Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 9:32AM 
For the past few years I’ve been compiling my culinary bucket list, and near the top has been to make a killer enchilada sauce. I think I get to check that one off the list now. Finally. It has taken me way too long to figure this out and the most frustrating thing about it is that the path to this great sauce was right under my nose.
A couple of years ago I started my enchilada sauce quest with Rick Bayless’ recipe and quickly decided that whatever recipe I ended up with, it had to be much simpler than that. A few more trials and errors led me to the answer which happened to be right there on my too-neglected cookbook shelf… “Mexican Family Cooking”, a collection of family recipes handed down from Mothers, Aunts and Grandmas. You can always count on the Grandmas, right?
Of course, I did a bit of tweaking to the recipe, but nothing major, and what I ended up with is a pretty simple, yet authentic, and delicious enchilada sauce. Here’s pretty much how it goes…
We start with dried New Mexico chiles, which have lots of flavor without being super spicy (I buy them in bulk off the internet). Just cut off the top, open ‘em up and remove the seeds...
After they’re all cleaned, just boil them for about 20 minutes and then drain..
Run them through the blender (1/2 of them at a time) with some water and garlic...
Strain through a sieve or strainer, or you can use a food mill, to separate whatever chunks of skin or seeds might still be left..
Cook up some flour in a little oil,
add some tomato paste and the strained chiles, simmer, add some salt, chili powder, a little sugar and some cayenne if you want to spice it up.
Let this simmer for a few minutes to get the flavors all developed
and then you can either use it right away, can it, or freeze it for later. Although I have canned this sauce several times with excellent results, I have not kept it longer than 3 months, so cannot attest to its reliability beyond that.
We here at the Circle B Kitchen love our enchiladas, so it’s about time we had a scrumptious sauce to go with them.
So the bucket list just got a little shorter, and our enchiladas a little happier. Here’s the recipe…
HOMEMADE ENCHILADA SAUCE
Click here for a printable recipe
Recipe adapted from Mexican Family Cooking
10-12 New Mexico mild dry red chiles (3 oz)
6 cups cold water
4 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons salt
3-4 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Stem and seed the chiles. Boil in a medium-sized saucepan in 1 quart of hot water, stirring often. Be sure to push the chiles deep into the water, as then tend to rise. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
Drain the chiles and puree in a blender, 1/2 at a time, each batch with 1 1/2 cups of cold water and 2 cloves of garlic.
Strain the chiles over a large bowl, using a stiff spatula to work all of the sauce through the strainer. You should be left with just some seeds and skins in the strainer. You can also use a food mill for this.
When the chiles have been pureed and strained, heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large skillet or dutch oven and brown the flour in the oil to a light golden color. Stir in the tomato paste and then the strained chiles and the remaining 3 cups of water, whisking to create a smooth sauce. When it's slightly thickened, add the salt, sugar, and chili powder. Stir well and let it simmer for about 15-20 more minutes. Taste for seasonings and add cayenne powder if you would like it spicier. Simmer for a few more minutes to develop the flavors. At this point, the sauce can be canned or let it cool and freeze.
Reader Comments (30)
I spent most of my life in New Mexico, and there are is no other type of chile to use for enchiladas than real New Mexico chile.
Yours is probably a safer way to prepare the chiles than ripping the tops of with my hands as I have for years. Just need to remember not to rub your eyes or touch your nose. The capsacin in the peppers that gives them their heat is not mucus membrane friendly.
I have a stainless steel cone sieve with wooden pestle that I use to strain the meat and juice of the peppers from the outside skin. It makes quick work of this task.
I have never made a roux to thicken the sauce, nor would I ever add tomato. The acid in the tomato will cut the heat of the chile pepper. I do garnish with tomato, and possibly sour cream. I've been to many restaurants that say they have authentic Mexican food, but their enchilada sauce is just tomato sauce or some awful brown gravy, which is far from authentic.
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I hope it helps others to learn what "authentic" really is.
Vicki B. Lansing, Michigan
I've always used canned enchilada sauce, but I might have to try this recipe. Thanks for the pics, it makes it look do-able.
Thanks for your input, Vicki! The original recipe that I started with did not add tomato paste, but after trying it both ways, I preferred the richer flavor that it imparted. It was certainly good without it, so it's mostly a personal preference. As to the roux, most of the recipes that I referenced for this sauce used a roux to thicken it, and, again I like the saucy texture it provides. So great to hear from a New Mexican on the subject!
You're welcome,Kathryn. Hope you make this... So much better than the can.
My boyfriend's mother is from the Southwest and makes many authentic Mexican dishes. Her enchilada sauce is delicious and seems very similar to your recipe. She has bags and bags of New Mexico chiles in her pantry. Thanks for the great post!
You make it sound and look so easy. Thanks for the recipe! Nice photos!
Thanks so much, Christina!
I've been looking for a good enchilada sauce recipe that isn't too difficult. This one still looks like a bit of work, but maybe I'm going to have give it a try sometime. Your enchiladas look dee-lish!
Thanks so much, Lily. It may look like more work than it really is. It all comes together pretty easily.
