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My favorite homemade enchilada sauce recipe is easy to make with pantry ingredients, it only requires about 5 minutes of prep time, and it tastes so flavorful and delicious.
My best tip for kicking your homemade enchiladas up a delicious notch?
Use this homemade enchilada sauce! ♡
This recipe for Southwestern-style red enchilada sauce has been the starring ingredient in my favorite enchilada recipe for years and years. And every time I bake up a batch of enchiladas for a gathering, friends always ask for the recipe.
By contrast to many Mexican-style enchilada sauces, this recipe does not include tomatoes but rather centers its flavor around a rich blend of seasonings that you likely already have in your pantry (chili powder, cumin, garlic and oregano). On its own, the sauce is naturally fairly mild, although you are welcome to amp up the heat if you’d like. And its deliciously warm, toasty, earthy flavors pair perfectly with any variety of enchilada recipes.
The good news too is that this recipe only takes about 5 minutes to prep, plus an additional 15-ish minutes to simmer on the stove. It’s naturally vegetarian, vegan and can also be made gluten-free if you’d like. It’s made entirely with pantry ingredients, and can be customized to be more spicy, smoky, tomato-y, or even creamy if you prefer. And I must say — it’s a million times better than the canned stuff!
Thousands of our readers have made and loved this recipe over the years. So if you have yet to give it a try, I say it’s time!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce Ingredients:
To make this easy enchilada sauce recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
Oil and flour: These will form the roux to thicken the sauce. You’re welcome to use any type of neutral-flavored oil (or butter) that you prefer. And while I typically use all-purpose flour, you are welcome to sub in a 1-for-1 GF flour blend instead to make this recipe gluten-free.
Chili powder: For all of our international readers, please note that this recipe calls for American-style chili powder, which is actually a blend of various chilis and seasonings, including a typically small percentage of cayenne. (Most chili powders sold outside of the States are 100% cayenne, which will not work for this recipe.) I recommend investing in a good-quality brand of chili powder for this recipe, since it is the primary seasoning for this sauce. But keep in mind that chili powder blends vary from brand to brand, so it’s worth experimenting with a few to find the one that you love best!
Garlic powder, ground cumin, dried oregano: These are the other dried seasonings that we will use in the sauce. Feel free to increase the amount of any one of these once you have tasted the sauce, if you would like.
Veggie or chicken stock: I also recommend using some good-quality stock in this recipe, which will add a delicious depth of flavor to the sauce.
Fine sea salt: And finally, don’t forget to season the sauce! I typically add in about 1/2 teaspoon, but the amount needed will likely depend significantly on the brand and saltiness of the stock that you use.
How To Make Enchilada Sauce:
Here are the basic steps for how to make enchilada sauce (full instructions included in the recipe box below):
Cook the roux and spices: In a small saucepan, we’ll first cook the flour and oil together to form the roux, and then whisk in the spices to briefly toast them in the saucepan before adding in the stock.
Simmer: Gradually add in the stock while whisking the sauce, in order to blend in any lumps. Then bring the sauce to a simmer and let it cook (you want to maintain a low bubble) for 10-15 minutes, or until it has reduced to your desired thickness.
Season: Season with salt (or any extra seasonings that you might like to add) to taste.
Serve: Then serve it up in a pan of enchiladas or whatever recipe sounds good…and enjoy!
Possible Variations:
This recipe is quite flexible, so please feel free to tinker around with ingredient amounts and customize it however you prefer! For example, you could…
Make it gluten-free: You can either use an 1-for-1 gluten-free flour blend, in place of the AP flour. Or you can omit the flour and instead add a cornstarch slurry (equal parts cornstarch and cold water whisked together) to the sauce once it is simmering to thicken it.
Make it creamy: Whisk in 1/2 cup of heavy cream to turn this recipe into a delicious creamy enchilada sauce.
Make it spicier: Feel free to add in a pinch or two of cayenne to make this sauce even spicier. Or alternately, you can choose to use ancho chili powder in place of standard American chili powder, which has a smokier and slightly spicier flavor.
Make it milder: American chili powder should naturally be quite mild. But if you are wary of heat, feel free to start with 2 tablespoons (instead of 4 tablespoons) of chili powder in the recipe. Then once the sauce has simmered, give it a taste and feel free to add more if you would like.
Make it smokier: Feel free to swap some of the American chili powder for chipotle chili powder, if you would like this sauce to have a smoky chipotle kick. (Also note that chipotle powder is considerably spicier, so this version would pack more heat too.)
