Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce
A tasty homemade enchilada sauce that can be made in minutes, and used for all sorts of things – including perfect vegetarian enchiladas!
Not going to lie – I do occasionally use jars of shop-bought sauce. When I’m cooking for my family at the end of a long day, sometimes a jar of sauce is my best friend. But when it comes to enchilada sauce, I always make my own from scratch. Homemade enchilada sauce is so easy to make, and literally takes a couple of minutes. It’d be silly not to!
Homemade enchilada sauce
In my opinion, you can really tell the difference between homemade enchilada sauce and the shop-bought version. I’ve found that shop-bought enchilada sauce is sometimes a bit gloopy, whereas my homemade version is perfectly rich and silky.
Plus, if you’re making the sauce yourself, you can adjust it to your own personal tastes. Do you like your enchiladas to be so spicy that your tongue goes numb? Add a touch more chilli powder or cayenne (just don’t get carried away, you don’t want to ruin your dinner!).
Bit more of a wimp? Just add a touch less.
You can also play around with adding different spices, maybe even a few dried herbs, until you end up with your perfect sauce.
Easy enchilada sauce
Despite what you might expect, homemade enchilada sauce is actually incredibly easy to make. The process is pretty similar to making a white sauce – you start by making a simple roux with fat and flour, except this time you add plenty of tasty spices as well.
I used smoked paprika, chilli powder, ground cumin and garlic granules – but feel free to make it your own!
Next, a squeeze of tomato puree.
Make it saucy!
Then, all that’s left to do is to add some vegetable stock until your sauce reaches your desired consistency.
Just like when you’re making a white sauce, you ideally want to add the stock gradually to ensure you end up with a smooth sauce – I usually add about a third of the stock at a time. At first, it will thicken into a paste…
…then when you add a bit more, it will produce a thick sauce…
…and finally, it will make the enchilada sauce smooth and silky. You can add as much or as little liquid as you need to get your ideal sauce.
What can I use homemade enchilada sauce for?
The obvious answer is: enchiladas! This easy homemade enchilada sauce is perfect poured over any kind of vegetarian enchiladas to give them heaps of flavour.
But of course, it can be used in lots of other ways as well. Here are a few ideas:
- make an enchilada-inspired pasta bake like these enchilada stuffed shells
- to avoid all the rolling, make an enchilada stack!
- add a kick to soup or chilli
- use as a sauce on quinoa or any other grain
- drizzle it into tacos or fajitas to make them nice and saucy
What else would you do with your homemade enchilada sauce? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Homemade enchilada sauce
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp hot chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tbsp tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 250 ml (~ 1 cup) vegetable stock
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Place the oil in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the flour and spices, and mix thoroughly to produce a fragrant paste. Cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly, then add the tomato puree, and cook for a further 1 minute.
- Add the vegetable stock a little at a time (I usually add it about 1/3 at a time), mixing well until smooth each time before adding a bit more. When you’ve added all of the liquid, you should have a smooth, silky sauce.
- Season with plenty of black pepper (you probably won’t need any salt unless you used low-sodium stock), and use to make enchiladas (or something else!).
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
This homemade enchilada sauce would be perfect for making my enchilada stuffed shells:
Thanks for the recipe, our daughter in law is vegan, and it’s nice to be able to make her a vegan meal, as we aren’t.
Great Sauce & very easy
Thanks Amanda!
This is quick and easy but sooo hot! I wish I’d questioned the amount of chilli powder and halved it – my mouth is still burning! But it was tasty.
Sorry about that Sarah! I guess chilli powder varies from brand to brand. At least you know for next time :)
I have been using this recipe for years! Before the name change on the blog. I find making sauces intimidating but this is so simple to make and has such a depth of flavour. Smoked paprika is very worthwhile in this recipe. I never buy store bought enchilada sauce and make sure to always have these spices on hand.
Thanks Danielle, so glad you like this one :)
This really is as simple as you say and easy to adjust the spices in.
Excellent tangy sauce and so easy!
Thanks Kay!
How long would this keep for please? Is it worth making double quantity and keeping a jar in the fridge?
I’d only recommend keeping it for about 3 days in the fridge, but if you want to make a double batch I bet it would freeze just fine :)