How to Make Enchilada Sauce
Enchilada sauce is so easy to make! This red enchilada sauce recipe comes together in ten minutes. I've tried all the other recipes and this is the best!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 28, 2024
I’ve been working on my enchilada game lately, for both the cookbook and an upcoming enchilada recipe. There is an art to making great enchiladas, and the sauce is a key component.
I thought I’d share my tested and perfected enchilada sauce recipe today, in case you want to try it on your favorite enchilada recipe. It’s ready in under ten minutes, and I promise, it’s so tasty you won’t want to go back to the store-bought kind again.
When I developed my go-to sauce (first seen on my spinach artichoke enchiladas), I tried at least five of the top sauce recipes on Google, all with different ingredients and techniques.
I tried making sauce with tomato sauce, which tasted too raw and was kind of goopy. I tried making sauce with blended diced tomatoes, and it had the same issues. I tried sauce without any tomato ingredients, and it didn’t taste quite like the enchilada sauce I grew up eating, or the sauce at my favorite Mexican restaurants. I tried sauces made without any thickener (like flour or cornstarch), and they pooled at the bottom and turned my enchiladas into a soupy, texture-less casserole.
Finally, after some experimentation and cross-referencing with America’s Test Kitchen, I landed on the perfect enchilada sauce. Vegetable broth forms the base of the sauce, but it’s only added after you make a simple roux of flour and oil. You need a full three tablespoons of each to properly thicken the sauce. I tried making this sauce with a gluten-free flour blend and that worked great as well.
The Best Enchilada Sauce
Four reasons to love this recipe:
- This sauce is full of authentic Mexican flavor. It comes from a combination of dried spices, which are sautéed in oil to bring out their best, and umami-rich tomato paste.
- The cinnamon is optional since some people just don’t like it in savory applications, but just a pinch adds some lovely warmth and complexity.
- The final kicker is a tiny splash of vinegar, which really amps up the flavor.
- Unlike canned enchiladas sauces, this homemade sauce is free of unnecessary processed ingredients and MSG (that’s monosodium glutamate, which gives my mom migraines).
I love this sauce and I’m confident you will, too, since it’s gotten rave reviews on my spinach artichoke enchiladas and veggie black bean enchiladas.
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! Your feedback keeps me going.
Watch How to Make Enchilada Sauce
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
This homemade red enchilada sauce has authentic Mexican flavor! It’s so good and easy, you’ll never go back to store-bought sauce again. You can even make a double batch and freeze half of it for later. Recipe as written below yields about 2 cups (16 ounces) sauce.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons flour (whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and gluten-free flour blends all work!)
- 1 tablespoon ground chili powder (scale back if you’re sensitive to spice or using particularly spicy chili powder)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste
- Pinch of cinnamon (optional but recommended)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- This sauce comes together quickly once you get started, so measure the dry ingredients (the flour, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt and optional cinnamon) into a small bowl and place it near the stove. Place the tomato paste and broth near the stove as well.
- In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, warm the oil until it’s hot enough that a light sprinkle of the flour/spice mixture sizzles on contact. This might take a couple of minutes, so be patient and don’t step away from the stove!
- Once it’s ready, pour in the flour and spice mixture. While whisking constantly, cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Whisk the tomato paste into the mixture, then slowly pour in the broth while whisking constantly to remove any lumps.
- Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, whisking often, for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit and a spoon encounters some resistance as you stir it. (The sauce will thicken some more as it cools.)
- Remove from heat, then whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Add more salt, if necessary (I usually add another pinch or two). Go forth and make enchiladas!
Notes
Enchilada sauce recipe adapted from my spinach artichoke enchiladas.
Storage suggestions: Extra enchilada sauce will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or, freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it cool to room temperature before transferring to a wide-mouth mason jar, leaving some room at the top for expansion (don’t screw on the lid completely until the mixture is fully frozen), or a freezer bag (remove excess air before sealing).
Make it gluten free: Just use gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. I tried with Bob’s Red Mill brand and it worked great.
Make it tomato free: You can omit the tomato paste. You might want to up the spices a bit. The sauce won’t taste quite like the enchilada sauce you might buy at the store, but it will still be good!
Change it up: The chili powder, cumin and garlic powder are essential here, but feel free to change up the other spices to suit your preferences.
If you love this sauce: Check out more of my Mexican recipes here!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
4th time making this enchilada sauce, love it!
I love it, Todd! Thank you for your review.
Your absolutely right love this recipe never will buy sauce in the store I loooove garlic so I added minced garlic in the begin so delicious thanks for this wonderful recipe
Wow! Can’t believe it was that easy to make such a great sauce.
First time making enchilada sauce, was very good and didn’t take long at all.
I love this recipe! made it first time with the home made sauce, excellent! I cheated last night and made it with a premade can of sauce, didn’t love it as much, but will definitely make this again. Its so filling you don’t know you are missing the meat.
I use the Better than Boullian as well. 1 teaspoon makes a cup of broth. 1 tablespoon is too much without extra liquid. It can still be a little salty. Maybe try 3/4 of a teaspoon or use boxed broth. Boxed broth can be a little on the salty side too.
