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:
- Enchiladas: This red sauce works on just about any kind of enchiladas, such as my favorite chicken enchiladas, beef enchiladas, or roasted cauliflower enchilada.
- Soups: Enchilada sauce is a fantastic way to season soups, such as my slow cooker chicken enchilada soup, cheesy chicken enchilada soup, or sweet potato enchilada soup.
- 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!).
- Nachos, Cups, Skillets and More: I also love using this sauce in other enchilada-inspired recipes, such as my easy enchilada cups, chicken enchilada nachos and this easy enchilada skillet.
Red Enchilada Sauce
- 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
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup chili powder (see note below)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- 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!
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.
Love the sauce
I found practically the same identical chili gravy recipe several years ago and I won’t use any other now. All the ingredients are the same, just in different portion sizes.
Okay, I just had to come back and let you know that this sauce was soooooooo awesome! I made it tonight to use with the chicken enchiladas I made for supper. It was outstanding! My sister was practically slurping it from the saucepan, she liked it so much (Okay, I’m just kidding there, but you know what I’m saying). And it was so easy to make, I was surprised – just nothing to it. I will never buy canned enchilada sauce again – it can’t hold a candle to this sauce where flavor is concerned. And being able to control what I’m eating is one reason I went looking for a homemade enchilada sauce to begin with. The ONLY thing I did differently from the recipe is cut down on the added salt & that’s only because I’m on a reduced sodium diet due to high blood pressure. I can’t thank you enough for putting this recipe out here.
Can I substitute oil type? Olive or coconut? Thanks! Cant wait to try it!
Sure, you can substitute either. Both of those have stronger flavors, though, so just know that you may taste a hint of olive oil or coconut.
I think you are missing some tomato paste in this recipe.
Oh, honey, this recipe ain’t missin’ nothin’!
I have a recipe from a hispanic grama, and no tomato paste in her’s either
All I have to say is YUM! I also had a problem with it being to salty (the chicken broth I’m sure) so instead of a double batch, I ended up with a quadruple batch by adding more flour/water, cumin and garlic to taste. I was heavy handed with my chipolte chili powder the first time around, so I didn’t add any more of that. In the future, I just won’t add any salt until I taste it first. Who the heck cares what color it is when it has such great flavor and I didn’t have to pay 3-4 dollars a can for thin sauce that makes everything soggy! I never would have thought to make my own, and I’m so pleased with the outcome. It made my Chiliquiles delicious! And now I have enough sauce left to make Enchiladas soon! Thank you for a great recipe!
Help!! I made this tonight (2 batches) and they BOTH turned out sooooo salty! I did not have cumin so I left it out and I used Italian seasoning, that does not contain salt, Why would it be so salty?? The bouillon cubes I used to make the broth had salt. I even halved that salt in the 2nd batch and it is still so salty!
How do I cut out the salt taste, any guesses???
Hi Melissa,
Eek — I bet it’s the bouillon. I typically find those to taste way saltier than traditional chicken stock. The cumin might have balanced things out a bit too. If you want to dilute it, maybe make a third batch and mix it in using water instead of stock (if you don’t have any, instead of bouillon). Good luck!
~Ali
I used bullion but didn’t add salt & it turned out great. So delicious! Thank you for posting this!
just a thought, next time if you are using bouillon cubes cut out the salt the recipe calls for. bouillon cubes tend to be more salty than broth.
Also, you can now buy reduced-sodium, or even sodium free, bouillon cubes.
Soooo good! And chemical free. Wonderful thanks!
I really enjoyed the taste of this sauce but it is NOT little kid friendly at least for those kids that don’t care much for spice. I would say it is medium spice if not spicier. I understand that spice depends on the spice level of chili powder one uses but I never see one that says mild. Will try either less chili powder or substituting half of it with paprika.
It has always been my experience that… the darker the chili powder the spicier it will be. Try starting with a half teaspoon and work up from there to your liking. Or try some lighter chili powder. Hope this helps. :)
FINALLY! An enchilada sauce that doesn’t require things I don’t have in my cupboard, and tastes just like the restaurants. Super easy, tastes great! Thanks!