it! Will definitely be making it from now on. Thanks so much!
Marianne Flanagan
i’ve made this a few times. My son told me these were the best enchiladas he ever had! It is super easy to make and so flavorful!
Jackie Iseman
I have been making this sauce for quite sometime. I totally forgot to comment! I have been buying canned / bottle enchilada sauce for YEARS!!! Can’t believe how incredibly tasty, easy and fast this sauce is to make. Thank you!!!
P.S I loveeee your blog. You are one of my favorite and go to food bloggers!
Richard
THIS IS NOT TRADITIONAL ENCHILADA SAUCE. WHEREEVER YOU LEARNED THIS. BUT MORE POWER TO YOU.
Shira
This looks delicious! Do other helathy flours work like spelt? or maybe tapioca flour (I have it in my kitchen so just curious)? also can chli flakes be used instead of chili powder – that doesn’t really exits where I live
Kate
Hi Shira, I don’t know if alternative flours like spelt would work as I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do! Chili powder is a mix other spices you could try instead.
Ellen
I tried your Enchilada sauce and it was awesome the only thing I found I did not have vegetable broth so I did chicken broth and boy it was so good and I did add the cinnamon. I would recommend this recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing it.
Martin
Muy bien! I used ancho chili powder. Your recipes are always good; thanks for sharing them.
Bob Barnes
Absolutely loved this enchilada sauce. Never buying canned sauce again. Question I have is could this be canned in a ball jar?
Kate
I love hearing that! I don’t know about canning this, but do know it freezes well.
jeff giebelhouse
Perfect and easy to make.
Kate
We are loving your enchilada sauce at my house! I usually have to make a double batch because the teenage boys stuck home love to use the leftovers on quesadillas and nachos and the like. It’s even replaced one’s favorite salsa for dipping Doritos, and the other has started drizzling it into boxed mac and cheese for extra flavor!
Your enchilada sauce along with whatever meat I can get my hands on, plus a few pantry staples = food that doesn’t feel like giving in to stress or getting shortchanged due to supply issues at the grocery store. Thanks for that!
Kate
That’s amazing! I love that this is a go-to and you use it on everything.
Nicky
This was seriously good and super easy. Perfect recipe
Gayle
So delicious! Comes together so quickly and stores really well. The whole family loves the enchiladas I make with this sauce!
Joan
Fabulous recipe!
I will never buy enchilada sauce again, thank you!
Mary Ann
Love this recipe. I’ll never buy store bought enchilada sauce again! So simple to make. I added a teaspoon of chile ancho, adds a touch of a smoky flavor.
I used this on Chile rellenos. Not traditional, but it was a nice addition!
Sandra Rieger
My daughter has a lot of allergies and she is too little to eat spicy. I therefore used gluten-free flour and no chillies. Unfortunately, the flour clumped up and I had to modify the sauce. Since I was not aware that enchilada sauce is made without tomato sauce and just uses the paste, which is usually the base recipe for a tomato sauce in Italy, I added half a can of crushed tomatos and used chicken broth instead of veggie broth. In addition, I added generously garlic powder and McCormick garlic & herb pepper and salt mix to make it into a tomato sauce ala Italien style. The apple cider vinegar gave it the real flavor, which I added at last, as described.
SarsB
So, so good. I had to go gluten free a couple of years ago and some am always weary of sauces in places that are not marked gluten free. I have been missing the enchiladas with red sauce at my local favorite Mexican food restaurant. I would always order them with extra sauce and an extra side of flour() tortillas for just dipping in the sauce. This recipe is spot on and super delicious!!! Thank you for taking the time to perfect it. I agree, the cinnamon puts it over the top.
Erin OBrien
Really, really good sauce! The only change was to use verjus instead of vinegar-I don’t know if it changed the flavor much but it was tasty. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Cheryl
This was easy and very good! It is better than the store bought enchilada sauce. I will be making this again!
Anjali Sheth Mehta
Hi. We made this recipe last night since I was out of the enchilada sauce from T joes. And omg it was amazing and easy to make. Thank you.