{"id":2891,"date":"2024-03-28T09:10:53","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T22:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dinnertimesomewhere.com\/?p=2891"},"modified":"2025-11-06T08:33:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T21:33:11","slug":"homemade-enchilada-sauce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dinnertimesomewhere.com\/index.php\/side-dish-recipes\/sauces-for-dinner\/homemade-enchilada-sauce\/","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Enchilada Sauce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our beautiful Homemade Enchilada Sauce is such an easy recipe to make, and tastes so much better than any store-bought sauce you can find. For years we used the store-bought sauce when it was Enchilada night, simply out of perceived convenience. However, since making this dish we\u2019re completely converted. It is a very easy sauce to make, and the flavor is not even comparable to what you buy in the store. This sauce is delicious and elevates your Mexican home cooking game tenfold!

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What is surprising about this delicious Sauce is it\u2019s quite versatile. Sure 9 out of 10 times you\u2019ll likely make it because you\u2019re cooking up Enchiladas (try out beautiful Homemade Chicken Enchiladas recipe here \u2013 coming soon!). However, it\u2019s an incredible baseline sauce for so many delicious Mexican recipes!

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Simply as a dipping sauce with some crunchy chips, it is outstanding. Perfect to kick off a meal or to have a big bowl on while watching TV. It works wonderfully well on any kind of Tacos, but particularly Beef, Chicken or Pork. It\u2019s an amazing Sauce to include in Homemade Burritos. In fact, as I\u2019m reeling off Mexican dishes this sauce works well with I\u2019m struggling to think of any it won\u2019t pair great in!

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Basically: this sauce is awesome, and you can enjoy it with any home cooked Mexican meals. It will completely elevate your dishes and trust us, once you\u2019ve tried it you\u2019ll never go back to that store bought enchilada sauce again

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\"Enchiladas
This sauce forms the foundation for creating delicious Enchiladas at home that will taste so much better than using any store bought sauce, we guarantee it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The key to getting the most flavorful Homemade Enchilada Sauce is Char-roasting the Vegetables in the oven<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This secret to the immense flavor this beautiful sauce delivers is all in the techniques. By oven roasting the delicious vegetables you can produce a delicious, caramelized flavor. That flavor forms the basis for this delicious sauce, and truly sets it apart from any of that off-the-shelf Enchilada Sauces out there!

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The key Vegetables we use in this delicious Sauce are Red Bell Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes. Roast them all off in the Oven until they are tender, and slightly charred. The charred flavor gives a delicious smoky flavor to the sauce which is truly amazing

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While oven Roasting Vegetables isn\u2019t an overly difficult task in itself, the one challenge with this recipe is that the Vegetables cook at different times. So, you\u2019ll just need to keep an eye on the Vegetables as they\u2019ll be cooked at different times

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After about 10 minutes the Tomatoes will be done. You\u2019ll be able to tell as the skin will have turned slightly black and the insides will be incredibly tender. The Tomato skin will likely have split in a couple of places too, which is totally fine and what is to be expected

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Then it\u2019ll be time for the Red Bell Peppers to come out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

10 minutes later the Red Bell Pepper should be done. The skin of the Peppers will be charred and blackened. You don\u2019t want to remove the Peppers from the Oven until the skin is black. Don\u2019t worry, as the skin will be peeled and discarded once it cools. Blackening Red Bell Peppers produces an unbelievably rich, smoky flavor that truly makes this Homemade Enchilada Sauce special

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\"Roasted<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Roasted<\/figure>\n
The key to creating flavor in our Homemade Enchilada Sauce is char-roasting the Vegetables. Once your Red Bell Peppers are charred, let them cool then carefully peel away the skin and discard. You’ll be left with its wonderfully tasting flesh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Finally, after a further 10 \u2013 15 minutes the Onions can come out. Timing for the cooked Onions may vary a little depending on your oven, as well as how thick the Onions have been cut. Once they\u2019ve turned a dark, caramel-brown color they will be done. You\u2019ll need to turn the Onions about halfway through the cook (we\u2019d suggest once you remove the Bell Peppers) to ensure an even cook throughout

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Don\u2019t be shy with the spices, it\u2019s what separates a good Enchilada Sauce from a great one!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Good Mexican food needs to have that kick of heat to it. It doesn\u2019t need to be overwhelming, but all good Mexican Food benefits greatly from some spice. The heat in our Homemade Enchilada Sauce comes from several different ingredients, and they pack a punch that\u2019s for sure!

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We introduce heat to the sauce first with the addition of Chipotle Peppers. We use the Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, which gives the dish a beautiful smoky, spicy flavor. The Sauce adds a subtle richness to the sauce and gives it that unique Mexican flavor immediately once added

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We then hit the sauce with Chili Powder and Smoked Paprika for even more heat. For our recipe below we have been a little conservative with just 1 tsp. of each spice. If you love your spice then we highly recommend adding a little more. As always, taste as you go until you reach the desired seasoning

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One thing to note is the sauce will taste very spicy once cooked. Don\u2019t be deterred by this thinking that you\u2019ve over-spiced it. A beautiful Homemade Enchilada Sauce like this will ultimately be going into an Enchilada Recipe. The ingredients in the Enchiladas will really mellow out the heat. Particularly ingredients like Cheese

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So, it\u2019s totally ok if the sauce is a little bit spicier than you would prefer as it will mellow out once combined into a classic Mexican dish

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\"Homemade
The beautiful spice combination of Cumin, Chili Powder, and Smoked Paprika add amazing flavor and heat to the sauce<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Replace Chicken Broth with Vegetable Broth to make this sauce 100% Vegetarian<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We use Chicken Broth<\/a> in this recipe to add flavor to the sauce. We highly recommend that you make your own homemade Broth instead of the store-bought stuff. It will taste so much better and is easy to do. If you want a 100% Vegetarian Sauce we recommend using Vegetable Broth<\/a> instead of Chicken Stock

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Both broths will flavor the sauce very well, however the Chicken Broth does add a bit more texture and flavor overall, so would be our recommendation for those who are ok with eating meat.  The broth is a critical ingredient in the broth as it helps smooth out the overall texture and adds a lovely flavor

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We recommend cooking down the sauce for at least 20 minutes once all the ingredients have been combined<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Certain Enchilada Sauce recipes ask you to simply combine the blended ingredients and heat through until warm. We\u2019ve found that while you can get a totally workable sauce, the flavor comes off a little watery. Once the Vegetables have been blended, add them back into a Saucepan alongside the spices and Chicken Stock and let it reduce. Drop the heat on low, partially cover and cook it down for 20 minutes. The flavor will be stronger

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If you have time, another great trick is to prepare the sauce a day in advance and refrigerate it before use. Like any good vegetable-based sauce, the flavors will concentrate overnight and become even more richer and decadent a day later

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\"Homemade
This recipe will produce an ample amount of tasty Homemade Enchilada Sauce. You can freeze what you don’t need for future meals!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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This recipe produces quite a significant amount of Sauce. It\u2019ll produce more than enough sauce for a hearty Enchilada meal that will easily feed 4 people, and you\u2019ll have leftovers! The sauce freezes very well, so we suggest freezing what you don\u2019t eat and saving it for your next inspired home cooked Mexican meal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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