Add tomato sauce: If you would like to have a more tomato-y enchilada sauce, you are welcome to add a few tablespoons of tomato paste to the sauce.
Ways To Use Enchilada Sauce:
Here are a few of my favorite ways to use this easy enchilada sauce:
Casseroles: If you don’t feel like rolling up your enchiladas, try ‘stacking’ them into a casserole, such as this chicken enchilada casserole (one of our readers’ favorite recipes!).
My favorite homemade enchilada sauce recipe is easy to make with pantry ingredients, it only requires about 5 minutes of prep time, and it tastes so flavorful and delicious.
Cook the roux and spices: Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Add in the chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and oregano and cook for 1 more minute, whisking constantly.
Simmer: Gradually pour in the stock, whisking constantly to combine until no lumps remain. Continue cooking until the sauce reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer (the sauce should continue lightly bubbling) for about 10-15 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce has slightly thickened.
Season: Give the sauce a taste and season with salt, as needed. (I typically add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, but the saltiness of the sauce can vary depending on the brand of stock that you use.)
Serve: Use immediately in your favorite recipe and enjoy!
Chili powder (important note): The amount is correct. And as mentioned above, this recipe calls for traditional American chili powder, which is not cayenne. American chili powder is actually a blend of spices that are typically quite mild, whereas international chili powders are usually 100% cayenne (and very spicy). So if you live outside of the United States, please look specifically for an American-style chili powder blend.
Gluten-free option: Feel free to use a 1-to-1 all-purpose gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. Or alternately, you can thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry (equal parts cold water and cornstarch whisked together, then added to the sauce once it has reached a simmer).
Storage instructions: Let the sauce cool to room temperature. Then transfer it to a mason jar or food storage container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Unfortunately this sauce separates a bit once it has frozen, so I don’t recommend freezing it.
I used this enchilada sauce with enchilada casserole that I kind of created. I loved it. I wanted to ask you how to double the amount of roux. Can it be frozen?
that tortilla soup looks really really good. I’ll have to try it!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re so glad you liked it, Sarah! If you wanted to double the roux, then you would double the oil and the flour amounts. And yes, you can freeze this sauce! :)
I’d never made enchilada sauce before so I decided to give this a try. We live and New Zealand and the chilli powder here is very very spicy, so I only used a teaspoon and it still had plenty of heat. Unfortunately because of the low quantity of chilli powder it was very much brown rather than red, so I ended up adding tomato puree (probably about 1/3 cup all up, I added gradually to taste) for colour and wow! Without the tomato puree it was pretty tasty, but adding it improved the flavour a surprising amount. I was worried that the tomato would mask the flavour of the spices but it had the opposite effect and really brought them together. I will definitely be making this again!
Awesome, so glad it worked out! And oh man — we actually tried to cook with the chili powder in NZ once, and were also surprised at how spicy it is. They definitely vary from country to country! :)
I decided to make chicken enchiladas tonight and was browsing recipes just to see if something different caught my eye…of course I had to see your sauce recipe because my version is bar-none the best I’ve ever tasted and thought to myself “could her’s have something that might add more depth to the flavor?” (My Mexican-American boyfriend’s mom gave me the treasured recipe 35 years ago) and, heck, I’m open to learning something new or different. Well, that was not to be. BUT your recipe is as close to her recipe that I’ve ever seen. Just for kicks- try adding 1 Tb of unsweetened cocoa powder to the flour when you start to heat it and then 1/8 tsp cinnamon with the rest of the spices. I promise you it will not change the overall taste, but will deepen the flavors you love. I know how it is to have someone make suggestions about a dear recipe- it’s hard to not take it personal. Please don’t take it like that. It’s done for and out of our mutual love of enchiladas. You don’t even need to print this. Just promise me you’ll try it…✌
Yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just used it as a base for a soup with onions, ham, pork and hominy. It was easy, quick, and it added something special to the soup.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
You’re very welcome, Heather, we’re so glad you enjoyed it, and we think that soup sounds so yummy!
Just making your sauce now. The consistency is perfect. It’s a little bitter – maybe the mild chile powder I used? Any suggestions on how to correct for this? Thank you.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Leslie! We’re sorry we’re just now getting to your comment. May we ask what type/brand of chili powder you’re using? We’ve found they can differ pretty greatly from brand to brand, which could account for the bitterness.
