In just minutes and simple ingredients you can kick up your enchiladas by making your very own enchilada sauce from scratch!
Who else loves all things enchiladas? Basically you're taking an almost perfect food, the burrito, and smothering it with a delicious sauce, cheese, and baking it. How can you go wrong? That's why we make our own Enchilada Sauce From Scratch! Not only is it easy to make but I bet your also already have everything you need!
Ingredients Needed
I bet you already have most of this already in your pantry!
- Vegetable Stock - Have you made your own yet? Or you could use some of your own homemade chicken stock.
- Tomato Paste - This is one of the few things that we don't like to make from scratch. We have in the past and honestly, it's one of the very few times you'll hear me say, it wasn't worth making it from scratch.
- Olive Oil - Or you could use a vegetable or other neutral flavored oil like canola.
- Flour - We use all purpose, but you could also use a gluten free flour.
- Spices - Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and just a pinch of cinnamon.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - For a touch of tang.
Easy to Make
One of my favorite things about this Enchilada Sauce is how incredibly easy it is to make.
Prep! This sauce comes together so quickly, too so it's best to prep everything in advance by mixing the spices and gathering the stock, paste, and vinegar.
Add oil gradually. Because the oil can burn quickly, heat the oil.
Have the paste ready! Once you add the spices to the hot oil, they can burn quickly so make sure you have that paste measured out and ready to add it quickly.
Slowly add the stock. While whisking, then add the stock slowly. If you don't have vegetable and don't mind it not being vegan or vegetarian, chicken stock works great, too!
Fresh sauce in just 10 minutes! And it freezes wonderfully!
What to Use with:
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Tacos
Or your favorite tacos with Homemade Flour Tortillas or Corn Tortillas From Scratch!
While you're at it, don't forget the Fresh Easy Pico de Gallo and Fresh Spinach Guacamole!
No matter what you make it with, you have to serve it with our Mexican Street Corn Salad!
FAQs
You can store this in the fridge for up to 5 days and it freezes great for up to 3 months.
I wouldn't recommend it because this is a very low acid sauce.
Of course! Less chili? No problem. More cumin? Awesome. Adjust it to your own taste!
Definitely. Just substitute in a gluten free flour.
Making this sauce for your favorite enchiladas? I'd love to hear how they turned out. Share them with me on Instagram or Facebook and follow me on Pinterest!
Enchilada Sauce From Scratch
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons flour all purpose or whatever you have
- 1 tablespoon ground chili powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste make your own! http://www.servedfromscratch.com/tomato-paste-scratched-it/
- 2 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock) make your own! http://www.servedfromscratch.com/vegetable-stock-from-scratch/
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients all together in a small bowl: flour, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and cinnamon. Prep the tomato paste and vegetable stock by opening them and having them ready to go.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil on medium. It'll be ready when if you sprinkle a tiny bit of flour in it and it sizzles. Once it's ready, add the dry ingredient mixture and whisk constantly for 1 minute, be careful it doesn't burn. Slowly add the vegetable stock, whisking and add tomato paste and continue whisking until lumps are whisked out.
- Bring heat to medium high to bring to a simmer, once simmering, lower the heat so that it's gentle simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes, whisking often. This will thicken the sauce.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the vinegar and pepper and salt to taste. As it cools it will continue to thicken.
- Slather it on your favorite enchiladas, or let cool and store in fridge or freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
Adapted from Cookie and Kate.
Very essy and taste great
I don’t see where the vinegar is used... am I missing it?
Hi Denise! Yes, it can lost in the recipe! It's whisked in at the very end, when you remove it from the heat.
I can't even tell you how excited I am about this recipe! Enchiladas are my favorite, but the canned sauces taste like, well, the can. I'm pretty sure my husband would happily eat burritos (or enchiladas) for a week, too!
There is so much to like about this recipe. Easy to make. Simple ingredient list. So much healthier than anything in a jar. So much less expensive than anything you're going to buy. All that and tasty too!!
All true, Debra!!
We don't have burritos and enchiladas often enough. What we do have is the ingredients to make your homemade enchilada sauce. Homemade is absolutely the best -- plus you don't get the preservatives and the rest of the junk that goes into store-bought sauce. I think we should have a Mexican food week. Your recipe is just what we need.
Exactly! Enjoy, Marisa!
Oh man, we LOVE enchiladas in our house. We never make our own sauce though. I love how easy your enchilada sauce is to make! I bet it tastes soooo much better than the canned stuff. Definitely bookmarking this for our next enchilada night!
Thanks, Trish! Enjoy!
It's cool if I eat this by the spoonful, right? Okay, just checking.
It's amazing how much better these types of sauces and condiments tase when they're homemade. Sure, store bought is technically more convenient. And I can somewhat understand when people eye roll the idea of making these things homemade. BUT. It's so worth it. And I don't think people realize it until they do homemade themselves. This sauce is *everything*.
What a great resource for a clean recipe. You do make this look so easy and even though I take short cuts here and there, I really do love to cook from scratch. Going to definitely try this out on my hubby. He also will eat something he love for a week or more and not get tired of it. Thanks for this!
I love making my own condiments and sauces. Homemade is always best! This enchilada sauce sounds delicious! No more will I have to change my menu plans when I don't have enchilada sauce in the pantry because I always have these ingredients at hand! Thank you for a delicious recipe!
I would never have guessed you'd add cinnamon! This is fantastic and so very simple! Way better than anything I can find store-bought for sure!
I need to give this a try. I have never been impressed with the store bought versions. We love Mexican food, and this would be a great addition to our themed dinners for sure.
Thanks, Gloria! As with all homemade condiments, the best part is being able to customize them to your taste, too!
Oh my Lanta. I think I'd bathe in this stuff if I could... it looks THAT good! I cannot wait to try this out (and put it on everything)!
😀