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.
This sauce is delicious and easy to make. I like the smell of it in my kitchen. My teenagers love it when I use this for chicken enchiladas. Your directions and tips were simple to follow.
Thank you, Dee for the review!
Hi there!
I made this last night and my family all had seconds, including the picky one. Thank you! Oh, and the cinnamon was delightful! Not intrusive, just a little extra warm note. I did add some smoked paprika, because I love it. Lucky for me, I made a double batch, so it’s waiting in the freezer for next time.
Seconds is how you know it was a hit! Thank you, Julia for sharing and for your review.
I followed the easy to follow cooking instructions and recipe except for one modification, I did not have vegetable broth so I used Beef broth. Also, I did not use cinnamon.
The sauce was not the typical Tex-Mex chile con carne used on enchiladas here in San Antonio but none the less it was delicious.
Thank you, Lois for your review!
Best enchilada sauce. So easy to make. This was a hit
It’s so easy! I’m happy you think so too.
This sauce Looks so delicious! I can’t wait to try it. I’m European and sometimes get confused about chili powder: is this the blend with paprika, cumin and such, or is it powdered chili peppers?
Yes, let me know! I know chili powder in other countries can vary – either milder or hotter. In the US it is typically a blend of: Chili Powder, Cumin, Oregano, Coriander, Garlic, Rice Concentrate, Allspice, Cloves. It can depend on the brand you buy as well.
Hi Kate! I made a spice blend myself based on your info (thanks a lot, it really helped!!) and tried the sauce together with the bean/spinach/broccoli enchiladas. It was SO GOOD! Even my boyfriend loved it, and he usually doesn’t care about vegetarian dishes. These two recipes will be new staples of mine. Actually, I’m going to make the sauce again this week :).
This sauce is excellent! It’s fast and easy, too. It’ll certainly take you less time than a run to the store for canned sauce. Another nice thing is that all of the ingredients are ones I already always have on hand.
I’ve been wanting to make my enchiladas more homemade, and this is the first step. Next up is making my own tortillas!
Perfect! I’m glad this is what you were needing, Margo. Thanks for the review.
I’m just curious as to where you’ve had enchiladas before. As a native El Pasoan (El Paso, Texas) I come from a place where Mexican food is awesome. I’ve had TexMex and CalMex. CalMex I can tolerate but TexMex I don’t. We make enchilada sauce a quite different way and you don’t need flour to thicken it. More often than not flour is used to thin out the sauce. We use real dried new Mexico Chile pods which you boil then blend to make a thick sauce (thin out with water). Real Mexican food is majorly gluten free. Check out Pati Jinich’s version. My family doesn’t toast the chiles like she does but the process is similar.
Just made it for the first time! Super easy to follow and tastes amazing!!!
Happy to hear that, Averey! I appreciate the review.
Your spinach artichoke enchiladas are 5-STAR. I added some mushrooms, and substituted organic corn tortillas for the whole wheat ones and served them with avocado. DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing.
Well, thank you Ellen! I really appreciate the review.
Made it tonight. Super quick and easy and tasted excellent. I used oat flour for gluten free. Thanks!
Thank you, for sharing!
This was outstanding! I added finely chopped onions and garlic before the tomato paste and seasonings.
Wonderful, Mary! Thanks for sharing. I appreciate the review.
Your enchilada sauce has become the go-to enchilada sauce in our house! So easy to make and the cinnamon is everything. Love it. Thank you!
You’re welcome. I’m happy to hear it.
This was delicious! The wife suggested that even just a pinch of cinnamon was too much, and should be left out next time.
I think the cinnamon makes it, but it’s a preference thing. You can leave it out if you like!
Thank you! Made it loved it! I have a newly discovered acute garlic allergy so was searching recipes- HAD TO change yours up for my needs. I subbed a healthy amount of nutritional yeast, and roasted paprika to achieve a garlicky flavor. ( I miss my favorite spice!) it worked out great!
I’m glad you were still able to make this recipe work for you, Lorna.
I have made this recipe COUNTLESS times! Any time a recipe calls for red enchilada sauce I always substitute your recipe. I found it out of necessity, not having any enchilada sauce on hand, and I have been making it ever since. Thank you for such an amazing recipe!
Love, love to hear that! Thanks, Jessie.
Looks awesome! I’m excited to try this. Does this freeze/reheat well?
