Add flavor and a kick of spice to your enchiladas with this Easy Red Enchilada Sauce that’s better than canned sauce. Just oil, flour, ground chile, spices, and water are needed to make this spicy sauce that comes together in less than 20 minutes!
Enjoy restaurant style enchiladas when you make a homemade sauce, and do yourself a favor and make extra to freeze.
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Do enchiladas rank high on your list of favorite foods? Whether at a restaurant or at home, are you drawn to corn tortillas wrapped around cheesy fillings and topped with spicy sauce and more cheese?
It’s pretty darn amazing. And while canned sauces, like Las Palmas Enchilada or Red Chile sauces are pretty delicious, homemade sauce will take your enchiladas over the top!
Why make this
It’s red enchilada sauce. There’s huge debate about red versus green enchilada sauce. If you’re team red sauce, this is the recipe for you.
It’s better than the can. While it takes just a little more time than opening a canned enchilada sauce, the added flavor and improved ingredient list make it totally worth it.
It’s easy. While a more authentic recipe might call for boiling dried ancho chiles and blending them smooth, I find this shortcut to be easier and tastier. This simple red sauce requires no complicated ingredient, tools, or techniques other than a few pantry staples, a pot, and a whisk.
It’s quick to make. You can stir up a batch of this easy enchilada sauce in less than 20 minutes.
It’s freezer friendly. It’s so convenient to have a few tubs of this sauce ready to go in the freezer. It’s a fantastic addition to enchiladas but also to any number of dishes that could benefit from red hot chile flavor.
Ingredients
This red enchilada sauce is quick and simple to make with some regular pantry staples. A combination of hot oil and flour acts as a roux which thickens the mixture of water, chile and spices.
Things to pay attention to:
Ground dry chile – Be sure not to use chili powder which is very different than ground dried chile. Chili powder contains salt and other seasonings that will throw off this recipe. You need dried chiles that have been ground, preferably ancho. The ancho chile powder really gives it a comparable flavor to an authentich sauce made from whole dried chiles.
Oil – I use a neutral oil because it is affordable and works with any number of dietary preferences. Feel free to use butter or lard if that is what you have and there aren’t any vegans in the house.
Water – You may see recipes around that call for chicken broth or stock as the liquid in homemade enchilada sauce. I’ve tried both and don’t notice a huge difference in flavor when I just use water. I think the ancho chile speaks for itself. Plus water is cheaper!
Fresh garlic – I think the addition of fresh garlic instead of powdered gives it a fresher flavor, but you can use dried garlic powder if that’s what you have on hand.
You’ll notice that this recipe does
Step-by-step instructions
How to make the sauce:
Making enchilada sauce is much akin to making homemade gravy. You heat fat, add flour to create a roux, add liquid and seasonings, simmer until thickened. You can even make a creamy enchilada sauce with this same method.
Here’s how to convert that technique to making a homemade sauce for enchiladas:
- Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan. Add the flour and whisk until bubbly.
- Whisk in the ground chile and other spices.
- Stir for about a minute; don’t let it burn.
- Add the water, about a cup at a time, whisking constantly. Once all the water is added, simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring once in awhile.
Use the sauce in recipes or chill until ready to use.
How to freeze the sauce:
You’ll want large containers of enchilada sauce (about 2 cups) if you’re going to use it for enchiladas, but I like to stash smaller portions as well for those times when we want just a splash of sauce.
- Divide the sauce into the portions you want to freeze, either in freezer-safe containers (left) or in Soupercubes, silicone molds that allow you to pop out frozen bricks of sauce to store in bags in the freezer (right).
- Chill the sauce in the fridge until completely cold.
- Once cold, transfer the containers of sauce to the freeze. Be sure to label them so that you can tell your red pasta sauce from your red enchilada sauce.
FAQ
Red enchilada sauce is not just for enchiladas, though that would be perfectly sufficient. Cheese Enchiladas are the bomb.
