Recipe

Enchilada Sauce Recipe: How to Make It At Home?

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Real Mexican cooking begins with a great homemade sauce. Dried Mexican chilies and traditional spices come together in this Enchilada sauce recipe that brings true flavors to your table. This sauce takes only ten minutes to make but delivers genuine Mexican taste that store-bought versions cannot match.

The fresh ingredients create a perfect sauce for enchiladas, burritos, and many other Mexican dishes. Each batch brings the warmth and richness of traditional Mexican kitchens right to your home.

Enchilada Sauce Ingredients

Let's combine these essential ingredients to create an authentic enchilada sauce. Each part adds specific flavors to make your sauce delicious.

  • Chili Peppers: Three dried peppers blend together for the perfect enchilada sauce base. Ancho peppers provide sweet, mild notes that spread throughout the sauce. Guajillo peppers mix in medium heat while creating a bright red color. Small chiles de arbol spread extra spice that balances with the other flavors. This pepper mixture creates well-balanced tastes, and you can adjust the amounts based on your preferred spice level.
  • Oil: One teaspoon of vegetable or olive oil goes into the sauce preparation. The oil helps cook the fresh ingredients properly and keeps the final texture smooth and consistent.
  • Aromatics: Take one small onion and four garlic cloves, then chop them finely before cooking. Fresh onion and garlic create better flavors in the sauce, though powder versions serve as useful substitutes when needed.
  • Spices: Ground cumin and dried oregano blend seamlessly with the peppers, spreading earthiness and warmth throughout. These traditional Mexican spices enhance the dried peppers and deepen the overall flavor profile.
  • Liquid Base: Water creates the sauce base, though chicken broth brings extra rich taste. Save the water from soaking the peppers because it holds valuable flavor compounds. Add your chosen liquid gradually until the sauce reaches the right consistency.
  • Seasoning: Begin with 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt, then adjust the amount after tasting. When using chicken stock, reduce the salt amount since the stock contains natural seasonings. Each ingredient comes together to create a sauce filled with authentic Mexican flavors.

Red Enchilada Sauce Recipe: How To Make It

Now lets make this amazing red enchilada sauce from scratch! With our gear sitting ready, and the ingredients set, we’re good to go with this classic recipe of enchilada sauce. Here are the ingredients you need:

Ingredients

  • 4 dried ancho peppers
  • 4 dried guajillo peppers
  • 4 dried chiles de arbol
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
  • Water as needed

Directions

Step 1: Dry Roast the Chillies

Start with your clean, empty pan on the stove. Turn the heat to medium. Put in your peppers (make sure you've taken out all stems and seeds first). Let them cook for 2 minutes on one side.

Flip them over and cook another 2 minutes. The peppers will start to puff up and smell amazing. This makes their flavor much stronger and better.

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Step 2: Soak Them in Water

Let the peppers cool down until you can touch them. Put them in a big bowl. Pour hot water over them until they're covered completely. Leave them alone for 20 minutes - they need this time to get really soft.

Before you throw away the water, save 1 cup of it. This dark water has lots of good pepper flavor we'll use later.

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Step 3: Cook the Onion

Place your pan back on the stove. Put 1 teaspoon oil into the pan and turn on heat to medium. Put in all your chopped onion. Stir it around and let it cook for 5 minutes until it becomes clear-looking instead of white.

Now add your chopped garlic. Cook everything together for 1 more minute. Your kitchen should smell wonderful by now.

Step 4: Add the Ingredients to the Food Processor

Take your soft peppers and put them in the food processor. Add your cooked onions and garlic. Put in 2 teaspoons of sea salt. These ingredients will all blend together to make our sauce base. Don't blend yet - we need to add liquid first.

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Step 5: Add Water or Broth

Take that 1 cup of pepper water you saved and pour it into the food processor. Now turn it on and blend everything until it's smooth. The sauce will be very thick.

Add more water or broth, using just a half cup at a time. Keep adding and blending until the sauce is as thick or thin as you like. Usually, you want it to be like a smooth pasta sauce.

Step 6: Strain the Paste

Get a strainer and put it over a bowl. Pour your sauce into the strainer. Use a spoon to gently push the sauce through the little holes.

This catches any tough pieces and makes your sauce super smooth. Take a little taste. Add more salt if you want - it should taste good to you.

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Step 7: Serve and Enjoy

Your sauce is ready to use. It should be a beautiful deep red color. You can then go ahead and use it making enchiladas or tacos. Or you can put it in a container with a lid and refrigerate the container. This sauce makes any Mexican food taste better.

This sauce keeps well in the fridge for about a week. You can also freeze it in small containers and use it later. Just warm it up gently when you need it.

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How To Make Green Enchilada Sauce

Fresh green enchilada sauce will bring it wonderful tastes to your Mexican food. Add one tablespoon of warm olive oil to a warm pan. Then cut a peeled white onion into small, neat cubes. Make a fresh jalapeño split open, scoop out all the seeds, and chop it into tiny pieces.

Get four garlic cloves ready by removing their skins and cutting them very small. Drop the onion and jalapeño pieces into the warm oil. They need five minutes to become soft and see-through - stir them a few times while they cook.

Add the tiny garlic pieces and cook everything together until nice smells fill your kitchen. Move all these cooked vegetables into your blender. Pour in a cup of vegetable stock and empty four small cans of diced green chiles - each can holds four ounces.

