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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.
After reading the comments, I used half the chili powder, and added another spoon of flour, and oil. I also used fresh garlic, cooked it just a bit before I added the flour. I probably cooked the roux more than a minute before going to the other steps. Less than 2 cups of chicken stock, I was worried about it being too thin. The taste was AWESOME. I would probably make much more the next time, and then freeze half.
Everybody’s taste is different, but this is a recipe you can adapt to your liking, can’t argue with the end results. Thanks.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you, we’re so happy to hear that! We really appreciate you sharing your experience with us too! :)
This has become my go-to enchilada sauce recipe! I had tried every brand of canned enchiladas sauce on the market, and could never find any with decent flavor, but this one is just perfect for me! When I first discovered the recipe, I made a pan of enchiladas every week for two months! And I live alone, so that’s a lot of enchiladas! I just ate the last two out of my freezer for lunch today, so I’m looking forward to whipping up another batch this weekend. Thank you so much!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Jenny, that’s awesome! We’re so happy you’re a fan! : )
Ran out of chili powder so I used a tablespoon of chipotle pepper powder. We LOVE spicy and this gave is a nice, smoky heat. Was pretty spicy straight off the spoon, but I think the tortillas will help tone it down. Havent eaten the enchiladas but yet, but the sauce was delish!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re so glad you enjoyed the sauce Devon, and hopefully you enjoyed the enchiladas just as much! :)
A couple of my CF bueidds at my box are doing the Whole30 and while I am not going gung ho on that (hahah, I typed ho ;D) I am doing my best to eat Clean/Paleo. I threw this yummy goodness in the crockpot last night and was awakened by its delicious goodness this morning. LOVE IT. Can’t wait to dig into it for lunch today because if it was as good as my taste was this morning (and it was 6am so maybe it was just me)..it will be as you put it AMAZEBALLS! Thanks so much Juli for something YUMMY to keep me on the course of eating cleaner. Sign me up for your cookbook next year. (Will you be doing a big signing say at the Tattered Cover for us Colorado folks? :D) Thanks again!
Made this many times for my boyfriend, who is very picky, with leftover pork roast and chicken. He thinks it’s restaurant quality and always asks for it. I have the ingredients on hand anyway and it’s sooooo much better than from a can. I make it per the recipe.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Yay, we’re happy to hear that, what a nice compliment! :)
OMG I will never ever buy from a can again. This is so easy and absolutely delicious. The second time I made it I added 1 heaping tbsp of tomato paste, and liked it even better. My family simply devours the enchiladas with this sauce. It really took no time at all to make.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you Shawn, we’re so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the sauce and the enchiladas! :)
Have you ever tried a gluten free version with almond or coconut flour?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hey Michelle! We haven’t tried either of those two, so we’re not sure how they would change the flavor. However, we would recommend a gluten-free flour blend, if you wanted to use something gluten-free. You could also use cornstarch or arrowroot powder. We hope this helps!
I made this to go with the Chicken Enchilada Casserole. I made a double batch and used 1/2 chili powder and 1/2 cayenne for some heat! It turned out great, except I didn’t cook it long enough!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing Dave, we’re glad you enjoyed the sauce! Sometimes it does need a little extra time on the stove to thicken more.
Hey there. I’m interested in making your sauce and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for someone who would be looking for more of a medium to hot enchilada sauce. :)
If not I may just add a little smoked ghost pepper powder as it won’t alter the flavor too much and will add a nice zest – but I was hoping for advice from you for something probably a lot more traditional. :P
Ooooh, someone else who loves spicy food! :) I think the ghost pepper powder would be awesome, and plenty spicy. Otherwise, an easy alternative would be to just add in some extra pinches of cayenne to taste. Enjoy!
Can I use chicken broth instead of chicken stock? Or is stock that much different that I should get chicken stock?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Laura! Good question. You can most definitely use the broth instead of the stock, the flavor just might not be quite as rich. We hope you enjoy this!
Was looking for a quick, no-tomato, sauce recipe and came upon this one.
I just made this. You should tell your readers that after briefly toasting some guajillos, an ancho, and some del arbol chilis, then sticking them in a coffee grinder, your sauce is going to be 100X better and fresher. I haven’t bought stale store chili powder in years.