You can also use the sauce in chili, like Chihuahua Chili and atop nachos, like 6-Layer Nachos for the Freezer. You can drizzle it on Red Burritos and over Cheesy Corn & Chile Tamales. It’s even great served over grilled meats.
This recipe, as it is written, is vegetarian- and vegan-friendly, as it does not contain any animal products. It’s a great all-purpose sauce for Mexican food items.
Ancho chiles are considered mildly spicy. You can adjust the heat in this recipe by using a different dried chile powder or a combination of dried chiles. Consult this chart of dried chiles to decide the best fit for you.
Recipe costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- oil – $0.08
- flour – $0.05
- ground ancho chile – $1.75
- garlic – $0.02
- cumin – $0.05
- salt – $0.02
- oregano – $0.05
Shopped at a mid-range grocery store at non-sale prices, the ingredients for this easy red enchilada recipe should cost about $2.07/4-cup batch!
By contrast an equivalent amount of canned sauce costs over $3. Homemade tastes better and costs less!
Great Mexican Food Recipes
Easy Red Enchilada Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- ½ cup ground ancho chile powder or a combination of dried ground chiles
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cup water
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and bubbly. Whisk in the chile powder, garlic, cumin, salt, and oregano. Whisk in the water.
- Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Pour the sauce into freezer-safe containers, leaving room for expansion. Chill completely in the fridge. If using glass jars, freeze uncovered until the sauce is firm. If using plastic, go ahead and secure the lids, label, and freeze. Once the sauce in the glass jar is frozen, add a labeled lid.
- To use, thaw the sauce completely in the refrigerator and proceed with recipe.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on December 1, 2014. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Brooke Kingston
Wonderful recipe! I’m planning to make some for our freezer this week. 🙂
My father’s family is from Santa Fe. My family’s sauce calls for bacon drippings to start. We saute the flour and garlic in the bacon drippings to let the raw flour taste cook off, and let the garlic flavor bloom in the oil. We also use homemade chicken stock instead of water.
We used to buy 50 lb bags of red chile powder from Chimayo, NM every January. That’s a LOT of red chile powder. We had New Mexican-style (stacked) enchiladas every Friday night without fail! Thank you for sharing your recipe along with the great tips for freezing in glass!
Jessica Fisher
What a wonderful family tradition. Sounds delicious to add the bacon drippings. Yum!
Shannon
Do you think I could switch out Hatch green chili for the chili powder and make a green enchi sauce?
Jessica Fisher
Typically green enchilada sauce is made with roasted, fresh chiles, not dried. That’s how it can stay green. The process is somewhat different.
Christine
Jessica, I can’t wait to try this recipe, and to see the recipe with the whole anchos: I’ve just bought some whole chiles and am now looking for recipes to use them up!
Jessica Fisher
Let me know how it turns out for you!
Anne B
Takes a little messing with, but is better than doing it on my own and possibly getting it completely wrong. Copied and pasted the print preview version which finally worked. Guess that is simple txt format. HERE’s the link: http://mykitchencalculator.com/recipeconverter.html
Peggy
FINALLY!!!! You are the first person who uses flour as a base for your enchilada sauce! This is very authentic. I was given this exact recipe from an elderly friend of mine who owned a Mexican restaurant. She was originally from Mexico City. These beat out enchilada sauces that have tomato sauce in it by far! My family loathe eating enchiladas out because of the sauce selections offered. In fact, my hubby (who is very unfiltered…bless his heart) has no problem letting a restaurant know that my enchiladas would put theirs to shame. It’s all in the sauce! And I don’t take credit for it…it goes to my dear little friend who is no longer with us 🙁 .Now, for those of you concerned about gluten sensitivities, try this alternative solution. Use Einkorn flour to make your roux! Google it and educate yourself on whether this is for you. My daughters cannot have gluten. This works for them. Thanks, Jessica, for sharing this recipe and all your awesome advice! Bon appetit!!!
