Homemade Enchilada Sauce
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Made with whole dried chiles, this will take your enchiladas to the NEXT level! No more store-bought sauce!
I am all for a good shortcut here and there when you are in a pinch. But once you make enchilada sauce from scratch, it’ll be very difficult to go back to store-bought. (Similarly to homemade pasta.)
There are a few steps involved here but I promise, it is well worth it.
Now the recipe does call for New Mexico or California chile peppers as they are on the milder side, but please feel free to use your own combination of peppers if you prefer a bit of a kick.
Either way, this homemade sauce will take your enchiladas to the next level. I use it all the time for these weeknight enchiladas. It’s an absolute game-changer!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 ounces dried chile peppers, such as New Mexico or California
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 2 Roma tomatoes, halved
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
Instructions
- Heat a medium cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add chiles and cook until toasted and fragrant, about 30-45 seconds per side. Set aside and let cool; remove and discard seeds and stems.
- Add onion and tomatoes to the skillet and cook until blackened, about 3-5 minutes per side; set aside.
- Add garlic to the skillet and cook until blackened, about 1 minute per side; set aside.
- Place chiles into a 3 quart saucepan. Stir in onion, tomatoes, garlic, oregano, cumin and chicken stock; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until chiles have softened, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 15 minutes.
- Combine chili mixture and honey in blender until smooth.
- Heat canola oil in the saucepan over medium heat. Working carefully, add chili mixture to the saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Transfer to an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Did you make this recipe?
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Wow. Making this in triple batches tomorrow. Freezer food, here we come. This is a brillz recipe. Thanks!
Oh my god !!!
Esto tiene que estar exquisito !!!
Gracias por este paso a paso y por la fabulosa receta.
Besos
Looks yummy. Will try making it.
Tomato basil soup is worth making from scratch. Thank you for the oppurtunity to win and for your great recipes!
Yum! That looks delicious.
Cinnamon rolls! There is no point in buying them from a can or a mix, homemade is always worth it.
I love cooking everything from scratch. It’s the only way to truly know what’s in he food I’m feeding my family. My favorite thing to make from scratch is SALSA!
Your sauce looks great! Homemade red pasta sauce is always worth making from scratch!
Wow, never thought it could be that easy! Thanks for sharing, this is happening tomorrow!
Yum! I was just looking for enchilada sauce recipes! Good timing 🙂 On the Mexican theme, I just started making my own tortillas, both corn and flour, last year. It’s a bit more work but SO worth it!
If sauce can be luscious (and it can) this certainly is. GREG
homemade falafel with homemade pita bread – totally worth it!
I’ve done red and green enchilada sauces from scratch, but still haven’t found one that tastes as good as my local store-brand (how silly is it that the store brand red sauce is my favorite?).
As for what’s worth the effort of cooking from scratch? I just had a can of chicken noodle soup for lunch. My first in yeeeeeaaaaaars. And it grossed me out!!! So maybe chicken noodle soup?
No!!! Pie crust!!!! I thought for YEARS that I hated pie crust, but only because I had only had store-bought crusts. Then I made my own, and it changed my views on pies of all kinds. Needless to say, I prefer homemade pot pies and apple pies for that reason.
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/446020845832380416
amy [at] utry [dot] it
My favorite recipe that is worth making from scratch is my homemade sandwich bread. They stay nice and soft for days. All natural ingredients and tastes so good.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Do you have a recipe for the bread
Bolognese sauce.
Chicken & wild rice soup is definitely worth making from scratch. Delicious!
Chicken noodle soup! So much better than any store bought canned chicken noodle! Added potatoes is the secret ingredient in my recipe!
My favorite from-scratch recipe is lasagna sauce…probably until I try this enchilada sauce one. I use enchilada sauce in my tortilla soup recipes for that extra zing that makes it great. Thanks!
My favorite from-scratch without a doubt is Chicken Soup. No canned stuff for me!!