Wonderful recipe! Quick and easy. Thank you Kate for sharing it.
This is my go to Enchilada Sauce recipe – we always have the ingredients on hand AND a back up batch in the freezer ready to go! So easy and so much flavour. Thank you for this amazing and tasty recipe!
I made the enchilada sauce and it was Wonderful! I am a transplant from San Antonio, to Indianapolis (where it is next to impossible to find good authentic Mexican food). I found your receipt and just knew it was most similar to what I was accustom to. I loved it, my mom loved it! I will be making it my ‘go to receipt’ for anything enchilada going forward.
Hi,
I’m in the UK and would really like to try this. In Supermarkets here ‘Vegetable Broth’ has bits of veg in it (like vegetable soup), is that the correct thing to use ? should I strain out the lumps ?
I previously would bring back many cans of Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce when I travelled to the USA. They are used up many months ago and I won’t be visiting soon.,
Thanks
best regards
Trevor
Hi Tevor, you don’t want pieces in it. You can try to stain it out or make your own to freeze and have on hand. Not sure the one you have access to is the same, but may work. Let me know!
Thank you, Kate. I will try it out, may not be for a few weeks. I’ll try straining out the vegetables (lumps) from the broth. Will let you know when I’ve tried it.
Hi there. I believe in the UK there are several brands of vegetable stock. Waitrose and Tesco are two brands Google wants to show me. Alternatively, you can find many brands of vegetable stock concentrate, which are usually a paste that you add water to. Finally, if you are not having any luck, try ethnic stores. Maybe Jewish or Italian markets if you are near any.
Thank you, Ziggy.
Waitrose and Tesco are two of our big supermarket chains (others are Sainsburys, Morrisons, Asda).
I’ve actually used vegetable stock cubes when I’ve made vegetable curry (I used to make large quantities and freeze it). I think that’s a great idea. I haven’t got around to trying to make the sauce yet but I’ll certainly bear it in mind
Best regards
Trevor
Seriously, this is perfection! So tasty.
Thank you, Joy!
Enchilada sauce came out great!
And I had all ingredients in my cupboards
Very simple and delicious.
I’m so happy I stumbled on this recipe. It goes with all sorts of enchiladas. I didn’t have good luck freezing this, but I make the flour/spice mixture in bulk and store it in a container so it’s ready to go when I want to make sauce.
This sauce was outstanding! I cut the chili powder in half because my husband has reflux, but he loved it! I also added 2 tablespoons of ketchup to give it a little more of a sweet taste. My husband also uses it as a hot sauce with his chips. I don’t like store bought sauces so Kate, thank you!
This recipe is SO GOOD! It has transformed my enchilada and burrito recipes from just fine to superb.
I used dried ancho and guajillo chilies ground up in my spice grinder. The recipe was easy to follow. Especially liked the tip to gather all the ingredients. It comes together fast! The enchiladas were the best I’ve ever made because of the sauce!
Fabulous Enchilada sauce. Recipe is easy to follow. Love that you can 1x, 2x, 3x the recipe. thank you
Yes this recipe came together quickly but the flavor of it overall very very good this is the first time I ever made my own homemade enchilada sauce
OMG! Easy, quick, and tastes just like my favorite restaurants sauce! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. Brings comfort in these challenging times when we can’t afford or go to eat our fav places
Much love for your kindness,
Connie
Now “snowed in” in Texas
I made this with gluten-free flour. Also, I didn’t have tomato paste. I substituted 6 tablespoons of tomato sauce, and I let it simmer with the dry ingredients so the extra moisture evaporated… it took the amount of time that it took for me to measure the vegetable broth.
It was great! I made veggie enchiladas with black beans, olives, onions, mushrooms, and cilantro. Even my carnivorous family enjoyed it, I think because the sauce was that good.
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad it turned out, Allyson.
I got everything together then threw it together. It was done in no time. I didn’t time myself but I’d say close to 10 minutes. Love making my own sauces and this is very good.
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I’d like more tomato flavor. I added more tomato paste but still crave more tomato flavor. El
Hi, I can’t wait to try this! Can I substitute the vegetable broth with chicken broth?
Hi Ana, I am a vegetarian so I wouldn’t recommend it. :) But, I know others have tried it and it’s worked well based on comments.
I am a chef by trade. Made your recipe and it is absolutely delicious. I used corn starch and it came out so smooth & silky. Thank you.
LOVE this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing! I had been searching for a sauce that would be authentic and this is it!
I’m happy you loved it, Samantha!
this was absolutely delicious! i added a bit of extra chili powder and some onion powder, and it was a huge hit. i’m currently making it for the second time this week with tacos!
I’m happy you loved it, Bridgette! Thank you for your review.
I am so happy to find a homemade recipe for enchilada sauce. I cannot stand the canned stuff, it’s terrible.
I followed as written and will save this recipe forever! I’ll never use canned enchilada sauce again. Perfecto!
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Julie.
