Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce Recipe

While Mexican food — particularly food made with chiles — has a reputation for being super spicy, recipe developer Stephanie Rapone says this doesn't have to be the case. With this particular enchilada sauce, she says she was going for something that "really highlights the flavors of the chiles without being spicy." In fact, the two types of dried chiles it is made with (guajillo and ancho) aren't known for their heat levels, but rather their depth of flavor. "If you want a spicier version," Rapone advises, "I would replace 1 ounce of the ancho chiles with árbol chiles."

Apart from the chiles themselves, this sauce involves a couple of other flavor elements. As Rapone tells us, "the cinnamon brings a warmth and complexity to the flavor of the sauce that you can't quite put your finger on." She also adds both honey and vinegar to the sauce, saying this "really rounds out the flavors." While the sauce can certainly be used on enchiladas (Rapone says this recipe makes enough to cover 2 pans' worth), you can also use it in other Mexican or Tex-Mex recipes.

In addition to the guajillo and ancho chiles, you'll need an onion and some garlic to make this enchilada sauce, along with a can of peeled tomatoes. As regards the tomatoes, Rapone says "My recommendation is to get whole ones, if you can, but if you can't, diced will do the job, too" since they will get pureed in the blender along with the liquid from the can.

Other sauce ingredients you'll need are oregano, cumin, cinnamon, chicken broth, salt, red wine vinegar, and honey, along with some water for soaking the chiles and thinning the sauce.

In order to make sure that your enchilada sauce is as mild as possible, you'll need to remove the seeds from the peppers. This is easily done; just snip off the ends, then shake out the seeds. Place the chiles in a heatproof container, pour some boiling water of them, then cover the container and let them sit for 30 mintues to soften.

Heat a skillet until it's nice and hot (but not pouring out smoke). You're now going to dry-toast the onion and garlic on all sides until the pieces are medium brown in color. Rapone says this should take about 2 minutes per side for the garlic and 5 minutes per side for the onion, so chances are you'll need to remove the garlic from the pan before the onion's done cooking.

Combine the softened chiles with the onions, garlic, and everything else remaining on the ingredient list in a blender and blend until it's smooth. The sauce will be pretty thick, so you'll need to thin it out with the liquid left from soaking the chiles — add this ½ cup at a time until the sauce is as thin as you want it to be. Season the sauce with salt to taste.

If you notice that the sauce has little bits of skin or other unblended stuff in it, you can always strain it before pouring it into a jar or other container. Rapone informs us that it can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 weeks, but if you won't be using it up within that time frame, you can always freeze it. As to how to use this sauce (other than on enchiladas), she says "I like to us it as a base sauce for huevos rancheros," or you might enjoy it as part of this Mexican pizza.