So I quickly made my own powder. That was my only modification besides about 3 small pieces of chocolate. Verdict: EXCELLENT. Thought it needed more flour because it was soupy, but I simmered a just a little longer (than recipe time) and it thickened right up. Great recipe, thanks for sharing it.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing Brent, those are great tips! :)
Hi,
I have a hard time with chili powder (on the tummy). Do you recommend anything milder? Have you ever made a recipe for a Veracruz sauce? I can tolerate that. I appreciate any ideas. I want to make your stacked enchiladas next week!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Cami! We aren’t familiar with Veracruz sauce, but you might try using paprika, since it tends to be milder. We hope this helps!
I am positive that you are correct that I need to purchase high quality chili powder. I used my store brand (cheap) chili powder and although the enchiladas themselves were terrific, the whole recipe with the sauce was awful! The sauce more or less blackened in the oven and though we managed to eat them, I fed the leftovers to the dog (who looked mean at me.) I want to try this again with a better (make that the best I can afford) chili powder. Thank you for a terrific recipe.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing, Liz! We’re sorry the sauce came out poorly with that chili powder. Definitely use the good stuff if you can. We hope you’ll like the sauce better next time!
I just made this with Live G Free gluten free multi purpose flour and it turned out perfect. Nice and thick with a rich taste to it. I did add a small square of dark chocolate otherwise followed recipe but I did double it as I needed to make a large batch. Great recipe.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Virginia, that’s so great to know, thank you for sharing with us — we’re glad you liked the recipe!
I made this tonight, along with enchiladas. I can usually tolerate quite a bit of heat as long as theres bags of flavour backing it up, but am always wary with a new recipe. I started with 2 tbsp of chilli powder and it practically made my head explode. Think Popeye with steam coming out his ears. I corrected it with some lime juice, and it turned out super yummy really flavourful with a nice kick. I don’t know if its because I’m Australian and maybe my chilli powder is different to yours or that I showed it too much heat when cooking off the spices or what but I would very much advise to start with a little and build up. Maybe next time I’ll scale it up and include a can of tomatoes. Otherwise a really yummy sauce. But just know if its too spicy for you the lime really knocked back the chilli and didn’t taste weird at all, was really good actually!
Oh no! I bet the chili powder is a different variety in Australia. We’ve had that happen with a few different countries. The spice traditionally known as “chili powder” in the US is not very spicy. (I imagine yours was closer to a cayenne, which would definitely make my head explode.) :) So sorry that it didn’t work out! You might check with your grocery store and see if they offer the other kind of chili powder. Enjoy!
Thank you for this delicious recipe!!! I added paprika, fresh cilantro and a Tbsp of tomato paste to add even more flavor. The boys ask for it weekly now. Now when I walk past the canned sauce in the store I give a little giggle…’cause now I know better:-)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
You’re welcome Lisa, we’re happy you and your boys like it! It’s so easy, you just want to stop all of the other people from buying the jarred stuff, right?! ;)
i added a tbsp. of tomato paste to the recipe and used it to make the enchilada recipe that you linked. My husband liked it so much that he told me I should quit my job and open a restaurant! :) Thank you!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Alright, that’s quite a compliment! We’re so happy the sauce was a hit! :)
Made this today and my family loved it!!! Love that I won’t ever have to buy enchilada sauce again. I also used your EnchiladaSoup recipe too! Thanks for sharing
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing Kristie, we’re so happy you and your family are fans! :)
Hi there,
Thanks for the GREAT recipe, I made the sauce and the stacked enchiladas exactly per recipes. AMAZING!!! My husband LOVES enchiladas, it’s his favorite dish. I’m ashamed to say I’ve been using canned sauce all the 22 years that we’ve been married, and he still loved them. But after making it from scratch with your recipe I will never buy canned again, the difference was crazy!
I just have one question, there are so many kinds of chili powder, and from so many different stores. When I made mine I used a bottle I had just picked up from World Market, was so good and had a great spicy kick to it. Sounds like you’ve made this many many times. My question is this, which chili powder was your favorite to use?
Can’t wait to try some more of your recipes.
