Homemade Enchilada SauceSimple To Make, Much Better Than CannedVegan And Gluten Free

This delicious enchilada sauce is simple to make!

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Enchilada Sauce
I was making an enchilada casserole for dinner guests last weekend and couldn't seem to find any enchilada sauce in my cabinet. So I thought I'd try to make my own. I was going to attempt my son's famous enchilada sauce but he does everything from scratch and I knew I didn't have the time, patience, or ingredients. But I did have some Regular Chili Powder from Penseys Spices, made from Ancho chili peppers, and some wonderful tomato sauce that I canned from my garden along with a few other ingredients, so I gave it a try. It came out so much better than the stuff you buy in a can. For some reason, most of the store-bought enchilada sauce taste bitter and a little metallic. If you're making enchiladas, I think you'll really like this sauce!

This recipe makes a pretty big batch (six cups) so use what you need and freeze the rest. I can't get a solid reading on whether or not enchilada sauce requires a pressure canner or just a hot water bath so to be safe, it's going in the freezer.

I like to use Ball's BPA-free plastic freezer cups. Just mark the date and contents on the cups and pop them in the freezer until you need them.

Freeze extra enchilada sauce in Ball freezer cups.

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Enchilada Sauce (Medium Heat)
Vegan, Gluten-Free (when using corn or other GF flour)
[makes 12 (1/2-cup) servings]

2 cups plus 2 tablespoon hot water
1 whole Rapunzel vegetable bouillon cube with herbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup finely diced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Penseys regular chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper*
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons corn flour
2 (15 oz) cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
* For mild, reduce to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or less. For hot, increase to 1 teaspoon.

Make veggie broth by dissolving an entire Rapunzel bouillon cube in 2 cups of hot water. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven and cook the onions on medium-low heat until they soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. 

Add the chili powder, cayenne, cumin, oregano, and salt. 

Stir until well combined. 

Add the flour.

Stir the flour into the onion and spice mixture until well combined.

Slowly stir in the broth.

After the broth is completely incorporated, stir in the tomato sauce.

Blend the sauce until smooth, using an immersion hand blender or a regular blender.

Once smooth, use in any recipe that calls for enchilada sauce. Refrigerate or freeze until needed.

Per serving: 57 calories, 2 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 29 mg omega-3 and 331 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.5 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 2.5 g dietary fiber, and 325 mg sodium.