I have heard it does from other readers, but haven’t tried it myself.
Wow, first time making enchilada sauce and this is delicious! I did not have chicken or vegetable stock so I subbed with (1 cup water + tablespoon of soy sauce) for a cup of beef stock. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Nate!
I too was tired of the canned red enchilada sauces. No matter the brand, they all had a bitter after taste. This recipe was yummy. Rich with flavor & easy to make!
So thank you & if you have more sauce recipes- please put them up
Welcome, Ann! Thanks for you review.
Wow this sauce made the most amazing enchiladas!! made exactly as recipe was written including the cinnamon. This was so easy to make with ingredients I already had on hand. I used this sauce to make ground beef enchiladas. I browned my beef with some of the same spices, onion and green chili’s. I doubled my sauce to have extra for later. I highly recommend this recipe!!
I’m glad you think so! Thanks for the comment and review, Monica.
I must be blind because I can’t find the link to the enchilada recipe in your blog that you said you would post the next Monday back when you wrote this in 2016. You have a few options of enchilada recipes but I’m looking for the one you talked up on this page and you didn’t seem to link or reference the recipe anywhere???
Can U tell me when recipe it is please???
I have a few difference ones. You can always use the search bar and look for the recipe there. Just type in a key word or ingredient and you should be able to find what you are looking for. Hope this helps!
I made this today – yum! I didn’t have chile powder, so I doubled the other spices and added a pinch of cayenne so the toddler would still like it. It’s a winner.
Thanks for sharing, Katie!
What a great, easy sauce. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
My household includes one gluten-free person, two capsaicin-free people, and one potato starch-free person. Since potato starch is often used in “gluten-free flour mix”, that was not an option either.
It turned out very well with 2T corn starch and 3T of mixed no-capsaicin spices in with the oil.
I’ve already shared this recipe with friends.
Thanks for sharing, Rozlyn.
Sooo tasty. I’ve never made enchiladas before and I’m so glad I picked your recipe for the sauce. Absolutely will be making this again and have already shared it with a ton of friends and family!
Wonderful!
This is great. I poured this enchilada sauce over a lean pork loin in a slow cooker and cooked it on low for about 6 hours. Removed the meat and then shredded the meat. Filled corn and flour tortillas with the meat and placed them seam side down in a baking dish. Poured the remaining sauce over the tortillas and baked them at 350 until bubbing. Served with sour cream, sliced black olives, chopped tomatoes and sliced green onions. We like the corn tortillas best for this recipe. Thanks for the sauce recipe!
You’re welcome!
Thanks for the recipe! I just made up a batch. I added ground chipotle and used smoked salt, to amp up the smokey flavor!
Tomatoes naturally contain MSG. It’s a common misconception that MSG causes headaches and other issues, but there’s no scientific evidence. I hope you’re able to pinpoint what the migraines are from!
Thank you!
This is seriously THE BEST enchilada sauce recipe! I’ve tried a few different recipes and this is bar far my favorite. DO NOT omit the cinnamon, if possible! I think it’s one of the key ingredients. I keep a regular stash of this in my fridge and we put it on eggs, avocados, nachos, crock pot chicken, really anything. I will never by store bought again! Thank you!!!
Thank you!
I made your enchilada sauce for 17. It was very good. Next time I’ll double the tomato paste and add a bit more liquid. I made o vegan and GF enchilada pie with a vegan béchamel added.
What a group! Thank you, Robin.
I’ve been looking for a good vegetarian enchilada sauce. I can’t wait to try this. P.S. I love your blog. Great photos and write-ups!
Thank you, Julia!
It was fabulous and spot on …. I loved the recipe so much… thank u !!
You’re welcome!
Hi Kate have made the sauce 5 times now love it, best enchilada sauce ever.
Love that, John!
Who knew that enchilada sauce could be THIS delicious!?! You are a culinary genius. Can’t wait to try the enchiladas! Thank you, thank you!
Ha, thank you Sue! Let me know what you think about the enchiladas too :)
Very good, but I tripled the recipe, and added grated Mexican chocolate (abuelitas), a bit of brown sugar, and dried California chili’s (de-seeded and hydrated with water, then blended). Sauce turned out very yummy! Now to make the enchiladas! Thank you!!
You’re so welcome, Marcie! Thanks for the review. I love that you tripled it!