First comment ever on a recipe but this was soooo good. I’ve been so disappointed with taste of canned enchilada sauce so I thought I would give this a go. I made enchiladas with this sauce and my family all but licked the plates clean. They did scrap them clean with their forks. The only problem is the weight we are going to gain from wanting to eat enchiladas too often. I’d also like to say what a class act you are in your responses. Glad you enjoy cooking so the rest of us can benefit!
I’m glad you took the time to comment, Donna! I appreciate it.
Wow! I made enchiladas for the first time with this sauce. Now plan the make double next time for the freezer. Thank you!
So very good!!! Thank you for sharing!
Love this sauce!!
Thank you! I’m glad you love it, Chabree.
I made this – its really lovely! Can’t find canned enchilada sauce in the UK but this really fits the bill.
Where has this been all my life? I will never buy canned sauce again. Delicious
Wonderful, Christine! I’m delighted you loved it.
My husband and I moved to France and haven’t been able to purchase enchilada sauce anywhere yet. So I tried your recipe and now I don’t need to buy it ever again! Thank you so much, it’s a super recipe, very easy and dare I say, pretty quick!
Sounds like a big move! I hope you are loving it. I’m glad you found this recipe and can make it whenever you want to now.
I love this recipe so much, I’ve made it a dozen times at least! We are now doing keto and I tried subbing the flour for almond flour and it didn’t seem to thicken up as well. Do you have any suggestions by chance? Maybe coconut flour?
Hi! Sorry to disappoint, but those flours may not get you the same result. I haven’t used them in this application. Gluten free blends work well, but I’m not sure if that is what you can do.
Followed the recipe as written and it was perfect!
Great to hear, Nicole!
I just Loved this recipe! My family and I have become sensitive and get ill from meats today and any MSG that is So prevalent right now in America so thank you for this tasty dish and the sauce really hit home! We are becoming vegetarian and can be hard for our daughter so this made my day to make it. I didn’t use broccoli or spinach but replaced with corn in the black beans for more ‘kid friendly’ and it turned out wonderful ! I will be cooking more from your recipes for sure!
I love your enchilada sauce and have made it several times (even though I live with meat-eaters and our enchiladas are not vegetarian). I do use minced onion and garlic, instead of powder, but I agree that the vinegar is a key ingredient and was very sorry one time when I forgot to add it! I also use the sauce to make vegetarian “Mexi-bowls” – half rice, half black beans, topped with melted cheese and enchilada sauce (and a tostada broken in half, standing in the dish – delicious dipped in the cheese and sauce!).
I’ve tried several other enchilada sauce recipes, but none holds a candle to this one. My 17-year-old son gave a thumbs up, BUT my wife (a fellow foodie) said “best enchiladas I’ve ever had.” Nuff said!
Who the hell cares if the recipe takes a little extra time?
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing, Steve.
For years, I’ve not made enchiladas because the canned sauce is so nasty. This recipe is EXACTLY the type of enchilada sauce I love, and it’s incredibly easy to make. Also, it reverberates with flavor!
By far the best enchilada sauce recipe ever. I’ve made it numerous times, my kids (ages 4-10 years old) love it! It is not too spicy, just right for everyone. Very adaptable, as I use gluten-free flour (cup for cup mix). Its so good!!!! Thank you!
Thank you! I appreciate you reporting back.
This recipe was wonderful! My husband is from New Mexico and he loved it! Please give Darell a break! It took me longer to prepare it because my spices are not in order. I’m also the girl that wanders away from the stove Awesome Pasole for a freezing cold night❤️
LOVED!!!
What kind of flavor changes do the different types of vinegars make? I am on the fence on which one to use! I can’t wait to try this!!
Some can be sweeter or more potent depending on the type. I recommend what’s listed in the recipe for best results.
I used one cup tomato bouillon and one cup chicken bouillon as I was making chicken enchiladas and I didn’t have vegetable broth. Also, I used 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. It turned out great. The Best enchilada sauce I ever made.
I am so glad to find a homemade recipe for this sauce thank you
Definitely the best enchilada sauce! I use it all the time!
I have never commented before. This is phenomenal!
Super tasty! That step 1 is no joke, pre prep is key! I tend to like things a pit spicier so I found the 1 Tbsp of run-of-the-mill “chilli powder” to be a little on the light side, similarly with the cumin. I added some smoked paprika and about 10 dashes of Chipotle Tabasco as well. Totally agree with the pinch of cinnamon…and a “pinch” goes a long way. I opted to use one small star of anise in the simmer and was not disappointed. I think I was a little heavy estimating with the tomato paste, but it may have helped balance things a bit. In the end no regrets. Normally I won’t add salt until the end, but found the 1/4 tsp very reasonable. Will never buy another can of enchilada sauce!
I am picky with food and I absolutely loved this sauce! Great flavour!
I really like this sauce. Any sense of how well it would do if a large batch was made and it was canned using a water bath method? Maybe if more acid was added, like with lime juice?
Hi, this wasn’t designed to be canned, but it does freeze well.
This is one of the best enchilada sauces I’ve tried making. It’s a lot simpler than some of the other ones out there too, which makes it even better!
Thank you for your review, Tania!
So easy and so good! I wont buy canned ever again. Thank you.