Enchilada Sauce Recipe

4.75 (70 ratings)

Making homemade chile sauce from scratch takes a while, but once it’s made, it refrigerates and freezes well for other recipes in this blog.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Entrees, Main Course, sauce, Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: cups

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.

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.