This authentic enchilada sauce recipe is made with real whole dried chiles and a small piece of Mexican chocolate. Perfect for enchiladas, tacos and more! (gluten free, low carb, paleo, vegan, vegetarian)
I did it! I made a batch of authentic enchilada sauce that’s just like my mom’s!
After quite a few tries, I finally got it just right and I’m so excited to share it with you!
Unlike many enchilada sauce recipes out there, this sauce is made without any tomatoes. Instead, all the rich and savory flavors come from only a handful of ingredients – dried chiles, garlic, salt and Mexican chocolate.
(Check out this easy enchilada sauce recipe for a 10-minute version made with easy-to-find pantry ingredients like chili powder, tomato paste and broth.)
The secret ingredient in amazing enchilada sauce
The secret to getting it just right? Throw in a small piece of Mexican chocolate.
All you need is about an eighth of a circular tablet of Abuelita Mexican chocolate. If you’ve never used it before, I highly recommend you buy a pack because it’s so good! It’s normally used to make hot chocolate, but my Mom uses it to make various sauces like mole and this enchilada sauce. (Learn more about Mexican Chocolate here.)
It’s normally located in the grocery store’s Hispanic foods section, but if you can’t find it there, try looking in the hot chocolate section. If you prefer shopping online, you can easily find it on Amazon hereĀ {affiliate link}.
Don’t have Mexican chocolate? That’s okay! A good substitute is a little unsweetened cocoa powder and turbinado/raw sugar.
Dried chiles for authentic enchilada sauce
For this sauce, I’m using dried chiles. If you’ve never used them before, don’t freak out! They’re super easy to use and once you taste the rich and complex flavor they give this sauce, you’ll never go back to the bland store-bought stuff.
Like Mexican chocolate, dried chiles are often located in the Hispanic Foods section at the grocery store, but I’ve also seen them hanging near the fresh chiles in the produce aisle.
If your local grocery store doesn’t carry them, you can purchase them online here:
How to make authentic enchilada sauce
- Prepare the dried chiles by removing and discarding the stem. You ca also remove and discard the seeds if you’re extra sensitive to spicy foods.
- Rehydrate the dried chiles by placing them in hot water. Let them soak for about 20 minutes.
- Transfer chiles to a blender and puree with garlic, Mexican chocolate and salt until completely smooth.
That’s it! Your sauce is ready to go!
What to make with enchilada sauce
Now you’re ready to use the sauce on your favorite enchilada recipe! Here are just a few ideas of what you can make:
- red chicken enchiladas
- easy red chilaquiles
- easy chicken tamale casserole
- quinoa enchilada bake
- vegetarian spinach enchiladas
- enchilada cabbage rolls
There are so many possibilities, you’re going to love it!
Be sure to check out my recipe for Green Enchilada Sauce, too!
INGREDIENTS
- 4 dried guajillo chiles, rinsed and stems removed
- 2 dried ancho chiles, rinsed and stems removed
- 1 arbol chile, rinsed and stems removed
- 4 cups hot water
- 1 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/8 tablet Abuelita Mexican chocolate, (about 12 grams)*
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large bowl, add dried chiles and hot water. (If you're very sensitive to spicy food, you can also remove the seeds from the dried chiles, if desired.) Cover bowl with a large plate or plastic wrap and let the chiles soak on the counter for 20 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles into a large blender.
- Add in 1 cup of the chile-soaked water, 1/2 cup of fresh water, garlic, salt and Mexican chocolate. Puree until completely smooth. Add more water if the sauce is too thick for your liking.
- Cover and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use, up to two weeks. Use in red chicken enchiladas, easy red chilaquiles or chicken tamale casserole.
