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.
I cant tell you how excited I am to have found your site. We are all vegetarians at home and Your recipes look so delicious and tempting!
I made the enchiladas yesterday amd they were a super hit! Even my picky 2 year old loved them. It was so flavorful and nutritious! My husband was surprised that it was a “healthy” recipe. Im gonna go gobble up the leftovers now. Thank you for the amazong recipe!
This sauce looks really good. I need a homemade enchilada sauce to avoid additives in store bought ones. I’ll make this one soon.
Love this quick sauce. I also like to make it using whole guajillo and ancho chiles. Toast them first over an open flame, then rehydrate them in water or stock. Blend thoroughly with other ingredients and then add the entire mixture to a hot, oiled pan and cook down!
I love this! I actually make your enchilada sauce so often that I keep a glass of the spiced pre-mixed in my cupboard. I find it cuts down on prep time and I’m much less likely to have those “ooops I forgot the oregano!” moments when the enchiladas are already in the oven ;).
I made your home made enchilada sauce today. Oh my god! It is so good and it was so easy. I used it to make the best beef and onion enchiladas I have ever eaten. Awesome recipe. Thank you, James
This was totally delicious Kate. It will be a new staple in our home as we play with different fillings based on what’s in the fridge. Added a little cayenne. It was perfect. Well done!
Thanks so much, Justine! Happy it fits into your routine.
great Recepy, we ate it with half of your spinach recipy half a vegetarian chilli con carne, delicious! the sauce is amazing, but i was too fast reading it, so i took 1 tablespoon extra spicy chilli, but i learned;) i have some leftovers of the filling so i just made a new one and its simply perfect!!! Thank you!!!
Ha! Some trial and error should be expected with new recipes. Glad it turned out great!
This sauce was so perfect! Just like what you get at a Mexican restaurant. Thank you!!
I like things spicy, so added one chipotle pepper. Also, instead of messing around with the roux, I threw everything in a blender then heated it in a small saucepan over medium high heat until it came to a boil, stirring constantly. This method is just easier for me and I’ve found it works well for sauces thickened with flour.
Hey, Katie – thanks for the time-saving tip! I’m happy your method worked out well for you.
This was amazing!!!
Awesome!
Very good enchilada sauce and easy to make. I will make it again soon.Thank you !
Good to hear!
This is the first red sauce I’ve ever made. I have always avoided trying it until my husband said I should make it, so I got off to researching recipes. Yours looked balanced, easy, and well thought out. I loved it! The vinegar is the perfect finishing touch! I didn’t use any pepper or cinnamon, but I might try adding the cinnamon to see what you’re talking about.
Also, I was nervous about the roux, but it was super creamy and easy to keep smooth. Yay! Another risk with frying the spices before adding the liquid is scorching them… Which I have done in the past. :( But mixing in the flower with the spices seems to lower that risk, and I added them before the oil was TOO hot! Those are important tips for beginners!
Happy your version worked out! & yes, I’m super partial to the cinnamon in this, so I hope you try it next time.
You hit this on the head!!! I’m excited to use your sauce recipe in one of my recipes. This Is Delicious!!!
Awesome!
thank you. making your enchiladas for my sons birthday. Great recipe.. thanks for sharing your gifted recipes !!!1
You’re welcome! Be sure to report back on how they went :)
Hi….we are a couple of Californians living in the South of France..we discovered your recipe online and tried it…wow!!!! This is simply fantastic. Truly authentic Mexican faire ,and so very tasty ! We very much appreciate you posting this online and plan to use this excellent recipe with frequency..thank you so much, this made our whole weekend. We had a full bodied local red wine with it and it was a brilliant combination..
Frank and Suzanne
Thanks for this recipe. It tastes really good. I didnt even know what enchilada sauce was before I saw your recipe.( I am Canadian and our family doesnt eat a lot of Mexican food.) I am making the enchiladas now and will use your recipe.
Awesome! Hoping for a new Mexican cuisine era for your family :)
This is my go to enchilada sauce recipe! I don’t always use olive oil though. I use whatever I have close to me. Tonight I used coconut oil and it turned out just as good. So yummy!
Perfect! So glad to hear this, friend :)
Wow. This enchilada sauce is a total game-changer! I never make enchies because I hate using store bought sauce but this was amazing!!! I replaced the tomato paste + vinegar with just a pureed fresh tomato, and it turned out great. Super spicy, and was the star of our enchilada dish! THANK YOU KATE!!! <3
Welcome to a new enchilada-era, Anila! So happy this worked for you :)
Excellent base enchilada sauce recipe.
