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Enchilada sauce is quick and easy to make at home and tastes the same or even better than the store-bought kind. Made with spices and ingredients you already have in your pantry- chili powder, cumin, oregano, and homemade chicken broth this sauce comes together very quickly.
How to Make a Quick Homemade Enchilada sauce
To start off, you want to heat either butter or ghee/ vegetable oil in a saucepot, then add the flour to make a roux- flour and oil cooked together to thicken a sauce. The roux will help to thicken the enchilada sauce.
Cook the roux while stirring until the mixture smells like pie crust, about 1 -2 minutes.
Then add the minced garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, ground paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. This deepens the flavors of the spices and it will take the raw edge off the garlic, 1 - 2 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent burning.
Add the tomato paste to the mixture and continue stirring. By cooking the tomato paste first, we are taking the bitter flavor out of the tomato paste and deepening its flavor, equalling a richer tasting enchilada sauce.
Next, slowly whisk in the cold chicken broth into the roux. Then allow it to cook, stirring occasionally for 5 - 10 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken slightly. The cold broth will prevent lumps in the roux and in the final sauce.
Once the Enchilada sauce has thickened slightly, remove from the heat and add the apple cider vinegar. The vinegar will help bring out the other flavors in the sauce.
And now your Quick Homemade Enchilada Sauce is ready!
Store in the refrigerator for a week in an airtight container. Enjoy!
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PrintRecipe
Quick Enchilada Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 16 ounces 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Enchilada sauce is quick and easy to make at home and tastes the same or even better than the store-bought kind.
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups Cold Chicken Broth*
- 4 tbsp Unsalted butter / vegetable oil / ghee
- 3 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 1 large Garlic clove (minced)
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste*
Seasonings
- 1 tablespoon ground chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
Instructions
- Melt butter or heat oil in a medium saucepot. Once hot, add the flour to make a roux.
- Cook and stir constantly until the roux smells like pie crust, about 1 - 2 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, ground paprika, a pinch of cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to the roux. Cook, while mixing for another 1 - 2 minutes.
- Slowly, whisk in the cold chicken broth or veggie broth into the roux mixture, then let it cook for 5 - 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken slightly. Stirring occasionally.
- Once the enchilada sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar. Then it's ready!
Notes
Make sure the chicken broth or veggie broth is cold to prevent lumps in the enchilada sauce.
You can use vegetable broth to make it vegetarian.
If you buy the tomato paste in the can put the rest into a plastic bag. Flatten the tomato paste in the bag, then put it in the freezer. That way it can stay fresh, and you can either thaw it when you need it next or break a piece off as needed.
The Enchilada Sauce freezes well. Just thaw the sauce out before you are ready to use it. Reheat it in a saucepot with 2 - 4 tablespoon of chicken broth and its ready to use!
Keywords: enchilada sauce, Enchiladas, Homemade, Homemade enchilada sauce
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