How Do You Make Enchilada Sauce

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Serving Red Enchilada Sauce

How to Make Red Enchilada Sauce

There are so many ways to use homemade enchilada sauce, seriously endless possibilities. Use it on eggs, pastas, rice, soups and more. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use this incredible homemade sauce. Chicken Enchilada Pasta, Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Peppers, Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup, Skinny Chicken Enchiladas and Beefy Enchilada Dip.

Red Vs Green Enchilada Sauce:

The main difference between red and green enchilada sauce is the type of chili that was used. Red enchilada sauce is made with red chilies . Green enchilada sauce is made with green chilis, tomatillos, and sometimes jalapeños, so it tends to have a larger heat range. It can be spicy, but doesnt have to be.

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Make Enchilada Sauce: Gather The Ingredients

Quality ingredients play a huge role in the final product of your enchiladas. If you want to make enchilada sauce of the best quality, you should be sure to find the best ingredients. Most important to enchilada sauce is the chili powder. Believe us. You will taste the difference between the cheap powder and the one which may cost an extra buck. In order to make enchilada sauce, you will need the following ingredients.

  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
  • 2 Tbsp. flour
*This recipe is from Gimmesomeoven

What Is Enchilada Sauce

How to Make Enchilada Sauce

Red enchilada sauce may also be called salsa roja, salsa roja paraenchiladas or mole rojo. It is a sauce made out of ancho/ pasilla/New Mexico and/or Cascabel chiles, onion, garlic, tomatoes, broth, cumin, oregano, etc.all blended together then simmered until thickened. It creates a multi-dimensionaltapestry of complex layered flavors that enlivens everything it touches. Enchiladasauce is primarily used to smother enchiladas but can also be used in soups,skillets, burritos, etc.

Enchilada sauce is easy to find at any grocery store but almost equally as easy to make at home and WAY tastier!

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Easy Enchilada Sauce Ingredients

Heres what youll need for this recipe:

  • Olive oil + all-purpose flour: These two ingredients are cooked together to make a roux, which thickens up the sauce just a tad and gives everything a good mouthfeel.
  • Spices + herbs: Chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, cumin and dried oregano
  • Broth: Chicken or vegetable broth both work
  • Tomato paste: This provides a nice velvety tomato flavor with making it too watery like tomato sauce can sometimes do

How To Make Red Enchilada Sauce

This sauce is so simple and delicious! Here are the ingredients needed to make it:

  • chili powder
  • garlic powder
  • cumin
  • chicken broth

ROUX. The sauce is made by adding oil to a pot and heating on medium heat. Pour in flour and create a roux by whisking together for 1-2 minutes.

SAUCE. Add chili powder, garlic powder, salt cumin and oregano and mix until clumpy. Pour in chicken broth, whisking the entire time and until there are no more clumps. Heat for about 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened.

*Tip: You know the sauce is thick enough when it coats the back of a wooden spoon well. If you see the picture below on the left, you can see that the sauce looks watery and doesnt stick to the spoon. The picture on the right shows that the sauce is thick and sticks to the back of the wooden spoon showing that its ready.

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+ Ways To Use Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada sauce is a great start to lots of delicious dinner ideas. Heres 15 ways to use enchilada sauce enchilada recipes, casseroles, soupeven macaroni and cheese! Youre sure to find something to make for dinner tonight.

Last week, we did a complete cleaning of our pantry. It has become a huge mess and it had gotten to a place where finding the rice almost took longer than cooking it. With the help of our 16-year-old, everything was pulled out every last can, box, bag, and container. With everything grouped and sorted among our kitchen floor and counters, I realized we had not just 1 or 2 cans of enchilada sauce, not even 5 cans. But, we had 10 big cans of enchilada sauce. TEN.

While I do a bit of stocking up during sales, ten cans of enchilada sauce is a bit much, even for us. I suspect the reason I have so much is that when I need enchilada sauce for a recipe, Im never really sure how much I will end up using, so I buy two cans. Then, I use only one can and the other goes into that mess of a pantry. Next time I buy enchilada sauce, I buy another 2 cans and the cycle repeats itself again and again.

Putting my enchilada sauce to use shouldnt be a problem while I love lots of different Mexican food dishes, one of my top favorites has always been enchiladas. It doesnt matter if its red sauce, green sauce, creamy style, chicken, cheese, beefIm a fan of all of them and more.

What I Love About This Recipe

How to Make Enchiladas – Cheese Enchilada Recipe – The Frugal Chef
  • First, its easy! Like, 15-minutes easy and it calls for ingredients you probably already have on hand in your pantry.
  • It has a touch of butter. Instead of using all oil, I add some butter which gives the sauce a touch of richness and buttery flavor. Its not authentic, but its delicious.
  • You dont need a bunch of spices. Instead of mixing chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder to make chili seasoning, I use a premade chili seasoning blend. It has everything in it so no need to dig through the spice cabinet looking for different spices. You can find chili seasoning blends at the store sometimes local brands are better than national brands, so try a few and pick a favorite.
  • If you make a lot of recipes with enchilada sauce, you can easily double or triple this recipe and make a big batch.
  • For storage, you can keep it in the fridge or it will keep in the freezer for several months.

