Red Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada sauce is one of my all time favorite comfort food flavors. Whether I am using in my shredded chicken egg rolls, a tamale pie or actual enchiladas, its subtly sweet, smokey and warmly spiced flavor is something that I crave often.

While there are definitely some wonderful store bought enchilada sauces out there, you may find yourself wanting to make your own from scratch to be fully in control of both the flavors and ingredients in your sauce. Luckily, making a thick, flavorful red enchilada sauce is a simple process requiring just a few minutes and some pretty basic pantry ingredients.

Let’s get started…

Begin by gathering 1/4 cup of any neutral oil, 1/4 cup of all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 8 ounces of tomato sauce and 2 cups of chicken stock.

If you prefer your sauce to have a little more kick, add more cayenne pepper. This is something you can play with as the sauce simmers too. Add a little bit at first and take a quick taste test before you take the sauce off of the heat to see if you prefer more of a kick.

Begin by warming 1/4 cup of neutral oil in a small saucepan. Whisk in 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and cook for about 60 seconds while stirring constantly.

Now add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of black pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper and whisk until you have a thick red paste.

Finally, add 8 ounces of tomato sauce and 2 cups of chicken stock and whisk until smooth. 

Bring the sauce to a low simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes either covered or with a mesh splash guard to help prevent your backsplash from being decorated with tiny red splatters.

This red enchilada sauce is absolutely delicious. It has a great smokiness and loads of flavor. It will work perfectly in so many latin inspired recipes!