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
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.
Authentic red enchilada sauce does not have tomatoes in it!!!!!
enchilada sauce is wonderful!
I will never buy pre-made sauce again.
Thank you !!
This was great i have always typically made my sauce by taste never really knew what it was gunna come out like. This is a great recipe I grew up in small border towns in Arizona and after trying the exact recipe made a couple changes. First those thinking is too spicy be sure you are not using Cheyenne in your chili powder it’s not only spicier but has a spicier flavor to boot. Be sure to bring to a boil before simmer as with all flour thickened sauces. I added sugar and paprika to mine and a dash of tomato paste not because it’s right but without the tomato my kids won’t eat it thank you for your efforts!
Hi Ali!
I made a few batches of this sauce (to try and get the spiciness that my family enjoys) and ended up using 1/4t ancho chili for my parents, and 1t for my boyfriend per batch. I think you’re right on, saying that the chili powder matters. What kind of chili powder are you using? Perhaps the one you’re using is milder than the ones other people are trying, and that’s where the “crazy spicy” comments are coming from.
I HIGHLY suggest to anyone trying this to start SMALL, with the chile powder. You can always add more, but it’s hard to add less ;)
Also, I was thinking, for the people saying this was “too salty”- perhaps you are using a salted chicken or veggie broth? I know that my homemade veggie broth didn’t add any salt to the recipe, but I know most boxed broth you can get at the store contains salt.
I think “taste as you go, and start small” is a good rule of thumb for the folks trying this for the first time. My mom said it reminded her of her favorite enchilada sauce at an old restaurant (which she used to buy quarts of to take home), but wanted to add a little acid to the recipe- any ideas? I thought lemon juice or apple cider vinegar might work!
Thanks Ali!
I made this sauce to go with the enchiladas also from this website and while my father loved it for it’s spiciness, my sister wouldn’t eat it and her boyfriend said it was like being kicked in the teeth. This sauce, even with less than half of the chilli powder is super spicy so I made a batch without the chilli at all and mixed them together which made it much better. I’m wondering if it’s supposed to be four teaspoons of chilli rather than four tablespoons.
Ali, what chili powder do you buy? On your chicken enchiladas post you say “good quality chili powder”. Is this better than what I buy at Trader Joe’s? :)
This is the best sauce I’ve tried so far and am very happy to have found the recipe! The combination of spices is so good and I like that it has no tomato sauce/paste. I doubled the recipe but only used a total of 4 T chili powder.) I like red sauces with no tomato sauce/paste in it.
My mom owned a Mexican restaurant for over forty years in Taos. This recipe is similar to hers, except for the chicken broth. For those of you who are questioning the lack of tomato sauce, please know that tomato sauce does not belong in enchilada sauce. For color you could try adding paprika. You can also purchase Mexican oregano.
I’m very disappointed to say that this didn’t work out for me. I didn’t make any substitutions and followed the recipe exactly except that I added a little less than 4T of chili powder because I ran out; however it came out extremely grainy…it basically tasted like granulated chili powder mixed with a hot thickened stock. :( I used organic chili powder from the bulk section of my natural food store (which I’ve never used before) so there’s a possibility that the type of powder I used might have had something to do with it…perhaps it wasn’t a fine enough grind. However I don’t think that chili powder ‘dissolves’ into hot liquid like salt or sugar so I’m not sure if a finer grind of chili powder would solve the problem. Too bad I really wanted this recipe to work for me!
How long can you freeze it for?
I’d say up to 3 months.