Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe (Red Enchilada Sauce)
This homemade red enchilada sauce is easy to make, made with dried Mexican chilies for more authentic flavor for the best enchiladas you'll ever have. It is a deeply rich and flavorful sauce, one of my very favorites for homemade enchiladas.
Servings: 6
Calories: 19kcal
Ingredients
- 4 dried ancho peppers (stemmed and seeded)
- 4 dried guajillo peppers (stemmed and seeded)
- 4 dried chiles de arbol (stemmed and seeded)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (or to taste)
- Water as needed
Instructions
- Dry toast the dried chili peppers (stemmed and seeds removed) in a heated pan over medium heat. Toast them a couple minutes per side, until they start to puff up slightly.
- Cool, then set them into a heavy bowl with enough hot water to cover them.
- Let them soak for 20 minutes, or until they become very soft. Remove them and place them in a blender or food processor.
- Reserve 1 cup of the dark soaking water.
- In the same heated pan, heat the vegetable oil. Cook the onion for 5 minutes, or until it becomes translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook another minute, until fragrant.
- Add them to the food processor along with the sea salt.
- Pour in 1 cup of the reserved soaking liquid (or use fresh water or stock) and process to form a sauce. It will be very thick at this point.
- Add in more water or stock, a half cup at a time, until you achieve your desired consistency.
- Strain, if desired. Adjust for salt and serve as needed.
Video
Notes
Makes about 2-1/2 cups.
Nutrition
Calories: 19kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Sodium: 777mg | Potassium: 53mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.1mg