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Just a few pantry staples and about 20 minutes, you have rich and thick flavorful Homemade Easy Enchilada Sauce. Use it on all your Mexican food for a complex and delicious flavor!
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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
Quick enchilada sauce
If you make a lot of Mexican-inspired recipes like I do, you need to give this red enchilada sauce a try. This is way better than canned sauce, and so worth the minimal effort that it takes to make it.
This recipe makes a nice big batch, so you can use it for several meals. You can also freeze it for use at a later date.
This fast recipe has great flavor and it’s versatile for those who don’t like or won’t eat heat, because you can always add the heat later.
Is homemade enchilada sauce hard to make?
No, making enchilada sauce from scratch isn’t hard at all.
In fact, my enchilada sauce is quick and easy to make. If you can measure a few ingredients, and heat them on the stove, you can make this delicious Mexican flavored sauce.
And there’s no chopping involved!
How long does it keep in the refrigerator?
Homemade enchilada sauce will keep in the fridge for up a to two weeks.
We always keep a jar of this sauce in the fridge for just about any meal, from breakfast to dinner, even snacks! And I’m sure you’ll find all kinds of ways to use it too!
Can I freeze it?
Yes, it freezes well. Let the sauce cool completely, and store it in a tightly covered freezer-safe container. It will keep for several months. And defrosts easily in the microwave.
Can I make spicy enchilada sauce?
Yes, my recipe makes for a very mild sauce. If you’d like it to be hot and spicy, you can add hot sauce, or add in a pinch or two of ground cayenne pepper to the chili powder.
You can also use ancho chili powder in place of the American chili powder for a spicy sauce. Oh, you could also make a smoky and spicy sauce by using ground chipotle chili powder in place of the regular chili powder.
American-style chili powder
Ok, since we’re talking about chili powder, I thought I’d clarify something. When I first posted this recipe back in 2014, I got several comments that it must be a spicy hot sauce. No, in fact, it’s quite mild if you use American-style chili powder.
Since I live on the west coast of the US, I have grown up with chili powder, and it’s usually very mild, and not hot and spicy at all; it’s actually a blend of various mild chilies and seasonings.
American Chili powder blends are made of chili peppers and other spices, commonly including cumin, onion, garlic powder, and sometimes salt. I have two different brands in my kitchen right now, and the ingredients include, “spices (including red pepper, chili pepper), salt, garlic” in one, and “chili pepper, salt, cumin, oregano, garlic” in the other. Neither are spicy hot. Keep in mind that different brands of chili powder may produce different flavor, color, and spiciness results. Experiment to see what you like best.
Want to make your own chili powder? I have a delicious recipe for homemade chili powder, which is amazing and so delicious!
You’ll want to use a good-quality brand of chili powder for this recipe, since it is the main seasoning used here.
And if you happen to be an international reader, please look for an American-style chili powder, which will not include too much cayenne pepper and won’t be too spicy.
How to make easy enchilada sauce
Simply place the chili powder and the thickener (flour or starch) in a small pan, and stir to combine. Then mix in the oil. Heat the chili powder and oil mixture to bloom the spice, until it smells nice and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Mix in the broth, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Don’t worry about any lumps, they will cook out. Then, bring that to a boil, turn down the heat, and let simmer and thicken for 10 minutes.
Once the sauce has simmered, add in the final seasonings of salt and a little sugar. I add in 3/4 teaspoon of salt (as called for in the recipe card), but please note that the amount of salt you’ll need will directly relate to how salty your veggie broth and chili powder are.
It’s ready to use to slather over a batch of enchiladas. And, I have lots of other recipe ideas a little lower for you! Or, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Gluten free option
Back when I first published this recipe, I had a question on making it gluten free, so I did a little recipe testing.
When I make this sauce now, I always use potato starch. I like the way it works, that it’s naturally gluten free, and that it doesn’t have the gritty mouthfeel that cornstarch can have.
Feel free to use a gluten free baking mix (like Bob’s Red Mill), potato starch, or cornstarch. Because you mix the starch with the chili powder and oil you don’t have to worry about making a slurry with water before making this change in the recipe.
What can I use this sauce in?
Of course, it’s delicious in enchiladas. Try my seafood enchiladas, Stacked black bean enchiladas, and Sweet potato enchiladas.
Use it as a sauce for all kinds of dishes, I love it on breakfast tacos – add a light smear to the tortilla, then top with scrambled eggs, cheese, hash browns (or tater tots), and sausage.
Serve it as a dip with tortilla chips along with some Jalapeno cheese sauce and Restaurant style salsa.