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Best Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe

Once you try this enchilada sauce recipe, youll never buy canned again! If you love enchiladas as much as I do, then making homemade enchilada sauce from scratch is a must! You can double it and freeze the rest. Use it to make my Chicken Enchiladas,Rotisserie Chicken Enchilada Skillet, Enchilada Chicken Roll Ups, and more!

A reader recently commented that using this homemade enchilada sauce made all the difference in her dish, and I agree. I have never cared for any of the canned sauces, so I usually whip up a big batch and freeze what I dont use for future meals. Trust me, you will be making this sauce again and again! This recipe yields 4 cups.

How To Make Enchilada Sauce Step By Step Photos

Start by adding 2 Tbsp flour, 2 Tbsp chili powder, and 2 Tbsp oil to a pot. I use McCormicks chili powder, which is not spicy, just flavorful, so dont be frightened by the large quantity in the recipe. All of the heat comes from the cayenne pepper.

Whisk these ingredients together and allow them to come up to a bubble over medium heat, whisking the whole time. Whisk and cook for one minute. This will toast the flour and chili powder, adding to the flavor depth and making sure that the flour doesnt taste like paste.

After one minute, add 3oz. tomato paste, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and whisk in 2 cups water .

Let the sauce come up to a simmer and it will begin to thicken. Taste the sauce and add salt to your liking. Start with about 1/2 teaspoon and add more if needed. The salt will really help bring out the flavors. If youre using broth in place of water, you might not need to add any at all.

And now youre good to go! Drizzle this thick and flavorful enchilada sauce over all of your favorite foods and enjoy!

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Quick And Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce

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Quick and Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce is a thousand times better than a can, and ready in no time! Perfectly spiced, thick and delicious, this will be your go to from now on.

I love making my own mixes and sauces from scratch. Its always easier than you think and cheaper than you expect. Try some of these favorites like this Homemade Cheese Sauce, The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce and Amazing Homemade Taco Seasoning to get you started.

Red Enchilada Sauce Recipe

This recipe for easy homemade enchilada sauce is ...

When I order a plate of enchiladas at a Mexican restaurant theyre normally judged by ONE primary factor how good is the enchilada sauce.

While the filling of the enchiladas are a very close runner-up in importance, its the sauce that imparts the most flavor in such an authentic Mexican dish.

From mole sauce, to salsa verde, or a creamy red enchilada sauce if the sauce isnt perfect you run the risk of ruining the entire dish!

So when I was recently remaking these Shredded Chicken Enchiladas, I also did a few trial runs of the red enchilada sauce.

Some with tomato paste, some without

Others with too much chili powder and yet another with not enough

After WAY too much red enchilada sauce coursing through these veins I can promise you that this recipe you see here today is by FAR the best one to make at home.

And unlike other more traditional recipes that call for tons of hard-to-find ingredients this one uses common ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!

So yes, it is SUPER easy to make and can be ready in just 20 minutes!

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Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce Ingredients:

To make this easy enchilada sauce recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

  • Oil and flour: These will form the roux to thicken the sauce. Youre welcome to use any type of neutral-flavored oil that you prefer. And while I typically use all-purpose flour, you are welcome to sub in a 1-for-1 GF flour blend instead to make this recipe gluten-free.
  • Chili powder: For all of our international readers, please note that this recipe calls for American-style chili powder, which is actually a blend of various chilis and seasonings, including a typically small percentage of cayenne. I recommend investing in a good-quality brand of chili powder for this recipe, since it is the primary seasoning for this sauce. But keep in mind that chili powder blends vary from brand to brand, so its worth experimenting with a few to find the one that you love best!
  • Garlic powder, ground cumin, dried oregano: These are the other dried seasonings that we will use in the sauce. Feel free to increase the amount of any one of these once you have tasted the sauce, if you would like.
  • Veggie or chicken stock: I also recommend using some good-quality stock in this recipe, which will add a delicious depth of flavor to the sauce.
  • Fine sea salt: And finally, dont forget to season the sauce! I typically add in about 1/2 teaspoon, but the amount needed will likely depend significantly on the brand and saltiness of the stock that you use.

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

Have you ever made or had homemade red enchilada sauce? It seems like it might be a hard thing to do, but the recipe we are sharing today is simple and a family favorite.

We use it for our Red Cheese Enchiladas and Beef Empanadas, and its phenomenal.

Yes, you can buy red enchilada sauce in the can, but it doesnt compare to this homemade version. It takes just a few ingredients , and is made in under 20 minutes.