Thanks,
Judy M
Hey Judy! So glad you loved the recipe!! For sure, different chili powders make a huge difference in the flavor. My current favorite brands are Spice Islands or Simply Organics. Enjoy!
Hi,
I made this sauce with coconut flour because I am on a low-carb diet….I used it as I would normal flour and it tasted really good. I also added a small can of tomato paste just to give it some tomato flavor and thicken it a bit more…might tasty!!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
That’s awesome Kris, we’re so glad the coconut flour worked out well in this — great to know! :)
Excellent! I’ve always shied away from making enchiladas from scratch simply because of the sauce. I had always heard it was the hardest part & ended up throwing canned chili on top.. This recipe is soo delicious that I will NEVER go back to that! It was soo simple and quick that there aren’t any excuses not to make it. Yum! Thank you!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you Mariamada, we’re so happy you enjoyed this!
I made these for dinner tonight… Best decision EVER! They were easy, fast and best of all my hubby approved! & the homemade enchilada sauce is my new favorite!! ?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
That’s so great Adi, we’re happy you and your husband enjoyed it!
I’m curious, would it be possible to make this sauce and can it for later use? It looks delicious and I would love to have a bunch on hand and in my food storage. :)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Yes, completely! We’d say it should last about two weeks or so in the fridge. We hope you enjoy!
Do you have any nutritional values for your recipes? Sodium, carbohydrates, calories, sugars, etc.??? Specifically the Enchilada Sauce and yore delicious sounding GF/DF Stacked Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Karen! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I was in the middle of a recipe and reached for a can of enchilada sauce; much to my dismay it was gone! So I found this recipe and WOW! It is truly the BEST enchilada sauce. Ever. Thank you for the delicious recipe. Can’t wait to try more of your creations!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Oh we’re so glad you were able to make this on the fly, and that it worked out! We’re happy to hear you liked it, thanks for sharing! :)
I made this last night, It was fantastic! I did make the enchilada sauce since I had everything on hand, one thing I noticed was the recipe called for 2 cups chicken broth and when I was making the layering everything in the pan, I noticed the recipe called for 3 cups of sauce, though it had already simmered enough to get thick, I then added an extra cup of broth, as not to be short. Im so glad I did as it would have been very dry. Next time, I’ll double the recipe for the sauce and have some extra on hand.
We loved it, will be making again, Thanks for sharing!
Love this!! I’ve been trying to look for copycat recipes of things I use in my own cooking–it makes me feel better since I know EXACTLY what is going into it! Have you ever tried freezing or canning this? I love the idea of making my own enchilada sauce but I’d like to also be able to make a bigger batch and then have it on hand whenever I need it.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Lauren, we’re glad to hear that! We haven’t tried canning this, but you can definitely freeze it! :)
I plan to can this sauce because it is so good! I need to know how long to process it, though. And should I use a water bath or a pressure canner?
Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s truly amazing.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Monica, we’re happy to hear you like the sauce so much! We haven’t tried canning it ourselves, but if you can it correctly (using either method), it should work great!
As another Australian this was pretty spicy and I read the comment and reduced the amount of Chili to 1 tablespoon. I then saw this recipe https://www.food.com/recipe/chili-powder-16892 and realized that our chili and your chili is completely different. Chili powder in Australia is just ground chilies, not Cayenne but still really hot. Next time around I’ll add paprika, cumin and ground chili in place of the Chili powder.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Ah, that make sense! We’re glad you saw that, and we hope you enjoy the recipe!
I found this recipe looking for something to replace the green sauce I usually buy at the store for chicken enchiladas, but I’m becoming more & more intolerant to gluten so I HAVE to do it from scratch now as I am finding I have to do with most everything. This looks to be my saving grace. Making this tomorrow so wish me luck!
We made this earlier this week and it was quite delicious. For other readers who use Penzey’s spices, we use the medium chili powder and felt it sufficiently spicy with 2 tbsps. If we’d used 4 as recommended in the recipe, it would have been inedibly spicy. It also reheated well for some leftovers about 3 or 4 days later.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re happy to hear that Karen, thanks for sharing!