I supplemented with the adobo sauce from a small can of chipotles in adobo — it can quickly get too spicy, so I used a small fork and ladled dollops into my pot, stirred, tasted; lather rinse repeat until I hit the smokey heat I wanted. Thank you for this recipe.
As a side note, as the enchilada sauce simmers gently on the stovetop, I’m slow-cooking the chicken in a base of stock, wine, cumin and chili powder; I expect that I’ll need to thin out the reduced sauce and am hoping the slow-cooker liquid will serve that purpose perfectly, deepening the flavors instead of watering them.
Ooh, the smokiness of the adobo sounds delicious.
Need to try this, do you have other alternatives to chili so as not to preserve the taste?
This is a fantastic recipe. I hadn’t heard of this site, but found the recipe via a Google search. We’re not vegetarians so I use chicken broth – it’s the best sauce I’ve found by far. One note: careful not to burn the flour mixture in that first step. It’s easy to do and gives the whole dish a burnt flavor, which is a shame because this recipe is so delicious. Don’t skip the apple cider vinegar!
Would this taste just as good if it’s prepared the night before the enchiladas? Thanks!
Yes, this should keep overnight just fine, Caroline!
This is an amazing recipe. I made this recipe the first time on sunday and it was a hit with all of my friends. I definitely recommend this. I will definitely be checking out your other recipes.
Thanks!!
Thanks, Kimberly! Glad the whole crew enjoyed it.
Delicious sauce. My family loved it. I added a tablespoon of brown sugar to sweeten it a bit…something my kids like. Definitely adding this to my recipe box. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Nancy!
thank you for this, for trail and erroring this recipe. always a big fan of homemade enchilada sauce and have misplaced my recipe, so this saves me a ton of time and energy after already making masa corn tortillas and the taco meat is ready to go. beans are ready to go. and now i need ench sauce to make my casserole. so im going to offer something ive discovered along the way of a cooking life. to avoid using cinnamon in spicy foods, substitute carrot. my father always used cinnamon in his spaghetti sauce because according to him it “retards the [lactic] acid” of the tomatoes. i never liked his marinara sauce, love him to the stars but he has never been a strong cook. but saute shaved carrot added to this sauce minus the cinnamon and then blended in a blender works well. or use carrot in your recipe, for instance i added some to the peppers and onions in the taco meat. or shaved carrot and onion to a bolognese for your lasagna works well. sweet but not sugary. it is an idea i have come to love.
Thanks, Jakomos! The carrots sound like a nutritious way to get that sweetness into the sauce if you’re not partial to cinnamon.
Thank you for this recipe. I have not mastered homemade enchilada sauce yet, but I’m determined. I love the sweetness of restaurant style sauces and I’m curious if you tried adding a small amount of sugar?
Hmm, no, I haven’t! I don’t think it would cause problems, though.
This sauce is the best enchilada sauce I’ve ever had. It’s so simple to make also. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Sheri!
This sauce is seriously incredible! I’ve made it plenty of times and it never fails. A super easy and delicious way to spice up any meal. Thanks Kate for the recipe :D
You’re welcome, Lauren! This sauce is great on so many things.
This sauce is awesome! I’m so glad to find something better for us than the store bought sauce with its massive amounts of salt etc. I put this on homemade enchiladas that I sent with my husband for his lunch. I didn’t tell him it was homemade. I asked him how they were and he said they were delicious! So there you are a blind taste test. Will be making this from now on! Thank you!
Ha! I love the blind taste test. I’m so happy everyone liked it, Deidre!
Iam older than dirt, i tried alot of enchiladas sauces it was allway my go to store bought, I made hers and it was go, go, good ill never buy store bought again and all that was stuff i allready had .
This makes me so happy to hear, Mary! I’m so glad you found the enchilada sauce of your dreams. :)
I made this tonight to go with your Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas. I had to stop myself from eating it with a spoon, it’s that good. Thanks for the helpful instructions to have everything at-the-ready, because it does all go very fast.
Yes, it comes together quickly and can catch you off guard if you’re not ready! I’m so happy you enjoyed it so much, Kelley.
