Gimme Some Oven

Enchilada Sauce

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe

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

Chili powder (to make red enchilada sauce)

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.

Whisking Red Enchilada Sauce

How To Make Enchilada Sauce:

Here are the basic steps for how to make enchilada sauce (full instructions included in the recipe box below):

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Season: Season with salt (or any extra seasonings that you might like to add) to taste.
  4. Serve: Then serve it up in a pan of enchiladas or whatever recipe sounds good…and enjoy!

Jar of red enchilada sauce

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.

Chicken enchiladas made with homemade enchilada sauce recipe

Ways To Use Enchilada Sauce:

Here are a few of my favorite ways to use this easy enchilada sauce:

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe

Red Enchilada Sauce

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 538 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x

Description

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.


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.)
  4. Serve: Use immediately in your favorite recipe and enjoy!


Notes

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.

Share this Post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

2,134 comments on “Enchilada Sauce”

1 16 17 18 19 20 30
  1. A) you should temper your roux. Then the clump issue is eliminated.

    B) adjusting your amount of roux is how you adjust thickness, not simmering out the liquid. It would make the sauce done as soon as you tempered the roux and stock.

    -Chef Chris

  2. The enchilada sauce is truly yummy and so easy to make. Truly worth the effort….






  3. I just found your green sauce recipe and it made me very happy, this one less so. As a chef and New Mexican I can’t wrap my head around roux-based chile sauce or chile powder sauces. Sweat onion and garlic, add water/stock (I use water as I like the pure flavor of chile) and whole dried chiles without the stem, boil to soften the chiles and then puree in the blender for minutes for a smooth sauce. If you didn’t use too much water the sauce will be to thick and you will need to add liquid to thin. Add salt and apple cider vinegar to taste. Perfect red chile. Cumin/oregano optional and I don’t recommend.

  4. Best Enchilada sauce ever !!!
    I have thrown out all the other recipes in my Board.
    Thank you for sharing this.
    I tell all my family and friends about it.

  5. I must be in the minority because i found it to be really tasteless. I added cayenne because i like it spicy and that is literally all i taste and the chicken broth. maybe its the spices i used. the consistency is perfect and thick and looks delicious but there is no taste. i am so bummed because this is so easy and i really wanted it to love it. i hate the stuff in the can it tastes like watered down tomato soup. i have been long on the hunt for the perfect enchilada sauce and sadly this is not it. any ideas to make it more flavorful? thanks.

  6. Your Chicken Enchilada Soup is the bomb! I’m making a double recipe for a Chile Celebration Dinner (it’s chile season in NM). Great easy version of red chile. I used NM certified red chile and added a 1/2 tsp onion powder for a double recipe. Am using NM green chile too instead of canned. Yum!






  7. Thank you this looks great! How much does this make serving wise or in ounces?

  8. I don’t know why I’ve never made enchilada sauce before but by golly so happy I found your recipe! Suffice to say, I’ll never use the canned stuff again! This is a game changer. And, I made your Best Chicken Enchiladas Ever recipe .. A marriage made in heaven. Superb!






  9. How well does this freeze? I’d like to make a few batches and am wondering how well they would last frozen?

  10. Uh, nope. Made your chicken enchiladas recipe with the recommended homemade sauce, and the sauce was a huge disappointment. Followed the recipe to the letter, and it just tasted like cooked chile powder in oil. No depth of flavor, no balance of acidity/hot/sweet/spicy. I won’t even go into all the stuff I added to try to make this palatable. I don’t care for the canned enchilada sauce, but this was not an improvement.






  11. This did not thicken up for me!

  12. This enchilada sauce is so delicious and couldn’t be easier! Thank you so much for sharing it!






  13. I found a little bland,so added more cumin ,cilantro,and,chili,2-3 this tamato paste….sautéed for a few mins to bring out tomatoes flavor,and,a 28 oz can of plum tomatoes..that I processed in food processor until sauce consistency..At end,threw I. 2 Tbs butter..delish






  14. Amazing recipe. I have made this several times and always get compliments and requests for the recipe. I only use half the chili powder, but keep almost everything else the same. Soooo aaahhhmazing!






