This classic Mexican sauce is made entirely from scratch. It's got a smoky flavor I just love.
Don't want to scroll through the page to get to the recipe? Use the table of contents to click on the section you want to go to.
Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
- The flavorful sauce is spicy, rich, and thick
- A great addition to burgers, hot dogs, rice casseroles, breakfast burritos, your favorite enchilada recipes, and more
- Adjust the spice level of homemade sauce to please the whole family
This easy homemade red enchilada sauce recipe doesn't take a long time to make and tastes way better than the canned stuff.
The smoky flavor takes all of your favorite Mexican recipes up a notch—you'll truly want to spoon it over everything!
🌶️ Tips for working with dried ancho chiles
- They are large, shiny, and crinkly - burgundy to black in color.
- Dried peppers should be shiny and pliable — think good Italian leather. If they are brittle don't use them. There is just no flavor to them.
- If you leave the seeds in the sauce will be caliente (hot) but if you remove them it will be milder.
- Roasting the peppers before making the sauce gives it a deeper flavor. You don't have to do it if you don't want to - some people think it makes it a little bitter.
- It will make it bitter if you roast even a few seconds too much. Keep an eye on the dried ancho peppers as they are roasting. Don't let them blacken.
- If you do remove the seeds save them to add to anything you want to spice up.
- You are going to hydrate them by covering them with hot water for an hour or so. Be sure to drain the water and rinse the peppers before putting them in the blender.
📖 Variations
- For an extra spicy sauce, leave the seeds in the ancho peppers. You can also add some cayenne pepper to give it another kick.
- If you prefer fire-roasted flavor (on the bitter side, rather than sweet) let the veggies get a little bit darker in the oven.
- On the other hand, you can skip the roasting step altogether for a more mild red enchilada sauce—perks of going the homemade route!
- The sugar in this recipe is optional. However, you can add an extra teaspoon (or use honey or agave) if you prefer a sweet/spicy combo.
- Cooking for a vegetarian? Instead of beef or chicken broth, use vegetable broth. It does lack richness, so only swap it if you need to!
- You can make your own chipotle-infused olive oil by grinding two dried chipotle peppers and mixing them into ¼ cup of olive or vegetable oil.
🥫 How to store leftovers
This easy enchilada sauce recipe makes about eight servings—enough for a nice pan of homemade enchiladas. However, if you have some of the delicious red sauce leftover, it's simple to store.
Spoon the sauce into an airtight container. I recommend a glass jar—the gorgeous, deep red color tends to stain plastic. Store it in the refrigerator and it'll last for 5-7 days.
On the other hand, once it's cooled, you can freeze homemade enchilada sauce and it'll keep for three months. Be sure to use a freezer-safe container. I like to make a double batch and freeze half to save it for the next time we're craving Mexican food.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Don't get distracted while the ancho chiles are in the oven. Even a few seconds too long (any blackened color) makes them bitter.
- You don't have to spend much time dicing up the onion or bell pepper. Chop them into a few big pieces and the blender will do the rest!
- Soaking the dried chili peppers rehydrates them—an important step! It doesn't matter how much water you use, a few cups should be good.
- After blending, strain the sauce into a pan if you want it to be really smooth. This is totally optional but will remove the seeds and some bits of the pepper skins, so the enchilada sauce will taste milder.
- The simmer time all depends on how thick you like the sauce. Let it simmer for just a few minutes, and it'll be thinner. The longer the sauce cooks, the more water evaporates, and it'll have a thicker consistency.
👩🍳 FAQs
Ancho chile peppers are ripened and dried poblano peppers. They're relatively mild and earthy. Your eyes probably won't water from the heat, but you still get a deliciously smoky, spicy flavor.
Guajillo peppers are a good substitute for ancho chiles. However, they do taste a little different. While ancho chiles have a rich, earthy flavor, guajillos are a little lighter and almost fruity—they have a sweet heat.
No ma'am! I love easy sauce recipes like this one because they use simple pantry ingredients, and don't include all the chemicals you get from the store-bought stuff.
The only ingredient you might not be able to pick up from your local grocery store is the ancho chiles. You can easily order some online, though.
Red enchilada sauce is made with tomato sauce, tomato paste, and red chiles. It tends to taste spicier because the red peppers have more flavor! Green enchilada sauce is made from milder green chilis.
📚 Related recipes
- Deliciously spicy and complex in flavor, this Authentic Mole makes the perfect sauce—it tastes like it's from your favorite Mexican restaurant.
- In just five easy minutes you can make this citrusy, herbal Chimichurri Sauce. It's great with grilled meats and tacos all summer long!
- Damntastic Texas BBQ Sauce has been around for years, thanks to its creamy texture, spicy tang, and all-around cravable flavor.
🍽️ Serve with...
You can use this with any recipe you'd use commercial enchilada sauce with.
- Chicken Enchiladas taste fabulous with homemade red enchilada sauce. Plus, prep takes just five minutes (talk about easy.)
- Beef Enchiladas get everyone excited for dinner, with corn tortillas, juicy meat, and lots of cheese. Add a side of black beans and dinner's done!
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole has so much flavor and the Crock Pot makes it so easy!
📞 The last word
Homemade red enchilada sauce is easy to make and only takes a few minutes.
This one is authentic Texican and happens to be a favorite. It is smoky and spicy and rich - so thick you can easily add it to burgers and hot dogs.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce
Print Rate RecipeIngredients
- 6 ancho chiles
- 6 oz tomato sauce, or pureed fresh tomatoes (about ½ cup)
- ¼ cup chipotle infused olive oil, plain olive oil is fine
- 3 garlic cloves, skins on
- 1 onion, peeled and cut into chunks
- ½ bell pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
- 1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
- 2 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 3 cups chicken broth, or beef broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Brush the ancho, onion, garlic, and bell pepper with a little of the olive oil.
- Roast for 3 minutes, or just until they start to puff. If you roast them too long your sauce will be bitter.
- Remove the anchos and continue to roast the other ingredients until they caramelize.
- Remove the stem and seeds from the acho peppers and cover them with hot water. Leave the seeds in if you want a hotter sauce.
- Let stand for one hour.
- Remove the anchos from the hot water.
- Put them in the blender with the broth,onion, and bell pepper .
- Squeeze in the roasted garlic.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a saucepan.
- Add the salt, tomatoes,sugar, cumin, and oregano.
- Simmer until it thickens back up.
Notes
- You don't have to spend much time dicing up the onion or bell pepper. Chop them into a few big pieces and the blender will do the rest!
- Soaking the dried chili peppers rehydrates them—an important step! It doesn't matter how much water you use, a few cups should be good.
- After blending, strain the sauce into a pan if you want it to be really smooth. This is totally optional but will remove the seeds and some bits of the pepper skins, so the enchilada sauce will taste milder.
- The simmer time all depends on how thick you like the sauce. Let it simmer for just a few minutes, and it'll be thinner. The longer the sauce cooks, the more water evaporates, and it'll have a thicker consistency.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published August 15, 2014. Updated June 19, 2023 for editorial content.
Mike says
Step one: preheat the oven to 400F. There's no oven used in this recipe.
Marye says
Obviously you didn't read all the way to #3 in the recipe card.
Linda says
You and your recipes are the closest I can get to honest Tex-Mex. Thank you so much Marye. I am saving this and going back for the enchilada one. I live in Utah now and these people don’t like spicy at all.