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Home » sauces

Quick and Easy Enchilada Sauce

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Cooking is not required to create this delicious quick and easy enchilada sauce! Just stir the ingredients together and like magic you have a beautiful, delicious sauce in just 5 minutes. Oil-free and gluten-free, full of flavor and whole food plant-based ingredients.

two jars of homemade enchilada sauce with a stack of corn tortillas

I have had a lot of trouble finding a decent enchilada sauce at the store. I'd just like a simple sauce, preferably using organic-quality ingredients so that I'm not enabling the problem of harmful chemicals, and a great flavor. Surprisingly, there aren't a lot out there. So I finally decided it was time to make my own. The results? The best tasting enchilada sauce I've ever tried! And did I mention how quick and easy this enchilada sauce is to make?

Jump to:
  • Ingredients & Variations
  • Equipment
  • Instructions
  • Serving
  • Storage
  • Tip
  • The Recipe
  • More Mexican night recipes:
  • or check out more on the recipes page
  • Comments
ingredients to make easy enchilada sauce

Ingredients & Variations

The flavorings:

Cacao powder, coriander, and molasses bring depth. I image carob could replace cacao powder, though I haven't tried it. Coriander could be omitted.

Garlic and onion powders/granules bring aromatics. If you're missing one, double the other.

Chili powder, chipotle powder, and smoked paprika bring spice. Again, if you're missing one you could replace it with another - just watch out for adding too much heat if adding more of a hot ingredient like chipotle.

Strained tomatoes or other smooth tomatoes/sauces are the easiest to use. If using whole peeled tomatoes instead, use a blender or food processor to break them down.

Tomato paste thickens the sauce and adds a delicious sweetness, while the water softens the flavor a bit and smooths out the sauce.

The salt and lime juice elevate the flavors. If you'd prefer to not add salt, add extra lime juice.

a jar of enchilada sauce surrounded by corn tortillas

Equipment

You can simply use a large bowl. It helps if there is a pour spout on the bowl; otherwise, you can ladle the sauce into the jars. Alternatively, you can use a blender or food processor.

Instructions

The steps to making this enchilada sauce recipe really are quick and easy, shown here:

Stir together the ingredients
getting ready to pour enchilada sauce into jars
Pour sauce into jars (a wide mouth funnel helps)
two jars of homemade jars of enchilada sauce
Store jars in the fridge or freezer

Serving

This recipe makes quite a bit of enchilada sauce, enough for at least two meals. It's wonderful with classic enchiladas or in burritos or tacos, or stirred into beans.

While this sauce doesn't require cooking to make it, it is best served heated as part of a meal.

Storage

Keep the jars of sauce in the refrigerator for up to several days. I have not tried freezing the sauce yet, but theoretically that should work!

Tip

If stirring the ingredients in a bowl, make sure you stir well so that the powders get well incorporated. They should no longer be visible when finished.

A wide mouthed funnel like a jam funnel can make the process of pouring into the jars less messy.

Make this recipe with Veggie Enchilada Casserole

The Recipe

a jar of homemade enchilada sauce with corn tortillas and a lime

Quick and Easy Enchilada Sauce

Cooking is not required to create this delicious quick and easy enchilada sauce! Just stir the ingredients together and like magic you have a beautiful, delicious sauce in just 5 minutes. Oil-free and gluten-free, full of flavor and whole food plant-based ingredients.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate SaveSaved!
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Mexican
Key Attributes: easy, enchilada, quick, sauce, taco
Prep Time: 3 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes
Blend Time: 2 minutes minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
Servings: 12
Fiber: 2.6g
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Equipment

  • 1 large bowl preferably one with a pour spout
  • 1 blender alternatively
  • 1 food processor alternatively

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons cacao powder
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika sweet unless you like it really hot
  • 2 teaspoons coriander
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • ½ cup water
  • 24 ounces strained tomatoes jar
  • 7 ounce tomato paste jar
  • 2 ½ tablespoons lime juice or juice of one lime

Instructions

  • Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, blender, or food processor.
  • Stir or blend until well mixed.
  • Place in two 16-ounce/2-cup jars or containers and store in the refrigerator to use within the week.

Video

Notes

Beautiful Ingredient offers nutritional information for recipes on this site as a courtesy. The calculations are automatically provided by an outside service, which at times may not have a reference for every exact ingredient precisely as intended.  Therefore, while accuracy is attempted, calculations should be considered rough estimates.

Rough Nutrition Estimate provided by WPRM (based on generic ingredients and limited specification options)

Nutrition Facts
Quick and Easy Enchilada Sauce
Amount per Serving
Calories
51.3
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
0.5
g
1
%
Saturated Fat
 
0.1
g
1
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
0.2
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
0.1
g
Sodium
 
410.7
mg
18
%
Potassium
 
435.8
mg
12
%
Carbohydrates
 
12
g
4
%
Fiber
 
2.6
g
11
%
Sugar
 
7.2
g
8
%
Protein
 
2.1
g
4
%
Vitamin A
 
812.3
IU
16
%
Vitamin C
 
9.9
mg
12
%
Calcium
 
39.7
mg
4
%
Iron
 
1.8
mg
10
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?I'd love to see! On Instagram, mention @beautifulingredient and tag #beautifulingredient!

More Mexican night recipes:

  • a jar of creamy vegan cheese sauce
    Everyday Oil-free Vegan Cheese Sauce
  • Three plates of vegan enchilada casserole.
    Veggie Enchilada Casserole
  • Vegan Mexican Flatbread Pizza
  • fresh homemade guacamole
    Easy Vegan Guacamole

or check out more on the recipes page

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Welcome to a world of beautiful food!

I'm Kari, and this is where I celebrate beautiful ingredients and focus on ways to make eating more plants easier. Recipes are centered around whole foods and are vegan, cooked without the need for oil, mostly refined sugar-free and gluten-free. And so delicious!


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