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Enchilada sauce in jar surrounded by dried chiles and oregano.
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5 from 2 votes

Red Enchilada Sauce

Easy homemade red enchilada sauce made with dried chiles and a few seasonings in the blender.
Prep Time20 minutes
Blending time5 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 18kcal

Ingredients

  • 12 dried guajillo chiles
  • 4 cups boiling water
  • 1 small clove garlic
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste

Instructions

  • Prepare chiles. Snip off stem ends. Empty out as many seeds as possible, discard seeds. No worries about the seeds, you'll be straining the blended sauce later.
  • Place chiles in bowl, cover with boiling water and top with a plate. Let reconstitute for about 15 minutes.
  • Remove chiles from water to blender, reserving soaking liquid. Add garlic, oregano and salt. Add some soaking liquid, about ¼ cup to start. Blend until smooth and thick, adding more soaking liquid as needed, up to about ½ to ¾ cups total. I find ½ cup soaking liquid to be ideal. Taste for salt, adding another ½ teaspoon, if needed.
  • Pour sauce into fine mesh strainer over a bowl and press through, leaving a small amount of solids behind. Transfer sauce to jar or container and store in refrigerator, or freeze. Makes about 1 cup.

Video

Notes

  • Totally optional: add a very small piece of Mexican chocolate to the blender (preferably Abuelita brand).
  • Can use a mix of dried chiles, like 8 guajillo, 2 ancho and 1 arbol.
  • If you make more or double the recipe, watch the amount of soaking liquid you add so it's not too thin/watery and taste for seasonings.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoons | Calories: 18kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 301mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1393IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg