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.
So good and so easy. I love this recipe for my red enchiladas and chilaquiles.
Absolutely love this enchilada sauce, my family really enjoy it. I have passed the recipe/website onto both of my daughters. First time I made it, it felt a bit fiddly, but I can now make it in the seven minutes. We have it with chicken (fajitas) or mince and make enchiladas. Thank you Cookie ad Kate
You’re welcome, Deborah! I appreciate your review.
Hi, I made this sauce for the Sweet Potato, Poblano and Black Bean enchiladas recipe in Love Real Food last December and was amazed at how good and easy homemade enchilada sauce could be. This fall, I’ve made the same recipe twice now but something is making the dish salty. The first time I made it this fall, I thought it was the tortillas , I used a different type than in December. I made the enchiladas again last night, using the same tortillas as in December, but again it was salty. I narrowed the saltiness down to the sauce and am wondering if I need to use a salt-free chili powder? I have both kinds and frequently mix them up. Thanks for any advice! Love your recipes!
That’s great to hear, Cindy! I appreciate your review. You can always reduce or omit the salt.
Made this last night and followed the recipe to a tee and it was absolutely delicious!!!! I have made other enchilada sauces before but this one is now my family’s favourite!!!
Thank you so much!!!!!
I have been coming back to this recipe time and time again for a few years it was time to leave a comment about what perfections it is! Give it a go you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your experience, Mia!
I have never made recipe before. It is delicious.I have saved it and it will definitely become one of my regular dishes. Thank you for sharing
If I don’t have tomato paste can I use a can of tomato sauce in place of?
Tomato paste for best results. You can try it, but it won’t be the same. Sorry!
I made this using whole wheat flour, hot sauce i/o chili powder, ketchup i/o tomato paste, and chicken broth i/o vegetable. Only because I was out of the last 3 :)
I failed to do it in order, I was doing too many things at once (is that even possible?) and had just dumped everything into a bowl. So I transferred it to a sauce pan and brought to a boil, it thickened up nicely. It was Really good and very simple, Thank You!
Great to hear it still turned out! Thank you for sharing, Sue.
This is the only enchilada sauce I make now and I always double it. It’s so good and so easy! It’s also perfect for making a Mexican style pizza! My husband loves it and my pickiest eater also loves it. Great recipe!
This enchilada sauce is so easy. I chose to omit chili powder and steep dried chili’s in my veggie broth then place in blended and pulse a few times. Great flavors in this sauce.
Made this tonight with Pilsbury GF flour. Was great! Really! Had to cut back the chili powder and garlic to half each for my young family but still had plenty of flavor! Thanks for this new recipe!
You’re welcome, Jeannie! I appreciate your review.
Loved this sauce on my cream cheese enchiladas! This is a keeper recipe! So happy I found the one
I’m happy you found it too, Stacy! Thank you for your review.
This is by far the best enchilada sauce we’ve ever made. The only two minor changes we made was using cornstarch instead of flour and used a blend of chili powders—regular and ancho. Really great flavor and easily customizable! Thank you!
I made this enchilada sauce last night and want to thank you for such a great recipe. I have been thinking of making Mexican food for Christmas because I’m still tired of turkey and ham from Thanksgiving. I never make recipes that require enchilada sauce because I do not like the taste of canned enchilada sauce. Now, I can make them all! I do not like really spicy foods so I decided to add 3/4 tablespoon of chili powder but next time I will add the full tablespoon. I use regular McCormick chili powder and it was not spicy at all. I made beef enchiladas for the husband and kids and vegetarian for me. I’m so grateful that my picky eaters liked them. I will add these to my regular rotation of meals. I will also be looking at your other recipes!
Just stopping by to say this is the best enchilada sauce recipe I’ve found. I make it all the time and even jarred it up for Christmas once. We aren’t vegetarians so I use chicken broth and it works great. Perfect recipe! Do NOT skip the apple cider vinegar!
Your recipes have never failed me. I was making a meal and realized it called for Enchilada sauce so I had to whip some up at the last min. I didn’t have tomato paste but I did have plain tomato sauce so I substituted that and added more that the paste and then cut back on broth a little. Came out perfect. A little bit of heat with lots of flavor. Thanks for saving my meal.
