Red Enchilada Sauce Recipe (Authentic Tex-Mex w/Video)

The use of real ancho chiles, a proper roux base, and the signature red oil slick are hallmarks of authentic Tex-Mex enchilada sauce. The consistency and flavor profile are exactly what you'd find in Texas's best Tex-Mex restaurants.

For starters, they're the secret to making the best Authentic Red Enchilada Sauce! In Spanish, "ancho" means "wide" which is where this Mexican chili get its name. Ancho chilis are poblano peppers that have been allowed to ripen to red, then dried, developing a rich, complex flavor that's slightly sweet with notes of raisin and coffee.

When making enchilada sauce at home, using whole dried ancho chilis is what sets this sauce apart from lackluster quick enchilada sauce recipes. Unlike recipes that rely solely on chili powder and dried spices, using whole dried ancho chiles creates that deep, authentic restaurant-style taste that's impossible to achieve with powdered spices alone.

When selecting your ancho chiles, look for ones that are pliable rather than brittle, with a rich burgundy color and sheen. They should have a sweet, fruity aroma with no musty notes.

Don't worry about the heat level – ancho chiles are mild, typically rating between 1,000-2,000 Scoville units, making this enchilada sauce family-friendly while still delivering impressive depth of flavor.

Absolutely! Enchilada sauce actually improves after a day in the refrigerator as the flavors meld. It keeps for 5 days refrigerated and freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. When reheating, use a bit of chicken stock to thin it out as needed. When I make this sauce, I often triple or quadruple it so I can make enchiladas with ease anytime I want with minimal effort.

This sauce has a mild-to-medium heat level that can be adjusted to taste. Ancho chiles provide more flavor than heat, while the chili powder adds a gentle warmth. Add cayenne pepper (whole or powdered) to the sauce to make this a spicy enchilada sauce.

This version uses real dried chiles which creates a more complex, restaurant-style flavor profile. In my opinion, this is the GOAT enchilada sauce recipe!

Quick versions typically rely solely on chili powder and dried spices and often taste flat because they lack acidity to balance the warmth of the sauce. These versions often lack the depth, flavor, and authentic characteristics of traditional Tex-Mex sauce.

While both are Mexican-inspired sauces, they serve distinct purposes in cooking. Enchilada sauce tends to be richer and more complex, with a gravy-like texture that's perfect for coating tortillas. It's typically warmed before use and features dried chiles as its base.

Taco sauce, on the other hand, is thinner and more acidic, designed to be drizzled over finished dishes like a traditional condiment or salsa. Think of enchilada sauce as more of a cooking sauce or gravy, while taco sauce functions more like a condiment similar to hot sauce.

Authentic enchilada sauce of course! This is the biggest secret to making the best enchiladas. This starts by using dried whole chilis and not simply relying solely on pre-ground chili powder and spices.

Also, making your own homemade stock or broth will take your enchilada game to new heights. For convenience, it's easy to use store-bought chicken or beef stock, but flavor-wise (and health-wise) these pale in comparison to homemade stocks and broths.

Homemade chicken stock can be quickly made in a pressure cooker (my favorite way to make it) or in an Instantpot in 30 minutes or on the stovetop in about 1 ½ hours.

Yes, there is a difference! Let me break it down:

Enchilada sauce actually comes in several varieties, with red (roja) and green (verde) being the two main types. When someone just says "enchilada sauce" without specifying a color, they're usually referring to red enchilada sauce, as it's the most common variety, but there are important distinctions:

Red enchilada sauce (salsa roja):
-Made with red chiles (like ancho, guajillo, or cascabel)
-Has a rich, earthy flavor with mild to medium heat
-Often includes tomatoes (though traditional versions may not)
-Light orange-ish red color to deep red-brown color
-Most commonly used in Tex-Mex and Northern Mexican cuisine

Other enchilada sauce varieties include:
-Green enchilada sauce (made with tomatillos and green chiles)
-Mole enchilada sauce (made with chocolate and various chiles)
-White enchilada sauce (cream-based)

So while "enchilada sauce" and "red enchilada sauce" are often used interchangeably in recipes and restaurants, specifying "red" helps distinguish it from these other delicious variations.

