Enchilada Sauce
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This Enchilada Sauce is super easy, quick and no-fuss. This sauce is made from scratch and will be ready in under 20 minutes! Ditch the canned enchilada sauce and make your own!
Enchilada Sauce
I love a rich, flavorful enchilada sauce. Packed full of complex flavors like cumin, chili, garlic, and acidic tomatoes, this sauce will become your new go to in the fridge. It’s rare that you find a sauce so deep in flavor that is so simple to make but luckily I have delivered this secret to you all! So what do you say, should we get a little saucy today? I think yes!
What Is Enchilada Sauce?
Enchilada sauce is a staple in Mexican cooking. It’s full of well developed smokey flavor, a hint of heat, and is so simple to pour over any dish you want to add a little oomph to. The thing that really sets this enchilada sauce over the top is that it’s not full of preservatives like the store bought varieties, it’s nice knowing exactly what’s going into your food huh? We’re going to be working on some cooking techniques today for this enchilada sauce, such as developing a roux. So let’s get to it!
Ingredients In Enchilada Sauce
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Oil – Just some vegetable oil that is neutral and flavorless is what we need today. Canola is always a good option.
- Flour – Our key ingredient in making a nice roux to thicken up this sauce.
- Seasoning – Chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt & pepper is all we need today.
- Tomatoes – Crushed from the can, no need to drain!
How To Make Enchilada Sauce
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Prepare the roux: Add the vegetable oil to a Dutch oven and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the flour and chili powder and whisk it for about 1 minute.
- Finish the sauce: Add the crushed tomatoes, water and the rest of the spices. Stir well and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until thickened. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
And that’s it! So simple right? I recommend picking up a nice chili powder or ancho chili to really set this enchilada sauce off.
Storing Leftover Sauce
Store in jars or an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. In the freezer this sauce will stay fresh for up to 3 months.
Want To Try Out Some Recipes For Your New Sauce? Try These:
- Enchilada Meatball Bake
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
- Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Quinoa Bake
- Chicken Enchilada Quesadillas
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Enchilada Sauce
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 20 mins
Serves: 8
This Enchilada Sauce is super easy, quick and no-fuss. This sauce is made from scratch and will be ready in under 20 minutes! Ditch the canned enchilada sauce and make your own!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 8 oz crushed tomatoes or tomato passata
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Add the vegetable oil to a Dutch oven and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the flour and chili powder and whisk it for about 1 minute.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, water and the rest of the spices. Stir well and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until thickened.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
Video
Recipe Notes
This will yield about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of sauce.
Gluten-Free: For a gluten free version, try gluten-free flour or rice flour. Using cornstarch will make the sauce too thick. Another option is to use masa.
Store in jars or an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition: Nutritional information assumes 1/4 cup per serving. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 0.25cupCalories: 92kcal (5%)Carbohydrates: 6g (2%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 7g (11%)Saturated Fat: 5g (31%)Sodium: 236mg (10%)Potassium: 159mg (5%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 950IU (19%)Vitamin C: 2.8mg (3%)Calcium: 27mg (3%)Iron: 1.2mg (7%)
Ashley P says
I was going to make this for dinner tonight but all I have on hand is diced tomatoes, could that work instead of crushed tomatoes?
Jo Cooks Team 2 says
Absolutely worth a try! You could even throw them in a blender to get that smooth texture 🙂
Niyatee says
Hi can i use fresh chopped onion and garlic instead ? And is indian chilli powder ( so we just get it milled from dried red chillies here and use it in almost everything cos it’s a staple here in South India)
Jo Cooks Team 2 says
Of course! I would cook the onion and garlic down to bring out the flavor first! If you want that smooth, creamy texture, make sure to blend the sauce together in a blender; or if you can, puree it to get all the chunks of onion and garlic. Variations of chili powder are fine as well! Happy cooking 🙂
April G. says
This recipe elevates all dishes I’ve used it in. Delicious.
April Grushetsky says
Absolutely delicious!
Bj says
I haven’t made this yet, but have a lot of frozen tomatoes in my freezer from my garden. Is there a way to use them in place of the can of crushed tomatoes?
jo says
Sure you can, you’d have to blanch them first, in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds, then peel them. A bit more effort but totally doable.