I have to update my comment. Two pans baking in the oven right now. BUT…that sauce is better that fabulous! I added a bit more broth (from some of the cooked chicken) and flour to make it a tad thicker, but the TASTE is just great. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hello! I’m going to make your enchilada sauce AND enchiladas on Friday for a dinner party of 8. Would I need to double the
sauce recipe in order to have enough for 10-14 enchiladas (inside and topping)? Do you recommend flour or corn tortillas? I’ve never made enchiladas before and want them to turn out just right. :-) Thank-you!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Kim! We apologize for getting to your comment so very late! Yes, we would recommend doubling the sauce, and as for the tortillas, corn tortillas are more authentic for enchiladas. We prefer flour (they’re softer), but it’s totally up to you — either one will work great! We hope you enjoy! :)
I made a double batch a few months ago following the recipe. Very tasty in the huge batch of enchiladas that I made using the sauce. I am making again now for more enchiladas. Very easy and nice to not have to buy enchilada sauce. Will try freezing some. The person responding to the comments is doing a great job.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing, Patti, we’re so glad you enjoy this! :)
Hi, Just made your enchilada sauce, but unfortunately I live in Portugal (well actually Fortunately I live in Portugal) but the point being, their chili powder is off the Scovile scale here, used 1 tbsp chili powder and it still blew my head off and I eat lots of spicy curries, chili’s etc., no disrespect to your recipe, i trebled all the other ingredients and made a huge batch to freeze, so eventually all turned out right, but yes – do beware if making this some where other than US especially Portugal – you would need maybe a heaped teaspoon at most. but eventally YUMMY.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you so much for sharing with us, Debbie, oh my goodness! We’re happy to hear you were still able to enjoy this, and thanks for the heads up about Portuguese chili powder!
Was excited about making this sauce after reading the post. Followed the recipes exactly and I’m sorry but I thought it was horrible. I’ve tried a lot of canned sauces and the worst canned sauce I’ve used is better than this.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this, Jaime! :( We wonder what kind of chili powder you used?
This sauce is everything. I have made it a few times with the Best Chicken Enchiladas Ever. I am not a “make my own sauce” kinda of girl, but I made this and I am a convert. It’s so easy and I always have the ingredients on hand. Just made it for Cinco de Mayo. My hubby loves it to, and he is into canning. He said if I made a big batch he will can it so we can always have it ready! YUM!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you, Joy, we’re so happy you and your husband enjoy it! :)
I just made this tonight. First I was not sure about this since I was used to the ones that had tomatoes in recipes. But I am so glad I tried your recipe. It was so easy and so good, exactly what I wanted. I live in Japan where enchilada sauce isn’t something I see everyday, so I have to make my own. I’d try finding chipotle powder next time (if I can around where I am) for more kicks. Thanks so much.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing with us, Asami — we’re so glad you enjoyed it! :)
great sauce but the chilli powder I used nearly killed me! Even my husband (who is a seasoned hot sauce connoisseur) thought it was extreme! We must be using a different strength!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Oh no, we’re sorry to hear that, Laura! It is crazy how chili powders can differ (strength and flavor-wise), just from brand to brand. :(
Used pork lard instead of vegetable oil. Substituted one Tbs of Oaxacan Adobo powder and one Tbs of smoked Spanish paprika for two Tbs of the chili powder. Added a pinch of red pepper flakes. Used three cloves of finely minced fresh garlic in place of the garlic powder. Awesome, awesome sauce, but not for the feint of heart. Turned up the heat and the smokiness a notch or three! Delish!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing, Trevor, we’re glad you enjoyed the sauce! :)
I have made this sauce many times and love how simple and delicious it is! We are watching our sodium intake (most of the time) and I thought this homemade version would help compared to a canned sauce. Just discovered that chili powder has sodium in it (who knew?) and 4 Tbsp = 524 mg! I am in shock! We may have to reduce it just a bit! (But it’s still delicious.)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing, Suzi, we’re so glad you enjoy it! And that’s crazy, we didn’t realize chili powder had sodium in it either, and that is a lot! Good to know.
Can Ancho chili powder be substituted for regular chili powder?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Susan! These actually aren’t interchangeable. Chili powder is a blend of spices, whereas Ancho chili powder is pure chili powder. You could use a mixture of both, but just keep in mind the Ancho will be much more potent, so we’d be cautious! We hope you enjoy the sauce!