What to make with enchilada sauce besides enchiladas?
Use this sauce for all kinds of dishes!
For breakfast or brunch, try making my Chilaquiles cups
It’s wonderful in black bean soup
Besides enchiladas, try making enchilada pasta, or corn fritter sliders. I love it on pizza instead of the traditional red sauce. Try making Mexican flatbread pizza, or Street corn pizza.
I’ve made it into veggie casserole. I love to top chicken tenders with it. And appetizers like these stuffed potatoes are a hit with this enchilada sauce.
Sometimes I’ll make enchilada bowls for lunch with rice, veggies, some cheese, (chicken for the husband), and top it all off with enchilada sauce. It’s a great easy lunch idea!
This is truly the best Enchilada Sauce recipe! It’s quick and easy to make, naturally vegan and vegetarian, super versatile, and full of the best flavors.
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Easy Enchilada Sauce Recipe
Easy Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or potato starch
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 2 tablespoons light tasting oil of your choice
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, mix flour (or potato starch) and chili powder together. Add oil, and mix to combine. Heat on low for 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Turn the heat up to medium, add broth, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, until sauce thickens and smooths out. Add salt and sugar, and taste for seasonings, adjusting to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Sophia
I never made enchilada sauce before but this seemed so quick!! Thanks for this recipe, now I can make it myself anytime I want! And it’s way better than canned stuff. Never going back.
Allison
Debi! This looks soooo good! I love enchiladas and enchilada sauce. I’d eat it with a spoon/put it on anything. My sister is gluten-free, do you know if I could sub the flour for anything? 🙂 Thanks! Sorry to be difficult hehe
Patty Haxton Anderson
Wow Debi this sounds so good. I love all the ingredients in it.
Brandy
I was just looking for a homemade enchilada sauce. I love that yours has cumin, one of my favorite spices! It was super easy to make, and nice and quick.
Nicky
This is so easy to make. I like that it doesn’t call for whole dried chiles which aren’t easy to find. I’ve pinned this to make later. Thanks.
Kecia
Enchiladas are near and dear to my heart! I love this sauce recipe!!
Debi
Not difficult at all, Allison! I thought about the gluten in it, but decided to leave it. I might try to make it GF next time I make a batch. I think my first try will be to use an equal amount of potato starch, and add it at the same time as the flour would’ve been added. Potato starch and corn starch are pretty similar if you haven’t used it before. I just like the potato better because so many foods have corn in them. The potato starch doesn’t have a gritty feel like corn can as well. My next try/suggestion, would be just to leave the flour out entirely. It’ll probably be a little thinner, so maybe cut back on the broth by about 1/2 cup. If you try either, let me know. And, I’ll post any updates as well. 🙂
Katerina
This sauce has my name written all over it!
Evelyn @ My Turn for us
Love the seasonings and flavor!!! pinning!!
Marlys
What a great recipe and I love how you brought the pictures closer and closer… I was first thinking it was my computer until I rescrolled and realized that it was the way you positioned and took your pictures.. Great technique as I could just about reach through my screen to take a taste. SU and pinned.
Allison
Thank you so much, Debi! I will try the potato starch. I’m not very familiar with thickening sauces, so this was super helpful! I want to make enchiladas this weekend 🙂
Sarah
Yum! I’ve always wanted to make homemade enchilada sauce! This was a perfect recipe!
Sheena
This sounds wonderful! Making this for sure!
Debi
Allison, I had planned to make stacked enchiladas tonight, but ran out of sauce. So I made a new batch using the potato starch, just like I said, 1 T instead of the flour. It worked perfectly! They taste the same, and the only difference I can see is that the new batch with potato starch has a skin on it as it cools. Not a big deal, I just stir it in, or, you could place a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the sauce so that the skin can’t form. Thanks so much for asking the question because it totally prompted me to try it GF! I’ll add this info to the post as well. 🙂
Jennifer Johnson
Excellent sauce. Homemade enchilada sauce makes such a difference!
Linda
Debi!! I tried your enchilada sauce and you know me, I like cooking as healthy as possible! I love your potato starch thickening alternative to white flour. In Jewish cooking, we use potato starch frequently, so I always have it in the pantry.Thank you for another amazing sauce recipe! It was good and so easy.
Emily
Thank you for linking this up at The Wednesday Round Up! I am sharing this on my google+ page. We hope to see you back next week!
Mary Bostow
I didn’t know it was that easy! I’m making this!!
Jen
Homemade enchilada sauce is always the way to go and this one is absolutely delicious AND so easy! Can’t beat that!
Janette
This sounds amazing Debi 🙂