I originally was going to make my chicken enchilada with a store bought sauce,but I found your recipe and I’m glad I did. I will be using this recipe from now on. Delicious!!!!! I did however add hot sauce because I love the spice.
The description for this was so good and it looked so easy, that I had to try it. It was indeed way better than the canned stuff and I think my days of canned enchilada sauce are over, too. I thought the sauce needed some acid so I added a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and because it still seemed a little heavy, I added an extra cup of stock. Even with the extra stock, it was barely enough for the recipe and some members of the food critic’s that I cook for (aka picky family) wanted more sauce for dipping , so when I make again, I will double up!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Lee Ann, we’re happy you enjoyed this — thanks for sharing your tips!
You’re right. I decided to try out your recipes (Enchilada and the Enchilada sauce) tonight since you kept on raving about it on your blog. It was AMAZING. I never thought enchiladas can taste soo good. Thanks so much! I will definitely be making this more in the future and will be scouring your website for more amazing recipes such as this
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you Wendy, that’s so very sweet of you! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed both the sauce and the enchiladas! :)
I made this sauce, but also found it really spicy and quite watery. We threw in a jar of tomato pasta sauce as well and it made perfect!
We appreciate you sharing Olivia – thanks for giving it a try! We’re glad the addition of the tomato sauce worked out for you. :)
After reading the comments, I used half the chili powder, and added another spoon of flour, and oil. I also used fresh garlic, cooked it just a bit before I added the flour. I probably cooked the roux more than a minute before going to the other steps. Less than 2 cups of chicken stock, I was worried about it being too thin. The taste was AWESOME. I would probably make much more the next time, and then freeze half.
Everybody’s taste is different, but this is a recipe you can adapt to your liking, can’t argue with the end results. Thanks.
Thank you, we’re so happy to hear that! We really appreciate you sharing your experience with us too! :)
This has become my go-to enchilada sauce recipe! I had tried every brand of canned enchiladas sauce on the market, and could never find any with decent flavor, but this one is just perfect for me! When I first discovered the recipe, I made a pan of enchiladas every week for two months! And I live alone, so that’s a lot of enchiladas! I just ate the last two out of my freezer for lunch today, so I’m looking forward to whipping up another batch this weekend. Thank you so much!
Thanks Jenny, that’s awesome! We’re so happy you’re a fan! : )
After reading a few of the comments and making this as written, I added tomato paste (for depth) and some brown sugar. Turned out phenomenal.
We’re so glad to hear that Jessica, thanks for sharing! :)
When I make it I use 3 tsp of each of Chili New Mexico, Chilli California, and Chii Pasilla powders.
Ran out of chili powder so I used a tablespoon of chipotle pepper powder. We LOVE spicy and this gave is a nice, smoky heat. Was pretty spicy straight off the spoon, but I think the tortillas will help tone it down. Havent eaten the enchiladas but yet, but the sauce was delish!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the sauce Devon, and hopefully you enjoyed the enchiladas just as much! :)
A couple of my CF bueidds at my box are doing the Whole30 and while I am not going gung ho on that (hahah, I typed ho ;D) I am doing my best to eat Clean/Paleo. I threw this yummy goodness in the crockpot last night and was awakened by its delicious goodness this morning. LOVE IT. Can’t wait to dig into it for lunch today because if it was as good as my taste was this morning (and it was 6am so maybe it was just me)..it will be as you put it AMAZEBALLS! Thanks so much Juli for something YUMMY to keep me on the course of eating cleaner. Sign me up for your cookbook next year. (Will you be doing a big signing say at the Tattered Cover for us Colorado folks? :D) Thanks again!
Thank you Rista, we hope you loved it! :)
Made this many times for my boyfriend, who is very picky, with leftover pork roast and chicken. He thinks it’s restaurant quality and always asks for it. I have the ingredients on hand anyway and it’s sooooo much better than from a can. I make it per the recipe.
Yay, we’re happy to hear that, what a nice compliment! :)
OMG I will never ever buy from a can again. This is so easy and absolutely delicious. The second time I made it I added 1 heaping tbsp of tomato paste, and liked it even better. My family simply devours the enchiladas with this sauce. It really took no time at all to make.