You’re welcome, Eileen! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Excellent recipe. Have made a number of times with the only intentional variations being doubling the recipe. I don’t worry about exact spice measures and it always tastes great.
Use it to make chicken enchiladas – poach chicken breasts in this recipe’s spice mix, shred the poached chicken, mix with enough of the sauce and shredded cheese so that it holds together, roll in tortillas, drench with the sauce and a sprinkle of cheese then cook till tortillas are crisp.
My Latino son-in-law loves them and they’re a perfect taste of TexMex in Australia where we haven’t quite figured out how to do TexMex yet.
This is the best sauce!
I add a tablespoon of adobo sauce and lime if I have some.
I’m making it again tonight!
Love this recipe. I’ve made it 3 times and it’s absolutely the best enchilada sauce recipe I’ve ever made. I tried canned sauces and several other recipes and nothing comes close to the flavor in this sauce Highly recommend
Wonderful recipe! Thank you Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Krista! I appreciate your review.
My husband and I can’t get enough of this sauce! The only change I make is I use chicken or beef better than bouillon (whatever is in my fridge at the time) and 2 cups of water since I don’t usually have veggie stock on hand and we’re not vegetarians. Super cravaeble!
That’s great to hear! Thank you for your review.
Can I use canned chicken broth in place of veg broth?
Hi, I believe others have and didn’t mind the results.
Made this tonight. DELICIOUS and EASY. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s going in my recipe book! :)
You’re welcome, Belinda!
This is my first time making the sauce. I followed the recipe and it taste a little too floury. Not sure what I did wrong. I’ve made plenty of roux before
I’m sorry to hear that. What type of flour did you use? Are you sure it was a level amount?
You may not have cooked the flour enough in the oil before adding the other ingredients. That is usually the reason why it tastes pasty.
Can this be doubled easily? This sauce is amazing i want to make two trays of enchiladas though
Hi Kimberly, yes this recipe should work just fine doubled. Be sure you use a large enough pot.
Outstanding recipe! I’ve made this three times. Doubled it the last time for Chili Colorado. It is a very good recipe. As with all recipes don’t get discouraged. If it’s too warm, next time cut back. However, we found the measurements to be perfect.
That’s great to hear, Ted! Thank you for sharing.
I found there was too much flour in the sauce! It looked like your picture and thickened fine but tasted very floury. Ended up adding a tin of tomatoes to a portion of the floury sauce and it worked fine.
You may not have cooked the flour enough in the oil before adding the other ingredients. That is usually the reason why it tastes pasty.
Used one tspn chilli flakes only (for those not able to take full strength and used rice flour as the base – worked well. Served this with home-made tortillas and lamb filling, avo and tomato salad. Fantastic – thanks for posting!
Thank you for sharing, Heidi! I appreciate your review.
I’m studying so many red enchilada sauce recipes! Seeing some with tomato sauce and others just with chili powder/flour roux…
While I like authentic, sometimes local Mexican restaurants have the sauces I love for my chicken (go to order) so when you say Mexican (there’s Tex Mex, etc…) I’m confused. I guess I’m in search of the closest I can get to an Azteca restaurant or a small restaurant we always frequent (owners from state in Mexico) that is my total favorite. Though he wouldn’t share his recipe he did say it had tomato sauce so I’m soooo interested in your thoughts on this. I’ll print yours out…I kinda am conflating all the online recipes and from books I have. Any help would be appreciated!! Thank you! Caryn
I keep trying to talk to my family about how awesome the enchilada sauce was – and they agree – but I’m not quite finished discussing it. This recipe is so good – followed exactly – I kept finding things to dip into the leftover sauce after I made enchiladas, and then we just ended up pouring the tablespoon or two into the leftover enchiladas! Easy to make, super delicious.
Great to hear it, Jessica! I appreciate your comment.
This was my first time making homemade enchilada sauce. I will never go back. It’s definitely more work but it was so delicious !!!!
I like being able to control the ingredients and not have the extra preservatives in there. I loved it !
Hooray! That’s great to hear, Dawn.