I have to take enchiladas to a party this weekend and I'm so excited to have found your sauce recipe! Thank you!
You're so welcome, Brooke. Enjoy!
Yummmmm. I might not wait til Cinco de Mayo ! (Sinco? brain fade)
You got it right, Jen... Cinco! And yes, that's way too far away.
I am eager to try this recipe. Your instructions say that it may be canned. Have you checked the PH to make sure it is safe for canning? I would love to make it in large batches and can, rather than freeze, for convenient use.
I do not test the PH on recipes for canning, Judy, mainly because it is a highly unreliable method to determine whether a recipe is safe to can. Even if the PH tests OK when you can it, that can quickly change as it sits on the shelf. So many canning experts do not recommend it. Having said that, I have canned my enchilada sauce several times with excellent results. I have to say that I haven't tested if it keeps beyond 3 or 4 months because we use it up so quickly. There are so many factors that go into whether or not a home-canned jar will keep over time, it sometimes comes down to trial and error. If you have any reservations about canning this recipe, I would suggest you fall back on the freezing method or maybe do some trial runs yourself to see if the sauce will keep as long as you would like.
I love your blog and have used quite a few of your recipes which are incredible! I will have to try this sauce as it looks wonderful! I would be interested in the author/title of the Mexican cookbook...I have a friend who loves family cookbooks; can you share the info on the book?
Thanks so much, Debby. The cookbook is "Mexican Family Cooking" by Aida Gabilondo.
Thanks for the recipe. Can't wait to try it out. I tried another one I found online and it was edible but too harsh - too much cumin and garlic powder I think. And I agree about Rick Bayless! Checked my cookbook and his looks like an entire afternoon and a sinkful of dishes!
Re: canning, I very much doubt it would be considered safe to BWB can with all the oil and flour. Pressure canning maybe? Even then I'm not sure. I think I'd stick with freezing the extra.
Thanks, Annie. I really hope you like this sauce. We'd love to hear what you think!
I am so happy I found your post about enchilada sauce. Making homemade enchilada sauce has been on my bucket list, too, and I tried a recipe tonight that uses pasilla chiles. It was so disappointing! It was very strong tasting in an earthy, bitter sort of way. Most of the recipes I've been finding have used mostly tomato sauce and no actual chilies, and that doesn't seem very authentic, although I don't really know what is commonly used in Mexico. I plan on trying your recipe next to see if the New Mexico chilies make a difference. Thank you for sharing it!
Hope you enjoy the sauce, Shari! I know what you mean about that strong, bitter flavor... I found that to be true for many of the sauces I tried. Pasilla chiles are definitely stronger than the New Mexico chiles, so I hope you like this one!
I make a similar version of enchilada sauce but because I'm LAZY I use ground hot NM chili pepper found in packets in the Mexican spice section of the grocery store. I use a 1/4 cup of the ground pepper per batch of sauce.
I'm wondering why the recipe has us discard the water you boil the peppers in at the start of the recipe. Wouldn't it be tastier to include that water as part of the final sauce?
Glad I stumbled on this recipe. It's cooking right now!
I thought the same thing, Vinny, but if you add the water from cooking the peppers, the sauce will come out very bitter. The fresh water brightens the flavors. Hope you like it! Nice to hear from you!
Hi!!
I'm really glad I found your site - I am drawn to your food "style" and it's similar to mine..LOL!
I've just made your Enchilada Sauce and will test it tomorrow - in a devious way, I hope my guests aren't too crazy about the Chicken Enchiladas (also from your site) it so I can eat what they may not want!
Is this anyway to lose ten pounds?!
Thank you..
Doug in NC
Glad you found us, Doug. I do hope you enjoy the enchiladas and the sauce. Great to hear from you!
Hi! Thanks for posting this recipe, I've been looking for a good homemade enchilada sauce and this one looks perfect! I'm curious though if you have ever tried to thicken it with masa flour instead of regular wheat flour. I use it to thicken some of my other Mexican dishes and love the subtle, slightly toasty corn flavor it imparts. Any thoughts on the matter?
Thanks again :)
Bridget
I also like to use masa flour as a thickener in Mexican soups and sauces, Bridget. I even use it in meatballs, but I'm a little leery of using it to thicken enchilada sauce, solely because it creates a distinctive texture, whereas the flour basically melts into the sauce. I would also be afraid that the masa would mute the flavors of the spices a bit. But I would encourage you to give it a try and let me know what you think. You may like it if you prefer a fairly thick enchilada sauce. Great to hear from you!
I feel like I should call you Mom. LOL Your blog has such a great feel. I have made numerous recipes from your site that my family appreciates. I can always count on you to make something good authentic food. I have one question. Is this sauce a bit spicy? I usually opt out of any recipes that call for any kind of chiles because I think they might be spicy. I am making these for my children tonight and don't want to make it spicy.
Thanks!
Nykiah
This is not a spicy recipe, Nykiah. Leave out the cayenne powder and it will be very mild. And be sure to use a mild chile powder (most are very mild). Hope that helps! Enjoy the enchiladas!