Just made this ready for tonight! It tastes beautiful already!! I’m sooooooo looking forward to it! Also don’t underestimate the 3 tablespoons of olive oil! Your need it!
Thanks, Fran!
Excellent! I used King Arthur gluten free flour blend.
Perfect. :)
I used this sauce to make veggie enchiladas for the first time. I made my own vegetable broth, and stuffed my enchiladas with the veggies that I used. I poured the sauce over the enchiladas and baked it…and it was honestly so incredible!! I can’t wait to keep using this recipe over and over again! So flavorful, and super easy.
Yum! I loved it! I used siracha-lime spice instead of chilli, and whew, delish!
Your version sounds great, Kimberly!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve actually made it several times already, and have forgotten to take a picture or post a comment. This enchilada sauce has a mild well-balanced flavor. Most enchilada sauces are way too smoky, too spicy, or too much molè. This is especially great for my toddlers. Of course you can kick up the jet if you want with more chili powder or even adding some Serrano or jalapeño. The recipe as is is rich in flavor without being spicy. It is any “go to” enchilada sauce, and so simple to make!!
Thanks so much, Alexandra! And you’re right–this recipe is easily customizable to various heat and spice levels. So happy you enjoy it!
Fantastic! Easy & delicious. Making wet burritos but will soon make proper enchiladas. Thanks this will be in regular rotation at my house!
You’re welcome, Kristen!
Thank you for sharing recipie of sauce..
N m a vegetarian..that too jain..so will make some change in ingrediant while making..but its a great help to find some veg recipies..please keep posting veg recipies..
Thanks
I’m happy you like them, Bhavi!
hey, can i use chicken broth instead of veggie?
Sure! Several other readers have.
I’ve made this 4 times already!! I’ll be making it again today (doubling it this time)…My hubby wants it on Everything!Simply Delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I tried your sauce and it is awesome! Thank you for you being talented and sharing!
Thank you, Lorraine! So kind of you.
I made this with gluten free flour and used Chipotle chili powder. All organic ingredients.Came out phenomenal!
I made this! I loved it! My phone died while cooking and I didn’t see there was vinegar to add. It was fabulous without, but I bet it’d be a great addition. Thanks for this!
xo
kittee
I should add I made it with Bob’s Red Mil GF 1:1 flour and a combination of chipotle, ancho, and New Mexico chile powders for the chili powder.
Thanks, Kittee!
Kate you are great. I was eating at a Mexican restaurant and thought ” I wonder how to make enchilada sauce”. I googled it and found you! You even gave me a gluten free option. THANK YOU. I love your approach to food. I belrive exactly as you do about what we should be eating. I pre-ordered your book too. Just to be clear, I hate blogs, I always unsubscribe to emails, and never leave comments when I buy things. But you my dear are an exception. Again. Thank you!!!!!!
So glad you found what you were looking for, Megan!
I love this recipe! It’s awesomesauce!! I was just wondering if I could freeze the sauce and thaw when I make the enchiladas. Thanks!
I think you can! I believe other commenters have done so– you may want to browse through some of them here and see if anyone left a tip or two. :)
This is the second time I’ve made your enchilada sauce after trying many many others, I am officially stopping my search! Thank you!
Made enchiladas with chopped smoked beef brisket, roasted chili peppers, black beans and brown rice! And cheese,And of course your sauce! Making me hungry writing about it!
Fantastic! I’m so glad you found what you were looking for, John.
Katie’s enchilada sauce is delicious!! I will never buy commercially prepared enchilada sauce again. The only thing I would do is double the recipe so that you have more. YUM!!!!!
Thanks, Karen! That’s a common suggestion. ;)
What does the vinegar do to the recipe? Is it absolutely crucial?
Hi Alex, it just adds some complexity and extra punch to the flavor. It is not crucial.
This sauce was delicious one of the best I’ve ever had! It will now be my go to and no more bottled sauce. Thanks for sharing.
Yes! Homemade is almost always better, right? Thanks so much, Cal.
Made this to pair with your veggie black bean enchiladas and loved it. It was a touch too sweet for our typical enchilada recipe but was a great pairing with the veggie version! Don’t leave out the cinnamon if you do make this.
Thanks, Jesseca!
Hands down, my family’s new favorite enchilada sauce. I made it last weekend and was asked to make it again, but with enough for leftovers. Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks, Heidi. So glad your family enjoys this one.