  15. Just wondering, what kind of expiry date you would say if I put the sauce leftovers in my deep freezer? I think I previously made this (delicious!) recipe 3-5 months ago? It’s peobably still good, right? Thanks!






  16. I made the enchilada sauce with the Beef Enchiladas on this site. They worked together really well. I added a bit more sauce to the meat mixture than the recipe called for. My usual enchilada sauce is tomato based but I thought this was really good and the seasoning spot on – i used 3 TBS of chili pepper. Next time I may add all 4 TBS. I will make this again.






  17. After making this sauce and eating it, I can no longer use store bought sauce. It is a family favorite!






  18. This is my go-to recipe for enchiladas! I will never buy pre-made sauce again.
    The only comment I would make is to watch your stock, because it can be quite salty and I’m assuming that’s where the salt comes from. Otherwise it’s easy and fantastic!






  19. Long time reader, first time commenter. This is the only enchilada sauce we make! I’ve put a bit of my own spin on it by subbing tomato paste for 1 tbsp of the chili powder. Makes it a bit thicker and adds lovely umami.






  20. Also wondering if this sauce freezes well? LOVE it.






  21. Made this tonight and we loved it! I was looking for an enchilada sauce recipe and found this. I love your jambalaya recipe so I knew this would be good too!






  22. Wow. I was totally expecting the recipe to be made from Red Chile pods. This will go in my quick and easy, don’t tell Nana and Tata, made made from Chile powder recipe.

  23. This has been my favourite recipe for my family since I tried it! Loaded with flavour, protein and veggie rich, …I don’t need to try another recipe: this has it all! SO GOOD!






  24. The first time I made this sauce was about two years ago and it got me hooked on your blog. Yes! This is the best enchilada sauce – EVER. I love that I can change things up a little based on what I am making and how I will use it. I Do think that I will want to make enough to freeze at some point. I’m lazy and cooking in batches appeals to me.

    My standard change is that I use 1/2 tomato sauce and 1/2 chicken stock. I added smoked paprika when making beef enchilada’s and loved the depth of flavor that provided. Tonight, I’m making the enchilada casserole for the first time and soooo looking forward to trying it. :)

    PS: I’m excessively jealous of you living in Europe and having a successful blog. Keep living the dream (apparently my dream too!)

  25. I really appreciated this recipe. My husband is very sensitive to MSG and other ingredients in a lot of prepared food, so I make virtually everything from scratch. We haven’t had enchiladas in years because I refused to buy the canned stuff, and honestly had no idea how to make the sauce homemade. I assumed it was tomato based, so when I stumbled across this recipe I was really surprised to see that it wasn’t. This didn’t seem complicated at all, so we tried it and it is delicious! Easy to make, tastes great, and nothing artificial that will trigger a headache reaction. Love, love, love this recipe. Thank you so much!






  26. I made this recipe and found the sauce runny until it sat in the sealed jar in the fridge overnight. It worked out well and tasted great. If you used a sterilized canning jar and screw top (10 minutes in the oven at 225F), boiled the canning sealing lid, would it be possible to can this sauce ? It would be handy to have on hand or give as gifts. Thanks

  27. This recipe really is the best! My husband and youngest son are gluten free and I love that’s it’s easy to tweek so the whole family can have it.






  28. We made this recipe, exactly as is, with Chicken Enchiladas last night and I am blown away by how great it is! I don’t think I could ever order enchiladas out to eat again, because now we can make them much tastier at home. The sauce is SERIOUSLY good.






  29. I first made this to use in your enchilada soup and it was so good that we will use it for our enchiladas from now on, So much better than the canned version.






  30. I love to cook. Been cooking for 45 or so years now. I made this enchilada sauce last week. It is absolutely the best and easiest sauce I’ve ever made. Thanks!






