The most delicious homemade chipotle enchilada sauce! Loaded with flavor and so simple to make, you’ll never want to go back to canned enchilada sauce again.
Why hello – spicy, smoky, healthy vegetable packed chipotle enchilada sauce!
If you love Tex-Mex flavor as much as we do, you’re going to LOVE? this sauce. This next level sauce is super easy to make in just a few steps, great for the freezer and did we talk about the flavor bump you’ll get vs canned sauce!
Just a quick note. This may not be for everyone. It’s thick and smoky with tons of flavor, not the traditional silky sauce you’ll find in the can. But if you love adding interesting variations to your dishes, with vegetables like tomatoes and onions, this is definitely right for you.
How to Make Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients needed to make this recipe:
- Tomatoes – we used Roma tomatoes for this recipe.
- Olive Oil – light extra virgin olive oil is our choice.
- Onion – yellow onion adds lots of flavor, but white onion can be substituted.
- Garlic – we love pre-minced onion for easy cooking, but peeled whole cloves can be used too.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo – this is essential for the recipe.
- Vegetable Stock – we love to use stock for our recipes for flavor, but vegetable or chicken broth can be substituted.
- Spices – cumin, oregano, salt, black pepper
Cooking Directions:
This recipe has only a few minutes of prep and a few steps for cooking, but is totally worth it for about 4 cups of luscious sauce!
First you’ll roast the tomatoes in the oven until they’re soft, about 35 minutes. Then saute the onions and garlic.
Throw the remaining ingredients into the pan and cook for a few minutes until heated thru. Carefully pour the hot sauce ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth.
You can pulse the sauce a little for chunkier sauce or a lot for nice and smooth (however you like it). We love it smooth like the classic canned enchilada sauce.
Pour the blended sauce back into the skillet and cook for about 10 minutes until thickened. Let the sauce cool in the pan then transfer to a covered container. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Freeze the Sauce
You CAN freeze this recipe too! I love to make a double or triple batch of this amazingly tasty sauce. When lazy days hit, I have a jar of this homemade sauce ready to go for a super FAST supper. Sauce keeps in the freezer for up to three months.
Fresh, healthy and homemade, this is my version of a Mexican cooking sauce you just gotta have?!
Recipes to use this sauce:
- Chipotle Sauce Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken Taco Casserole
- Beef Mexican Lasagna
- Chicken Street Enchiladas
Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 medium tomatoes we used Roma tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup yellow onion rough chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 5 whole chipotle peppers in adobo
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups vegetable stock or water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut stems off tomatoes. Roast on a rimmed sheet pan until soft, 35 – 40 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add tomatoes with any pan juices, chipotle peppers, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and stock to the pan, Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Carefully pour the hot sauce mixture into a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth. Pour back into the skillet, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until thickened. Add salt, pepper to taste.
- Cool sauce in the pan. Use right away or transfer to airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
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