This homemade enchilada sauce recipe is easy to make in 20 minutes with pantry ingredients! Quick and flavorful, it beats the canned stuff every time.
This homemade enchilada sauce recipe is so much better than store-bought! This red enchilada sauce is easy to make in just 20 minutes with basic ingredients like spices, broth, and canned tomato sauce. It’s thick, smooth, and flavorful, with earthy notes from cumin and a little heat from chili powder. If you’ve never made enchilada sauce from scratch before, I promise, this recipe will take your enchiladas to a whole new level!
I use this sauce regularly in my go-to cheese enchiladas, though you can use it in practically any enchilada recipe you love. Keep reading for make-ahead instructions, ingredient swaps, and more recipe tips, then try this enchilada sauce recipe!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce Ingredients
When I moved to Austin, Texas years ago, I discovered a whole new-to-me world of enchilada sauces. I’d grown up eating the canned, tomato-based sauce, but I learned that in Mexican and Tex Mex cooking, enchilada sauce can be so much more. It can be a green enchilada sauce with a base of zingy tomatillos or a chili gravy made from broth and spices. Or it can be a mole or a piquant blend of rehydrated dried chiles.
When I set out to develop my own recipe, I decided to start with a red enchilada sauce, like an upgraded version of the canned kind. Three tests later, I landed on this enchilada sauce recipe, which I’ve made countless times since.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Tomato sauce – It creates the sauce’s tangy base. I’ve gotten lots of questions about the right tomato product to use in this recipe. Look for a plain, canned tomato sauce with a short ingredient list (I use this one) or a jar of strained tomatoes.
- Avocado oil – For richness. If you don’t have it on hand, olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil would work too.
- All-purpose flour – You’ll use it to make a roux to thicken the sauce. To make this recipe gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour blend instead of regular all-purpose flour. I like King Arthur’s.
- Chili powder – For heat and smoky flavor. Use store-bought, or make your own.
- Cumin – It adds earthy flavor.
- Garlic powder – It makes the sauce intensely savory.
- Dried oregano – For aromatic, herbal notes.
- Vegetable broth – It loosens the sauce, giving it the perfect consistency to pour over enchiladas.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Enchilada Sauce
This easy enchilada sauce recipe is simple to make! Here’s how it goes:
- First, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for one minute, until the flour and oil are well combined. Then, add the spices and whisk for another minute, until fragrant. Reduce the heat to low as needed if the spices are sticking to the pan or burning.
- Next, add the tomato sauce and broth. Gradually pour them into the pan, whisking continuously to incorporate them with the roux. If you add them too quickly without stirring, the sauce may have lumps.
- Then, simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 12 minutes. It will thicken more as it cools.
Season to taste and enjoy in your favorite enchilada recipe!
Recipe Tips
- Know your chili powder (and your spice tolerance). Chili powders vary widely in spice level. Taste yours before making the sauce to get a sense of how spicy it is. If you prefer a mild enchilada sauce, you might want to use as little as 1 tablespoon chili powder. If you like a spicy sauce (or if you have a very mild chili powder), feel free to add more. I typically use 2 to 3 tablespoons of chili powder in my red enchilada sauce.
- Add the tomato sauce and broth slowly. Instead of dumping all the liquid into the saucepan at once, pour in the tomato sauce and broth gradually, whisking continuously while you do it. This will make your final sauce thicker and smoother, free of any clumps of flour or spices.
How to Use Enchilada Sauce
You can use this homemade red enchilada sauce in any enchilada recipe you love. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Easy Enchiladas with spinach and Oaxaca cheese
- Vegan Enchiladas with mushrooms and poblanos
- Vegetarian Black Bean Enchiladas with butternut squash
It would also be great in an enchilada casserole, and I’ve even used it as a substitute for ranchero sauce on my huevos rancheros!
How do you like to use this homemade sauce? Let me know in the comments!
How to Store and Make Ahead
Store this enchilada sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make it on the weekend, and you’ll be able to throw together homemade enchiladas on any night of the week!
It also freezes well. Allow it to cool to room temperature, then seal in an airtight container or jar and freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer frozen sauce to the fridge to thaw overnight. Stir well before using.
