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.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
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!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!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!
I made this after finding another recipe for which I needed a can of enchilada sauce. In thinking about it, I thought I might try and make my own, and found your recipe. Easy and inexpensive! Thank you.
Made this tonight, but had to make some changes. Somehow I have no regular flour in my house that I can use, so I had to use Wondra, and I cooked it kinda too long before adding the broth and remaining seasonings, so it’s darker than intended, but all my kids declared it a raging success, so I’m okay with it, thanks so much for the recipe! :)
loved it!
Man, was this ever good! It was a little thick so i added a about a half cup more water. The only thing that was kind of weird was that when i added the oil, flour and chili powder, it didnt bubble it was more of a paste. The recipe turned out great though, I just had to make sure to take it off the heat while I grabbed the other ingredients so that it wouldn’t burn before I got the water in. Making this with the Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas :)
Froze a batch back in February and now just used it for some enchilada pasta. Tastes even better after all that time!
This is a great and simple recipe to follow!
I absolutely LOVE this sauce. We actually don’t do much with enchiladas but it’s perfect for a wet burrito and we make extra ahead of time then freeze it for a quick meal in the middle of the week.
Some how I discovered your blog and this is the first recipe I made. All these years I’ve been buying the thin, “tinny” flavored can stuff and your recipe is many times superior, easy, and inexpensive. Wonderful stuff (I did use some chicken broth). It never occurred to me to make enchilada sauce, and I’m 64–who said you can’t teach a dog new tricks?! I used it on my own chicken enchiladas, and then tried your chorizo and sweet potato recipe, to which I added some frozen corn, and that was great, too!
can you double/triple this? I think it would water bath can just fine. If can do meatless sloppy joe sauce in a water bath. There should be no trouble with this
Yes, there should be no problem doubling or tripling it. :)
Can this be frozen?
I find that it separates just a little after thawing.
I wanted to make tacos this week without making another trip to the store, but I need taco sauce. It never even occurred to me that I could make taco sauce! Thanks so much!
This sauce is THE BEST! The whole family loves it. I used it for Beef & Bean Burritos and Turkey (ground) & Bean Burritos. I will never again buy enchilada sauce in a can. Thank you for this recipe!
Beth, this sauce has ruined all canned enchilada sauces for me! This one turns out nice and thick and really “sticks” to whatever you use it on…the canned stuff is just way to runny after being spoiled by this stuff. So good!!
I wasn’t expecting to love this. It seems too simple. But I needed something in a pinch and WOW. I am amazed! So yummy!
Thank you this sauce came out perfect. I added some diced green chilies and a little jalepeno, nice and spicy!
Made chicken enchiladas for the first time last night and stumbled on this sauce recipe. Thanks to your sauce they were the best enchiladas I have ever had. I can’t wait for the next potluck at work!
This is the best sauce to use on tortillas, pasta bakes, and anything, really. I LOVE this sauce!