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.
Made this for the first time two years ago and took a video of how good the sauce was on Facebook and gave you all creds! Just saw it on my FB memories! Lol! So glad to see it’s still getting attention because I still make it and haven’t gone to the store for enchilada sauce since! Way to go! ❤️
That’s great to hear, Tiffany! Thank you for your review.
THIS IS THE BEST ENCHILADA SAUCE that I have ever made, and I’ve been making my own enchilada sauce for years. The sauce is what makes the enchiladas. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
From the list of ingredients, I don’t think it will be, but I just have to ask… is this spicy? I can’t handle enchilada sauce from the store because it’s too hot for me, which is why I’m asking.
I don’t find is spicy, but you can adjust to your taste.
Use paprika instead of chili powder for a non spicy version.
Yes this is what I did and it was perfect for my taste!
What a great recipe. Thank you
I forgot to buy enchilada sauce at the store. So I looked to see if I could make my own. Thankfully I found this. Going to give this a go since I have all the ingredients. Will update when I make it. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Jeannie!
Is the chili powder the American chili blend or is it like cayenne?
Hi Tisha! It’s a blend. Let me know if you try it.
Hey Kate and Cookie too! I discovered you when I was searching for an elevated beef enchilada sauce. You were spot on, and it turned out amazing.
Last week I wrapped my homemade chili in tortillas covered the tortillas in this sauce sprinkled on chopped red peppers, green peppers, black olives and cheddar and mozzarella cheese. I baked them in the oven for twenty minutes and then finished it with chopped green onions. I’ve done this before without the enchilada sauce and it was very good. Doing this with the enchilada sauce made this incredible.
This is a bold statement but I know this is the best thing I’ve tasted in recent years and quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life!
Absolutely amazing!
Thank you.
Great to hear, Mark! I appreciate your review.
Regular chili blend
This is fabulous! I made it a few Months ago, when my church group made a bunch of enchiladas for families in need. We are making more tonight. I know I didn’t use regular ground chili powder. I used a combination of ancho and other chili spices I had in my spice cabinet.. So I’ll see how tonight’s version comes out, I know I can always adjust the spices up-and-down as needed. But the last batch was so amazing. Perfect balance! I could eat it like soup!!
Thank you for you review, Laurie!
Easy to follow directions with simple and clean ingredients. Followed the recipe exactly and it came out great. No more store bought canned stuff for us. Thanks for the great recipe.
Can I can this in Mason jars and process in a water bath?
This recipe is not meant for canning.
Is it possible to create a version suitable for canning?
I haven’t tried it or have the insight there, sorry!
I often freeze just about any sauce in zip lock bags. It works very well, stores nicely as it’s very compact and I can’t tell much if any difference from frozen to fresh. I even freeze stuff like tomato sauce and paste in a nice flat zip lock bag. Just break off what you need and you’re good to go. Canning really goes back to a time before such great freezing equipment. I even made a gizmo with my 3D printer that let me fill a sandwich ziploc with 8 oz of tomato paste and divide it into 8 segments, like a candy bar. Froze it and I just break off how many oz’s I need. OK, I’m a bit nuts. Hated throwing away tomato sauce and paste all the time.
This is my go to recipe! I found it a while ago and love how quickly it comes together and the taste is amazing!
Do you have any canning tips for this sauce? It’s the only recipe I use, its so good!
Did you try canning this? Wondering if it continues to thicken.
I’m a total Mexican food novice, but we had some Costco Pulled Beef burritos and I wanted to make mine “wet”, so I made the enchilada sauce from your recipe. On it’s own, I wasn’t 100% sure of it and I tweaked it just a little, with some cream and extra passata, but it went fabulously with the burrito.
Thanks.
Omgosh! This was sooooo good! I didn’t have any vegetable broth as chicken broth is the staple in my home but this was still delicious! I will definitely make this again and again! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Stephanie!
Wow so good!!!!! I love the hint of cinnamon! So glad to have a homemade recipe without all the junky ingredients that store bought comes with.
Can I make the enchilada sauce w/ tomatoes sauce instead of paste?
This is best as written. I hope you try it!
Made it today! Five Stars!
Love this recipe I will never buy enchalada sauce again as this is far better and the whole family love it
I have been using this recipe for several years and always make triple batches to always have frozen portions on hand. Simply great!
Thank you for your review, Tammy!
The cinnamon in it is not good. It changes it, but the rest is great. I’ve made it both ways, but always staying true to the recipe.
Delicious! I was only going to make half a recipe since there’s only my husband and I here to enjoy it. But I ended up making the entire recipe and now have only about a quarter cup left! This just after one meal! To say that we loved it is an understatement. Thank you for your recipe and for the time you spent developing it.
I added some Cholula hot sauce and some harissa to mine and really brought it all back around. Great recipe!
Thank you, Jeremiah!
This is a gorgeous recipe. I had some leftover roast pork, which I mixed with black beans, bell peppers, onions, rice, and cheese. Used the sauce to bind it all together, and made burritos.
Outstanding – next time, I’ll actually make enchiladas.
