Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe
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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.
This sauce is so yummy! Canned is horrible next to this stuff! Thanks
Just used this recipe tonight to make enchiladas for the first time ever. They turned out great, and the whole family enjoyed them. I made it as directed, and it was so easy. Next time I think I’ll only use 2T. chili powder as it was slightly hot for us. Thank you for an excellent recipe!
I just whipped up a batch of this sauce for dinner tonight….yum! Super easy, I had all the ingredients on hand. I almost left out the sugar, but I’m glad I didn’t, it creates a wonderful balance without a sugary sweet taste. I’m wondering if this sauce freezes well? I want to make a huge batch a freeze it up for winter dinners to come. Thank you for the great recipe!!!
This was so yum-o just as written, the spice blend was perfect for me. Because it makes 4 cups I will try it with the dip recipe and do it as written but will change the cheese to velvette on the other 2 cups. Thanks for a great sauce!!!!
Can this be canned for long term storage?
This was very good and very simple to make. It tasted as good as the complicated sauce I typically make. Thanks for the recipe
I’m from the southwest, not the south, but this was darned good. Made it half hour ago to go with chicken leg quarters. I was skeptical about that much sugar, but I used pretty hot chile powder. It balanced out nicely without being too sweet. I didn’t have 28 oz of crushed toms, so used a small can of tomato sauce and added more home-made broth. Everybody does this recipe different where I am from, but l liked the proportions of spices you recommended. I followed them exactly and this was a fantastic sauce. Thank you for the recipe—-B. in AZ
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I see a couple people have asked, but I don’t see a response, can this be frozen? I have so many tomatoes from the garden, another way to save them for winter would be great. Thanks!
Hi Brenda,
Yes! It can be frozen and is great for using those garden-fresh tomatoes in the winter! Hope you enjoy it!
This looks perfect. I’m loving the texture and color. I’m going to have to give this a whirl.
Would I be able to process this sauce in water bath for even easier prep – just open jar? Thanks!