No, enchilada sauce and salsa are distinctly different! Think of it this way: enchilada sauce is more like a gravy, while salsa is more like a fresh relish or condiment. Let me explain the key differences:

Enchilada Sauce:
-Smooth, gravy-like consistency
-Cooked sauce made with a roux base (flour and fat)
-Uses dried chiles (like anchos) and/or chile powder and spicees
-Often includes chicken broth (sometimes beef or vegetable stock)
-Meant to be heated and used as a cooking sauce
-Designed to coat and infuse tortillas

Salsa:
-Usually chunky or pureed but not gravy-like
-Raw or briefly cooked
-Made with fresh ingredients (tomatoes, onions, cilantro, etc.)
-Water or juice-based
-Served cold or room temperature as a condiment
-Designed to be a topping or dip

While both play important roles in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, they have different purposes and preparations. Enchilada sauce is specifically crafted for its ability to coat and soften tortillas while baking, creating that classic enchilada texture.

Using salsa instead would give you a very different dish - it would be more watery and wouldn't provide the same rich, clingy coating that defines proper enchiladas.

The flavor profile of traditional red enchilada sauce is rich and earthy from the dried ancho chiles and chili powder with slightly sweet, subtle umami undertones from the lard and butter. It typically has a mild to medium heat level (not typically very spicy) with depth and complexity from toasted cumin and fresh garlic notes.

The texture and body of enchilada sauce is smooth and velvety with a thin gravy-like consistency that coats the back of a spoon. It's rich and never watery.

It's more complex than plain tomato sauce, and it has a much deeper flavor than taco sauce. It's a balanced blend of chile and spices with a hint of tanginess from apple cider vinegar and savory notes from chicken stock.

Unlike store-bought enchilada sauce that often tastes watery and mainly of tomato and powdered spices, authentic enchilada sauce made with whole dried chiles has a much more nuanced flavor profile. There is no comparison to canned enchilada sauce and this recipe!

Enchilada sauce shouldn't taste raw, bitter, or harsh. When properly made, it should have a mellow, well-developed taste that enriches rather than overwhelms the other ingredients in your enchiladas.

Think of it as a Mexican-style gravy that's savory and rich without being overly spicy. The goal is to enhance and complement your enchilada fillings rather than dominate them.

Tex-Mex enchilada sauce is also often referred to as Red Chile Sauce (Salsa Roja). This is the most traditional name, especially when made with dried red chiles like this recipe using ancho chilis (or cascabel or guajillo chilis).

It's also referred to as Mexican Red Sauce (a common American term for the sauce), Tex-Mex Red Sauce (specifically referring to the style used in Tex-Mex cuisine), Chile Gravy (a specific term used in Tex-Mex cuisine, particularly in Texas, for the roux-based enchilada sauce), Red Enchilada Gravy (another regional term, particularly common in Texas and the Southwest).

Mole (particularly mole negro) is much more complex, often containing 20+ ingredients including chocolate, multiple types of chiles, nuts, and spices. Mole requires much longer cooking time and more elaborate preparation. It also has a thicker consistency and is usually served as a finished sauce over meat or rice. Enchilada sauce is simpler, focusing on the chile flavor with fewer additional ingredients.

Sometimes even the best cooks get busy or distracted and make mistakes while cooking! If for any reason your enchilada sauce is too thin (maybe you added 6 cups of broth instead of 4 by mistake), here are the best ways to thicken enchilada sauce after it's already been made:

Reduce the Sauce:
Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat until desired thickness is reached, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or scorching. This concentrates flavors while also thickening.

Use a Cornstarch Slurry:
Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water until combined. Whisk it into the simmering sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened.

Use Masa Harina:
For thickening enchilada sauce with masa harina, use 1 tablespoon masa harina mixed with 2-3 tablespoons warm water for each cup of sauce.
Whisk the masa paste into simmering enchilada sauce. *This will add a corn flavor to the sauce.