With the chili powder in this recipe, there is some spice, but you can change the amount of powder you used based on what your family likes.

Also note that how much chili powder and which brand you use will determine the color of the sauce. Generic chili powders tend to be darker. And the more powder, the darker the sauce.

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The Dos And Donts Of Making The Best Red Enchilada Sauce

For the best red enchilada sauce there are some important steps you need to take and several ingredients you need to use and avoid:

  • Use dried whole peppers, not ground chili powder. Using whole dried peppers, roasting them, then reconstituting and pureeing them will give you a much richer, more complex, more flavorful sauce with flavor notes you wont get from chili powder. There really is no comparison. And adding a dash of smoked paprika wont compensate for not using dried whole chilies and roasting them.
  • Toast the dried peppers. This really enhances the flavor.
  • Dont scorch the dried peppers. If you scorch the peels while toasting them youll end up with a very bitter sauce. In the even that that happens, add some additional onion and a dash of sugar to take the edge off the bitterness.
  • Use fresh garlic, not garlic powder. Roast it along with the peppers for optimal flavor.
  • Usefresh onion, not onion powder. Roast it along with the peppers for optimal flavor.
  • Say NO to flour. Thats used in some red chile sauce recipes to compensate for not using whole dried chilies. The whole chilies, once reconstituted and pureed will be the natural thickener for your sauce. Keep the flour for your tortillas, not your enchilada sauce.
  • Cook the sauce. After pureeing and straining the sauce, cook it. As flavorful as the sauce already is, dont skip this step, it is vital for bringing out the FULL depth of flavor of the sauce.
  • Now lets talk peppers!

    How To Choose Your Chile Peppers

    Vlog: How To Make Homemade Enchilada Sauce

    The key to the best enchilada sauce is to select the best dried chilies you can find.

    Most dried chiles I come across in grocery stores and online are poor quality. Theyre old and brittle and flavorless.

    There are 3 VITAL THINGS to look for when selecting fresh dried chiles:

    1) They should be pliable and flexible , not overly dry or brittle. 2) Their skins should be glossy, not dull. 3) They should have a good aroma, a little like dried fruit, not a dusty smell.

    As to which variety of chilies to use, that purely comes down to personal preference. You can choose one kind or a combination of peppers, which is what I like to do. Here are a few of my favorites with links to the brands I personally use and recommend:

    Guajillo: Bright red, sweet with a touch of acidity with mild to medium heat. Its one of the most commonly used chilies in Mexican cuisine with an earthy-sweet flavor and are great for adding body to stews, sauces and adobos.

    Ancho: Very mildly spicy with a rich fruity and lightly smoky flavor. They contribute a beautiful dark red color to sauces. Ancho chilies are poblano chilies that have been allowed to fully ripen to a deep red and then dried. Also one of the most commonly used dried peppers.

    Pasilla: Sweet, fruity flavor with medium heat. The name pasilla comes from the word pasas, meaning raisins, because of its deep fruity flavor.

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    Quick Method Big Flavor

    This EASY enchilada sauce is not an authentic enchilada sauce made with dried chile peppers that youll find in Texas or Mexico, but its a quick and easy version that anyone can whip up in their kitchen using basic pantry staples. But I promise, once you taste it, you wont regret the shortcuts. Its still bursting with flavor and youll want to pour it over everything. If you want a made-from-scratch with dried chiles enchilada sauce, check out this Authentic Enchilada Sauce recipe from Isabel Eats.

    How To Make Green Enchilada Sauce

    Place the chiles in a blender or food processor along with half of the buttermilk and the flour. Process until the mixture is smooth and combined.

    Pour that mixture into a large skillet or a pot and pour in the remaining buttermilk. Season to taste with salt.

    Heat over medium-low heat until the sauce is heated through and the flavors have combined. Stir in the sour cream.

    The sauce is not ready to use! Use right away, or transfer to mason jars or another airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

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    Why I Love This Recipe:

    • All around BETTER Homemade enchilada sauce is healthier, lower in sodium, and more inexpensive than the canned alternative.
    • Pantry Ingredients This simple recipe uses ingredients that are probably already in your pantry. If youre looking for an enchilada sauce made from real dried Mexican chiles, use this red chile sauce recipe, with beef broth in place of the pork broth.
    • Quick Whipping this sauce up is faster than a trip to the store, AND it tastes so much better than anything in a can.

    Ingredients Needed For Homemade Enchilada Sauce:

    How to Make Homemade Enchilada Sauce
    • Olive Oil The oil I go through in large quantities!
    • Veggies Onion, jalapeno, and garlic. To make the sauce spicier, include the seeds of the jalapeño .
    • Spices Chili powder, cumin, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
    • Flour This is needed to thicken the sauce.
    • Chicken Broth I like to use the lower-sodium variety.
    • Tomato Paste & Tomato Sauce This combination makes the saucesaucy!

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