Season your sauce with one and a half teaspoons of ground cumin, one teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Run the blender until your sauce becomes smooth as silk. Take a small spoonful and taste it.

Mix in more seasonings if the flavor needs a boost. Your sauce stands ready for cooking right away.

Store it in your refrigerator for four days of freshness, or keep it frozen for three months of delicious meals ahead. This homemade sauce creates better flavors than anything from a store, making every Mexican dish extra special.

Tips And Variations For Homemade Enchilada Sauce

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Since you are making the enchilada sauce, you can decide on how and what ingredients you would like to add to obtain your desired flavor. This is a very flexible sauce, it works for all Mexican dishes (different tastes and diets).

  1. Make it Gluten-Free: Your enchilada sauce stays flavorful without regular flour. Switch to any gluten-free flour blend that measures cup for cup like regular flour. Another option combines cornstarch with cold water into a smooth paste, which thickens your sauce perfectly while it bubbles on the stove.
  2. Make it Milder: Regular chili powder stays mild, but starting with less helps control the heat. Begin with two large spoonfuls instead of four, then taste your sauce after cooking. Additional chili powder blends easily if stronger flavors appeal to you later.
  3. Make it Creamy: Half a cup of heavy cream will do the trick and make your ordinary sauce something special. The cream mixes with spices to form a smooth, rich sauce that coats each enchilada beautifully. This version brings new depth to your Mexican dishes.
  4. Make it Spicier: Your sauce gains heat with a small amount of cayenne pepper. Another option uses ancho chili powder instead of regular chili powder - this brings both extra spice and deeper, smokier tastes to your sauce. The flavors develop as the sauce cooks.
  5. Add Tomato Sauce: Sometimes your sauce needs more tomato flavor. Mix in several spoonfuls of tomato paste while your sauce cooks. This addition creates a rich tomato base that works perfectly with all the spices already in your sauce.
  6. Make it Smokier: Switching some regular chili powder with chipotle chili powder adds robust smoky taste. Chipotle brings extra heat along with its smoke, so your sauce becomes both smokier and spicier. The combination creates bold flavors in every bite.

How Long Does Enchilada Sauce Last

A homemade enchilada sauce brings bold, spicy relishes to your favorite Mexican dishes. If you store it correctly, this special sauce stays fresh for seven days in the fridge.

Finding a container with a tight lid makes all the difference - it keeps the sauce tasting just as good as the day you made it. The sauce also tends to get thicker in the cold fridge but adding a bit of water or broth makes it smooth again.

Can You Freeze Enchilada Sauce?

Your extra enchilada sauce belongs in the freezer. The sauce stays delicious for three whole months when frozen properly. After this time passes, the flavors start to fade away and the sauce loses its special taste.

Begin the freezing process by letting your hot sauce cool down on the counter. This step stops ice from forming in your containers. Strong containers or freezer bags work great for storing your sauce. Using two freezer bags instead of one keeps any sauce from leaking out.

Many people like to freeze small amounts in ice cube trays or little jars. This smart trick lets you grab just the right amount of sauce when you need it. The small frozen pieces also melt faster than big frozen blocks.

Each frozen portion stays fresh and flavorful during those three months. These simple storage steps keep your sauce ready for any Mexican meal you want to cook.

Having frozen sauce on hand makes cooking dinner much easier - you never have to start from scratch. Your frozen enchilada sauce waits patiently in the freezer, ready to make your next meal taste amazing.

How To Use Enchilada Sauce

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Your enchilada sauce brings life to many dishes beyond traditional enchiladas. The main uses for this sauce are to take ordinary recipes and turn them into Mexicanized favorites.

  • Enchilada Soup: A large pot fills with enchilada sauce combined with hot homemade chicken broth, tender pieces of cooked chicken, black beans, and sweet corn. It simmers until all flavors perfectly combine. Top with fresh toppings: melted cheese, cool sour cream, and crispy tortilla strips.
  • Mexican Pizza: Enchilada sauce spreads smoothly on a tortilla or even pizza dough, creating that flavorful base for toppings. Fresh, sliced bell peppers, diced onions, and seasoned chicken scatter the top, topped with melted cheese into all corners. The edges crisp golden from the oven make for a perfect blend between Mexican and Italian flavors.
  • Enchilada Lasagna: Enchilada Lasagna: Rich enchilada sauce, sweet corn and black beans layered 2 at a time in tortillas, then baked with melted cheese and savory fillings in a deep baking dish. Each layer adds a layer of flavor upon layer of flavor, making for a great fusion dish. The top turns golden brown while cooking, signaling a perfectly baked meal waiting underneath.
  • Enchilada-Stuffed Peppers: Colorful bell peppers roast until tender, ready to hold a hearty mixture of rice, black beans, corn, and enchilada sauce. These bake slowly in the oven until cheese is fully melted over the filling. Every pepper becomes a perfect portion of Mexican-inspired goodness.
  • Enchilada Skillet Pasta: Onions and garlic cook until soft, joining pasta and seasoned ground beef in a large pan. Enchilada sauce coats every piece of pasta as it softens to the perfect texture. Melted cheese creates a creamy finish, making this one-pan dinner both simple and delicious.
  • Mexican Shakshuka: Enchilada sauce simmers with colorful bell peppers and onions in a wide pan. Fresh eggs nestle into the warm sauce, cooking slowly until set but still soft. Crusty bread serves perfectly for scooping up this Mexican version of a beloved breakfast dish.