Chris Brown says
(realize I’m chuckling) The grocery store stopped selling a ‘mexican’ labeled enchilada sauce that we liked. We did not like the new options; so I decided to give your recipe ‘a go’. Afterall, it’s a ‘mexican’ recipe, it was a ‘mexican’ enchilada sauce that we liked. Ohhhh, imagine my surprise when I did the pinky finger taste test. My heat index is like 3, hubby’s is closer to an 8. I made a 2nd batch removing the arbol chili and still…hot. Fine, I must really need the American wimpy version. Made that, I’m not that wimpy. I added the last batch of your pepper recipe to the American version…its almost perfect. Thanks for sharing your momma’s recipe, A midwest farmer’s granddaughter
Isabel says
So happy you liked it, Chris! š
CHRISSY says
Thank you Isabel!!!!!My neighbor is from Mexico and makes bad ass enchilada sauce..he made it with me one day…but a few drinks during..and I couldn’t exactly remember how to do it..and I have asked him several times ..and he won’t tell me. So tonight I will be making cheese enchiladas and taking some oer to him..so I can say HAH!!..LOL
MUCHO GARCIAS
Isabel says
Hahaha, sounds like he doesn’t want to tell you his secret recipe! I’m glad I was able to help. I only hope it was as good as your neighbor’s. Buen provecho!
Candace M says
Just made this… super tasty. Can’t wait to make the mushroom enchiladas with it.
Isabel says
Yay! Thanks, Candace š I’m glad you liked it!
Megan H. says
Hi Isabel. I (actually my husband) stumbled upon your slow cooker posole recipe and I am excited to try it and this. I don’t know if any of older family members has one but find a good enchilada sauce recipe is difficult! And getting exact measurements, that is even harder. My mom just sends me pictures of what she does and I write it down. I pray I don’t lose the recipe. ?
Isabel says
I hope this recipe lives up to your mom’s! Mom’s always make the best Mexican food š
Em says
I’ve only used Guajillo chiles, Never spicy, but perfect!! š
Isabel says
Love that!
Janice says
Hi Isabel,
I really want to try your enchilada sauce but I have a problem. I love spice, my husband Doesn’t….. Any idea how I can keep all that wonderful pepper flavor with no spice? Crazy right?
Thank you,
Janice
Isabel says
Hi Janice,
I would omit the arbol chiles and start with only a few peppers in the mixure at a time. Taste it and then add more if necessary.
Paul says
Hi, I’m from South Texas and also spent a lot of time alongside fine cooks in New Mexico and in my books you have hit the bullseye here for the genuine taste of red enchilada sauce. That chile combo is GREAT. I doubled the batch. Might add more arbol next time because I’d like a little more heat. Only changes I made were to up the garlic by half, reduce salt by a third, and added one teaspoon of cumin. I’m reducing it a bit because I’d like it slightly thicker. This is going on smoked chicken enchiladas tonight. Thank you and please thank your mom for us. It’s so easy and delicious. Ā”Es para chuparse los dedos!
Isabel says
Gracias, Paul! I’m so flattered š I’ll definitely let my mom know. That means so much!
Rene says
If I want a less spicy sauce, which chili types should I leave out or use less of?
Thanks!
Isabel says
I would omit the arbol chiles. Those can be quite spicy!
Apurva says
Hey me in India … whr do I get this chocolate n these different chillies … by wat name shud I ask ??
Lauren says
Hi Isabel, How spicy is the sauce? I can only eat mild salsa, and sauces. If I used a third of the arbol chile would it add some taste without too much heat? I am desperately trying to find an enchilada sauce that tastes like the El Cholo Restaurant (in So Cal) sauce . It has such a rich flavor, your sauce has the same rich, deep color so I am keeping my fingers crossed ! Thanks! Lauren from Orange Co, CA
Isabel says
Hi Lauren! I would suggest making it without the arbol chile and then see if it’s okay. Maybe even use fewer chiles than the recipe, blend the sauce together, taste and then add more if it’s not spicy enough. Heat and spice level is so subjective, so I recommend starting with a little and adding more as you go.
Diana Moore says
Hello this recipe sounds wonderful, but I get heartburn very easy. Which dried chillies do you recommend for the most mild sauce? And how many? Thanks so much!!
Isabel says
Definitely drop the arbol chiles. Those can be spicy. I would keep the other chiles but maybe only blend a few at a time, taste and add more if necessary.