Jessica Fisher
Thanks for your kind words, Peggy! I’ve also used masa as a thickener and that worked well. Obvious corn flavor, but still yummy.
Mary Schulze
Have you tried just using a gluten free flour replacement? I am gluten sensitive as well and looking for a way to make my own sauce?
Jessica Fisher
I have used masa instead of the flour, but you can use a gf baking mix instead.
Stacy
Where do you get that much ancho spice? Also, how would you rate this in terms of spiciness? My husband loves heat, but my son and I don’t.
Jessica Fisher
I buy it in the packets in the Mexican food aisle. I don’t think it’s terribly spicy. My littles don’t complain, so I think it’s okay. Use less if you want to be cautious.
Sara
This is probably the third recipe from your site I have tried to Pin in about the last month and not been able to. Since I don’t see in a Pinterest button on this page, I’m trying to copy the web address and use the upload feature on Pinterest, but that doesn’t work either because it is not “finding” an image when I do that. Any ideas?
teresa
Select the post you want to pin, go to the picture you want pinned and hover over the upper left corner of the picture. The Pin symbol should appear. Left click and the pinning information should come up on your screen. Proceed as usual. Hope this helps.
Sara
It worked! Thank you!!!
Jessica Fisher
Thank you! I’m terribly behind on comments.
Jessica Fisher
Sorry for my delay in getting back to you. Glad Teresa could help. Thanks for pinning!
Becca
I don’t have much freezer space, was wondering if this sauce could be canned?
Jessica Fisher
I have no experience with canning enchilada sauce. I would call your county extension office or check the Ball Blue Book.
Michelle C
I was going to post the same question as Becca about canning instead of freezing. I have a friend who cans a lot of food and will see if she has made enchilada sauce and canned it. If so, I will report her results but I agree with Jessica to check with an extension office or Ball/Mason as well to make sure you (I will check also) have the right information.
Martha B
I’ve canned red enchilada sauce, but only using a pressure cooker. Growing up in the southwest, there were always stories of families who made themselves sick with poorly canned chile products.
Jessica Fisher
I agree. It sounds like a pressure canner project.
Nia
I’m so glad you posted this.. You and I have talked about frying homemade corn tortillas and how they fall apart. Well I finally tried Masa Harina from Bob’s Red Mill and the tortillas held up fine when fried. I used the 2 cups of water suggested on the bag and they were so good. After removing from the griddle I put tem in a plastic bag and they were so pliable they didn’t need to be fried for enchiladas because they rolled very well without tearing. I fried them anyway so they’d have the flavor I grew up on. I tried the homemade sauce from gimme someoven too. It was the best sauce I’ve ever tasted. BTW I used to make enchilada sauce by starting with tomato sauce and if you season it well with cumin,chili powder and bouillon granules its very tasty too.
Jessica Fisher
I’m so glad to hear that about BRM. We’re going to make tamales with it this weekend.
Nia Hanna
How’d your tamales turn out? I made some last week and I think I needed more that 4 cups of broth. They were a little dry. But that’s my fault for not paying attention. Nothing to do with the BRM masa harina. They still tasted good, just more dry than normal.
Jenni
As a former so cal girl, turned nor cal girl, I LOVE good Mexican food. I’m able to do it at home, but enchiladas don’t work. My tortillas end up soggy and nasty. Any tips? Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Are you using corn tortillas? Are you frying them in oil and then dipping them in sauce? That really makes a difference.
Kathy
I am gluten free and mexican is a type of food that is usually easily made gluten free. Has anyone made this with corn starch instead of flour? That is the switch we make in white sauces based dishes and in gravies.
Jessica Fisher
My friend Lynn suggests a GF flour blend or potato starch.
Kathy
I follow Lynn’s site too. I usually try both my flour mixture and cornstarch just wondered if anyone had tried one that worked for sure. Thanks for the input.
Michele Gartner
I’ve made it with tapioca flour and didn’t notice a difference.