My favorite homemade enchilada sauce recipe is easy to make with pantry ingredients, it only requires about 5 minutes of prep time, and it tastes so flavorful and delicious.
My best tip for kicking your homemade enchiladas up a delicious notch?
Use this homemade enchilada sauce! ♡
This recipe for Southwestern-style red enchilada sauce has been the starring ingredient in my favorite enchilada recipe for years and years. And every time I bake up a batch of enchiladas for a gathering, friends always ask for the recipe.
By contrast to many Mexican-style enchilada sauces, this recipe does not include tomatoes but rather centers its flavor around a rich blend of seasonings that you likely already have in your pantry (chili powder, cumin, garlic and oregano). On its own, the sauce is naturally fairly mild, although you are welcome to amp up the heat if you’d like. And its deliciously warm, toasty, earthy flavors pair perfectly with any variety of enchilada recipes.
The good news too is that this recipe only takes about 5 minutes to prep, plus an additional 15-ish minutes to simmer on the stove. It’s naturally vegetarian, vegan and can also be made gluten-free if you’d like. It’s made entirely with pantry ingredients, and can be customized to be more spicy, smoky, tomato-y, or even creamy if you prefer. And I must say — it’s a million times better than the canned stuff!
Thousands of our readers have made and loved this recipe over the years. So if you have yet to give it a try, I say it’s time!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce Ingredients:
To make this easy enchilada sauce recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Oil and flour: These will form the roux to thicken the sauce. You’re welcome to use any type of neutral-flavored oil (or butter) that you prefer. And while I typically use all-purpose flour, you are welcome to sub in a 1-for-1 GF flour blend instead to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Chili powder: For all of our international readers, please note that this recipe calls for American-style chili powder, which is actually a blend of various chilis and seasonings, including a typically small percentage of cayenne. (Most chili powders sold outside of the States are 100% cayenne, which will not work for this recipe.) I recommend investing in a good-quality brand of chili powder for this recipe, since it is the primary seasoning for this sauce. But keep in mind that chili powder blends vary from brand to brand, so it’s worth experimenting with a few to find the one that you love best!
- Garlic powder, ground cumin, dried oregano: These are the other dried seasonings that we will use in the sauce. Feel free to increase the amount of any one of these once you have tasted the sauce, if you would like.
- Veggie or chicken stock: I also recommend using some good-quality stock in this recipe, which will add a delicious depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Fine sea salt: And finally, don’t forget to season the sauce! I typically add in about 1/2 teaspoon, but the amount needed will likely depend significantly on the brand and saltiness of the stock that you use.
How To Make Enchilada Sauce:
Here are the basic steps for how to make enchilada sauce (full instructions included in the recipe box below):
- Cook the roux and spices: In a small saucepan, we’ll first cook the flour and oil together to form the roux, and then whisk in the spices to briefly toast them in the saucepan before adding in the stock.
- Simmer: Gradually add in the stock while whisking the sauce, in order to blend in any lumps. Then bring the sauce to a simmer and let it cook (you want to maintain a low bubble) for 10-15 minutes, or until it has reduced to your desired thickness.
- Season: Season with salt (or any extra seasonings that you might like to add) to taste.
- Serve: Then serve it up in a pan of enchiladas or whatever recipe sounds good…and enjoy!
Possible Variations:
This recipe is quite flexible, so please feel free to tinker around with ingredient amounts and customize it however you prefer! For example, you could…
- Make it gluten-free: You can either use an 1-for-1 gluten-free flour blend, in place of the AP flour. Or you can omit the flour and instead add a cornstarch slurry (equal parts cornstarch and cold water whisked together) to the sauce once it is simmering to thicken it.
- Make it creamy: Whisk in 1/2 cup of heavy cream to turn this recipe into a delicious creamy enchilada sauce.
- Make it spicier: Feel free to add in a pinch or two of cayenne to make this sauce even spicier. Or alternately, you can choose to use ancho chili powder in place of standard American chili powder, which has a smokier and slightly spicier flavor.
- Make it milder: American chili powder should naturally be quite mild. But if you are wary of heat, feel free to start with 2 tablespoons (instead of 4 tablespoons) of chili powder in the recipe. Then once the sauce has simmered, give it a taste and feel free to add more if you would like.
- Make it smokier: Feel free to swap some of the American chili powder for chipotle chili powder, if you would like this sauce to have a smoky chipotle kick. (Also note that chipotle powder is considerably spicier, so this version would pack more heat too.)
- Add tomato sauce: If you would like to have a more tomato-y enchilada sauce, you are welcome to add a few tablespoons of tomato paste to the sauce.
Ways To Use Enchilada Sauce:
Here are a few of my favorite ways to use this easy enchilada sauce:
- Enchiladas: This red sauce works on just about any kind of enchiladas, such as my favorite chicken enchiladas, beef enchiladas, or roasted cauliflower enchilada.
- Soups: Enchilada sauce is a fantastic way to season soups, such as my slow cooker chicken enchilada soup, cheesy chicken enchilada soup, or sweet potato enchilada soup.
- Casseroles: If you don’t feel like rolling up your enchiladas, try ‘stacking’ them into a casserole, such as this chicken enchilada casserole (one of our readers’ favorite recipes!).
