Enchilada Sauce makes a staple ingredient to keep on hand for quick meals. This easy red enchilada sauce comes together quickly and keeps in the refrigerator for up to two weeks!
My family absolutely adores enchiladas – whether it be my chicken enchiladas or my super simple enchilada casserole – it is something that I can always depend on them devouring. And don’t get me started on how quickly my beef enchilada dip disappears. Mercy! I think one of the secrets to why they love it so much is this incredibly easy homemade enchilada sauce that I make.
This enchilada sauce is so simple to make and uses ingredients that I always have on hand in my pantry. Since it comes together quickly, it is a recipe you can easily make as you need it, storing any remainder in the refrigerator for a later use. And since we use it so often around my house, I’ve learned to just make sure I keep a supply!
My recipe listed below makes 4 cups of enchilada sauce, but it can easily be divided if you need less or multiplied if you need more!
How to Make the BEST Enchilada Sauce
To make it, I simply add my vegetable oil and all-purpose flour to a medium sauce pan over medium heat. I use my whisk to make sure that it is well combined as it is cooking.
If you need a gluten-free option for making your enchilada sauce, you can substitute gluten-free flour in place of the flour listed or see my Blender Enchilada Sauce Recipe that is gluten-free and ready in minutes. It is a marvel!
Once the oil and flour are bubbly, I whisk in the chili powder and chicken stock, making sure that they are combined really well.
Then, I continue on adding in the crushed tomatoes, oregano, and other dried spices, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
Once you have added all of the ingredients, you can adjust to your preferences. For instance, you might want to increase the amount of chili powder if you are looking for a spicier enchilada sauce, etc.
Homemade Enchilada Sauce Options
- Gluten-free – Use a gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Vegan – Use vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock or broth called for in the recipe.
- Sugar-free – Use 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar in place of the brown sugar in the recipe.
Can I Use Fresh Garlic and Onions?
In the past I’ve had questions about using fresh garlic and minced onion in place of garlic powder and onion powder in the recipe. You absolutely can do that! It is fabulous, but does not have the same storage ability as using dried spices in this recipe.
I recommend only using fresh garlic and onion if you are making the sauce to use immediately and eaten within three days.
The recipe as listed will keep well in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
So, here’s my super easy homemade enchilada sauce recipe. I think you guys are going to absolutely love it!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 cup chicken stock or broth, homemade or store-bought
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar, optional, but recommended
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add oil and flour to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together to combine. Once the flour and oil mixture begin to bubble, whisk in the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust spices based on your preferences.
- Use immediately or pour enchilada sauce into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Notes
To make vegan, replace chicken stock with vegetable stock.
To make sugar-free, replace brown sugar with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives, originally posted in 2013.
Made it, loved it, will most definitely make it again. It’s got the right amount of kick where the spice is concerned. Great recipe!!!
Love, love ,love this recipe! Have you ever tried to can it? Thanks!
I haven’t tried canning this sauce, Amy, but I have frozen it. It freezes really well.
Oh my gosh, this is fabulous! I was craving enchiladas for dinner tonight, but I didn’t have any enchilada sauce. I found your recipe and made it, and fell in love with the flavor! I really like how thick it is too. So good I had to share the recipe with me daughter!! I will definitely be making this again! Delish!!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Lori. Thanks!
Love this sauce, and I get a lot of friend asking for the recipe thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Miriam. I’m so glad you and your friend like it.
This was delicious, definitely liked it better than other homemade enchilada sauces I’ve tried. Didn’t have that “burned” taste from cooking the chili powder with the flour and oil as some recipes instruct you to do. Faster to make too. Liked the crushed tomato consistency. I’ll freeze the extra sauce for later.
Larine, I’m happy you liked this recipe for enchilada sauce. Thanks!
This recipe is delicious, made two pans OF enchiladas it was plenty of sauce for both! Family Loved it.
Theresa, I’m so glad your family loved this sauce on the enchiladas. My family likes this so much better than canned sauce.
I have a hubby with an onion sensitivity, so I am making everything from scratch now days. This was my first time making enchilada sauce and I’m very picky about enchilada sauce anyway. This recipe is really simple to make and taste really good! It’s nothing like the store bought cans, which is good IMO, I think it’s much better ! I stuck to the recipe other than adding a few of my own spices. I added a teaspoon of Jalapeño powder some smoked paprika, regular paprika and I didn’t have the cumin so I used a teaspoon of a mixed seasoning called Carne Asada seasoning which has cumin in the mix along with garlic,black pepper cilantro and lime. Because I added that to get some cumin in the mix I didn’t add as much black pepper or salt. It is a little spicy, which we like but I believe that’s due to my adding in the extras like the Jalapeño powder and paprika. This is a great recipe to use then play around with for your individual taste preferences. Thank you so much for providing this simple and yummy recipe for me to use ! I will be using it from now on 🙂 xoxo
Celeste, I’m so glad you liked this enchilada sauce. Your additional spices sound interesting. I may have to try them sometime. Thanks!