  31. I went home and made this recipe for my parents. They loved it, said it was better than any mexican restaurant! I usually double the recipe when I make enchiladas. I am curious as to if this sauce can be frozen and used later on?






  32. I will never ever buy canned red enchilada sauce again after making this recipe. This was so quick and easy – and the flavor was out of this world! I made it to put on top of pork tamales and it was a huge hit!!!!!






  33. Made this sauce to go in the chicken enchilada casserole…..there’s no going back to the canned stuff. It was de-lish! I used a 3:1 ratio of Ancho to Chipotle Chili Powders, just the right amount of spice of us. Thanks for the recipe!

  34. I come across food blogs all the time when searching for recipes. I decided to make this a few days ago and finally made it today. It would not be a huge stretch for me to say this recipe will change my life. Not only was it amazing, but it was easy to make. My wife loved it, I have a mason jar left in the fridge, and am diving into the rest of the site now.

    Thank you!

  35. Super easy – very tasty, and much more inexpensive then buying premade.






  36. This is hands down the best enchilada sauce I’ve ever had! Ever! I’ve made my own, used the dry packets,and tried canned sauce. Some were ok but I’ll never need to try another now that I use this recipe ‘ When I have company I make enchiladas with this sauce and they are always a huge hit! And I love that I don’t need tomatoes. I always have the other ingredients on hand. So so amazing and so flavorful! Thank you!!






  37. Try using Mexican Oregano (also known as spicy Oregano) if you can find it. I grow all my own herbs so I have plenty. Also added about 1/16 tsp Ghost Pepper powder because I like it VERY hot

    fyi: Ghost peppers are about 10 times as hot as habaneros so be very very careful

  38. Really delicious sauce one of the best I’ve tried and I used the chicken bones from the rotisserie chicken for the broth so it was really rich ? thanks for sharing






  39. Hello, can I use chicken broth instead of stock?

  40. I love this recipe. I’ve made it a few times now and prefer it over anything store bought. I’m not a fan of cayenne anything (plus I’m in Australia so different) so I use chipotle in adobe sauce for the “pepper” flavours. I love the depth and smokiness the Adobe gives this recipe.

  41. So easy to make and delicious. Thank you for the recipe.






  42. Can you freeze this sauce? Love your recipes! Thank you!






  43. I made this sauce tonight and used chipotle in it as well. I loved the flavor of this sauce. I even left for awhile and when I came home the smell of the sauce still filled my kitchen and it was delightful! Fantastic!






  44. Any ideas why my enchilada sauce came out almost black?

  45. Loved this recipe, easy and delicious.






  46. Ali, this is the best Enchilada Sauce! It is now a staple in my kitchen. I so enjoy making homemade as much as possible. Thank you for such a great recipe that is so easy and equally delicious!

  47. I made this yesterday for my veggie enchiladas. It tasted pretty good after the enchiladas were cooked but I really didn’t like it on its own and I definitely wouldn’t use it outside of enchiladas. I used one of the brands of chili powder you recommended (Simply Organic) and followed the recipe to a T. It tasted too strongly of flour, almost doughy. I thought it was too salty as well. The texture and color were perfect. Next time I would change the ratio of chili powder to flour, or perhaps cook the flour for longer than only a minute to get rid of more of the flour flavor? I’m not sure what to do. Any tips?






    • Typically if you don’t cook down your flour enough is when you’ll get that flavor. Make sure you actually cook the flour with the oil beforehand enough to where it becomes an even consistency. This will ensure the flour flavor goes away. Cheers!

    • You may not have cooked long enough, usually if something tastes like flour that is the case!

  48. This sauce really is the best. So worth the extra effort.






  49. This sauce really is the best. I find 4 tablespoons of chili powder to be too spicy for my family, so we use about two. This makes the sauce quite as thick so you have to simmer longer or add less broth.






  50. Found you when I was looking for a sauce recipe and this one was a hit! Ridiculously easy too.
    Perfectly perfect.