The long search for our favorite enchilada sauce is over. Cans and jars of the store-bought stuff have entered and exited our pantry without a return visit. After a little experimentation and online inspiration, I came up with this quick, easy-to-make recipe. It’s a great addition to enchiladas and other Mexican foods. And, it’s vegetarian. Some brands contain chicken broth, as do many restaurant enchilada sauces.
Jump to RecipeIngredients
Here’s what you need to make this enchilada sauce. These ingredients are easy to find. You probably have most of them in your spice rack and pantry already. We used a vegetable broth as a base, making this is a vegetarian recipe. Chili powder comes in lots of varieties. For this recipe, we chose New Mexico chili pepper powder, but if you have some chipotle or another type of chili powder that you like, feel free to use that. We’re kind of wimpy when it comes to hot spices, so we used less than a tablespoon of chili powder. If you like things spicy, bump it up with extra chili powder. You’ll also need a small amount of apple cider vinegar, not shown in the photo.
Making Enchilada Sauce
Get the ingredients out on the counter and measure them to make the process go more quickly. You’ll heat the oil, flour, and chili powder in a pan before adding the other ingredients. It’s easier if you mix the broth with the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and cumin. I used a 2-cup glass measuring cup for that purpose, but a small bowl works fine too. Then, when the flour and chili powder mixture is ready, pour the broth and spices into the pan, whisking all the ingredients for a few minutes. When everything is ready, add the apple cider vinegar. That little bit of vinegar enhances the flavor.
Tips
If you sift the flour into the oil as it’s heating, that helps eliminate lumps. Also, using a whisk keeps the mixture smooth. You can use vegetable bouillon instead of vegetable broth. We don’t use enough broth to keep the containers of it fresh, so we always have bouillon in the pantry.
This is so good to have on hand, you might want to make extra and freeze it. Or, send a jar home with someone who needs enchilada sauce. Don’t we all?
Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup oil like sunflower, olive, or canola
- 2 T flour
- 3 T tomato paste
- 1 C veggie broth
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 T chili powder Use more if you like things hot!
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp apple cider vinegar Add this last.
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the tomato paste, vegetable broth, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and salt.
- Whisk this mixture thoroughly.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium heat.
- Add the flour and chili powder to the oil.
- Using a whisk, cook until the mixture is slightly brown.
- Add the vegetable broth mixture to the saucepan.
- Whisk this mixture for 3-4 minutes over medium heat to thicken the sauce.
- Add the apple cider vinegar.
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