Jeffrey says
Good flavor. Easy enough to actually use. Great all-around recipe.
2 notes, I found the sauce to be too watery. I ended up reducing it on the stove and it worked out well, but next time I’ll do 1.5 cups of water instead of 2.
Second, it’s spicy! I love it, but didn’t expect it from an enchilada sauce. Be warned if you’re cooking for picky eaters. Maybe drop the arbol pepper?
Nick P says
Agreed. I found this is to be more of a salsa than classic enchilada sauce.
M. Wallace-Burns says
Hi Isabel! This recipe sounds great! I think I’m going to give it a try next week. Do you suggest dipping the corn tortillas in the sauce before the fry/roll of the enchilada or do you suggest a pour over method after the enchiladas are rolled? Thanks!
Isabel says
Hey Marjorie, if you fry the tortillas first, I recommend dipping them right after that step. But if you’re not frying them, I would use the pour over method.
Carmela says
Hey I want to make this tonight I only don’t have the chocalate:( can it be substituted or on without it.
Isabel says
Hey Carmela, you can make it without the chocolate. That shouldn’t be an issue.
Nina Ishida says
Isabel, I can’t wait to make this sauce. I make a similar sauce where I toast the chiles then blend them and then strain the chiles sauce from the blender through a strainer. It’s a lot of work and it’s really good but too time consuming. My girlfriend says she doesn’t toast or strain and I thought really? Hmmm my brother in law is a fabulous cook and told me to do all these steps. But now that I see your recipe I going to make the enchilada sauce this way. I’m will probably make it tomorrow because I love to be able to whip up enchiladas whenever I want and this recipe will allow me to do that. I love the mexican chocolate I’m sure it gives the sauce a rich taste similar to mole.
Isabel says
Hi Nina, I hope you love it! Both ways of making enchilada sauce are good, they’re just different. This is how my mom makes her enchilada sauce, so that’s why I do it this way. It’s super easy and quick!
Nina says
Isabel,
I made the sauce and it’s fabulous! I love adding the Arbol chiles it adds heat and my family loves spicy. I doubled the recipe and I wouldn’t change a thing. This is my new red sauce for many things not just enchiladas. Oh, and the mexican chocolate was exactly what I had been looking for in an enchilada sauce.
My girlfriends are coming over on Cinco de Mayo and I can’t wait to use this sauce for my enchiladas.
I will never go back to the long process of making enchilada sauce.
Shhhhh, don’t tell my brother in law.
Thank you, thank you!
Isabel says
Woo hoo!! I’m so happy that you loved it and that you’re sharing it with your girlfriends. An awesome choice for Cinco de Mayo. I wish I could join you!
Paul says
Thanks! I find it amusing, in a perverse, almost depressing manner, that almost every “scratch” enchilada sauce I found online (before this one) uses chili powder as the starting point. An improvement over the one I found a decade or so ago that used Ketchup, but still, chili powder?.
I hope to make this for my saturday dinner, and that I can find guajillo chilis, somewhere.
Thanks again for using chilis—cooking, not a science project!
Isabel says
Thanks, Paul. First of all, I can’t believe you found a recipe that used KETCHUP in an enchilada sauce! Wow – who would do that?! Haha, I can’t get over that. And second, thanks so much for all the kind words. I totally understand how you feel about the recipes that use chili powder. I’ve never actually tried them myself, but all I know is that my mom makes enchilada sauce with actual dried chiles so I wanted to keep it authentic. š
Alexis says
Did you use a fresh out dried arbol Chili?
Isabel says
Hi Alexis, I used dried arbol chile.
Teresa says
Made this. Love it!!
Isabel says
Thank you! š
Kim says
Is it necessary to buy 3 different kinds of chilies?
Isabel says
Hi Kim, it’s not absolutely necessary but each chile gives the sauce a distinct flavor. If you can’t find all of the chiles, you can use only two of them. The flavor won’t be the same but it will still be good.
Brandon G. says
Used this recipe last night and it turned out excellent, thank you!
Isabel says
Thanks, Brandon! I’m so glad you liked it š The sauce is seriously good on so many things.