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Okay friends, Cinco de Mayo is coming up! This year I decided to go all out with Mexican recipes. I have always loved Mexican food, but my love deepened when I traveled to San Antonio and Arizona last year. Bring on the Mexican food!!!!
This easy red enchilada sauce is really two parts. Part 1: a ridiculously-easy-to-make-and-so-much-better-than-store-bought red enchilada sauce! Part 2: Enchiladas…DUH!!! (Coming your way on Friday)!
When I decided to make enchiladas I originally planned to buy some kind of gluten free enchilada sauce in a jar, mostly because I literally had no idea what red enchilada sauce was made from. A quick google search told that it was insanely simple to make, and I already had all the ingredients in my house – thanks google and thanks pantry staples!
Okay, technically there are two versions to a red enchilada sauce – version 1: dried chilies re-hydrated in hot water and then blended until smooth. Version 2: chili powder and other spices cooked with a roux and chicken/veggie broth. I chose version 2 for this recipe….next time I’m coming for those dried chilies!!!
I based my recipe off of Gimme Some Oven’s red enchilada sauce recipe, she knows her Mexican food! To keep things gluten free I swapped all purpose flour in the roux for a little brown rice flour and corn starch.
Let’s discuss how simple these ingredients are….
Ingredients for red enchilada sauce:
- olive oil
- brown rice flour, and a little corn starch
- chili powder (where all the flavor is!)
- garlic powder
- dried oregano
- smoked paprila
- cumin
- pinch of cayenne, if you want a little extra heat – up to you.
- salt
- tomato paste – for depth
- chicken or veggie broth
That’s it!!! So simple, who knew?!
And of course you can adjust the seasonings to your liking – which is my favorite part about making my own food!
As simple as the ingredients are this red enchilada sauce recipe is even easier to make, 10-ish minutes and your done! Best part, you can make red enchilada sauce up to 1 week in advance so that you can be one step closer to making enchiladas at a moments notice. This sauce would be great with any type of enchiladas that normally call for red enchilada sauce.
And trust me, you’re gonna wanna be prepared for Friday’s enchilada recipe! If not, no worries…you can make both because this red enchilada sauce is just that simple!
This red enchilada sauce is has a lot of nice depth of smoky and garlicky flavors to it with just a hint of mild spice. My one suggestion is to make sure you love the taste of the chili powder you’re using because it is the bulk of the spices and determines how your sauce will taste.
Super awesome, super tasty Mexican food in celebration of Cinco de Mayo…we’ve so got this!!!
Is your mouth watering yet?! Because mine totally is!
Easy Red Enchilada Sauce (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 13 mins
- Yield: 2 cups of sauce 1x
- Category: 1 pan, Dips & Sauces
- Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy Free
Description
This gluten free red enchilada sauce is so easy to make – it only takes a few minutes and makes use of pantry staple ingredients. It’s the perfect sauce for any enchilada recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons brown rice flour (if not GF sub regular all purpose flour)
- 2 teaspoons corn starch (omit if not making GF)
- 4 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- optional: 1/8th to 1/4th teaspoon cayenne pepper (leave out if you want a really mild heat)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups low sodium chicken or veggie broth
Instructions
- Measure out all your ingredients: This recipe is so quick to make that it’s very helpful to have all you spices and the broth measured out and ready to go. You’ll be able to adjust the seasonings at the end, but the majority of them should be ready to go.
- Make a roux: Heat a small sauce pot over medium, low heat. Add the oil, once heated add the bown rice flour and the corn startch, whisk to combine with the oil. Allow the flour to cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly browned – make sure you whisk the flour the entire time so it doesn’t burn.
- Add the spices: Add all of the spices (EXCEPT THE TOMATO PASTE), whisk to combine. Cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add broth: Add about 1/4 cup the broth and whisk to get rid of any lumps. Slowly stream in the remaining broth while whisking the entire time. Whisk in the tomato paste.
- Simmer: Turn the heat up to high and bring the sauce to boil, reduce to a simmer. Allow the sauce to simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Use/store: Either use the sauce in a recipe immediately or allow it to cool completely and store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. You may need to give the sauce a goods stir before using if separation has occurred.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven
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