Muy Bueno: Fiestas 
Authentic Red Sauce for Enchiladas + Video
This delicious, bright and mildly spicy red sauce is the quintessential enchilada sauce recipe. This authentic enchilada sauce is made from dried chiles and garlic — it is a very simple yet flavorful sauce. This sauce comes together in under 30 minutes. What’s even better is that red chile sauce is the basis for a whole host of other authentic Mexican recipes!
I am so excited to share this classic enchilada sauce recipe with you. This recipe is from our published Muy Bueno cookbook and it is near and dear to my heart. There are so many ways to use this delicious red sauce, so I highly suggest you make a big batch and freeze it for easy Mexican meals on the fly.
Once you make this homemade red sauce for enchiladas, you won’t ever go back to the canned stuff. Luckily for us, we live in the age of blenders so we don’t have to use our bare hands to purée them like my grandma did!
Our history with red sauce
My mom remembers my grandma standing at her kitchen table squeezing the boiled red chile pods with her bare hands; this was before she owned a blender. She never quite figured out how she did this because the chiles were extremely spicy, but her hands never seemed to feel the burn.
Afterwards, she would strain the red chiles by turning a wooden pestle around and around in a conical strainer and pressing down on the chile pods. This would result in the velvety rich chile that she used for so many recipes.
How to make homemade enchilada sauce
First up, you’ll need to prepare your chiles. Simply tear off the stem and shake out the seeds. Then reach inside the chile pod to remove additional seeds off and pull off dried veins.
Now you’ll need to soften the dried chiles. Place your chiles in a pot and barely cover with water. Bring the water to a boil, then drop the heat to a simmer. Simmer the chiles until soft, about 20 minutes, turning halfway.
Drain your chiles and allow them to cool. If you don’t, the steam can build up in your blender and be dangerous!
TIP: Work in batches so as not to overwhelm your blender.
Add about half of your chiles to the blender with half the water, garlic, flour and salt. Blend until smooth. Tip into a conical strainer and use a pestle, spoon or spatula to push it through. Continue blending and straining until complete.
TIP: If you don’t have a conical strainer a mesh strainer will work too.
TIP: Have a high-powered blender? Straining the sauce might not be necessary, but I still do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why not use the leftover liquid?
My family does not use the leftover liquid after simmering the dried peppers. I don’t recommend it. The liquid can sometimes become bitter and can ruin your chile sauce.
Why do you add flour?
My grandma used to toast the flour in a pot/pan similar to making a roux and then add the sauce to thicken and cook. My mom on the other hand blends the flour in the blender to prevent clumping. Feel free to omit the flour if you’d like, but the flour does thicken the sauce.
TIP: Are you gluten free? No problem! Just sub in a 1-to-1 gluten free flour substitute.
How do I use enchilada sauce?
Think of it this way: the French have béchamel, and in Mexico we have this red sauce. It is that ubiquitous. While many people are most familiar with this red sauce for enchiladas, there are so many other uses for it.
From stews and tamales, to soups and braised meats, the options for this homemade red sauce are nearly endless. Making the sauce from scratch takes a while, but once it’s made, it refrigerates and freezes well for other recipes in this blog.
Will this red sauce keep?
YES! I love making a big batch of this homemade enchilada sauce and storing it in the fridge in a glass bowl or glass mason jars or freezing it in these freezer-safe plastic containers. It’ll keep up to a week in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer. Trust me, this stuff is magical for whipping up a hearty, authentic Mexican meal at the drop of a hat.
What kind of chile should I use for this sauce?
Chile Colorado, also known as New Mexico chile, or California chile, has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This is the chile we use to make our red chile sauce.
TIP: Make sure the dried chile pods aren’t hard and brittle.
If you want more information on other chiles you could use in place of New Mexico chile, you can use Visit my post on Mexican Chiles for more ideas.
Watch the video below to see step by step how to make homemade enchilada sauce. Then try all these recipes that aren’t enchiladas to see just how versatile this sauce truly is.
Looking for recipes to use this homemade red chile sauce? Try these:
- Stacked Red Enchiladas
- Rolled and Baked Enchiladas
- Red Chile and Pork Tamales
- Pozole Rojo
- Pollo a la Brasa
If you loved this recipe for authentic homemade enchilada sauce and want more Mexican cooking inspiration, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest!
Homemade Red Chile Sauce (Chile Colorado)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces California or New Mexico red chile pods
- 6 cups water
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sub gluten free if necessary
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon salt
Equipment
Instructions
- Remove stems, seeds, and veins from the chile pods. Place in a colander and rinse well with cool water.
- Add the chiles to a large pot and add enough water so they are just covered. Bring water to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes. After 10 minutes turn the chiles over with tongs to make sure the chiles soften evenly. Drain cooked pods and allow time to cool down before blending. Discard water.
- Fill blender with 3 cups of water, half of the cooled chile pods, 3 tablespoons flour, 2 cloves garlic, and half of the salt. Blend until smooth. Strain sauce through a fine sieve to remove skins and seeds; discard skins and seeds. Repeat blending and straining process with remaining water, pods, flour, garlic, and salt. If necessary, season with more salt.
Video
Notes
- Make sure the dried chile pods aren’t hard and brittle.
- Always wash your hands after working with chiles. You can wear gloves if you wish.
- Are you gluten free? No problem! Just sub in a 1-to-1 gluten free flour substitute.
- This sauce is un-cooked. This sauce can be stored uncooked or cooked.
- This sauce can be made in advance and kept in airtight containers in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Red chile sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week or frozen for up to six months.
LOOKING FOR RECIPES TO USE THIS HOMEMADE RED CHILE SAUCE? TRY THESE:
Photography by Jeanine Thurston & Jenna Sparks
Originally published: March 2017. This recipe is also published in the Muy Bueno cookbook.