Thank you for your review, Rachel!
You’re so right about the ACV! It adds a brightness that really livens up the very savoury sauce. This is delicious.
I have lost count of how many times I have made this recipe. It is SO good and obviously much cleaner than anything you would buy at the grocery store.
I always add 1 tbsp of sugar at the end for just a touch of sweetness.
Would chicken broth be ok to use?
I know others have used it and didn’t mind the results.
Yes – chicken bone broth works very well also
Outstanding sauce! Just so good and not too spicy! Popular all around. I am too polite to lick the plate, but my dog licked up every bit. He loves Mexican food.
That’s great to hear, Laurie!
I make this enchilada sauce often and I love it! I use a little bit more apple cider vinegar than the recipe calls for and just measure with my heart but it is the absolute best!!!!!
I’ve been making this enchilada sauce for a few years and it is a family favorite! We all love it!!!
INCREDIBLE!! I have made this several times now and am making it again today because my 17yo daughter requested my enchiladas for her birthday. My college sons love it too. It takes me more like 20 minutes but I do triple the recipe and make 2 large pans of enchiladas. I usually change up recipes a bit but this needs absolutely no tweaking – it truly is tested and perfected as advertised! Thanks for a perfect go-to enchilada sauce – I can never go back to canned thanks to this deliciousness.
Hooray! That’s great to hear, Kristin.
I triple this recipe and feeze it’s that good. I need to make more and only have beef stock, I read people have used chicken. Would you not recommend using beef stock?
You could try it. I am a vegetarian so I’m not able to speak to that type of broth specifically. Sorry!
Made this a few times now and it’s the absolute best!
Could you use masa??
I recommend this recipe best as written.
So good! Thank you for this delicious and easy recipe for enchilada sauce. Love it! Will be my go-to from now on.
So good! and so easy! Thanks for sharing this.
I made this sauce and substituted 1 tbsp of taco seasoning and 1 tbsp of chili seasoning for the chili powder overall delicious.
I used tomato soup and it good
I made this tonight with only one modification.. I added dried minced onion. I had my VERY picky husband taste test it and he said I am never allowed to buy enchilada sauce again lol!! Thank you for sharing this!!
You’re welcome, Alicia!
I had a lovely enchilada stew at my granddaughter’s house last night, but then had a terrible night, i realized it might be msg in the sauce—and—voila!—you answered my question! I am so excited to be able to enjoy this lovely dish, and then get a good night’s sleep. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Nancy!
This is bar none the best enchilada sauce! I’ve been asked to share recipe with friends and it’s their go to now. I now double and freeze half so I always have some in freezer.
Made this for the first time tonight. Forgot the cider vinegar and the cinnamon, but it was still delicious! Going to make a triple batch next time so I can freeze leftovers
Thank you for letting us know, I accidentally left out the ACV and was scrolling through to see if anyone else did. Glad to hear it still turned out
Solid enchilada sauce recipe. I made the gluten free version with bobs 1 to 1 as stated on the alternative directions otherwisefollowed direction as written. Used cayenne pepper powder we as my selected chilli powder. Not overly spicy so soice to your preference. I think it may have benefit from a longer simer (like crockpot style) for a more full bodied flavor. Will make again. Would give 4.5 if I had the option.
Can you use almond flour instead of gluten-free flour?
It won’t quite be the same. Let me know if you try it! You could try oat flour, but I haven’t tried it. Oat flour can act more similarly.
Love this sauce, thank you! I use it every time I make enchiladas now and the whole family really enjoy it. I prefer to use about 2/3 of the olive oil that you recommend (4tbsp instead of 6), it still tastes great : )
This sauce was amazing! I used it as a base for wet burritos and they tastes better than restaurant!
This recipe is fantastic . I have made it twice. The second time I cut back on the chili powder cuz it was too spicy for my daughter. Then added a pinch of cinnamon! Mmmm…. yummmy!!! Staying in my recipe box!
Absolutely delicious. Received a lot of compliments, this is my go to now.
That’s great to hear, Lala!
Enchilada sauce is amazing! This is my favorite & only make this recipe!
Great to hear, Irene!
I wanted to do something different with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and decided to make enchiladas. Searching for a sauce recipe I found yours. I had all the ingredients and cooked it up quickly and easily. I tasted the result and thought, “eh”.
For dinner I used it to make the turkey enchiladas and was blown away. What I thought would be just okay turned out delicious. The sauce when used with the enchiladas tasted just like what I’ve eaten in an authentic Mexican restaurant.
Thank you!
This is my go to sauce now! Thanks so much!!
You’re welcome, Laura!
Making this for the second time and super excited to include it in our New Mexico-inspired Christmas menu. Thank you so much!
I love this recipe. It’s my go-to whenever I make enchiladas. The flavour is just so good!
Is there a way to make large batches and putting it up somehow?
This is the best enchilada sauce ever! My family requests I make large batches to keep on hand for every thing. Whenever we eat out at authentic mexican restaurants, this sauce always out ranks anything we’ve tried. I will never have enchilada sauce any other way!