Learn how to make enchilada sauce that's smoky and packed with flavor, with just enough heat. It tastes like it came from your favorite Mexican restaurant!
What makes this the best enchilada sauce ever?
I make this versatile, authentic-tasting sauce every single week. My husband loves it so much that he is always looking for excuses to use it on pretty much anything and everything.
It's a tiny bit sweet, with just the right amount of smokiness and other warm Mexican spices. And it can make anything taste like an enchilada.
Plus, it fills your kitchen with that smoky smell (in a good way), and makes enough sauce in 20 minutes to fill 3 store-bought jars. You can add a modest amount of heat, too, and then let your lucky dinner guests add more if they like.
How long does homemade enchilada sauce keep?
Enchilada sauce, like all sauces, will keep as long as its most perishable ingredient. In this recipe, that's probably the butter and/or the touch of cream.
You can cut the recipe in half, and use it all within a couple of days. I usually make a full recipe and store it in sealed glass jars in the refrigerator for a week.
For longer storage, freeze flat in gallon-sized zip-top bags. Defrost by running the frozen bags under warm water before heating and serving.
What brands of store-bought enchilada sauce are gluten free?
There are packaged red enchilada sauces you can buy in a store that are gluten free. But you should always read labels carefully, since ingredients in products can change without warning.
These brands of packaged red enchilada sauce don't list any gluten-containing ingredients:
- Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce
- Siete Red Enchilada Sauce
- Hatch Red Medium Enchilada Sauce
- La Victoria Red Enchilada Sauce
I feel most comfortable with Old El Paso brand, since it's most clearly gluten free. But since enchilada sauce is so easy to make from scratch, I almost always just make my own!
How to make gluten free enchilada sauce: ingredients you'll need
The sauce begins with a simple gluten free roux, made of melted butter to which you add my simplest flour blend, which is an easy mix of white rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch/flour. Simply whisk in the flour and cook briefly.
You can also use superfine white rice flour alone to thicken the roux. I recommend against using cornstarch, as sauces thickened with cornstarch tend to separate and leak moisture as they cool.
Next, whisk in the chicken stock, and cook until it thickens. Then add the spices and tomato puree, and stir to combine. That's all there is to it.
Ways to use this gluten free red enchilada sauce
It takes less than 10 minutes to make the sauce, and it can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week. You'll always be moments of prep away from a hearty, crowd-pleasing meal.
We use this sauce to make enchiladas (recipe below). We also use it to serve on a random Taco Tuesday, or even just as a tomato sauce with ground beef over rice and beans.
Try it over ground beef, or bake your meatballs in it for a new twist on an old favorite.
How to make gluten free enchiladas
About half the time I make this authentic-tasting sauce, I use it to make enchiladas. Once you have the sauce prepared, making the enchiladas is really just about assembly.
Just warm 10 to 12 of your tortillas of choice until they're soft and pliable, either in the microwave or in a hot, dry cast iron skillet or pan. Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish, and set it aside.
Fillings for homemade gluten free enchiladas
You can use whatever kind of fillings you like in your enchiladas. I often make the filling with one pound of shredded cooked chicken or cooked ground beef. You can also just use black beans and shredded cheese.
Then, mix the protein with 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/4 cup sour cream, and a can of drained and rinsed black beans. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with about 3/4-cup of the enchilada sauce.
How to roll the enchiladas in corn tortillas
If you're using a 6-inch corn tortilla, spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling across the bottom half of a softened tortilla. Top with about 2 teaspoons of shredded cheese (a combination of Monterey Jack and sharp yellow cheddar is nice).
Flatten the filling a bit, and close the tortilla by rolling it away from yourself until closed. Place the filled tortilla into the greased pan, seam side down.
Repeat with the remaining tortillas, placing them side by side in the baking dish. Pack them in tight, so they don't open.
Pour 2 to 3 cups of the remaining enchilada sauce on top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with another 3 to 4 ounces of shredded cheese.
Should enchiladas be covered when baking?
I don't usually cover the baking dish before baking my enchiladas. Since nothing in the dish is uncooked, you don't bake it for long enough for the sauce to splatter.
Finish the dish by baking it in a 375°F oven or about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, and the sauce is bubbling.
Can you make homemade enchiladas ahead of time? Can you freeze them?
Yes! If you assemble it all and cover it, the whole prepared dish will keep really well in the refrigerator for at least a day until you are ready to bake it. It also freezes beautifully after assembling, once the sauce is completely cool.
Substitutions for gluten free enchilada sauce ingredients
How to make dairy free enchilada sauce
This enchilada sauce recipe calls for butter, to create the roux that helps thicken the sauce. For a dairy-free version, you can use vegan butter in its place.
You can also just use extra virgin olive oil in place of butter. I don't recommend using a neutral oil, like canola, since you want a fat that adds some flavor to the sauce.
There's also optional cream that can be added to the sauce at the end. Just omit that without a replacement.
How to make vegetarian enchilada sauce
Chicken stock is one of two liquids used in this recipe (the second is tomato puree). If you'd like to make a vegetarian version, you can use vegetable stock instead.