- Nachos, Cups, Skillets and More: I also love using this sauce in other enchilada-inspired recipes, such as my easy enchilada cups, chicken enchilada nachos and this easy enchilada skillet.
Red Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup chili powder (see note below)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the roux and spices: Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Add in the chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and oregano and cook for 1 more minute, whisking constantly.
- Simmer: Gradually pour in the stock, whisking constantly to combine until no lumps remain. Continue cooking until the sauce reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer (the sauce should continue lightly bubbling) for about 10-15 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce has slightly thickened.
- Season: Give the sauce a taste and season with salt, as needed. (I typically add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, but the saltiness of the sauce can vary depending on the brand of stock that you use.)
- Serve: Use immediately in your favorite recipe and enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Great recipe, we love it.
However, (presuming you are in the US) for us in the UK chilli powder must be slightly different, because 4tbsp is a crazy level of heat (and i do like a bit of heat!)
I’d recommend for anyone in the UK to start with 1tbsp and work your way up if that’s not hot enough.
I could be wrong though, perhaps I just have super hot chilli powder.
Thanks!
Thanks Chris, and thanks for your tip on the chili powder! I wasn’t aware there was a difference in the kinds found in the U.S. and the kinds found in the UK. Good to know! : )
I want to try this sauce but you’re recipe calls for gluten free flour. Can regular flour be used?
Hi Julia, it says 2 tbs of all-purpose or gluten-free, so yes, you can definitely use all-purpose! : )
I didn’t know homemade enchilada sauce could be so easy! This was my first attempt and I loved this recipe. Great layers of flavor and a lovely slow heat. I did find it a bit bitter and not quite salty enough for my palate. This may be bc I used unsalted homemade (veggie) stock. I may also have cooked the roux too long.
The modifications I made (these are likely not authentic at all… just what I thought tasted good):
– Added a square of dark chocolate (maybe 0.5 oz). It gave another great layer of flavor and helped mellow out the bitterness.
– I only had 3 tbsp of chili powder, so I toasted 1 whole dried chile (sadly, I lost the label and don’t know what kind. It is a medium spicy chile) and tossed that into the sauce while it was simmering.
– Didn’t have garlic powder, so I used 2 cloves of fresh garlic, smushed and added to the sauce while it was simmering.
– Pureed everything up in a blender when the sauce was done cooking, then strained in a colander to smooth it out.
– Added an additional 1/4 tsp salt.
Used this with your chicken enchiladas recipe. It was incredible! We forced ourselves to leave enough for leftovers so we could look forward to them again tonight :)
Thank you!!
Thank you Tae, and thanks for sharing your modifications! They sound wonderful!
Ali,
You weren’t lying, this sauce is the bomb. I have finally found a red sauce for my enchiladas that can compete with the recipe that I use for my enchiladas suiza. Now I’ll have to make a batch of each when I make enchiladas
Thanks Mike, so happy you love it! : D
i was so happy to find this recipe. it is very similar to the recipe i used to have that was my cousin’s “go to” for enchilada sauce. i had gotten the recipe from her a little over 40 years ago, but i had lost it. and my cousin is now deceased. i thought i would have to try to remember the ratio of the ingredients, and hopefully remember all of them. and then i found this! i am over the moon. thank you. i can make my own again, and stop using the canned stuff. i am a happy camper.
Thanks Laura, I’m so happy to hear that!
Just clarifying. By chili powder, do you mean powdered chilies, like ground New Mexico, Pasilla or Guajillo, not commercial chili powder that has garlic and oregano in it?
so i was searching for some nice Mexican food. Here i am hours later still scrolling on your blog. Love everthing! And i defenitely want to try this sauce. But what is chicken stock? I’m from the Netherlands and Google doesn’t know the answer as well! Thanks!
Thanks Kimberly! Chicken stock or broth is just the liquid you cook the chicken in (along with other savory spices and vegetables, like carrots, onion, celery, bay leaf, whatever herbs you have on hand, and a good amount of salt, etc.). You should be able to find it at the grocery, but if not, you can always make your own. You can use a leftover chicken carcass (as long as it still has meat on it), put it in a big pot, fill it up with water, and add all of the other ingredients. Bring it to a boil, then simmer on low for a couple of hours, and up to over-night. Then strain the ingredients so you just have the broth. It should be savory and aromatic, and the more flavors you add to it the more flavor it will bring to whatever you use it in (you’ll mostly notice it in soups and stews), which is where it makes the biggest difference. I hope this was all helpful to you!
I made this Enchilada sauce for some chicken and black bean enchiladas, it was really tasty! I used a Gluten-free flour blend, but had to add at least double the amount of flour. I also halfed the chili powder since our family is not spice-crazy. It was super delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Tikvah! I’m glad to know it worked will as GF. Cheers! : )
If u make this sauce n want to can it was is the process n how long for shelf live.?
Hi Jeanne, I’d say it should last about two weeks or so in the fridge, but possibly longer. Just do the good old sniff/taste test. Hope you enjoy it!
I made your sauce and chicken enchiladas today! They turn to be pretty awesome!
I have used hot chilli powder which turn to be slightly too hot so I added little bit of lime juice and coconut milk. Still nice!
Thanks:D
Thanks Anna, I’m glad you liked them!