Use Extra Tomato Paste:
Add 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste to the sauce and simmer briefly. Adding more paste than called for in the recipe will also deepen the color and intensify the tomato flavor.

Thickening Tips for Success (After It's Already Been Made):
-Always add thickeners gradually
-Keep sauce simmering when adding thickeners
-Continue stirring while sauce thickens
-Let sauce cool slightly before judging final thickness as it will continue to thicken

Common Mistakes to Avoid:
-Don't add raw flour directly to hot sauce
-Avoid over-thickening as sauce will thicken more as it cools
-Don't boil vigorously when reducing as this can affect flavor
-Don't add cold thickeners to hot sauce or hot thickeners to cold sauce which will make it lumpy

Canned enchilada sauce is typically made with a lot of water, added sugar, too much salt, and other overly processed, unnatural ingredients that have nothing to do with authentic enchilada sauce. Here are some popular canned red enchilada sauces and their list of ingredients:

Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce Ingredients:
Water, Tomato Puree (water, tomato paste), Modified Corn Starch. Contains 2% or less of: Sugar, Salt, Chile Pepper, Soybean Oil, Vinegar, Spice, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Onion Powder, Natural Flavor, Color (black carrot and paprika extract).

Ortega Enchilada Sauce (Ortega Mild Red Enchilada Sauce):
Water, Tomato Paste, Modified Corn Starch, Salt, Onion Powder, Ground Chili Pepper, Soybean Oil, Spices, Garlic Powder, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Corn, Soy and Wheat Gluten Proteins, Torula Yeast, Soy Flour. 

LA VICTORIA® Red Enchilada Sauce Mild: (This looks like a healthier and tastier choice than Ortega or Old El Paso enchilada sauces above)

Water, red chile peppers, modified food starch, dehydrated California chile peppers, soybean oil, less than 2% of salt, distilled vinegar, dehydrated pasilla chile peppers, garlic, spice

Using any other dried chili for this recipe will result in a very different flavor profile, but in a pinch the closest substitute for dried ancho chiles is mulato peppers. Mulatos are similar in appearance (with a slightly higher heat level of 2,000-3,000 Scoville units), and flavor profile.

Both are dried poblano peppers, but mulato chilis are made from fully ripened (dark brown/black) poblanos, while anchos are made from partially ripened (red) poblanos.

If mulato chilis aren't available as a substitute, here are the next best alternatives, in order of similarity and how to substitute them:

-Pasilla chiles (similar mild heat, though slightly more raisin-like in flavor)
-Guajillo chiles (brighter, fruitier flavor but similar mild heat level)
-California or New Mexico chiles (much spicier, but similar earthy notes)

For the enchilada sauce specifically, I'd recommend:
-First choice: Mulato chiles (1:1 substitution)
-Second choice: A combination of guajillo and pasilla (equal parts of each to equal the amount of ancho called for)

Common causes of grainy enchilada sauce include using excessive amounts of flour (my recipe uses a mere ½ cup flour for what ends up being 5 cups of sauce made with 4 cups chicken stock plus additional ingredients that melt and become liquid). Also, not whisking the roux thoroughly, adding cold liquid to the roux, not adding enough liquid, and reducing the sauce too long are all ways you can end up with grainy enchilada sauce (see the grainy enchilada sauce vs my smooth enchilada sauce comparison photo below).

Quick fixes:
-If your sauce is already grainy, try blending it in small batches in a blender or using an immersion blender with a little extra chicken stock until smooth
-Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps if needed
-Gradually whisk in hot broth or water to help smooth out the consistency
-If the sauce is too thick, thin it with warm broth while whisking constantly

Prevention tips:
-Whisk constantly when adding the stock to prevent lumps from forming
-Add hot (or warm) stock, not cold, to prevent the roux from seizing
-Add the full amount of stock called for in the recipe and have a little extra on hand should you need to thin it out

You'll never have to worry about grainy enchilada sauce when using this recipe, which has the perfect ratio of flour to liquid and results in a smooth, velvety sauce every time.