Jenny —
Hi Susan-
I actually make this sauce all the time using whatever ground red chile I can find in the Mexican food aisle of my store. I love the flavor, but it can be more spicy/potent than using a chili powder blend. I don’t know if it’s an ancho powder or not, though.
Was going to buy some sauce and came across your recipe. Store bought enchilada sauce always seems a little bitter to me and I thought your recipe was too after following it exactly. So I added a tablespoon of brown sugar and also increased the total amount of cumin to a tablespoon. Most of the bitterness from the chili powder is masked by the brown sugar and I now have a sauce I can use often. Thanks for sharing it.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Jim! We’re glad you were able to adjust this to your liking – thanks for your feedback!
Follow up on my earlier comment. I used pure New Mexico chili powder which is not a blend of spices which probably caused the bitterness. I will try it next time with one of your suggested chili powder blends.
This recipe is amazing!! I have done it several times already and its good every time, I have hosted dinners an brought it to work and every one who tries it are amazed for how good this tastes!! Everyone wants to borrow the recipe haha
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
Wow! This sauce is awesome! I made these enchiladas last night, however I left out the beans and I used corn tortillas. I topped the enchiladas with grated Mexican Cotija cheese. They were delicious! One little tip I would like to share with you that I learned from my mom. Fry the tortillas in a little oil for a few seconds before you assemble the enchiladas. This gives them an extra layer of flavor that you do not get if you use the tortillas right out of the package. You will never do it any other way! Thanks for the sauce recipe!
I had this recipe recommended today. Can you tell me more about your chili powder? Is this plain chili? Most of the chili powders I buy are combinations of chili and herbs.
Thanks
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Elle! Yes, this is a combination. We like the Simply Organic brand. :)
This is my favorite enchilada sauce to make! I’ve tried others with different ingredients like tomato paste and don’t care for the taste! I always find that this tastes better after refrigeration so I try to make it ahead of time. Also, I have used a both whole wheat flour and oat flour (for GF) and didn’t care for the whole wheat sauce, but the oat flour sauce is similar to the all purpose flour! I plan to try it with coconut flour next!
I had to add tomato sauce. All I could taste was the chili and salt. I also added a bit of coconut sugar (what I had on hand to use as sweetener). I only added 2 tbsp of chili and even then it was spicy but once everything was done, the spice subsided! It came out pretty good!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re sorry about that, Jei, but we’re glad you were able to adapt it a bit and the you enjoyed the end result!
Hi, today I tried your recipe and I have to say that this enchilada sauce taste sooo agressive and spicy, you know I love hot food, but this was extreme. I’m from Czech republic, small town and we don’t have chili powder here, that’s why I made myself one – I found some recipe, which contains cayenne pepper, dried garlic, smoked paprika and oregano. In my opinion 4 spoons of this seasoning is too much, next time I will try 1 – 2 and tomato sauce. On the other hand, my brother enjoyed it so much and didn’t mind the taste.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Kohy! We’re sorry this came out too spicy for you! We’re curious to know what recipe you used for the homemade chili powder? It sounds like it probably called for too much cayenne. We hope you can give this another try with less pepper!
I used this recipe for the liquid for stuffed poblanos tonight and it turned out amazing! I did the roux with my homemade chili oil, used fresh garlic, replaced the chili powder (none on hand) with a few generous shakes of smoked chipotle pepper, cayenne, and habanero powder (I love the heat). Turned out amazing!
Hi! I wondered which out of the 4 chili powders you recomended is your favorite to use? ? Thanks in advance!!
Hi Rena! That’s tough, as we love them all, but Morton & Bassett Chili Powder is probably our top fave. :)
I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and oh man … tasty!!!! I will never buy the canned stuff again!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the sauce, Lisa, and that’s great that the coconut oil worked out well in this!
Hi Hayley, do you recommend any substitutes for. Green chiles and red chilli Mexican powder? Can’t find any Mexican chillies in UK.
Hi Dimpi — unfortunately we can’t think of any substitutes for the chili powder.
I used this enchilada sauce with enchilada casserole that I kind of created. I loved it. I wanted to ask you how to double the amount of roux. Can it be frozen?
that tortilla soup looks really really good. I’ll have to try it!
We’re so glad you liked it, Sarah! If you wanted to double the roux, then you would double the oil and the flour amounts. And yes, you can freeze this sauce! :)
Can we skip the cumin? ICK~- Otherwise I’m SO down!
