This homemade Enchilada Sauce is easy to make, and it can be made in just 15 minutes. It has the perfect blend of simple spices to make the best enchiladas ever! It’s a mild sauce, and not a hot and spicy sauce unless you want it to be. And this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you are making a lot of enchiladas.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t really care for the enchilada sauce that you buy in the can. It always seems to have a bit of a metal taste to it. The flavor isn’t there. It’s just not good. My tried and true red enchilada sauce has been the best recipe (and a very popular one) for a good number of years! I’ve tried many recipes, and I’ve tried making it all sorts of ways, but this simple mix of ingredients that I’m sharing with you here is perfect. The sauce is key to making great enchiladas. Skip the canned stuff and make this homemade enchilada sauce (double the recipe, if you’d like). Use it in all of your recipes that call for using enchilada sauce.
The best enchilada sauce recipe:
Here’s a quote from a reader (and if you read all of the comments below that people have left over the years, you’ll see similar sentiments!)
“I googled a recipe and this one popped up. After a quick check of the ingredients, I realized I had everything I needed, so I made it and OMG, I could not stop “sampling” it! I have now made it four times…so much flavor, but not too spicy OR mild. I will never buy enchilada sauce again – this is the BEST enchilada sauce!”
How to make Enchilada Sauce:
Traditional enchilada sauce is made with dried chiles. This enchilada sauce has a base of tomato sauce and spices. It’s a quick and easy recipe for enchilada sauce using ingredients that you might already have at home (or are easy to locate in your market). Everyone who has tried the recipe just raves and raves about it.
Homemade enchilada sauce is super easy to make. First you’ll make the roux to help thicken the sauce. Heat oil in a pan and then whisk in flour and chili powder until lightly browned. Next, you’ll whisk in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Ground cumin, garlic powder, onion salt and salt are mixed in too. All is simmered for about 10 minutes, and that’s it!
But how can it be homemade when you’re using canned?
This sauce is not made from fresh tomatoes, so you’ll see canned chicken broth and canned tomato sauce in the ingredient list. But it’s combined with the right amount of spices, and it turns out a delicious enchilada sauce! I don’t mind canned tomato sauce, but canned enchilada sauce is just awful. This sauce will have a much better flavor than canned enchilada sauce from the store.
Ingredient Notes:
- Vegetable or canola oil are listed in the recipe, but you can use any neutral-flavored oil to make enchilada sauce (avocado oil and grapeseed oil are also considered to be neutral-flavored).
- 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend may be substituted for the all purpose flour to make this a gluten free enchilada sauce.
- Vegetable broth may be substituted for the chicken broth to make this a vegetarian enchilada sauce.
- Don’t use tomato paste. Don’t use marinara sauce. Use tomato sauce!
How to freeze enchilada sauce:
Transfer the sauce to freezer-safe jars or containers. Alternately, you can put the sauce in a large freezer zip baggie and lay it on its side to press out the air and seal. Freeze for up to 3 months. Be sure to label so you know what you’ve got in there!
What I love about this recipe:
- It’s so much better than store-bought. I mean SO MUCH better!
- I love that this enchilada sauce is made from simple ingredients that don’t have weird preservatives included in them.
- As an American, I actually prefer this sauce over a traditional Mexican recipe for enchilada sauce. It’s mild and perfect!
If you’ve never been a fan of canned enchilada sauce, or if you are in a part of the world where it’s difficult to find… then this recipe is for you! It’s so easy to make, and I think you’ll be so impressed with the results. Enjoy!
Here are a few recipes that use enchilada sauce:
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion salt
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet to medium heat. Whisk in the flour and chili powder. Reduce heat to medium and continue to whisk until lightly browned. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, tomato sauce, cumin, garlic powder, onion salt and salt. Stir until smooth, and continue simmering over medium heat about 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
- Serve immediately, or keep in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- If you are preparing this recipe as GLUTEN FREE– just be sure to substitute an alternative thickener in place of the all purpose flour. Some people use a good GF flour (like Bob’s Redmill), and others like to use sweet rice flour. And make sure you are using a brand of chicken broth that is designated as GF (or use water instead).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Lori-your enchilada sauce recipe is AMAZING. We’re American expats currently living in Germany where it’s really hard to find Mexican food. THANK YOU for a great recipe that I can use when we’re craving enchiladas!!!
Awesome!
I MADE THIS TONIGHT IT WAS SO GREAT MY KIDS LOVED IT AND EVEN SAID IT WAS BETTER THEN THERE SCHOOLS. ITS THE BEST I HAVE EVER HAD 😉 THANK U
I made this tonight for dinner. YUM! & Thank You! My hubby LOVES mexican food but doesn’t like the canned sauce. I usually make green chili w/chicken. This was a HUGE HIT w/him & my girls. ( I only used 1 1/4+ Tbsp of chili powder.)
I love enchiladas but don’t like the canned sauce because it usually is too spicy. This recipe is fabulous and I’m so glad to have it! Thanks a million for sharing.
I cooked this…OMG this was the best sauce I ever made..I used less chili power to make it milder..The family loved it..Thanks for posting your recipe
This was absolutely amazing !!! Thank u soo much !! I had remnants of the sauce left in the pan and I made rice w it and used the broth from the chicken I had boiled. It was just the right amount of flavor to make Spanish rice !! Great meal !
Me, My fiance and his little brother tried this for the first time tonight and we absolutely adored it, no one talked while eating this! It was not spicy which my fiance liked. And it was perfect for my taste. And my brother in law actually ate 3rds he is now begging me to make this once a week! Thankyou for such a perfect recipe
I have been looking for a great enchilada sauce recipe for a while now. This is really the most important piece of the dish. It will definitely make or break it. Looking forward to trying it out tonight! 🙂
Just a little curious on why you use chicken broth a opposed to beef or vegetable broth? I am making enchiladas with minced ground beef, won’t the two tastes conflict?
You absolutely cannot taste the chicken broth in the sauce. Use vegetable, beef or chicken broth- the flavor does not come through so much.
This all looks so good but I was wondering if it is spicy my husband can’t stomach spicy foods at all but seems to love Mexican I make him taco and fajitas all the time but I love enchiladas and was wondering if there might be a way to make them not spicy thanks for all your time.
I would not characterize this sauce as spicy. My 10 year old eats it all the time, and he can’t do spicy so I would think it would be okay for your husband.