More Favorite Homemade Sauces
If you love this recipe, try one of these homemade sauces next:
- Homemade Salsa
- Tomatillo Salsa
- Creamy Chipotle Sauce
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Marinara Sauce
- Fresh Tomato Sauce
- Basil Pesto
Red Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chili powder, to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute, or until well combined with the oil. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and oregano and whisk for 1 minute, or until fragrant, reducing the heat as needed if the spices begin to stick or burn. Slowly add the tomato sauce and then the broth, whisking continuously until smooth.
- Simmer for 12 minutes, or until thickened. The sauce will thicken more as it cools. Use in your favorite enchilada recipe.
Notes
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Love this recipe. Fast and easy. Much better and cheaper than canned
Can I use canola oil instead of avocado oil
Yep!
Was very good and super easy to make especially in a pinch
Love this recipe 😋
Can I make it ahead and freeze it until it until needed?
Simple, quick and delicious!!
My husband can’t eat tomatoes. What would a substitute be?
Thanks
You don’t need it if you make it like my family does here in NM. Just use a blender to combine red chile powder garlic powder and onion powder and salt to taste with 2 cups of water. Make a roux and whisk it in and cook until it starts to thicken.
I burned the spices trying to make this sauce. I would not recommend whisking for that additional minute after adding the spices.
Delicious and easy! I used only 1 Tablespoon of chili powder to start, with a plan to add more if needed. One was enough for great flavor. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So glad you loved it, Joan!
Any gluten free substitute for flour ? Will corn starch or gluten free flour work ?
What tomato sauce are you referring to in your recipe.
I’m in the UK so I’m not sure. Do you mean tinned tomatoes or a pre-made tomato sauce.
Many thanks ?
Hi Juliette, good question! I’m not sure what tomato products are available in the UK, but in the US, many stores carry cans of “tomato sauce,” which is a smooth tomato puree, but not prepared marinara. If available, strained tomatoes would be a good substitute. Hope this helps!
You’d want plain passata.
Tomato puree in the UK is tomato paste and tomato sauce will likely have herbs and seasonings in it. You can use passata, just plain sieved tomatoes.
tinned tomatoes! just make sure it is emulsified like a sauce.
Added to this basic recipe:
2 to 3 T chili powders (to taste); mixture of Paseo, Ancho, Paseo, Chipotle powders, not to exceed 3T
Dash smoked paprika
½ t cinnamon
1~2 T tomato paste
1 T honey
1 t apple cider vinegar
Original flavor profile was enhanced by mixture of authentic chili powders; the cinnamon rounded out the blend.
It was like a homemade red mole…not too hot, bright, super mellow.
Typo, Pasilla not Paseo in above revised ingredients!
Sounds delicious, Melanie! Thanks for sharing your twist.
I found these additions gave this rather one dimensional recipe some depth. Will definitely make again.
2-3 tablespoons of chilli powder? I’ve made this twice but even 1 tablespoon blew our heads off! Should it not be teaspoons?
I agree! We used 2 tsp. Yum!
I thought the recipe provided by Love &Lemons is absolutely yummy -why adjust anything?
I always find it a little amusing when readers post their own recipes.
Thank you Love & Lemons for your website & cookbooks! Everything is consistently inspiring !
Lisa
Depends on the type/brand of chili powder you use and your taste preference. Sounds like you’re using the good chili powder. 🙂
Is there a way to make the enchilada sauce gluten-free? Thanks!
Hi Tudi, I think a GF all-purpose flour would work here.
I don’t like chili powder. Is there something you might recommend for a substitute or would you just leave it out?
Hot smoked paprika
Hi Joyce, it’s the dominant flavor in this recipe, so you may consider a different one. Chipotle powder could work, but they can be really spicy, so I might start with 1 tablespoon.
Korean red pepper powder, chipotle powder, cayenne pepper, Korean gochujang sauce, Chinese chili oil…
An easy recipe to make enchilada sauce in a pinch. I honestly won’t go back to buying enchilada sauce from the store, it’s that good.
Hi Mary, I’m so glad you loved the enchilada sauce!
Excited to try today! I just finished a tomato sauce, so it’s perfect timing!
I hope you love them!
Can I use a different oil like Olive oil ?
Hi Cindy, you can use olive oil or any neutral oil like vegetable oil.
I tried this and it was so good! Thank you for this recipe. Will switch to making this one over buying the can from now on!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!