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Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Chelsea Colbath
A quick, easy enchilada sauce made with simple pantry ingredients and plenty of smoky flavor. Use this on your favorite enchilada recipe or drizzle it over tacos, eggs, or rice.
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Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 a small red or yellow onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 15- ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies*
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth chicken broth or water both work well, too
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions
 

  • 1. Roughly chop the onion and garlic. Add onion and olive oil to a medium-sized sauce pot over medium heat, and sautee for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • 2. Add garlic and all spices to the pot, and cook for another minute.
  • 3. Pour the can of tomatoes and the tomato paste into the pot, and stir well. Measure out the vegetable broth and whisk the cornstarch into it. Then, pour the cornstarch-broth mixture into the pot.
  • 4. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
  • 5. Use sauce immediately, or let cool and transfer to an airtight container in the fridge. Sauce will last at least a week in the fridge, though possibly longer. You could also make a big batch of this and freeze it to pull out as needed over the winter.

Notes

*If your store doesn't carry the fire roasted tomatoes that come with chilies, you may want to consider adding a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or some hot sauce to the enchilada sauce. Fire roasted tomatoes add an extra smokey flavor to the sauce, but if you can't find them at all, just use plain diced tomatoes instead.