67 Comments on “Authentic Red Sauce for Enchiladas + Video”
I made this sauce (with California chile pods) and for some reason it had little or no flavor. I punched it up with some “Better than Bouillon” seasoning, a bit of chili powder, oregano and cumin to give it some flavor.
Not sure what I did wrong. Maybe the peppers were too bland?
Will try it again with some New Mexican pods next time to see if that makes a difference.
Where did you get those speckled spoons?
I bought it at an antique store, but try Etsy and look for “Enamel Serving Spoons”.
I am born and raised in NM, and still live there today. The recipe is pretty good but traditionally I would not use flour in red chile.
Thank you for sharing such great recipes that I understand
I bought some packets of ground ancho chili and guajillo ground chili, how would I substitute either of these for your boil/simmer method?
I must have done something wrong. So bitter. I added some sugar, tomato paste, more salt and chipotle in adobe which fixed it but it is pretty spicy.
Hi all!
I am interested in making this recipe for use over time, and had a question. Me and the hubby recently moved to New Mexico and we live very close to Hatch so I’d like to take advantage of that and possibly use fresh or fresh roasted red chiles. Would the cooking instruction change at all? Thanks!
So far I am impressed with your site. Cant wait to try some of your recipes. My boyfriend is Mexican American from Texas so I have been excited to discover Mexican cuisine.
I think the flour softens the flavor too much (I’m from Burque). Sautee some tomatillos in butter and throw them in the blender with the chiles, everything else the same…maybe some oregano. Give it a try! The mild citrus of the tomatillo goes really well with the chile.
I read not to use the chili water so it does not get bitter. But the sauce is bitter anyway. How can I fix this?
Other than that, the sauce looks beautiful.
Add a pinch of sugar. You may need a couple of pinches but don’t overdue it.
Hola Yvette
Could you advise me on which red chillies to buy here in the UK?
It’s very hard to find dried chillies so if you could point me in the right direction that would be really helpful.
Gracias por tus recetas y por compartir mucha información interesante sobre tu cultura.
Cariños,
cant see your videos , always broken up..and my computer is NEW, ONLY your videos. Never heard of flour, in red chili sauce my husbands family in Chih. Mex. add garlic, salt and oregano….just letting you know , Everyone does it different….Thank you
Question for you all, I plan on making the red chili pork dish, if I choose to cheat, and not use red chili pods, which red chili sauce do you recommend?
LOL Pauline! I won’t tell anyone your cheating secret. If you want a shortcut buy, Las Palmas red sauce or enchilada sauce. Keep me posted.
Great recipe on the chile rojo but why add the all purpose flour. Im from El Paso and my grandmother and my mom never ever used flour. There cooking was always authentic and delicious. I have seen people use all purpose flour when they are making menudo. I loose my appetite, rather not eat it.
Miss my abuelita and mom’s cooking.
My grandma used to toast the flour in a pot/pan and then add the sauce to thicken and cook. My mom on the other hand blends the flour in the blender to prevent clumping. Feel free to omit the flour if you’d like, but the flour does thicken the sauce.
i have never seen flour added when making enchilada sauce, it it to make it thick?
And in some recipes the liquid from boiling the chilis is used, but you don’t why?
Hi Trini, Yes, the flour is added to thicken the sauce. Feel free to omit if you wish. I discard the water after Chile is boiled — that sometimes makes sauce bitter.
Hi! Love and follow all your social media sites. Especially your stories and recipes! However, I wonder why you don’t use “Colorado grown chili?” You always reference New Mexico, Have you ever used Colorado grown chili, since you now reside here? I suggest you give it a try…. it’s awesome and comes in a variety of heat levels and theflavor is awesome.
Hi Cindy, I absolutely LOVE green chile from Colorado. I Just stocked up my freezer with roasted green chile from Musso Farms in Pueblo last weekend. I don’t reference it on my blog because my blog is international and Colorado grown chile is not readily available like New Mexico Chile. I invite you to read this blog post where I do reference Colorado grown chile: https://muybuenoblog.com/pork-green-chile-multicooker-giveaway/
Can you make the chilli sauce using canned tomatoe sauce instead of grinding up chillies and using chilli seasoning???
Thanks!
farfalla01@att.net
Sure if you’re making spaghetti sauce. It’s called “red Chile sauce” because it has chiles in it. SMH
Can this recipe be canned? Sounds delicious.
Love the sauce, I used California chili pods, if I had used New Mexico chili pods would it have come out more spicy?
One last question, why did you not use the same water that the chili pods were boiled in?
Yes, Deanna, definitely brown the flour for a better sauce!
How do you brown the flour?
Aren’t you supposed to brown the flour first?
Where can I find a sieve like you have?
Hi Denise: I purchased mine years ago in a Latin grocery store but you can purchase on Amazon. In the blog post I linked to a similar conical strainer. Hope that is helpful.
Hi .. love your site but am finding that I don’t want to look at in any more .. the ads are huge & so annoying.
Hi Karina: I’m sorry to hear that. Are you viewing my blog on your desktop or mobile? Let me talk to my ad network and hopefully we can edit the ads on my site. I truly appreciate the time to letting me know and I’ll look into it.
Always make plenty of this delicious red Chile sauce and freeze it, that way I always have it ready when I need it..
How spicy hot is this on a level of 1 to 10?? I love this but what could I do to
make it mild? If it isn’t already.
Hi Nancy: I love spicy food, so for me I would say about a 5 to 7 but that truly depends on the level of heat of your chile. When you purchase the dried chile peppers the package will usually say “hot” or “mild”. Also, if its still too spicy you can also add a can of tomato sauce when making red enchiladas. Hope this is helpful!