Thank you Shawn, we’re so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the sauce and the enchiladas! :)
Have you ever tried a gluten free version with almond or coconut flour?
Hey Michelle! We haven’t tried either of those two, so we’re not sure how they would change the flavor. However, we would recommend a gluten-free flour blend, if you wanted to use something gluten-free. You could also use cornstarch or arrowroot powder. We hope this helps!
Wow, amazing and so simple!
Thank you Tanya, we’re so glad you liked it!
I made this to go with the Chicken Enchilada Casserole. I made a double batch and used 1/2 chili powder and 1/2 cayenne for some heat! It turned out great, except I didn’t cook it long enough!
Thanks for sharing Dave, we’re glad you enjoyed the sauce! Sometimes it does need a little extra time on the stove to thicken more.
Hey there. I’m interested in making your sauce and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for someone who would be looking for more of a medium to hot enchilada sauce. :)
If not I may just add a little smoked ghost pepper powder as it won’t alter the flavor too much and will add a nice zest – but I was hoping for advice from you for something probably a lot more traditional. :P
Ooooh, someone else who loves spicy food! :) I think the ghost pepper powder would be awesome, and plenty spicy. Otherwise, an easy alternative would be to just add in some extra pinches of cayenne to taste. Enjoy!
Can you use olive oil instead of vegetable?
Toa, you can, it just isn’t a neutral flavor, so it might alter the taste just a bit. We hope you enjoy!
Can I use chicken broth instead of chicken stock? Or is stock that much different that I should get chicken stock?
Hi Laura! Good question. You can most definitely use the broth instead of the stock, the flavor just might not be quite as rich. We hope you enjoy this!
This is very similar to mine, except, no oil in mine, and I add coco powder and then finish with tomato sauce after it starts to thicken…
For added heat, I substitute Ancho and/or Chipotle powder.
Awesome, thanks for sharing Paul!
Was looking for a quick, no-tomato, sauce recipe and came upon this one.
I just made this. You should tell your readers that after briefly toasting some guajillos, an ancho, and some del arbol chilis, then sticking them in a coffee grinder, your sauce is going to be 100X better and fresher. I haven’t bought stale store chili powder in years.
So I quickly made my own powder. That was my only modification besides about 3 small pieces of chocolate. Verdict: EXCELLENT. Thought it needed more flour because it was soupy, but I simmered a just a little longer (than recipe time) and it thickened right up. Great recipe, thanks for sharing it.
Thanks for sharing Brent, those are great tips! :)
Hi,
I have a hard time with chili powder (on the tummy). Do you recommend anything milder? Have you ever made a recipe for a Veracruz sauce? I can tolerate that. I appreciate any ideas. I want to make your stacked enchiladas next week!
Hi Cami! We aren’t familiar with Veracruz sauce, but you might try using paprika, since it tends to be milder. We hope this helps!
I am positive that you are correct that I need to purchase high quality chili powder. I used my store brand (cheap) chili powder and although the enchiladas themselves were terrific, the whole recipe with the sauce was awful! The sauce more or less blackened in the oven and though we managed to eat them, I fed the leftovers to the dog (who looked mean at me.) I want to try this again with a better (make that the best I can afford) chili powder. Thank you for a terrific recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Liz! We’re sorry the sauce came out poorly with that chili powder. Definitely use the good stuff if you can. We hope you’ll like the sauce better next time!
I just made this with Live G Free gluten free multi purpose flour and it turned out perfect. Nice and thick with a rich taste to it. I did add a small square of dark chocolate otherwise followed recipe but I did double it as I needed to make a large batch. Great recipe.
Virginia, that’s so great to know, thank you for sharing with us — we’re glad you liked the recipe!
Your recipes look awesome!!! Can’t wait to try them!!!
Thanks Kay, we hope you enjoy them!
Sure, we think jars would be just fine for storage (as long as you refrigerate of course)! :)
I made this tonight, along with enchiladas. I can usually tolerate quite a bit of heat as long as theres bags of flavour backing it up, but am always wary with a new recipe. I started with 2 tbsp of chilli powder and it practically made my head explode. Think Popeye with steam coming out his ears. I corrected it with some lime juice, and it turned out super yummy really flavourful with a nice kick. I don’t know if its because I’m Australian and maybe my chilli powder is different to yours or that I showed it too much heat when cooking off the spices or what but I would very much advise to start with a little and build up. Maybe next time I’ll scale it up and include a can of tomatoes. Otherwise a really yummy sauce. But just know if its too spicy for you the lime really knocked back the chilli and didn’t taste weird at all, was really good actually!
