Enchilada sauce is one of my very favorite things, ever. I love when it soaks into tortillas while baking and makes everything all tangy, spicy, and good. Mmmmm. 🤤 But when the selection of enchilada sauce at my local grocery store was less than impressive, I decided it was high time to make some red enchilada sauce myself. This Easy Red Enchilada Sauce is a total game-changer and now I can never go back to store-bought. It has ten times more flavor than anything I’ve ever had from a can and literally takes minutes to make. It’s a total winner.
Quick Method, Big Flavor
This EASY enchilada sauce is not an authentic enchilada sauce made with dried chile peppers that you’ll find in Texas or Mexico, but it’s a quick and easy version that anyone can whip up in their kitchen using basic pantry staples. But I promise, once you taste it, you won’t regret the shortcuts. It’s still bursting with flavor and you’ll want to pour it over everything. If you want a made-from-scratch with dried chiles enchilada sauce, check out this Authentic Enchilada Sauce recipe from Isabel Eats.
How Spicy is Red Enchilada Sauce?
The “chili powder” listed in the recipe below is a store-bought mix of spices used to season chili. It is not straight chile powder, or pure ground chile peppers, which can be extremely spicy. The brand of chili powder I use is completely mild, but other brands can sometimes carry some heat. If you are using a spicy chili powder, simply reduce or eliminate the cayenne powder from this recipe to compensate. The heat level of the recipe below, using McCormick’s chili powder, is medium spicy, like a medium salsa.
How to Use Enchilada Sauce
Enchilada sauce is not just for Enchiladas! Here are some other great ways to use red enchilada sauce:
- as a simmer sauce for meat (in a slow cooker or skillet)
- as a rich sauce to smother burritos
- combined with eggs and fried tortillas for Migas
- combined with sour cream to make a creamy and spicy dip
- as a replacement for taco sauce
- a soup base (Chicken Enchilada Soup or 30 Minute Posole)
- to sauce up casseroles like Mexican lasagna, enchilada casserole, or Taco Stuffed Shells
But if you do want to use it for enchiladas, make sure to check out these great enchilada recipes: Cheese Enchiladas, Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiadas, Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas, and Weeknight Enchiladas.
Easy Red Enchilada Sauce
Servings 8 ¼ cup eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder ($0.30)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- 3 oz. tomato paste ($0.27)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp salt or to taste ($0.03)
Instructions
- Add the cooking oil, flour, and chili powder to a sauce pot. Turn the heat on to medium and whisk the ingredients together. Continue to whisk as the mixture begins to bubble. Whisk and cook the mixture for one minute once it begins bubbling.
- After one minute, whisk in the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until smooth. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer it will begin to thicken slightly.
- Starting with a 1/2 teaspoon, add salt to taste. I used about 3/4 teaspoon total. The sauce is now ready to use!
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Notes
Nutrition
Video
How to Make Enchilada Sauce – Step By Step Photos
Start by adding 2 Tbsp flour, 2 Tbsp chili powder, and 2 Tbsp oil to a pot. I use McCormick’s chili powder, which is not spicy, just flavorful, so don’t be frightened by the large quantity in the recipe. All of the heat comes from the cayenne pepper.
Whisk these ingredients together and allow them to come up to a bubble over medium heat, whisking the whole time. Whisk and cook for one minute. This will toast the flour and chili powder, adding to the flavor depth and making sure that the flour doesn’t taste like paste.
After one minute, add 3oz. tomato paste, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and whisk in 2 cups water (or broth).
Let the sauce come up to a simmer and it will begin to thicken. Taste the sauce and add salt to your liking. Start with about 1/2 teaspoon and add more if needed. The salt will really help bring out the flavors. If you’re using broth in place of water, you might not need to add any at all.
And now you’re good to go! Drizzle this thick and flavorful enchilada sauce over all of your favorite foods and enjoy!
Quick, easy, and delicious. I’ve been using this recipe for several years and now just commented. If I have it, I use some chicken broth for some of the water. As Beth says, it may not be authentic but who the heck is gonna know?!
Just made this for the first time (to go in some tamale pie for supper), and it’s very good. Very mild, too.
Will definitely make this again.
This was my first time making enchilada sauce from scratch. I don’t like cayenne pepper flavor so instead of that I grilled a jalapeno and red pepper and added it to the sauce. My family loved the sauce. We have celiac disease so finding gluten free sauce was hard. I replaced the plain flour with gluten free flour instead.
This is seriously one of the best recipes I’ve ever found on any food site. We’ve been making enchiladas with this sauce for 8 or 9 years and I still love it so much that I came here to finally say so. This is my first recipe website comment. That is how much I love this sauce. You don’t need to mess with it. Make it as written!
I would have loved to print this recipe and use it, but the ads kept interfering with the print command and all it would print was empty paper!
For all those people that would like to freeze this sauce I am here to say it freezes great. It keeps perfectly in the freezer for up to 3 months. I take it down the night before to thaw it. Or if you forget to thaw it the night before then you can take the sauce from the freezer and run the sauce in the freezer bag under hot water an it will thaw out. It tastes like you just made it.
I tried it and everyone loved it, it really had a great lasting flavor. I mixed the sauce to the meat, the sauce thickness is perfect.
How long will this keep if refrigerated? I made a small batch and it is fabulous! I would like to use up my leftover tomato paste and make a large batch but I don’t use enchilada sauce real often. Thanks for your advice.
I would only keep this one a few days. Since it’s thickened with a flour roux, it can tend to separate after sitting in the fridge a while and generally you don’t want to keep cooked foods more than 4-5 days anyway.
Awesome
(UPDATE) Just made this recipe …and this is an excellent base. I played with it and here is what I did… Instead of tomato paste I used 2 -15 oz cans of tomato sauce, I omitted the flour all together! 2 1/2 cups of water,1/4 cup of cooking oil, 3/4 tspn onion powder,1/4 tspn of dried oregano and 1/2 tspn of black pepper. Of course all other ingredient measurements increase up to x-4 depending on your taste… Yes I was impressed and I will never buy pre-made canned again! You can use extra sauce mixed into a bean dip for chips ~
You’re recipe in no way resembles the recipe Beth posted. You made a tomato sauce, not a red enchilada sauce.
Only a 3 star for now, going to try this recipe tonight (10/25/23)..I was disgusted yesterday at the store (Safeway Seattle) at the cost of a can of enchilada sauce “$5.09” for a 28 oz can? WTF!~ I really hope this recipe is good and or if it needs a little push of extra ingredients ….I will post ALL additions if needed..everyones taste is different…
Am definitely going to make this and can some. I am going to use Roma tomato juice inplace of the water and tomato paste.
so easy to make and absolutely delicious!!!
Can you can this sauce?
Absolutely amazing! I’ve been wasting money on McCormick sauces mixes for years, I’m so glad I found this recipe! I did work for Beth years ago and I still remeber the smells coming from her kitchen will we working at her home. Thank you posting recipes that are delicious and budget friendly 😋