I LOVE enchiladas but I’m not a big fan of canned enchiladas sauces so I usually opt for a jar of our favorite Trader Joe’s salsa verde instead. But every so often you (and I) want a yummy red sauce and this is the (easy!) solution.

This homemade red enchilada sauce is flavored with chipotle in adobo for a mild smokey kick. You can add hot chili powder if you want to really taste the heat. This recipe makes almost 4 cups of sauce so enough for 2-3 pans of enchiladas. Leftover sauce can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for months. The filling I used in the enchiladas above was from this recipe, and it was good but not something we’re dying to make again. This sauce on the other hand, we loved and will be using regularly! Try it to replace the salsa in this skillet enchilada recipe or here or here.

The Best Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I used homemade chicken broth and added an extra pinch of salt)
3 cups canned tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, chopped (can add more to taste)
1 tsp. chili powder (or Mexican hot chili powder for more heat)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
fresh black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the oil and garlic; sauté until golden, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, chipotle chiles, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 7-10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Makes about 4 cups enchilada sauce.

(Adapted from Skinnytaste)