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!
My sauce also came out bitter. Followed the recipe with only 2 tbl spoons of chilli powder that I got from Sprouts in the bulk section. Any advice on how I can reduce the bitterness now that it’s made?
Sorry to hear that! It shouldn’t quite be bitter with chili powder (unless it was accidentally crushed red chili powder, which is essentially cayenne?). Either way, you could add a few pinches of salt and/or sugar. Or you could also dilute the sauce with some extra stock, and then let it reduce for awhile longer while simmering on the stove.
I absolutely love this enchilada sauce! I live in Mexico and had given up on enchiladas. Of course all the enchiladas here are made with the traditional sauce, which I just don’t like. I’m so happy to have such a simple and yummy sauce I can whip up myself instead. Muchas gracias!
Thank you, Syd! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy this! : )
Simmered for soooo long (a little over an hour and a half, constantly checking to see if it thickened at ALL) and was still super thin. Flavor had potential, but was bland for my taste. I was making enchiladas to cater an event, and I thought I’d try making my own sauce for once. Never again.
Oh no! That’s so strange that it never thickened. If it was simmering, it should definitely reduce significantly over that amount of time. The sauce isn’t meant to be super thick, but it should definitely coat the back of a spoon.
And did you use good-quality chicken stock and chili powder? Most people complain about this sauce being TOO spicy. Maybe if you simmered it over a lower boil it would thicken up more and be more potent in flavor. Sorry about that!
Holy cow, I want to put this sauce on EVERYTHING!! The first time I made it I followed the recipe exactly – I don’t know what I’m doing, I’ve never made enchilada sauce before! A-ma-zing!! The second time I made it, I didn’t even have to use exact measurements…..this recipe and I are totally in sync! I was a little worried at first that it’s too watery, but after tasting it I don’t even care what consistency it is…..I have enchiladas to soak it up! Flour and I typically don’t get along, but I may venture out to make it thicker. I did also on it the salt. The hubs has high blood pressure so I try to make everything as low sodium as possible. Thanks for my new saucy obsession!
Thank you so much, Jenny! So thrilled that you love it! : D
I detest canned enchilada sauce. This looks like a keeper! I had leftover tomato sauce in the freezer that I cut in with the chicken stock for extra flavor. I’m making enchiladas tonight with leftover smoked chicken and I’m thinking this’ll be a perfect topper. I have some poblanos in the freezer I’m going to try out next time, cause we don’t mind some heat.. Thanks!
Thanks, Serena! I hope you enjoyed this recipe! : )
Bummed!! I made this sauce without success. It’s likely my chili powder, but I use bulk chili powder with nothing added, and always like it. My sauce is SUPER bitter-inedible. Also, I had to add flour to thicken it after 30 minutes of simmering. I’m going to let it cook a bit longer, but I don’t have a lot of hope. I’ll try again with a different chili powder, becuase I want to like this!!
Hi Cathi, I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you! Really not sure why it came out so thin and bitter. :( What is the brand of chili powder you used? Was it dark chili powder?
my sauce turned out super watery! What did I do wrong? :-(
Oh no! The sauce definitely won’t be super thick, but it shouldn’t be too runny. I would crank up the heat and bring it to a low bubbling simmer, and let it reduce until it has thickened to your desired level of thickness.
HELP!!!!!
So I found your site awhile back, and since I’m trying to cook more from scratch this recipe sounded good! But I made it, and like you said I made it with 2 tablespoons (me and the kid are not big fans of spicy, the man is) but it is still to spicey, even the man said he thought it was to spicy!
Is this maybe because I used chili peper???
Is there away to make it less spicey now??
Plus the link to the creamy soup doesn’t work… it looks delicious!!
greetz from the Netherlands!
Hi there! I’m sorry this still came out too spicy for you and your kiddo! Did you use red chili pepper flakes/crushed red pepper? For this recipe, you’ll want to use chili powder, but I would start out with 1 tablespoon next time, taste it, and adjust accordingly, since you can always add more. Please let me know how that works, if you make it again! Also, thanks for the head’s up about the soup link — I fixed it now, so it should work! : )
What brand of chili powder do you use? And where do you get it? I’m hoping to make it this weekend!
I highly recommend Spice Island! It’s available at most grocery stores. That or McCormick. (Just don’t buy the $1 cheap stuff.) :)
I just stumbled upon this recipe and made it because I always am so-so on the canned sauce. I will never go back! This sauce is incredibly easy to make and is oh-so good!!!I made a double batch and am going to try out freezing half of it in hopes that it saves for a while longer.
Thanks Colleen, I’m happy you gave it a shot! : )