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!
I love it, had the same problem getting it to thicken up but just added a Tbl of flour water and worked like a charm. I used 2 Tbl mccormick chili powder and is just right. Thank you.
We’re glad the flour and water helped, Deborah, and we’re happy you enjoyed the sauce!
This is the BEST enchilada sauce I have ever had and I am HISPANIC, living in Texas, so I’ve had my share of enchiladas (including my moms) My kids BEG me to make this sauce recipe : )
Yay, I’m so glad you love it!!
Hi Hayley, I just ran across your recipe for this homemade sauce, and I am about to try this and I was wanting to know from Brian, How much or haw many cubes Bouillon does he use?
I am a foodie and love to try now recipes. Soooo excited
Donna
Hi Donna! This is actually Ali’s recipe and her blog (I just help out with things around here). :) But we’re so happy you want to give the sauce a try! If using Better than Bouillon, for 2 cups of stock you would need 1 teaspoon (or one bouillon cube) per 8oz of water, so 2 teaspoons or 2 cubes.
This sauce is 11 times better than anything out of a can; every store-bought brand I’ve tried has too much of a “tinny” taste. I used Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base and liked it more than I did with the typical canned broth. This is no doubt a keeper recipe.
Thank you so much, Brian — we’re thrilled that you loved it!
Just wondering if this will make enough for 1 1/4 cups you suggest for enchilada soup if it is boiled down?
Hi Lulu! Yes, definitely — this recipe makes 1 1/2 cups, so just reduce it down until it’s 1 1/4 cups and you’ll be golden for the enchilada soup! :) We hope you enjoy!
This sauce is spectacular! I have made it many times. I always do a double batch as it goes quick. As for the enchiladas I use corn tortillas and usually make two 9×13 pans at a time. Generally I wing it on the mix for the filling but I always add a can of diced green chilies to the garlic and onion in the first sauté. This is followed buy a generous amount of green onion, shredded chicken, black beans, quality cheese, some plain yogurt, tomatoes and cilantro. Brushing on the sauce to the tortillas is a great idea and adds to the flavor. I give the enchiladas a generous dose of sauce on top and always get rave reviews with this dish. I will never buy store made sauce again. Now I need to figure out an equally great recipe for “green sauce”. Thanks for the great recipe! I happened across your site about a year ago and reference it often.
Thank you for sharing, Steve — we’re so happy you enjoyed it! :)
I just made your enchilada sauce. I was amazed at how easy your recipe comes together and how delicious it is. I used it in my enchilada casserole which is in the oven now. The family is hovering in the kitchen, breathing in the wonderful savory aroma – and watching the timer on the stove.
Thanks for sharing with us, Jacque — we’re so happy you guys enjoyed it!
I just want to say thank you so very much! I was able to modify this recipe by omitting the garlic to make it safe for me due to allergies. I also changed up the peppers to make it have a little more heat by using 2 TBSP Chili, 1 Ancho and 1 Chipotle from locally sourced and grown peppers. Turns out amazing every time!
Awesome!! Sounds delicious!
I tried this recipe with disappointing results. It was clearly because the chili powder I used was not the best. It was way too salty. On top of this problem, the supermarket cooked chicken I used was also way too salty. It resulted in a dish that was so salty it could only be managed in small bites.. basically inedible.
I love the concept of this sauce, but I think instead of using a commercial chili powder, I will next time create my own spice mix that moderates the role of salt, and also either cook my own chicken or use a pre-cooked chicken that was not so salty. When I look up recipes for chili powder, they contain paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, cayenne and other spices.
Thanks so much for coming out with a great recipe.. I know I did not adhere to your recommendation to use a great quality chili powder.. :)
Hi Kimberley — we appreciate you sharing with us, and we’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for the sauce. If you can try it again with a different, better quality chili powder (homemade sounds great!) we think that would make a big difference. We hope you have better results with it next time!
I’m just wondering if this recipe is missing an ingredient. Is it supposed to have tomato sauce in it? I added crushed tomatoes and a bit of brown sugar and then it tasted right to me.
Hi Grace — nope, it’s not missing an ingredient, but feel free to add whatever you’d like!