I usually buy my enchilada sauce. Yes, I knew I should be making it, but I had never found a recipe that I was really happy with. I had tried several and they just weren’t very good. So, I stuck to the canned stuff you can get at the grocery store.
I was recently talking to a friend of mine about this. She lived in Mexico for a few years, so she knows some about Mexican cooking. I asked her how she made her enchilada sauce. She told me the basics and then gave me an exact recipe.
I decided to give it a try. This recipe was really good. This was the best enchilada sauce that I have made. It had great flavor. I think it was even better than the canned sauce. My husband thought it could have been spicier. But he likes his enchiladas spicy. You can always add more chili powder or chilies if you like it really spicy. The kids and I thought it was really good just like it is.
I did change two things. It called for green onions. I did not have any, so I used regular onions. I thought they worked great, so I will probably continue to make it this way. I also pureed everything in the blender. I wanted a very smooth sauce. If you want it more chunky just mix the ingredients together and do not blend.
Enchiladas are a pretty frugal meal and homemade enchilada sauce is a great way to make enchiladas even more frugal.
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, undrained
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Combine all tomato sauce ingredients and place in a blender. Puree ingredients. Then place in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. Use as desired for enchiladas.
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Wow, I never knew how easy it was to make it homemade!! The ingredients are so few! Why have I been buying canned sauce for so long? Thank you for sharing another great recipe!
I’ve been looking for a homemade sauce recipe! This looks mighty tasty!
Definitely giving this one a try. The ones I’ve tried before have included cinnamon and/or cocoa. Weird!
@Amy @ Finer Things,
Amy –
That’s what’s known as mole (mo-lay…I can’t get the tilde to work on my laptop) or Oaxacan enchiladas. It’s really a very tasty way to eat enchiladas, and you don’t taste CHOCOLATE chocolate, it’s more subtle…kind of like adding chile powder to your hot cocoa or chocolate cookies. Gives it that, “hmm…what IS that!?” flavor.
This enchiladas surely sounds yummy!
The sauce is getting so expensive in the stores. I’m looking forward to trying this cheaper and healthier version.
Great, thanks for posting this recipe. It seems like I am always one can short when I want to make enchiladas. I have also noticed that it is getting more expensive to buy the canned stuff. So thanks!
I, like you, have been looking for a recipe to make this homemade, but I have never been happy w/ it. I can’t wait to try yours!!
Cool, thanks for the recipe!
~Liz
Thanks, I have been buying sauce to and know I should be making it. Can’t wait to try this!
could you please repost the mexican rice recipe
What a great, simple enchilada sauce recipe. I tweaked it out a little for my own prefferences, such as making it a little on the spicy side, but found it a great base to work from.
This sounds good, Lynn. I like the idea of putting it in the blender, too, especially when picky eaters look askance at any lumps in the sauce and ask suspiciously, “What IS this?” I’ll bet blending it would solve that problem
Thanks for sharing this.
OH MY GOODNESS!
I was searching for some homemade enchilada sauce and stumbled across this blog post. My husband and I just made a batch and a half of this sauce. It is ABSOLUTELY DIVINE!!! My husband is totally RAVING about it as he’s prepping the rest of the stuff for enchiladas. He’s excited about the possibilities of canning this in the fall when the garden comes ready. (He’s like a little kid at Christmas … lol!)
Thank you so much! Off to check out your other recipes!
Inky Smiles!
Erin
@Erin G, I am so glad that you liked my enchilada sauce. It is one of my favorite things to make at home. It is so much cheaper and better for you than the store version. Not only that I think it tastes much better. Thank you so much for letting me know how much you enjoy the recipe.
@Erin G, You would need to “pressure can” this recipe as it doesn’t have enough acid to prevent bacteria from growing. Water bath canning would not be safe.
Can you make the sauce ahead and freeze it? I’m having surgery at the end of the week, and want to have some easy meals for my husband to make.