Sure, you’re welcome to leave it out if you’d like.
I’d never made enchilada sauce before so I decided to give this a try. We live and New Zealand and the chilli powder here is very very spicy, so I only used a teaspoon and it still had plenty of heat. Unfortunately because of the low quantity of chilli powder it was very much brown rather than red, so I ended up adding tomato puree (probably about 1/3 cup all up, I added gradually to taste) for colour and wow! Without the tomato puree it was pretty tasty, but adding it improved the flavour a surprising amount. I was worried that the tomato would mask the flavour of the spices but it had the opposite effect and really brought them together. I will definitely be making this again!
Awesome, so glad it worked out! And oh man — we actually tried to cook with the chili powder in NZ once, and were also surprised at how spicy it is. They definitely vary from country to country! :)
I decided to make chicken enchiladas tonight and was browsing recipes just to see if something different caught my eye…of course I had to see your sauce recipe because my version is bar-none the best I’ve ever tasted and thought to myself “could her’s have something that might add more depth to the flavor?” (My Mexican-American boyfriend’s mom gave me the treasured recipe 35 years ago) and, heck, I’m open to learning something new or different. Well, that was not to be. BUT your recipe is as close to her recipe that I’ve ever seen. Just for kicks- try adding 1 Tb of unsweetened cocoa powder to the flour when you start to heat it and then 1/8 tsp cinnamon with the rest of the spices. I promise you it will not change the overall taste, but will deepen the flavors you love. I know how it is to have someone make suggestions about a dear recipe- it’s hard to not take it personal. Please don’t take it like that. It’s done for and out of our mutual love of enchiladas. You don’t even need to print this. Just promise me you’ll try it…✌
Sounds delicious — I’ll have to give that a try! :) Thanks, Kim!
Yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just used it as a base for a soup with onions, ham, pork and hominy. It was easy, quick, and it added something special to the soup.
You’re very welcome, Heather, we’re so glad you enjoyed it, and we think that soup sounds so yummy!
I only have canola and coconut oil. What do you think I should use?
We would not advise using coconut oil in this, but we think the canola oil should be just fine. We hope you enjoy!
Just making your sauce now. The consistency is perfect. It’s a little bitter – maybe the mild chile powder I used? Any suggestions on how to correct for this? Thank you.
Hi Leslie! We’re sorry we’re just now getting to your comment. May we ask what type/brand of chili powder you’re using? We’ve found they can differ pretty greatly from brand to brand, which could account for the bitterness.
Absolutely delicious. I never really liked canned enchilada sauce. This is SO TASTY!
I have to update my comment. Two pans baking in the oven right now. BUT…that sauce is better that fabulous! I added a bit more broth (from some of the cooked chicken) and flour to make it a tad thicker, but the TASTE is just great. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you, Sandra, we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Hello! I’m going to make your enchilada sauce AND enchiladas on Friday for a dinner party of 8. Would I need to double the
sauce recipe in order to have enough for 10-14 enchiladas (inside and topping)? Do you recommend flour or corn tortillas? I’ve never made enchiladas before and want them to turn out just right. :-) Thank-you!!
Hi Kim! We apologize for getting to your comment so very late! Yes, we would recommend doubling the sauce, and as for the tortillas, corn tortillas are more authentic for enchiladas. We prefer flour (they’re softer), but it’s totally up to you — either one will work great! We hope you enjoy! :)
I made a double batch a few months ago following the recipe. Very tasty in the huge batch of enchiladas that I made using the sauce. I am making again now for more enchiladas. Very easy and nice to not have to buy enchilada sauce. Will try freezing some. The person responding to the comments is doing a great job.
Thanks for sharing, Patti, we’re so glad you enjoy this! :)
Hi, Just made your enchilada sauce, but unfortunately I live in Portugal (well actually Fortunately I live in Portugal) but the point being, their chili powder is off the Scovile scale here, used 1 tbsp chili powder and it still blew my head off and I eat lots of spicy curries, chili’s etc., no disrespect to your recipe, i trebled all the other ingredients and made a huge batch to freeze, so eventually all turned out right, but yes – do beware if making this some where other than US especially Portugal – you would need maybe a heaped teaspoon at most. but eventally YUMMY.
Thank you so much for sharing with us, Debbie, oh my goodness! We’re happy to hear you were still able to enjoy this, and thanks for the heads up about Portuguese chili powder!
