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.
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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
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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!
OMG, I had to ad lib, which is fine, but I had a little left over and I totally sat there at the sink with the pan and a spoon eating this sauce. It’s that good. I’m so glad I’m old enough to not care:)
Can you store this or do you use all in one sitting?
You can store it in the refrigerator for probably about 4-5 days, but I’m not sure how well it will freeze. I usually use the entire batch for one recipe.
The texture changes a bit after freezing and thawing…kinda clumpy instead of smooth. It tastes the same, though. I’ve added it to chili and soups, and the additional cooking seems to help it even out again. But if you pour it on enchiladas, it might look a little weird.
This recipe is perfect. I will never buy a mix or canned enchilada sauce again.
The real home made Mexican enchilada Sauce is not made with chilli powder, it is made with just chiles guajillos, garlic, oregano water or chicken broth and salt thats it.. please try it and trust me you will have the best tasting enchiladas.
There is no wrong or right way to make enchilada sauce. BIG DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi there! I don’t have tomato paste – do you think I could use the can of pureed tomatoes in my pantry? Thanks!
No, unfortunately the tomato paste is highly concentrated so it delivers a lot more tomato flavor than tomato sauce. It also helps thicken the sauce, whereas tomato sauce would probably thin it out a bit more.
I used 8 oz canned tomato sauce instead of the paste and loved it. I just simmered it longer.
Love it!
Made this tonight, tasty but very spicy for me! I did a quick search for how to save overly spicy dishes so I added a good spoon size of full fat sour cream, did a taste test, still too spicy, and then two splashes of 2% milk. Still spicy, but it was more of that hit-your-belly-in-the-right-spot spicy. I THINK what may have happened is that I bought both cayenne and chili powder from the bulk section of my local grocery store last night, and maybe I mislabeled the baggies??? LOL, i have no idea! Is there a way to tell what is cayenne and what is chili powder? My chicken and bean (black & pinto) enchilada casserole is in the oven now and can’t wait to try it. Thanks, super excited to have a REAL enchilada sauce recipe.
Chili powder is usually a much darker red color. It’s also possible that the chili powder sold in the bulk section at your local store is a hot chile powder, rather than the mild chili powder blend that most major spice manufacturers sell.
try buying chiles guajillos at a mexican market just bring them to a boil remove seeds and blend with garlic oregano salt water or chicken broth..that is
a recipe from guanajuato mx.
The best all time enchilada sauce, bar none! Very easy and quick to prepare, plus hardly any cleanup. I tripled the recipe for a big batch of chicken enchiladas, and it turned out perfect. As someone here suggested, I added onion powder and smoked paprika, which were good additions, but the recipe is great without them. Who knew top shelf restaurant quality enchilada sauce could be so easy and made at home in minutes by a total amateur?
There is a spice blend called Tajin that we love as a mild substitute for chili powder. It is dehydrated lime juice, salt and chili powder, and it is delicious on everything. We especially love it in this recipe!
I have to tell you I make this at least once a month. It’s one of my kids’ favorite meals! My 11 year old has at least 4 helpings and I’ve had to double the recipe just for him!
What if I can just use garlic and not the powder??
One clove would probably do it. :)
I live in NZ and we don’t really have chilli powder here. Do you know what it’s made up of to substitute it?
It’s mostly crushed mild red chiles, with a little cumin and maybe a small amount of other spices. So, if you can find a mild red chile powder, that would be the closest.
Love this sauce. I, too, am a refugee from the canned sauce. I did add about 1/4 tsp of nutmeg a 1/4 tsp of cinnamon to give it that restaurant taste. But it was wonderful! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Excellent! Thanks for sharing. Simple, easy, and delicious. I modified mine just a tad by also adding 1/2 tea. of onion powder, and about 1/2 tea of smoked paprika (more or less depending on mood). I also only fried the flour and chili powder on low-med heat long enough to make the aromatics pop – only until the mixture had a very slight toasted aroma. Very good indeed!
Can I use a can of tomato sauce instead of water/paste? I have that on hand.
I don’t think that would work well because tomato paste is just SO much more concentrated than tomato paste. You’d need a lot of sauce to equal the tomato power of that paste. Well, okay, you probably could use it but the flavor of your enchilada sauce will not be quite as rich. :)
I’m standing here in my mother’s kitchen reducing tomato sauce to make paste…it’s possible, but it’s annoying. You have to reduce the sauce by half (according to the internet) to get paste…