Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

Made from scratch using dried chile pods, this Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce is rich, bold, smoky, quick, vegetarian, and freezes beautifully.

The sauce is naturally reasonably mild, although you are welcome to amp up the heat if you’d like. It has a gorgeous deep red color packed with many profound and complex Chile flavors. This sauce is very versatile and can be used in many Mexican dishes.

Once you taste this red enchilada sauce recipe, you won’t go back to the store-bought canned variety! This recipe can easily be scaled up if you make enchiladas for a crowd.

Jump to:

• What is Red Enchilada Sauce?
• Why Do you make this recipe?
• Ingredients required
• Step-by-step process
• Storage
• Notes, tips, and quick FAQs
• More Homemade sauce recipes
• Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce
• Video

I love making condiments, salad dressings, and sauces from scratch. I believe homemade is always the best!

It consistently tastes fresh and flavorful, and you know what ingredients are going into it. And this red chile enchilada sauce is just that!

What is Red Enchilada Sauce?

Red enchilada Sauce is a traditional Mexican sauce made of chile pods, onion, and spices. This sauce is full of authentic Mexican flavor.

This sauce may also be called salsa roja, salsa roja para enchiladas or mole rojo.

Making Red Enchilada Sauce at home is straightforward and takes less than an hour (including soaking time).

Today, I’d love to share my take on this sauce inspired by the authentic basic red enchilada sauce.

This wonderful sauce is excellent for enchiladas and your stews, soups, rice dishes, chilaquiles, tamales, you name it!

If you want to eat good enchiladas, the sauce used in making it must be homemade. Period.

Try this authentic Mexican recipe if you have never made Enchilada sauce from scratch.

It beats the store-bought canned enchilada sauce.

This sauce is prepared using dried chilis, not chili powder, and it is much easier to make than you may think, and the results are phenomenal.

Many recipes use tomato sauce, chili powder, and flour to make enchilada sauce. While that is great for a quick fix, I’d not call it an authentic version.

Classic Mexican enchilada sauce should be made with dried chiles and never chili powder and flour.

Making red enchilada sauce from scratch takes time, but it is worth it.

Once you make enchiladas with this homemade sauce, you will agree that it is the best red enchilada sauce ever!

Why Do you make this recipe?

• First, this homemade sauce truly celebrates the flavor of Mexican cuisine.
• It’s rich, bold, smoky, quick, easy, and freezes beautifully
• It has warm, toasty, earthy flavors – everything an enchilada sauce should be.
• It is Easy to customize – You can make it thicker, thinner, more or less spicy, etc.
• It is naturally vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
• It’s a million times better than the canned stuff!
• Canned enchilada sauce can contain preservatives and unnecessary processed ingredients like MSG. But our homemade version is nothing but pure ingredients.
• It is very versatile. This sauce isn’t just for enchiladas. It amps up soups, sliders, chilies, skillet dinners, rice dishes, burritos – everything it touches!

Ingredients required

Below is the ingredients list and possible substitutions. The exact ingredient amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Chiles – I’ve used Guajillo chiles (Mild), Ancho chiles, and Chile de Arbol (spicy). I love the combination of these three chiles. It gives the sauce a lovely, earthy, well-rounded, savory, complex flavor. You can taste the smoky, rich flavor of the anchos, the robust flavor of the Guajillo, and the heat from the Ancho. All the chiles can be found in Most grocery stores or on Amazon.
• Vinegar – a tiny splash of vinegar amps up the flavor.
• Sugar – A little bit of sugar balances the bitterness from the chiles. You can substitute sugar with honey, maple syrup, or Mexican chocolate.
• Spices: This recipe uses salt, Ground cumin powder, and Mexican Oregano. If you can’t find Mexican oregano, use Italian oregano. The flavor will differ slightly, but it isn’t a big deal.
• Aromatics – Onion and garlic.
• Oil – To fry the sauce.

Step-by-step process

Prep the Chiles

• Remove the stems, seeds, and veins from all three chiles. Tear the stems using your fingers or scissors, and split the chiles down the side to get to the seeds and veins.
• Wash all the chiles very well.
• Take them into a big bowl. Add 4 cups of hot boiling water. Cover it and let the chiles soak for 30 minutes.

Make the sauce

• Once the chiles are soaked, drain the water.
• Note: Taste the soaking liquid; if it is bitter, then through it. If it’s not bitter, don’t through it;  preserve it in a bowl. We will use some soaking water to grind the sauce.
• Take the chiles in a blender jar along with garlic and onion. Add 3.5 cups of plain water (or soaking liquid if it’s not bitter) and grind until smooth.
• Place a fine-mesh strainer over a big bowl. Add the sauce, and strain as much of the pulp as possible by pushing it down with the back of a spoon or spatula. Push down firmly on the pulp to extract as much flavor as possible.
• Use a clean spoon to scrape the pulp on the bottom of the strainer. Discard the pulp that remains in the strainer.

Fry the Sauce

• Once you have strained the sauce, Let’s fry it in oil.
• Note: Frying the sauce in some oil helps to develop a rich flavor. Be sure not to skip this step.
• Add oil to the pan. Then you slowly pour the sauce into the hot oil. The sauce will begin to sizzle, and the oil continues as you pour all of the sauce into the pan.
• Saute it for 30 seconds. Then turn down the heat to low.
• (NOTE: The oil tends to spatter. Be very careful with this step to avoid getting burned.)
• Add Mexican oregano, cumin powder, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Mix everything very well.
• Let the sauce cook for 8 to 10 minutes on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.

• Check for seasoning; adjust with more salt if needed.
• Is the sauce bitter at this point? Add some more sugar.
• Adjust the consistency by adding some more water or soaking water.
• Switch off the flame. Let the sauce cool down completely. Then, store it in Jar until ready to use.

Storage

Freezer enchilada sauce is also handy, so triple the batch! I love to make this red enchilada sauce recipe in bulk and store it for later.

This sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container.

To freeze this – Divide the sauce into individual portion-sized airtight freezer-safe containers, label, and freeze for up to 3 months.

When I’m ready to make enchiladas, take out the sauce the day before and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator or on the countertop. Then heat it on the stove or microwave until it is smooth.

Notes, tips, and quick FAQs

• Feel free to play around with the ratio of the chile peppers. If you want spicy sauce, use more than chiles.
• Ensure you remove the membrane and seeds to reduce the heat and bitter taste in the sauce.
• After blending, strain the sauce to give it a smooth texture and to remove the chile skin, which is hard to digest.
• This sauce is best if made a few hours ahead of making enchilada. It needs time for the flavors to marry and mingle together. So make it ahead of time, and let it sit for a while to enjoy kickass enchiladas!
• Remember that making this sauce will get messy, especially when you add the chile puree. Also, it will splutter a lot when you add in the oil. So be very careful and do it on a low flame.
• If the sauce is too thick, add a little more water to thin it out to the desired consistency.

More Homemade sauce recipes

• Schezwan Sauce
• Marinara Sauce
• Peri Peri sauce
• Red pepper and peanut sauce
• Chimichurri sauce

Warm regards,

Dhwani.