How to Make Enchilada Sauce APRIL 7, 2016 668 Comments Learn how to make homemade enchilada sauce (it's so easy and so much better than the store-bought kind!) - cookieandkate.com I’ve been working on my enchilada game lately, for both the cookbook and an upcoming enchilada recipe. There is an art to making great enchiladas, and the sauce is a key component. I thought I’d share my tested and perfected enchilada sauce recipe today, in case you want to try it on your favorite enchilada recipe. It’s ready in under ten minutes, and I promise, it’s so tasty you won’t want to go back to the store-bought kind again. enchilada sauce recipe ingredients When I developed my go-to sauce (first seen on my spinach artichoke enchiladas), I tried at least five of the top sauce recipes on Google, all with different ingredients and techniques. I tried making sauce with tomato sauce, which tasted too raw and was kind of goopy. I tried making sauce with blended diced tomatoes, and it had the same issues. I tried sauce without any tomato ingredients, and it didn’t taste quite like the enchilada sauce I grew up eating, or the sauce at my favorite Mexican restaurants. I tried sauces made without any thickener (like flour or cornstarch), and they pooled at the bottom and turned my enchiladas into a soupy, texture-less casserole. Finally, after some experimentation and cross-referencing with America’s Test Kitchen, I landed on the perfect enchilada sauce. Vegetable broth forms the base of the sauce, but it’s only added after you make a simple roux of flour and oil. You need a full three tablespoons of each to properly thicken the sauce. I tried making this sauce with a gluten-free flour blend and that worked great as well. how to make enchilada sauce The Best Enchilada Sauce Four reasons to love this recipe: This sauce is full of authentic Mexican flavor. It comes from a combination of dried spices, which are sautéed in oil to bring out their best, and umami-rich tomato paste. The cinnamon is optional since some people just don’t like it in savory applications, but just a pinch adds some lovely warmth and complexity. The final kicker is a tiny splash of vinegar, which really amps up the flavor. Unlike canned enchiladas sauces, this homemade sauce is free of unnecessary processed ingredients and MSG (that’s monosodium glutamate, which gives my mom migraines). I love this sauce and I’m confident you will, too, since it’s gotten rave reviews on my spinach artichoke enchiladas and veggie black bean enchiladas. Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! Your feedback keeps me going. Homemade enchilada sauce is so easy to make! This sauce tastes so good, you'll never go back to the store-bought kind. Perfect for your other Mexican recipes, too! cookieandkate.com Red enchilada sauce, made from scratch, with authentic Mexican flavor! cookieandkate.com Enchiladas with homemade red enchilada sauce! cookieandkate.com OUR VIDEOS PRINT Homemade Enchilada Sauce Author: Cookie and Kate Prep Time: 3 mins Cook Time: 7 mins Total Time: 10 minutes Yield: 2 cups Category: Condiment Cuisine: Mexican ★★★★★ 4.7 from 219 reviews This homemade red enchilada sauce has authentic Mexican flavor! It’s so good and easy, you’ll never go back to store-bought sauce again. You can even make a double batch and freeze half of it for later. Recipe as written below yields about 2 cups (16 ounces) sauce. INGREDIENTS 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons flour (whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and gluten-free flour blends all work!) 1 tablespoon ground chili powder (scale back if you’re sensitive to spice or using particularly spicy chili powder) 1 teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon dried oregano ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste Pinch of cinnamon (optional but recommended) 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 cups vegetable broth 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar Freshly ground black pepper, to taste INSTRUCTIONS This sauce comes together quickly once you get started, so measure the dry ingredients (the flour, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt and optional cinnamon) into a small bowl and place it near the stove. Place the tomato paste and broth near the stove as well. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, warm the oil until it’s it’s hot enough that a light sprinkle of the flour/spice mixture sizzles on contact. This might take a couple of minutes, so be patient and don’t step away from the stove! Once it’s ready, pour in the flour and spice mixture. While whisking constantly, cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Whisk the tomato paste into the mixture, then slowly pour in the broth while whisking constantly to remove any lumps. Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, whisking often, for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit and a spoon encounters some resistance as you stir it. (The sauce will thicken some more as it cools.) Remove from heat, then whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Add more salt, if necessary (I usually add another pinch or two). Go forth and make enchiladas!