Don't use water, or your sauce will be lacking in any depth of flavor. If you replace the dairy, too, with a dairy-free substitution, you'll have vegan enchilada sauce!
How to make sugar-free enchilada sauce
There is only 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar in this recipe. You can just leave it out if you want to make this recipe sugar-free.
The sugar helps balance the acidity of the tomato sauce, and also helps brighten the tomatoes. Most restaurant-style sauces have more salt, and more sugar, than you might assume!
Easy enchilada sauce recipe, step by step
The Best Enchilada Sauce: Smoky, Authentic Flavor!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter chopped
- 6 tablespoons (54 g) basic gum-free gluten free flour (36 g superfine white rice flour + 12 g potato starch + 6 g tapioca starch/flour) OR an equal amount of superfine white rice flour
- 1 ½ cups (12 fluid ounces) chicken stock
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder depending upon how spicy you like your sauce
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar
- 1 28- ounce can tomato puree (or 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in their juice, pureed)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream optional
Instructions
- In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour whisk until well-combined and smooth.
- Whisking constantly, slowly add the chicken stock. Continue to cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 1 minute.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the tomato puree, and whisk, then stir until well-combined.
- Add the optional cream to thin as necessary to adjust the heat in the sauce. Taste, and add more spices to suit your own tastes, but in the same ratios as in the original ingredient amounts or the sauce will taste unbalanced.
- Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, transfer to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- For longer storage, freeze flat in gallon-sized zip-top bags. Defrost by running the frozen bags under warm water before heating and serving.
Notes
The Best Enchilada Sauce: Smoky, Authentic Flavor!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter chopped
- 6 tablespoons (54 g) basic gum-free gluten free flour (36 g superfine white rice flour + 12 g potato starch + 6 g tapioca starch/flour) OR an equal amount of superfine white rice flour
- 1 ½ cups (12 fluid ounces) chicken stock
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder depending upon how spicy you like your sauce
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar
- 1 28- ounce can tomato puree (or 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in their juice, pureed)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream optional
Instructions
- In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour whisk until well-combined and smooth.
- Whisking constantly, slowly add the chicken stock. Continue to cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 1 minute.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the tomato puree, and whisk, then stir until well-combined.
- Add the optional cream to thin as necessary to adjust the heat in the sauce. Taste, and add more spices to suit your own tastes, but in the same ratios as in the original ingredient amounts or the sauce will taste unbalanced.
- Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, transfer to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- For longer storage, freeze flat in gallon-sized zip-top bags. Defrost by running the frozen bags under warm water before heating and serving.
Judybht says
We love this sauce. A very good DIY addition to my recipe book.Adjustable to varying heat tolerances. Nicole, thank you!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m really glad, Judy! It makes an appearance in our dinner rotation at least twice a month. So glad you love it, too!
Norma Cavazos says
I am Mexican, this sauce is for what me call “entomatadas” meaning tacos with tomato sauce. The real enchilada sauce is made boiling dried ancho chile, adding garlic and spices. It may be blended either with water or milk. Actually enchiiladas in a Mexico’s joint are gluten free
Nicole Hunn says
That’s really interesting to know, Norma. Thank you so much for that education. I’ve never been to a Mexican restaurant where the enchilada sauce was gluten free—but maybe I’m not going to the right Mexican joints!
Christina says
Thank you! This is an easy recipe. And delicious!
Anneke says
Made this last night — fabulous! My kids thought it was funny that we just vacationed in Mexico, and the first meal I made when we got back was enchilada casserole. Since none of them actually ate enchiladas in Mexico, I didn’t see a problem!
Amanda says
I always wondered how her beans that hadn’t been soaked turned out… I have visions of the Julia Robert’s family sitting down to a dinner of crunchy beans :-)
I’ll take the quote “Yum Mexican” I think I could eat Mexican 24*7
Anonymous says
You are an angel. These enchiladas are an angel. (If you’ve ever seen the movie Dan In Real Life then you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not, you should watch it, so you will know what I’m talking about and not think I’m a huge lunatic! And because it’s one of the best movies ever.) We had them for supper last night, and everyone loved them. I made the tortillas out of your cookbook, and they were SO much better than the ones I have been making. They were so soft and delicious! I’m pretty much loving this Better Batter. It rocks! But back to the sauce, it was so smooth and saucy and smoky, just like you said. Delish!
xoxo
Heather Capewell says
I made the sauce last night and wow it was better than I was expecting, better than anything out of a jar. All i changed was the oil since we don’t do buy canola oil. Instead I used coconut oil. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes.
Nicole says
Hi, Heather,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the sauce. I know, right? It’s surprisingly lovely sauce. Smoked paprika is the cat-is-out-of-the-bag secret ingredient.
You’re very welcome.
xoxo Nicole
Sarah D says
Mmmmm…this is going on the list of food to make 1 and freeze 2 for the hubby to have when he gets home from deployment. I always try to fill the freezer with meals when he’s gone so I’m not tied to the stove when he’s home.
We love enchiladas and I’ve always used (gasp!) canned sauce in the past (I know, don’t hate me). :) I finally got my flour yesterday so my next task is to get one of those cool tortilla presses from the latin market so I can make tortillas easily. I’m not so good at the rolling out.