Easy Enchilada Sauce to Make at Home

An easy enchilada sauce is a true gift. Made from scratch from whole, dried red chiles, this sauce is soul-tinglingly delicious and really simple to make. I love it on Homemade Chicken Enchiladas, Tamales, and Chilaquiles.

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What Type of Chiles Should You Use for Enchilada Sauce?

For this homemade enchilada sauce recipe, I use a combination of two or more types of chiles for the most complex flavor. I tend to lean heavily on New Mexico chiles in this recipe because their flavor is complex and they have just the right heat level (medium) for my taste.

Ancho, Anaheim, and California chiles are descendants of the New Mexico chile and make fine substitutes.

• New Mexico chiles are a type of Anaheim chile, but hotter than those that make the milder Ancho, California, or Colorado chiles. New Mexico chiles deliver a dried fruit flavor with a hint of acidity and medium spice.
• Ancho chiles, which are dried red poblanos, have a little bit of a kick and a fruity flavor. 
• Guajillo chiles are earthy and mild, with only a hint of heat. 
• Pasilla chiles have a rich, raisiny flavor and are medium spicy. 

Here’s a handy chart that shows the characteristics of many common dried and fresh chiles.

How to Make Authentic Red Enchilada Sauce

To make a delicious and authentic red enchilada sauce, there are a few key steps:

1. Use whole dried chiles rather than chili powder for the most intense, complex flavor. 
2. Seed the dried chiles for both a smooth textured sauce and to prevent it from becoming too spicy.
3. Toast the dried chiles very briefly. This gives the sauce a hint of smokiness. Be careful not to toast them for too long or they’ll turn bitter. Only toast them for about a minute, until they become aromatic.
4. Reconstitute the toasted peppers in hot water before pureeing with garlic, onion, and other ingredients.
5. Strain the sauce through a fine-meshed sieve to remove any stray seeds. 
6. Simmer the sauce to deepen, round out, and meld all the flavors.

I like to add plump, dark raisins, which are soaked along with the chiles, for added depth of flavor. They add a deep, rounded sweetness that balances the smokiness and spicy kick of the chiles.

Can You Freeze Enchilada Sauce?

This recipe makes enough for two recipes of Homemade Chicken Enchiladas, but the sauce freezes well. I like to keep a stash, frozen in ziploc bags, in my freezer at all times. You know, in case of enchilada emergencies. 

Way Better than Store-Bought

This sauce is so much better than anything you’ll find in a can or bottle. With this easy recipe, you’ll never be tempted by store-bought enchilada sauce again. Keep some in your freezer and you can use it on chicken enchiladas, cheese enchiladas, tamales, chilaquiles, and more.

Easy Enchilada Sauce

Robin Donovan

This easy enchilada sauce has deep flavor--a smoky spiciness from lightly toasted dried red chiles and the round, deep sweetness of dark raisins. It goes perfectly with enchiladas, whether they're filled with pork, chicken, cheese, or vegetables. It is also delicious with homemade tamales or chilaquiles. This recipe makes enough for two batches of Homemade Chicken Enchiladas, but I like to keep a stash in the freezer for future meals.

4.89 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Additional Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Sauce Recipes

Cuisine Mexican

Calories 46 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 4 ounces dried New Mexico Ancho, Guajillo, and/or Pasilla Chiles (12 to 15 chiles), stemmed and with the seeds removed
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons crumbled dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Instructions

 

• Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a kettle.
• Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add the chiles and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, just until the chiles become aromatic. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the boiling water over the chiles. Stir in the raisins. Let the chiles and raisins rehydrate in the water for about 30 minutes.
• Remove the chiles and raisins (all the solids) from the pot using tongs or a slotted spoon and put them in a large bowl. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-meshed sieve and toss any seeds that the sieve catches.
• To the bowl of rehydrated chiles and raisins, add about 2 cups of the soaking liquid (or a mixture of soaking liquid and water) along with the garlic, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, and salt.
• Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture (alternatively, you can transfer the solids and about 2 cups of the soaking water to a countertop blender and puree, then return the pureed mixture to the bowl.) Add additional water or soaking liquid as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
• Use immediately or let cool and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a week or in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

1. If the chilies are very spicy, you can substitute chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water for some or all of the soaking liquid. In step 3, before pureeing, strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve and use the solids, discarding the soaking water, if desired. Replace the soaking water with 3 to 4 cups of chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water.

2. After pureeing the sauce, you can strain it through a fine meshed sieve if you like. The photos in this post show unstrained sauce. If you like a smoother sauce, straining is a good idea.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 46kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 1gFat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 267mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5g

Keyword chile sauce, dried chiles, enchilada sauce, red chiles, red enchilada sauce

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