Made this exactly as the recipe and it is super easy and really delicious.We like enchilada sauce on both cheese enchiladas and bean burritos, so it will be used frequently. Saw you are in KC – we grew up in SE Kansas. Thanks, cheers, and RockChalk!
This is delicious! My husband had heart surgery last year so we are trying to avoid the excess sodium found in most canned foods. Your recipe was so easy – I’ll definitely make it again.
I’ve made enchilada sauces before, but this one yielded the best-tasting result I’ve gotten so far. The cinnamon was a great suggestion. I used chicken stock because that’s what I had. It worked beautifully. 2 cups made enough to cover a 13×9 pan of enchiladas. I might embellish the chili and garlic quantities in future iterations, but essentially this is a keeper.
Transcribed to a recipe card (I’m old-fashioned like that) and will definitely make again. Thank you!
Can you use this sauce for tamales?
Hi Judy, I haven’t tried it. If you do, let me know what you think.
Aloha!
I made this sauce last night and it was delicious! I used the Bob Red Mill 1-1 flour and next time I would use just 2 tbs. instead of 3 as it was too thick. I thinned it with water and that did the trick. This will be a recipe that I share with others! A big Mahalo to you!
Wonderful to hear, Jodi! Thank you for your review.
This was just so gratifying to concoct — an unusual and most fragrant process! I thought about eating a bowl of it as a soup. Yum. I doubled the recipe and wound up with two and a half pint jars.
This is ABSOLUTELY delicious! Thank you so much! I decided to make enchilada sauce at the last minute to smother some burritos – saw your recipe, had all the ingredients, and I will be making this again and again. My 4 year old helped me make it and ate everything we gave her!
Great to hear, PJ! I appreciate your comment.
Great recipe!! Easy to follow with full flavor! So much better than the canned stuff I forgot to buy.
Great to hear, Cindy!
What a most delicious recipe. It is so simple to make and is absolutely tasty. The consistency and color are WOW! I doubled the recipe for my turkey enchilada bake and used a lighter chili powder because the darker one is too bold in taste. I’m saving this recipe forever.
The canned sauce is out the window. No more.
You’ve got to try this everyone.
This was great! Forgot vinegar but will add next time. Will NEVER go back to store bought again! I like how you can vary the spices to your liking. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Jennifer! Thank you for your review.
So good!! Definitely will make again
That’s great to hear, Noah! I appreciate your review.
This is my go to enchilada sauce. Absolutely love it and have used it numerous times over the years. I pop a majority of the sauce in with cooked mince n veggies, roll up inside wraps. Place them in a baking dish and top some leftover sauce on top with cheese then bake in the oven. Delicious and nice and spicy. I follow the recipe to the letter as well.
Great to hear, Tammy!
Tried your recipe and made a chicken enchilada casserole. I received rave reviews of your sauce! Thank you for a yummy recipe!
Best enchilada sauce ever and so easy to make!
This is such a delish sauce, Ill never buy the canned stuff again, Thank you so much, We cooked this recipie a couple of times doubling it to have it in the freezer. Only remembered at the last moment to use American style chili powder and not Indian Chilli powder lol
Great to hear, Jo! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This was great. I did add a tablespoon of lawry’s seasoning and a tablespoon of cholula hot sauce to kick it up a notch. Overall fantastic recipe and easy to make.
Can everything be made without the oil I can’t have the oil because of my health issues. I also have to leave out the cheese at the end which is really sucky but oh well.
Excellent!! Thank you So much for posting this. Made it exactly as posted, I like spice so next time I may add a bit more chili powder. This is amazing Goodbye store bought enchilada sauce, hello cookieandkate’s sauce! Love it! :)
That’s great to hear, Happy! I appreciate your review.
I DID MAKE THIS, AND HAVE MADE IT MULTIPLE TIMES. VERY EASY AND SO FAST. THANKS FOR THIS LOVELY RENDITION OF AN AMAZING CLASSIC FOR SO MANY MEXICAN MEALS. GREAT ON EGGS, TAMALES AND ENCHILADAS. DRIZZLE ON CHIPS, OR DIP THEM. YUM, YUM! LOVE IT! PREFER HUNTS TOMATO PASTE TO CONTADINA (A FLAVOR THING).
GRACIAS!