@Serenity, Yes, I do freeze this. It gets a little thinner after being frozen, but it still works great. I make a big batch of it all the time and freeze it. I hope that helps and that your surgery goes well.
Thank you for the recipe!! Would you be willing to share your Enchilada recipe as well?
@Konnie, I have several different variations of enchiladas that I make, but here are a few of our favorites that I have on my site.
http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2008/12/three-cheese-beef-enchiladas.html
http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2008/11/three-cheese-chicken-enchiladas.html
http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/03/spinach-enchiladas.html
Thanks! I have all these ingredients! We will be having this tonight!
Lynn, your sauce is the bomb! I made it last night and my whole family loved it. Thanks so much for sharing it.
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I made the mistake of buying a different brand enchilada sauce then I usually do because it was cheaper. When I opened the can I did not like the smell of it AT ALL. It also tasted like it smelled.
I really didn’t want to get all the kids ready to run to the store just to get a can of enchilada sauce so I did a google serach for homemade sauce…and ended up here! We LOVED this recipe!! Thank you so much!
@Lori A., I am so glad that you found my site and enjoyed the recipe! We love that sauce.
I made your enchilada sauce and LOVED it. I even wrote about it
do you have a homemade tomato sauce as well? or did i over look it browsing your recipes
i made your spaghetti sauce and it smelled and turned out wonderful ,
@shamael, No I do not have a tomato sauce recipe on my site. Sorry. But I am glad that you enjoyed my spaghetti sauce recipe.
I’m enjoying the links to backposts in today’s post. I love your fajita seasoning recipe so I’m sure we’ll love this one too! Thanks! I really appreciate all the work you do for your recipes and sharing them on this blog!
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@Leigh Ann, I am glad you are enjoying the recipes, even from my old posts.
I love homemade versions of things and the enchilada sauce and my fajita seasoning are some of my favorites. Thanks for reading.
THANKS so much for posting this! I found you from Life as Mom. I knew there had to be a way to make my own Enchilada sauce but I’ve been looking for a recipe for quite some time now. Can’t wait to try this!
Jane
My homemade enchilada sauce is made with Chili pods also known as chile ancho. Never tried enchilada sauce with tomato sauce. I’ll try your recipe and I’ll tell you if it is as good as mine. Your recipe is a lot easier and does not require a lot of preparation.
Making this again to store ahead for dinner tomorrow. This is such a quick and tasty sauce! I’ve tried various canned sauces, and various recipe searches, and this is by far the best.
@Jenny, I am so glad that you enjoy it! Thanks for letting me know.
Thank you for the quick and easy recipe! It’s delicious
I am going to try this recipe only I will change one thing. I wont be using canned sauce, I just don’t see making “homemade” Enchilada Sauce using pre-canned genetically modified canned products it defeats the purpose of being organic and making things from scratch. its not that hard to take fresh tomatoes puree them and boil them and add a bit of sugar. other than that this recipe sounds great and I’ll be making it tonight to go with my squash and cream cheese enchiladas.
Even fresh tomatoes can be genetically modified…
Made this sauce as well as your three cheese beef enchiladas for dinner last night. Everyone loved it! I’ll definitely be making these again! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
Lynn,
I only have 15 oz cans of tomato sauce. Should I double the rest of the ingredients?
Yes that should work fine. You could have enough for 2 pans or you could freeze the extra. It works fine to freeze it, although it is a little thinner after being frozen.
Eileen, If I were you, I’d use just one 15-oz can and NOT double the other ingredients. Two 8-oz cans make 16 oz, and that’s close enough to 15 oz that you won’t notice a difference. If you use TWO 15-oz cans (which you wouldn’t have to do), then you would double the ingredients. I can’t wait to try this recipe myself! My other sauce recipe was very long and drawn out
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I make my enchilada sauce with dehydrated California chile. I’ve never tried it with tomato sauce. Will have to try your recipe.
Enchilada sauce is not made with tomato sauce…I’m just sayin.
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