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    You are here: Home / Sauces & Dressings / Easy Enchilada Sauce

    LAST UPDATED: April 27, 2022 • FIRST PUBLISHED: March 9, 2019

    Easy Enchilada Sauce

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Easy Enchilada Sauce

    Delicious homemade enchilada sauce that cooks up in minutes! When you see how easy (and cheap!) this stuff is to make, you'll never want to use store-bought again.

    Ladle Drizzling Enchilada Sauce into a Jar

    I'm switching up how I do things a little bit! For most of the life of this blog, whenever I posted a recipe that included something like enchilada sauce, like...hmmm...enchiladas, I'd include the sauce recipe for the sauce as part of the enchilada recipe. I'd just go and give you the whole enchilada. (<-- Haha! Sorry.)

    But I have two problems with doing things that way. First off, not all of you guys want to make your own sauce. Which I totally get! I have plenty of busy days where I go for store-bought sauces. Or maybe you already have an enchilada sauce recipe you love, and you want to use that. That's cool with me!

    And also, I tend to make my sauces a little differently every time, which means I end up with half a dozen slightly different versions of enchilada sauce on the blog. And really, any one of them could go with any of my other enchilada recipes.

    Ladle Drawing Enchilada Sauce from a Pot

    So from now on, I'm going to just share recipes for sauces and accompaniments and other stuff like that as stand alone recipes, and when I post a recipe that uses that sauce or accompaniment, I'll link you up! So you've got a choice now: use my recipe, use store-bought, or make it yourself!

    And yes, as you might have guessed, I've got a recipe that features enchilada sauce coming up.

    How to Make Enchilada Sauce

    Enchilada sauce starts with some flour and oil. The flour is your thickener, and the oil is what you'll be cooking your flour in. Heat the oil in a saucepan and whisk in the flour. Get it to a relatively mixture and cook it until it starts to bubble up. Let it bubble for about a minute, whisking the whole time.

    Next, whisk in your spices: cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder. You'll be using lots of chili powder (¼ cup!), as this is the main flavor to your enchilada sauce.

    Finally, add some water, tomato paste and salt. Bring everything to a simmer and let it cook until the mixture thickens up.

    Collage Showing Steps for Making Enchilada Sauce: Cook Flour in Oil, Add Spices, Add Liquid, and Simmer

    That's it! So even though I went on above about how you have a choice between making your own sauce and buying it, you'll probably want to make it yourself, right?

    Tips for Making Perfect Enchilada Sauce

    • Make sure you use regular old chili powder for this recipe. The mild kind that you'd put in chili — such as this one. If you go with hot chili powder, chipotle chili powder, ancho chile powder or any other variety the flavor will be wrong and there's a good chance it'll be too hot and/or bitter to eat.
    • Having said that, you can, once you get the hang of making it, experiment with adding small amounts of additional spices to your enchilada sauce. Start with a small amount (½ teaspoon or less) of smoked paprika, chipotle chile powder, or cayenne pepper (for extra kick).
    • Homemade enchilada sauce will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 2 weeks, or in the freezer for about 3 months.

    A Jar of Enchilada Sauce with Spoon and Napkin in the Background

    Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!

    Ladle Drizzling Enchilada Sauce into a Jar
    5 from 2 votes
    Print

    Easy Enchilada Sauce

    Delicious homemade enchilada sauce that cooks up in minutes! When you see how easy (and cheap!) this stuff is to make, you'll never want to use store-bought again.

    Course Sauce
    Cuisine Mexican
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 10 minutes
    Total Time 15 minutes
    Servings 10
    Calories 77 kcal
    Author Alissa Saenz

    Ingredients

    • ¼ cup canola oil, or neutral-flavored high-heat oil of choice
    • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
    • ¼ cup mild chili powder
    • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • 2 ½ cups water
    • ¼ cup tomato paste
    • ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

    Instructions

    1. Coat the bottom of a medium saucepan with the oil and place it over medium heat.

    2. When the oil is hot, whisk in the flour. Slowly heat up the flour, whisking constantly. After a few minutes it will begin to bubble. Continue whisking and cook the mixture for about 1 minute more.

    3. Whisk in the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder.

    4. Whisk in the water, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, and salt. Continue whisking until the mixture is fully blended and there are no lumps.

    5. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Lower the heat and allow it to cook, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens up a bit.

    6. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the sauce to cool. It will continue to thicken up as it does.

    7. Use the sauce immediately, or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze for later.

    Recipe Notes

    Makes about 2 ½ cups.

    Nutrition Facts
    Easy Enchilada Sauce
    Amount Per Serving (0.25 cup)
    Calories 77 Calories from Fat 55
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 6.1g9%
    Saturated Fat 0.5g3%
    Sodium 272mg11%
    Potassium 125mg4%
    Carbohydrates 5.6g2%
    Fiber 1.4g6%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 1.1g2%
    Calcium 10mg1%
    Iron 1.1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    « Caribbean Bean Soup with Collard Greens
    Loaded Vegan Enchilada Casserole »

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    About Alissa Saenz

    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

    I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Dave says

      March 10, 2019 at 12:04 am

      5 stars
      Really looking forward to trying this. So many commercial Enchilada sauces contain MSG.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        March 10, 2019 at 7:11 pm

        Thanks Dave!! I hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    2. GAIL BROWNLEE says

      March 10, 2019 at 11:36 am

      Love your recipes. As we are a celiac household, do you know if this can be made with say cornstarch to replace the flour?

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        March 10, 2019 at 7:10 pm

        Thanks Gail! I think that would work. I'd use a much smaller amount though - maybe a tablespoon - and mix it with some cold water to make a slurry, then add it during the last minute of cooking. I'd love to hear how it works out if you try!

        Reply
    3. fred remus says

      March 12, 2019 at 9:05 am

      i make this with bob's red mill all purpose gluten free flour and it works fine.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        March 17, 2019 at 5:20 pm

        I'm glad to hear it! Thanks Fred!

        Reply
    4. Sheila Quinn says

      November 25, 2020 at 4:27 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe has been a game changer for me. It is so delicious and easy to prepare that we now have enchiladas anytime the mood hits. That has been wonderful during the pandemic when we can't just run to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Thanks!

      Reply
    5. Jamie Light says

      December 22, 2021 at 8:04 pm

      I'm trying this for Christmas. I accidentally bought tomato sauce. Can I use that or does it have to be paste? I'm in a pickle😞

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        December 23, 2021 at 11:03 am

        Tomato paste is much thicker, so I'm thinking you could make it work by using extra and cutting back in on the water. Try 1/2 cup of sauce and cut the water back to 2 1/4 cups. I think it will be fine!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors!

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