Oh no! I bet the chili powder is a different variety in Australia. We’ve had that happen with a few different countries. The spice traditionally known as “chili powder” in the US is not very spicy. (I imagine yours was closer to a cayenne, which would definitely make my head explode.) :) So sorry that it didn’t work out! You might check with your grocery store and see if they offer the other kind of chili powder. Enjoy!
Thank you for this delicious recipe!!! I added paprika, fresh cilantro and a Tbsp of tomato paste to add even more flavor. The boys ask for it weekly now. Now when I walk past the canned sauce in the store I give a little giggle…’cause now I know better:-)
You’re welcome Lisa, we’re happy you and your boys like it! It’s so easy, you just want to stop all of the other people from buying the jarred stuff, right?! ;)
i added a tbsp. of tomato paste to the recipe and used it to make the enchilada recipe that you linked. My husband liked it so much that he told me I should quit my job and open a restaurant! :) Thank you!
Alright, that’s quite a compliment! We’re so happy the sauce was a hit! :)
Made this today and my family loved it!!! Love that I won’t ever have to buy enchilada sauce again. I also used your EnchiladaSoup recipe too! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing Kristie, we’re so happy you and your family are fans! :)
492nd, not 492th ;)
Hi there,
Thanks for the GREAT recipe, I made the sauce and the stacked enchiladas exactly per recipes. AMAZING!!! My husband LOVES enchiladas, it’s his favorite dish. I’m ashamed to say I’ve been using canned sauce all the 22 years that we’ve been married, and he still loved them. But after making it from scratch with your recipe I will never buy canned again, the difference was crazy!
I just have one question, there are so many kinds of chili powder, and from so many different stores. When I made mine I used a bottle I had just picked up from World Market, was so good and had a great spicy kick to it. Sounds like you’ve made this many many times. My question is this, which chili powder was your favorite to use?
Can’t wait to try some more of your recipes.
Thanks,
Judy M
Hey Judy! So glad you loved the recipe!! For sure, different chili powders make a huge difference in the flavor. My current favorite brands are Spice Islands or Simply Organics. Enjoy!
Hi,
I made this sauce with coconut flour because I am on a low-carb diet….I used it as I would normal flour and it tasted really good. I also added a small can of tomato paste just to give it some tomato flavor and thicken it a bit more…might tasty!!!
That’s awesome Kris, we’re so glad the coconut flour worked out well in this — great to know! :)
Excellent! I’ve always shied away from making enchiladas from scratch simply because of the sauce. I had always heard it was the hardest part & ended up throwing canned chili on top.. This recipe is soo delicious that I will NEVER go back to that! It was soo simple and quick that there aren’t any excuses not to make it. Yum! Thank you!
Thank you Mariamada, we’re so happy you enjoyed this!
I made these for dinner tonight… Best decision EVER! They were easy, fast and best of all my hubby approved! & the homemade enchilada sauce is my new favorite!! ?
That’s so great Adi, we’re happy you and your husband enjoyed it!
I’m curious, would it be possible to make this sauce and can it for later use? It looks delicious and I would love to have a bunch on hand and in my food storage. :)
Yes, completely! We’d say it should last about two weeks or so in the fridge. We hope you enjoy!
Do you have any nutritional values for your recipes? Sodium, carbohydrates, calories, sugars, etc.??? Specifically the Enchilada Sauce and yore delicious sounding GF/DF Stacked Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Hi Karen! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I was in the middle of a recipe and reached for a can of enchilada sauce; much to my dismay it was gone! So I found this recipe and WOW! It is truly the BEST enchilada sauce. Ever. Thank you for the delicious recipe. Can’t wait to try more of your creations!
