This homemade red enchilada sauce has authentic Mexican flavor! It's so good and easy, you'll never go back to store-bought sauce again. You can even make a double batch and freeze half of it for later. Recipe as written below yields about 2 cups (16 ounces) sauce.
Recipe by Cookie and Kate on April 7, 2016
Prep time: PT3M
Cook time: PT7M
Total time: PT10M
Rating
4.8 stars ( reviews)
Keywords
homemade enchilada sauce
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons flour (whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and gluten-free flour blends all work!)
1 tablespoon ground chili powder (scale back if you’re sensitive to spice or using particularly spicy chili powder)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt, to taste
Pinch of cinnamon (optional but recommended)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Categories
Condiment
Cuisine
Mexican
Steps
This sauce comes together quickly once you get started, so measure the dry ingredients (the flour, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt and optional cinnamon) into a small bowl and place it near the stove. Place the tomato paste and broth near the stove as well.
In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, warm the oil until it’s hot enough that a light sprinkle of the flour/spice mixture sizzles on contact. This might take a couple of minutes, so be patient and don’t step away from the stove!
Once it’s ready, pour in the flour and spice mixture. While whisking constantly, cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Whisk the tomato paste into the mixture, then slowly pour in the broth while whisking constantly to remove any lumps.
Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, whisking often, for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit and a spoon encounters some resistance as you stir it. (The sauce will thicken some more as it cools.)
Remove from heat, then whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Add more salt, if necessary (I usually add another pinch or two). Go forth and make enchiladas!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 133 calories
Carbohydrates: 8.9 g
Protein: 1.8 g
Fat: 11.1 g
Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 540 mg
Sugar: 1.8 g
Reviews
Rem on 2026-04-28 (2 stars): Well I'm sorry to say I made this recipe because I didn't have time to make it from chili peppers (as I usually do). I didn't like it one bit... Maybe I did something wrong but I double-checked everything I did and I didn't find anything wrong. Oh well, I guess you can't please everyone.
Judi L on 2026-05-06 (5 stars): Enchilada sauce is Soooo good. It freezes fine but looks curdled when you thaw it. Just warm it up in the microwave and whisk it until smooth again.
I made it with King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten free flour.
I’m from Texas btw; so I grew up on Tex-mex food. This is the real deal.
Katie on 2026-04-29 (5 stars): This sauce is fabulous. The recipe was easy to follow and came together beautifully. My husband and I agreed that this is much better than a lot of restaurants. I’m definitely saving this one, thank you!!
Christina O on 2026-05-03 (4 stars): This was very easy to make. However I felt like it was not spicy at all- but savory. I even increased the chili powder. I’ll prob add some cayenne next time.
Naomi on 2026-05-05 (5 stars): I LOVE this recipe. A jar of enchilada sauce here in Australia is $6. I make a double batch of this for my vegan enchiladas from pantry staples. My family love enchilada night.
Luann Mostello on 2026-05-06 (4 stars): I liked this homemade recipe, but I wanted more tomato flavor. I blended one cup of the broth with one cup of diced tomatoes with chilis.
Pamela Simcox-Wilson on 2026-05-08 (5 stars): Excellent!
The cinnamon makes it!
Ally E. on 2026-05-11 (5 stars): This is now my go-to recipe for enchilada sauce! The only change I make is to add a little extra garlic for personal preference. Don’t be shy with the fresh black pepper at the end! We make big meals, so I double the recipe for enchiladas in a 9x13 dish.
Jennifer Zellem on 2026-05-12 (5 stars): Any chance this recipe can be canned (and would anyone have those instructions)? I have so much more room on shelves than in my freezer! EXCELLENT recipe!
Whitney K on 2026-05-20 (5 stars): Insanely delicious!! Definitely has a kick but even my 6 year old loved it! I made regular enchiladas, stacked enchiladas and ate just tossed on ground beef! It would go great with eggs and peppers...think almost like a shakshuka flavor!
Katy Riga on 2026-05-24 (5 stars): Oh My Goodness! I have never made enchilada sauce before and THIS recipe will be a go to from now now! I did add a pinch of cayenne pepper (because we like it spicy) and it turned out beautifully! I also used King Arthur Gluten-free Measure to Measure flour and it worked wonderfully! I am fixing to assemble my enchiladas (I need to keep out of the sauce so I have enough) and am SO EXCITED to try them once they are finished!
Jim Haselmaier on 2026-05-28 (5 stars): I make this enchilada sauce A LOT. It's so good.
To your point about measuring dry ingredients first: My wife came up with the idea of using very small food containers with just the dry ingredients in them. So when I go to make the sauce I just grab one and dump it in the hot oil. I'll measure out 5 packages of dry ingredients at a time. It really speeds things up.
Priscilla on 2026-05-29 (5 stars): This is a tasty balanced recipe. Followed it to a tee except used beef broth. Will use this permanently for red enchilada sauce! Used California chili powder and it was just right. Thanks!
Tiaumeka on 2026-06-07 (5 stars): Hello! I am going to try this recipe. Can you use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth?
Tiaumeka Tolliver on 2026-06-07 (5 stars): Thank you for posting this recipe.
2pugsmomma on 2026-06-09 (5 stars): This recipe is easy and quick to make. Very versatile in that you can add whatever chili powder you like, control the salt and heat.
Why buy enchilada sauce when this is 100 times better.
Thanks for an awesome recipe! One I’ll be passing down to my kids and grand kids for sure.
Keeley Jones on 2026-06-14 (1 stars): This is not good enchilada sauce. I followed the instructions exactly and it doesn’t taste anything like real enchilada sauce.
Barb W. on 2026-06-22 (5 stars): I made this for our family on Father's Day. It was a hit!!! I added cayenne pepper and fresh garlic. I used Bob's Red Mill One-to-One. Thank you for a delicious recipe!!