Was excited about making this sauce after reading the post. Followed the recipes exactly and I’m sorry but I thought it was horrible. I’ve tried a lot of canned sauces and the worst canned sauce I’ve used is better than this.
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this, Jaime! :( We wonder what kind of chili powder you used?
We also made this tonight to go on your chicken enchiladas and LOVED IT. I think I’m forever ruined on the store bought canned stuff!
This sauce is everything. I have made it a few times with the Best Chicken Enchiladas Ever. I am not a “make my own sauce” kinda of girl, but I made this and I am a convert. It’s so easy and I always have the ingredients on hand. Just made it for Cinco de Mayo. My hubby loves it to, and he is into canning. He said if I made a big batch he will can it so we can always have it ready! YUM!
Thank you, Joy, we’re so happy you and your husband enjoy it! :)
My whole family, including the 1-4 year olds, love this enchilada sauce! We put it on everything and I have made several double batches! Thank you
Thanks for sharing, April, we’re so happy it’s a hit with your family! :)
I went a little overboard on the sauce. Will it freeze well for future use (short term future use)?Jef
Hi Jeff, yes, you can definitely freeze this!
I just made this tonight. First I was not sure about this since I was used to the ones that had tomatoes in recipes. But I am so glad I tried your recipe. It was so easy and so good, exactly what I wanted. I live in Japan where enchilada sauce isn’t something I see everyday, so I have to make my own. I’d try finding chipotle powder next time (if I can around where I am) for more kicks. Thanks so much.
Thanks for sharing with us, Asami — we’re so glad you enjoyed it! :)
I just made this,easy yes, however I would not recommend every making this, all you can taste is chilli powder and it has no flavour.
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this one, Audra!
Can this sauce be frozen?
Yes, definitely! We hope you enjoy!
This is all I make and use for enchilada sauce. Plenty spicy enough with half of the chili powder.
We’re glad you enjoy the recipe!
I’m making this one this week. Will let you know. It looks extra delicious. Fran
Awesome, we hope you enjoy it!
My family loved this. They said never buy canned stuff again.
We’re so glad to hear that, Tina!
Absolutely delicious. This has instantly become a family favourite and go to recipe for pot luck.
Thank you, Patti, we’re so happy you and your family enjoy it!
I have made this recipe for a few years and my family loves it. :) Thank you so much!
We’re so glad to hear that, Laurie!
I just made this recipe… two cups of stock and you have paste. I added 4 cups of stock…perfect…and as advertised…awesome!
Thanks for sharing, Rich, we’re happy you enjoyed it!
great sauce but the chilli powder I used nearly killed me! Even my husband (who is a seasoned hot sauce connoisseur) thought it was extreme! We must be using a different strength!
Oh no, we’re sorry to hear that, Laura! It is crazy how chili powders can differ (strength and flavor-wise), just from brand to brand. :(
Please try Santa Cruz Chili Powder from Santa Cruz Chili Co. in Tumacacori AZ.
Thanks for that recommendation, George, we’ll have to see if we can track some down! :)
Used pork lard instead of vegetable oil. Substituted one Tbs of Oaxacan Adobo powder and one Tbs of smoked Spanish paprika for two Tbs of the chili powder. Added a pinch of red pepper flakes. Used three cloves of finely minced fresh garlic in place of the garlic powder. Awesome, awesome sauce, but not for the feint of heart. Turned up the heat and the smokiness a notch or three! Delish!
Thanks for sharing, Trevor, we’re glad you enjoyed the sauce! :)
I have made this sauce many times and love how simple and delicious it is! We are watching our sodium intake (most of the time) and I thought this homemade version would help compared to a canned sauce. Just discovered that chili powder has sodium in it (who knew?) and 4 Tbsp = 524 mg! I am in shock! We may have to reduce it just a bit! (But it’s still delicious.)
Thanks for sharing, Suzi, we’re so glad you enjoy it! And that’s crazy, we didn’t realize chili powder had sodium in it either, and that is a lot! Good to know.
Can Ancho chili powder be substituted for regular chili powder?
Hi Susan! These actually aren’t interchangeable. Chili powder is a blend of spices, whereas Ancho chili powder is pure chili powder. You could use a mixture of both, but just keep in mind the Ancho will be much more potent, so we’d be cautious! We hope you enjoy the sauce!
