Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

Why buy pre-made sauce at the grocery store, when this homemade red enchilada sauce is quick and easy and has way more flavor.

Have you ever made enchilada sauce? Me neither until today! I was browsing some Mexican recipes and one called for a homemade red enchilada sauce. As you all know, I love Mexican! Immediately I was intrigued. I’ll be honest… I’ve never even thought about making a sauce that can be easily bought at the store.  I didn’t think it was worth the effort but after reading reviews from Gimme Some Oven’s sauce, I figured why not give it a try. And to my delight, it couldn’t be easier to make. No this isn’t the same as hers! Like usually, I adapted to make my own version.

I actually ended up using this sauce my spiralized sweet potato enchilada skillet, which was fantastic! What I liked about the sauce, is you can control the amount of heat you want in it by how much chili powder you add. The real secret however is the tomato paste. At least the enchilada sauces (well red sauces that is) I grew up on seem to have some tomato flavor to it. A little goes a long way in adding great flavor.

So if you like enchiladas as much as I do, I’d definitely consider this recipe. Now I’m not saying I won’t ever buy canned sauce again, but this homemade red enchilada sauce will definitely be used if a recipe calls for it.

What Ingredients are in this Red Enchilada Sauce Recipe?

• Olive oil
• All-purpose flour
• Spices – chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt, cinnamon, black pepper
• Tomato paste
• Chicken stock
• White distilled vinegar

How to Make Red Enchilada Sauce:

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Heat olive oil in medium-sized pot over medium heat and stir in dry ingredients. Whisk for 1 minute then stir in tomato paste.
3. Slowly add chicken stock, whisking constantly.
4. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

Can I Make this Vegan/Vegetarian?

Yes, just replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock. It will give the sauce a slightly different flavor, but still way better than store-bought.

Tips for Tasty Red Enchilada Sauce

• Check your spices and make sure they aren’t expired. In order to have great flavor, you want to make sure your spices aren’t too old.
• Add cold oil to a cold pot and let heat up to proper temperature before adding the spice mixture. You’ll know it is ready when the oil starts to shimmer.
• When adding the spice mixture, whisk constantly so nothing burns while also cooking out the flour.
• Simmer for at least 5 minutes but the longer you simmer the thicker the sauce will get. You can control how thick you want the sauce by how long you simmer it.
• Add vinegar after removing the sauce from heat so it doesn’t cook out and helps amp up the flavor of this red enchilada sauce.

Other Sauce Recipes

• Easy Marinara Sauce
• Kale Pistachio Pesto
• Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce
• Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
• Homemade Pizza Sauce

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Red Enchilada Sauce

This homemade red enchilada sauce is quick and easy and has way more flavor than the pre-made sauces you buy at the grocery store.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 2 cups

Calories: 276kcal

Author: Ryan Beck

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Measure all of the dry ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
• In a medium-sized pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Slowly add the flour/spice mixture, whisking constantly for about 1 minute. Whisk in the tomato paste and then slowly add the chicken stock, whisking constantly to remove lumps.
• Raise the heat to medium-high to boil, then reduce to maintain simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, whisking often or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and add vinegar and black pepper. Use for enchiladas.

Notes

• Check your spices and make sure they aren't expired. In order to have great flavor, you want to make sure your spices aren't too old.
• Add cold oil to a cold pot and let heat up to proper temperature before adding the spice mixture. You’ll know it is ready when the oil starts to shimmer.
• When adding the spice mixture, whisk constantly so nothing burns while also cooking out the flour.
• Simmer for at least 5 minutes but the longer you simmer the thicker the sauce will get. You can control how thick you want the sauce by how long you simmer it.
• Add vinegar after removing the sauce from heat so it doesn't cook out and helps amp up the flavor of this red enchilada sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 316mg | Potassium: 333mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2450IU | Vitamin C: 3.3mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 3.1mg

Did You Try This Recipe?I love seeing what you make so mention @ChiselandFork or tag #chiselandfork on Instagram and please give a star rating below!