This enchilada sauce is rich, smoky, and ready in 20 minutes!
Homemade enchilada sauce starts with a simple roux, then adds tomato sauce, broth, and zesty south-of-the-border spices. Once you make it, you’ll never buy the canned version again!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: This red enchilada sauce blends chili powder, garlic, cumin, and oregano in tomato sauce and broth for a savory, spicy, and earthy flavor that lifts any dish.
- Serving Suggestions: We use this sauce to give Tex-Mex flair to all kinds of recipes. Drizzle it over chorizo tacos, chili cheese fries, or even a baked potato with loads of melty cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
- Yield: This recipe makes the equivalent of two 28-ounce cans, so you can enjoy it all week long or freeze some for later!
Ingredient Tips for Enchilada Sauce
- Sauce: Look for plain tomato sauce, not tomato paste or puree. The broth is interchangeable, so use what you have on hand. Try chicken, beef, or vegetable broth!
- Seasonings: Pantry ingredients like garlic and onion powders, ground cumin, chili powder, and oregano are all you need for this flavorful and fragrant sauce. Feel free to adjust the amounts and use a DIY chili seasoning to control the heat.
Fire it Up!
- More spice: Kick it up by increasing the chili powder, adding a pinch of cayenne, ancho chili powder, red pepper flakes, or a little juice from a jar or can of green chiles or jalapenos.
- Less spice: For a milder, creamy sauce, whisk in some milk or sour cream at the end of step 4, or decrease the amount of chili powder.
How to Make Enchilada Sauce
- Prepare: Make a roux in a pan using oil and flour (recipe below).
- Whisk: Stir seasonings into the flour mixture, add tomato sauce and broth a little at a time until smooth.
- Simmer: Bring to a boil, then simmer until slightly thickened.
- Season: Add salt and black pepper to taste before using.
Ways to Use Enchilada Sauce
Did your family love this Enchilada Sauce? Leave a rating and comment below.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 30 ounces tomato sauce two 15 ounce cans
- 3 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring until fragrant and nutty smelling.
- Stir in chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and oregano. Cook 1 minute more.
- Add tomato sauce and broth a little at a time, stirring between each addition until smooth.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and let simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
This recipe makes 56 oz. (the equivalent of two 28 oz. cans).
Nutrition information is for ¼ cup of enchilada sauce.
To store homemade enchilada sauce, let it cool to room temperature, then transfer it to an airtight container or a zip-lock bag and refrigerate it for up to 4-5 days, or freeze it for up to 3-4 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 37 | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 272mg | Potassium: 141mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 760IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dip, Dressing, Sauce
Cuisine American, Mexican, Tex Mex© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Holly this is fantastic! I will never buy another can of enchilada sauce. I have your site on bookmark so I can easily access it whenever I need a recipe. They are all really good so far. Thanks so much.
So glad you loved it Cheryl!
Your original recipe (as noted in the comments) doesn’t have flour which would be more authentic since flour wasn’t available pre-Spanish invasion. I’m curious why you opted to add it?
We found this version provided more consistently delicious results Chris. You can view our original recipe in the comments below if you prefer.
This use to be a go-to recipe for me, but I made it after the update and nearly died it was so hot. I figured I did something wrong so I tried it again only doing half the amount of chili, but my lips are still on fire.
Happy to see the original recipe I fell in love with is posted in another comment – unfortunately too late for this batch. Not sure why the update when the other was delicious, but this recipe is way way way to hott, and I’m not afraid of a bit of spice. If you find this out while in the process of making it you can try adding some brown sugar or citrus juice to tone it down, it took me about 2TB of each. I also don’t think the flour added a lot for me in terms of consistency, so I prefer the nonflour aspect of the other recipe as well.
I hope this helps anyone else was having the same experience.
Sorry to hear that Britt, but thanks for sharing your tips on reducing the heat! Did you use chili powder for this recipe or ground chilies?
I made and loved this recipe before it was updated. Didn’t it have cilantro in it originally? Would it be possible for you to share with me the original version. I used it as a key ingredient in a casserole my family loves to eat.
Sure thing Karen, this is the original text from 2013.
½ Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, Diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1½ Tablespoons of Homemade Taco Seasoning OR 2 Teaspoons each chili powder & cumin and 1 Teaspoon of Oregano
1 Large Can of Low Sodium Tomatoes (Diced for a chunkier sauce, crushed for a smoother sauce)
1 Cup of Chicken Broth or Water
1 Tablespoon of Brown Sugar
½ Teaspoon each Salt and Pepper
3 Tablespoons of Finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a sauce pan
Add onions and garlic and stir until softened, about 4 minutes
If using the diced tomatoes, crush or blend a portion of them so it is only slightly chunky
Stir in remaining ingredients except cilantro
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and let simmer covered for 15 minutes
Remove cover and simmer an additional 5 minutes
Remove from heat and stir in cilantro
Holly, this is an outstanding recipe! Absolutely delicious and just enough heat for my taste. I also love it because the only salt is from the tomato sauce. I didn’t need to add any additional. So glad I tried it!
So glad you loved it Fran!
I use this recipe all of the time and it’s wonderful!!
If I want to use only an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, how should I cut the rest of the recipe?
Hi Brittany, you will want to reduce the remaining ingredients accordingly to keep the flavor the same.
I never liked the taste of store-bought canned enchilada sauce, so I was happy to give this recipe a try and was really glad I did. This recipe is great as-is. The only change I made to this recipe is I substituted beef broth for chicken, since I was making shredded beef enchiladas. (Those turned out good too.) This recipe is a keeper!
Glad idea Barbara! If time permits, we love making things homemade! It adds that extra delicious touch.
Just made this and it was very good. Not hard to make at all. I would probably double all of the spices because we like food a bit more spicy! It was rather mild.
I am glad you enjoyed the recipe Kathy!
This homemade sauce is so much better than the canned stuff. Great recipe!
Thanks Bee! We are glad you think so too!
When you say to add broth in this recipe, what kind of broth? Chicken, beef or vegetable, or does it matter? Looking forward to making this!
I use chicken broth. Sorry for the confusion, I’ve updated the recipe!
All your recipes look wonderful.
Thank you Sharon!
Holly I am going to make this sauce it sounds amazing. How much does the recipe yield. And what do I have to do to can this I like to make enough to store some in my pantry. Also do you know if I need to add lemon juice due to the tomatoe in it. And also the canning salt. I would appreciate your input on this thank you Rosa
This makes about 4 cups. I don’t have experience in canning so I can’t answer your questions. Hopefully another reader has some experience and advice!
Holly, I am astounded at how uniformly successful your recipes are to execute in my kitchen. They are so consistent in taste and satisfaction, which is quite rare in my experience. I’ve visited a lot of foodie-type websites, and yours is by far the best and the most well-rounded. The ingredients lists are always simple, the instructions are clear, and the results are delicious. My latest success is this enchilada sauce. Never again will I buy the stuff. I’m now about to go create the Beef Enchilada Casserole — from your site. Yayay You for being so …. honourable (?)!
Ruthielil, Thank you so much for such a kind and lovely message, you’ve truly made my week. I’m so happy you have found the recipes easy to follow and you’ve enjoyed them!
You say a large can of low sodium crushed tomatoes. How many ounces would a large can be?
Hi Elise, About 28 ounces.
Have you ever frozen this sauce? Or canned it? Would pouring it into a canning jar hot (so it would seal) and keeping it in the fridge be OK?
I have not tried canning this recipe so I can’t say for sure.
Doesn’t matter, I’ll just freeze the rest. This is the BEST red enchilada sauce I have ever had1
I used some of the sauce leftover from the crock pot enchiladas (amazing and going into the rotation!) to make “enchilada bread” for a Super Bowl gathering Mixed cooked chicken, shredded pepper jack and some of the sauce rolled up in a “canned” pizza dough and baked. More sauce for dipping. It was a hit.
I’m a fan of making sauces from scratch rather than buying them off a shelf. This one is definitely going on the list of one of my favourites! And so is your website :) Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Do you have a Green Enchilada sauce recipe?
I don’t have one as of yet… but I love enchiladas, so that would be a great addition! :)
woo, this looks delicious, thanks so much for sharing the recipe
Thanks for the recipe share; I was actually searching the web looking for an Enchilada Sauce recipe – and so far, this one is the best!!