Oh we’re so glad you were able to make this on the fly, and that it worked out! We’re happy to hear you liked it, thanks for sharing! :)
I made this last night, It was fantastic! I did make the enchilada sauce since I had everything on hand, one thing I noticed was the recipe called for 2 cups chicken broth and when I was making the layering everything in the pan, I noticed the recipe called for 3 cups of sauce, though it had already simmered enough to get thick, I then added an extra cup of broth, as not to be short. Im so glad I did as it would have been very dry. Next time, I’ll double the recipe for the sauce and have some extra on hand.
We loved it, will be making again, Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Lisa, we’re happy you liked this!
Is the red color from the chili powder or do I have to use tomato purée
It’s from the chili powder. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Just made a batch of this and it was so easy. I will watch the salt next time though, perhaps it was the chicken broth.
Thanks Debbie, we’re glad you enjoyed it!
Love this!! I’ve been trying to look for copycat recipes of things I use in my own cooking–it makes me feel better since I know EXACTLY what is going into it! Have you ever tried freezing or canning this? I love the idea of making my own enchilada sauce but I’d like to also be able to make a bigger batch and then have it on hand whenever I need it.
Thanks Lauren, we’re glad to hear that! We haven’t tried canning this, but you can definitely freeze it! :)
hiya, thanks for the yummy recipe :) was
just wondering if you can freeze it, thanks Kat
You can freeze it, but the texture changes slightly upon thawing. Still, just give it a good whisk, and it’ll be great!
No tomato sauce or paste? Hmmm
I used to love cooking but have slowed down. I would feel prouder if I could do something simle
I plan to can this sauce because it is so good! I need to know how long to process it, though. And should I use a water bath or a pressure canner?
Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s truly amazing.
Thanks Monica, we’re happy to hear you like the sauce so much! We haven’t tried canning it ourselves, but if you can it correctly (using either method), it should work great!
As another Australian this was pretty spicy and I read the comment and reduced the amount of Chili to 1 tablespoon. I then saw this recipe https://www.food.com/recipe/chili-powder-16892 and realized that our chili and your chili is completely different. Chili powder in Australia is just ground chilies, not Cayenne but still really hot. Next time around I’ll add paprika, cumin and ground chili in place of the Chili powder.
Ah, that make sense! We’re glad you saw that, and we hope you enjoy the recipe!
I found this recipe looking for something to replace the green sauce I usually buy at the store for chicken enchiladas, but I’m becoming more & more intolerant to gluten so I HAVE to do it from scratch now as I am finding I have to do with most everything. This looks to be my saving grace. Making this tomorrow so wish me luck!
Thanks Leslie, we hope you enjoyed it!
We made this earlier this week and it was quite delicious. For other readers who use Penzey’s spices, we use the medium chili powder and felt it sufficiently spicy with 2 tbsps. If we’d used 4 as recommended in the recipe, it would have been inedibly spicy. It also reheated well for some leftovers about 3 or 4 days later.
We’re happy to hear that Karen, thanks for sharing!
Delicious and simple. Take the time to do this prior to your enchiladas. Worth it!!!!!!
Thanks Kara, we’re happy you liked this!
I originally was going to make my chicken enchilada with a store bought sauce,but I found your recipe and I’m glad I did. I will be using this recipe from now on. Delicious!!!!! I did however add hot sauce because I love the spice.
We’re so happy you liked the sauce Dina! :)
I was skeptical but omg that sauce was on point. Honestly ilu
The description for this was so good and it looked so easy, that I had to try it. It was indeed way better than the canned stuff and I think my days of canned enchilada sauce are over, too. I thought the sauce needed some acid so I added a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and because it still seemed a little heavy, I added an extra cup of stock. Even with the extra stock, it was barely enough for the recipe and some members of the food critic’s that I cook for (aka picky family) wanted more sauce for dipping , so when I make again, I will double up!
Thanks Lee Ann, we’re happy you enjoyed this — thanks for sharing your tips!
You’re right. I decided to try out your recipes (Enchilada and the Enchilada sauce) tonight since you kept on raving about it on your blog. It was AMAZING. I never thought enchiladas can taste soo good. Thanks so much! I will definitely be making this more in the future and will be scouring your website for more amazing recipes such as this
Thank you Wendy, that’s so very sweet of you! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed both the sauce and the enchiladas! :)