Hi Susan-
I actually make this sauce all the time using whatever ground red chile I can find in the Mexican food aisle of my store. I love the flavor, but it can be more spicy/potent than using a chili powder blend. I don’t know if it’s an ancho powder or not, though.
My favorite red sauce and I’ve tried sooooooo many! Thank you this was all amazing! Did exactly what the recipe calls for!
Thanks, Karen, we’re so glad you liked it!
Was going to buy some sauce and came across your recipe. Store bought enchilada sauce always seems a little bitter to me and I thought your recipe was too after following it exactly. So I added a tablespoon of brown sugar and also increased the total amount of cumin to a tablespoon. Most of the bitterness from the chili powder is masked by the brown sugar and I now have a sauce I can use often. Thanks for sharing it.
Hi Jim! We’re glad you were able to adjust this to your liking – thanks for your feedback!
Follow up on my earlier comment. I used pure New Mexico chili powder which is not a blend of spices which probably caused the bitterness. I will try it next time with one of your suggested chili powder blends.
This recipe is amazing!! I have done it several times already and its good every time, I have hosted dinners an brought it to work and every one who tries it are amazed for how good this tastes!! Everyone wants to borrow the recipe haha
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
Awesome, so happy to hear it!
Wow! This sauce is awesome! I made these enchiladas last night, however I left out the beans and I used corn tortillas. I topped the enchiladas with grated Mexican Cotija cheese. They were delicious! One little tip I would like to share with you that I learned from my mom. Fry the tortillas in a little oil for a few seconds before you assemble the enchiladas. This gives them an extra layer of flavor that you do not get if you use the tortillas right out of the package. You will never do it any other way! Thanks for the sauce recipe!
Yay, so happy to hear it! And great tip on the tortillas. :)
I had this recipe recommended today. Can you tell me more about your chili powder? Is this plain chili? Most of the chili powders I buy are combinations of chili and herbs.
Thanks
Hi Elle! Yes, this is a combination. We like the Simply Organic brand. :)
Hi! Have you got the ingredients for the sauce on grams please rather than cup etc
Thanks
Hi Phillippa! We love this site for metric conversions. We hope you enjoy the sauce!
This is my favorite enchilada sauce to make! I’ve tried others with different ingredients like tomato paste and don’t care for the taste! I always find that this tastes better after refrigeration so I try to make it ahead of time. Also, I have used a both whole wheat flour and oat flour (for GF) and didn’t care for the whole wheat sauce, but the oat flour sauce is similar to the all purpose flour! I plan to try it with coconut flour next!
Yay, so happy to hear it! :)
Can you can this sauce?
Hi Angel! We haven’t tried canning this, but we think if you followed the traditional canning procedure, it should work fine!
Feel free to add tomatoes to this if you prefer!
I am confused as the sauce is red but there is no red ingredient!
Hi there! It’s the type of chili powder we used, plus the lighting that makes the sauce appear more red in these photos.
I had to add tomato sauce. All I could taste was the chili and salt. I also added a bit of coconut sugar (what I had on hand to use as sweetener). I only added 2 tbsp of chili and even then it was spicy but once everything was done, the spice subsided! It came out pretty good!
We’re sorry about that, Jei, but we’re glad you were able to adapt it a bit and the you enjoyed the end result!
This is my now GO TO enchilada sauce. It is amazing and so easy to make! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you, Sharon, we’re so happy you enjoy the recipe!
Hi, today I tried your recipe and I have to say that this enchilada sauce taste sooo agressive and spicy, you know I love hot food, but this was extreme. I’m from Czech republic, small town and we don’t have chili powder here, that’s why I made myself one – I found some recipe, which contains cayenne pepper, dried garlic, smoked paprika and oregano. In my opinion 4 spoons of this seasoning is too much, next time I will try 1 – 2 and tomato sauce. On the other hand, my brother enjoyed it so much and didn’t mind the taste.
Hi Kohy! We’re sorry this came out too spicy for you! We’re curious to know what recipe you used for the homemade chili powder? It sounds like it probably called for too much cayenne. We hope you can give this another try with less pepper!
Perfect. This has become a family favorite!
We’re so happy to hear that, Erin!
I used this recipe for the liquid for stuffed poblanos tonight and it turned out amazing! I did the roux with my homemade chili oil, used fresh garlic, replaced the chili powder (none on hand) with a few generous shakes of smoked chipotle pepper, cayenne, and habanero powder (I love the heat). Turned out amazing!
Awesome, so happy to hear it! Those sound DELICIOUS.