Enchilada Sauce Recipe

4.70 from 13 votes

This homemade enchilada sauce recipe is so flavorful, it will take your enchiladas to a new level of deliciousness. There is a lot of flavor in this sauce and it only takes about 20 minutes to make. You can easily make it ahead of time and adjust the spice level according to your taste.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Drinks, Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: (Makes about 3 cups)

Calories: 207kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

2 tbsp canola oil or vegetable oil
1 yellow onion
2 tbsp all purpose flour
14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup beef stock
1 chipotles in adobo sauce
1 tbsp adobo sauce from chipotles
1/2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp white granulate sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prep your ingredients so it's available when needed. Preheat a medium sauce pot over medium heat and add oil.
Chop onion and add it to the pot. Saute onion until softened.
Sprinkle flour over the onion and stir until onions are evenly coated.
Slowly pour in beef stock while stirring. Add can of crushed tomatoes and all remaining ingredients.
Stir well and bring the mixture to simmer. Let it simmer for a few minutes.
Transfer the content of the pot into a food processor and blend well until smooth. The sauce is ready for making enchiladas!
To store Enchilada Sauce – Prepare the sauce according to the recipe, take off heat, and let it cool to room temperature. Pour cooled sauce into a glass jar and close it with a lid. Store it in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
To freeze Enchilada Sauce – pour cooled sauce into a zip-lock freezer bag, let all the air out, and close it tight. Label the bag with a date and what is inside and lay flat on a cutting board. Let it freeze for about 2 hours and then you can stand it up or stack it in the freezer. Frozen sauce can be stored for 2-3 months.

Video

Notes

Make Ahead - This Enchilada Sauce is very easy to make and takes about 20 minutes but you can still prepare it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To store Enchilada Sauce – Before storing, make sure to let the sauce cool to room temperature. Pour cooled sauce into a glass jar and close it with an air-tight lid. Store it in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
To freeze Enchilada Sauce – pour cooled sauce into a zip-lock freezer bag, let all the air out, and close it tight. Label the bag with a date and what is inside and lay flat on a cutting board. Let it freeze for about 2 hours and then you can stand it up or stack it in the freezer. Frozen sauce can be stored for 2-3 months. Note: you can also make a double batch of this sauce and portion it into 2-4 freezer bags. To thaw – pull the bag of frozen sauce out of the freezer and into the refrigerator about 24 hours before you need to use it. Let it slow-that in the refrigerator until thawed, up to 24 hours.
Gluten Free - Since there is an addition of flour, the original recipe is not gluten free. To make this Enchilada Sauce gluten free, simply substitute all purpose gluten free flour.
Also, double check the can of chipotles in adobo sauce to make sure that the brand you are using is gluten free. (The brand I use is La Costena and it has not gluten ingredients.)

Nutrition