Thank you so much for this recipe! We have be been using it for our Zucchini Enchilada boats. Check us out @atwillfoods or atwillfoods.com. Keep up the great work Kate!
Thank you!
I used up the last of my all purpose flour making my tortillas! Will self raising flour work or do I need to do a trip to the shop?
Hi Kelli – I would stick with all purpose flour for this! Homemade tortillas, delicious!
THANK YOU!!! I followed this recipe to the letter and it was outstanding. So fast and easy and tastes soooo good!
Great!
This is seriously the best enchilada recipe I have ever made and I am always asked for the recipe. I didn’t change a thing! Thanks so much. I make cheese enchiladas and will try your spinach artichoke ones sometime.
Happy to hear that, Mary! Thank you for your review.
I like to thicken my enchilada sauce with masa harina instead of flour for the added flavor.
Thanks for sharing, Rob!
Used this sauce with Minimalist Baker sweet potato enchilada recipe. Brilliant!!!
Thank you, Laura!!
This was an excellent enchilada sauce. I made 1 1/2 of the recipe but used just 1 Tablespoon of very hot New Mexico chile powder. The sauce made enough to save for eggs etc the next morning. I used 2 pinches of cinnamon. So good.
What a great use for the sauce! Sounds delicious, YJ. Thanks for your star review.
Hi there. I live on a farm, far away from shops, but I am craving enchiladas. I have everything needed to make the sauce except the vegetable broth. Do you have a easy recipe for that maybe? Thank you!
I don’t have a vegetable broth recipe, sorry!
I made the sauce yesterday for the first time – it is awesome, spicy, delicious and just all round perfect – I used it on my vegan enchiladas ie made with various types of beans (pinto, black, kidney, corn kernels) and some left over quinoa to bulk it up a bit – d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. Kate all you recipes are always a success when I made them.. thanks so much..
You’re welcome, Brenda! Thank you for your review.
I made this recipe over the weekend, and it was a hit! I doubled it but otherwise followed directions as written. I used half in the slow cooker to cook my chicken, onion, and green pepper, then rolled up my enchiladas and poured the other half on top. About to make a second batch of the sauce to have in the freezer for the next time we want enchiladas. Rave reviews from my husband and 2 year old, and I think it tastes even better as leftovers! Thanks for posting – this will be in the regular rotation in our house.
Thanks for sharing, Erica!
I have made this enchilada sauce. It was delicious. I made cheese and green chili enchiladas. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome, Kathy!
Made the sauce and to go with your black bean enchiladas recipe, both amazing my kids and wife both went crazy for them. Will definitely make them again, Thanks.
Wonderful! Thanks, Mike.
I had been looking for a good enchilada sauce to replace the packaged mix I’ve used for years, but haven’t found one I liked. I made the first batch of this enchilada sauce, and LOVED it! Made three more batches the next day and have them frozen for the next batch of enchiladas. And it is so easy!
I’m glad you loved it and made three batches already. Thanks for your review!
This sauce is amazing all the comments are true! I will never buy enchilada sauce from a store again. Also very quick and easy to make. I will be doubling the recipe next time to freeze and suggestions on reaheating?
I don’t freeze all my recipes but you can search to see what other readers have tried. I know several have froze with success!
Made it!
I was making ground turkey and cheese enchiladas, when I discovered I had no sauce. I had all of your ingredients on hand, so said why not?
It is better than any canned sauce, and so easy.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
You’re welcome, Catherine! Thanks so much for your star review.
I’ll admit I don’t know that much about enchilada sauces, but I needed some for a recipe I was making and couldn’t find it anywhere in the stores, so here I am trying this one. Oh my goodness this was no only super easy to make but amazing! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Joline!
Holy Enchilada! This is by far the best enchilada sauce I’ve ever eaten! I’ve used this recipe several times, and thought I had reviewed it, but I can’t find one from me, so here it is!
Cinnamon??? “Weird,” I thought. Nope. It’s the absolute perfect ingredient to finish off this sauce. This sauce is just SO. DANG. GOOD! I made it again last night and practically licked my plate clean. Thank you for this incredibly amazing recipe. I moved to Germany 4 years ago and Mexican food is hard to come by. I pay the equivalent of $3 just for one can of refried beans, but enchilada sauce… I’ve never even seen it here. But now that I’ve had your recipe, I’ll never eat it from the can again. You’re a genius! :)
I’m glad you tried the cinnamon! Thanks for your review, Sheri.