K.C. says
That’s exactly what I did when I made this yesterday. I didn’t need to add water, since the tomatoes had been frozen. I used my hand held blender, and always leave the skins on.
Liz Bradley says
Really yummy. I’ll be sure to make extra next time.
Norma Jean Partie says
I will try this & let you know
Sophie says
YUM! I didn’t have American crushed chillies but I did have some chipotle, so replaced it. I also added a pinch of brown sugar to balance the tomatoes.
It was a most delicious enchilada sauce – thank you so much!
My family went wild and I will be making this again.
Dawn says
Part of a “Meal Train” for a Very Dear Friend…. She Loves Mexican Food! This sauce is Sooo Delicious, it’s my 1st attempt at making Enchilada Sauce EVER & I’m Soooo glad I did! Thank you!!
jo says
My pleasure, so glad you liked it!
Becky Fletcher says
Your sauce looks so creamy – do you puree the tomatoes first. Can you use tomato sauce instead of canned tomatoes?
jo says
We’re using crushed tomatoes, so no need to puree them, just add them like that. Tomato sauce might result in an enchilada sauce that’s a bit more runnier than this one.
Gay L Shelton says
How much does this recipe make? I like a lot of sauce on my enchiladas.
Joanna Cismaru says
This will yield about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of sauce.
Debbie says
Have you ever made large batch and bottled it? Like pressure cooker seal in mason jars? Freezer space is hard for me- but bottling is usefully most of the time
Joanna Cismaru says
I have not! I don’t usually bottle anything, just haven’t found the need to yet, but what a great idea.
Shelby Hall says
How can you make this if you don’t have a dutch oven?
Nicole Beaulieu says
A regular saucepan will work just as well.
Robert Reyes says
This recipe makes 8 Servings. If I wanted to double or triple the amount of servings, do i just double or triple all ingredients or do the ratios change? Thanks!
Joanna Cismaru says
Yep, that should be fine. Actually if you click over the number of servings in the recipe card, a slider will pop up and you can slide it to the number of servings you want and it will update the ingredient amounts accordingly.
Robert Reyes says
Thank you! I can’t wait to try it.
Connie says
I’m looking forward to making this!
I have a three year old that only does ‘mild’ when it comes to chili dishes, curries etc. How much chili powder would you recommend to make this a super mild enchilada sauce?
Nicole Beaulieu says
Buy mild chili powder, and you’ll be fine with using the same amount in the recipe!
Connie says
How did I not know that mild chili powder was a thing?! Brilliant! Thank you so much 🙂
Barbara Eubanks says
I would like to know if this recipe can be made and canned. Some times my grandchildren like to get into the kitchen to cook and I like to have what they need in my pantry.
Nicole Beaulieu says
Yes you can do that!
JoAnn says
Thank you for this recipe! I try to make all sauces and dressings myself (homemade is faster than the time it takes to drive to the store, buy a canned/bottled version – and fresh always tastes better – right?) but could never get my enchilada sauce “just right” – yours is FAB! Your Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole was a hit too! Gracias! ;o)
Nicole Beaulieu says
Homemade is always the way! We could put this enchilada recipe on everything, it’s so good 🙂 Happy cooking to you! Denada!
Maggie Frantz says
Easy peasy and very good!!!
Marianma says
Oh my gosh this was amazing. I have never made my own sauce and I thought I would try it. Very easy and better than any restaurant or can or bottle enchilada sauce. My husband couldn’t get enough of the easy chicken enchiladas casserole. He even asked if we could make it for Christmas dinner. Thank you
Quinn says
Just made this for the Easy Chicken Enchiladas Casserole – it is so good! I can’t get good Mexican food where I’m at and this completely satisfies my cravings.
1/4 cup of oil is quite much though. Is the amount necessary? Can I cook this with less oil?
Thanks!
Nicole Beaulieu says
You wouldn’t need this entire batch of enchilada sauce to make one recipe, you could make 2 or 3. Since 1/4 cup is 4 tbsp you’d only be using 1-2 tbsp worth of oil for your entire recipe each time you used the sauce.