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Home » Accompaniments » Dips & Dressings » Vegan Red Enchilada Sauce

Vegan Red Enchilada Sauce

By Khushboo 21 Comments November 25, 2015 October 23, 2018

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Today I am sharing a recipe of homemade Vegan red enchilada sauce recipe which gets its deep red color and distinct flavor from a secret ingredient used. Make this at home and you will never buy store-bought one’s again.

Vegan enchilada sauce

Enchilada sauce is a tomato based red sauce which is the commonly used in Mexican cooking. It’s extremely versatile and not confined to only making enchiladas. You can use this enchilada sauce in almost anything you want , example – pasta, pizza, wraps , baked dishes , or on the side as a dip .

vegan enchilada sauce

I discovered about this tip on our trip to Mexico in 2013. Being an ardent Mexican cuisine fan , I have made enchilada sauce at home for years now , yes it was satisfactory but not the best. Tasted more like pasta sauce , which isn’t wrong but something was missing. I just couldn’t figure out what was it until the chef at a restaurant in Mexico was kind enough to share this game changing secret ingredient. Are you ready to know what it is …. it’s cocoa powder . Are you surprised . I had the same reaction, whoa.. cocoa in the sauce.. so interesting and out of the box for me  and I couldn’t wait to return back and experiment it. It took me about 2 tries to get the proportions right, the way I always expected it to taste and bingo I had the most amazing home made enchilada sauce . I was feeling so accomplished. And soon this sauce became our house favorite.

Moreover I have made a healthier version of this sauce- how ?

I have swapped  all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour

Added mexican spices which completes this sauce .

This sauce is  vegetarian and vegan.

You might ask , but this sauce is vegetarian , and sorry to break the bubble but authentic Mexican restaurants add chicken broth in it . You might want to check it with your servers before ordering it.

Why home-made

For all reasons above. You can control everything going into this sauce.

Make ahead of time

Make a big batch of this sauce and freeze in portion size ziplock bags or containers for future use. Stays good up to 3 months in the freezer and 5 days in the fridge.

Highlights

Vegan

Healthy

Beautiful flavors

Make ahead of time

Versatile

For this vegan enchilada sauce , I have used fresh tomatoes – blanched and pureed . 

Feel free to use store-bought tomato purée .

Pictorial  process of blanching  and cooking is shown  below –

Blanching is a technique used to peel the tomatoes easily, tomatoes are boiled for a minute or two then given a ice bath to stop further cooking. 

In a large pot , bring some water to boil which is enough to cover the tomatoes . Meanwhile take a knife and make a X slit under each tomato , this will help it peel faster .Once you see a rapid boil add in the tomatoes. Cook for 1 minute or until the skin starts to split  . Meanwhile fill another bowl with cold water and some ice. Now transfer the boiled tomatoes carefully in the cold water bowl .

Let it sit there for a minute, now carefully peel when cool , it should peel off easily .

enchiladasauce

cook the flour , add tomato purée , spices and cocoa , cover and cook – its that simple!!

en1

 thick rich sauce is ready!!

enc2 (2)

Liked this recipe?Do give it a star rating in the comments !
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3.58 from 7 votes

Vegan enchilada sauce

this healthy vegan enchilada sauce is versatile and can be made ahead of time.
Course dip, sauce
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Adjustable Servings -3 cups
Author Khushboo

Ingredients

  • 850 grams / 7-8 medium size tomatoes or 28 oz / 1 lb ready tomatoe puree
  • ½ cup water / vegetable broth
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup wheat flour/ white flour
  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoon chilly powder
  • 1 tablespoon raw sugar
  • ½ tablespoon dried oregano crushed
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder / 2 cloves freshly grated garlic
  • ½ teaspoon grounded pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • Additional water for blanching

Instructions

  • Blanch and puree the tomatoes – pictorial shown above .
  • Heat oil in a pan on low – medium heat.
  • Add in the flour and cook it for a minute stirring constantly .
  • Slowly add in the tomato puree ,stirring constantly to avoild lumps , now add the water and spices , sugar , salt . give it a quick stir .
  • Cover and let it cook on medium heat for 10 -12 minutes. Stir occasionally .
  • Tate test and adjust the spices and water .
  • Once thickened to desired consistency , switch off the flame . The sauce will thicken more after cooling. Use immediately or let it cool down and store for future use.

Notes

Tomato quality differs, taste test and adjust liquid and spices.
I have used raw sugar, use any granulated one.
Make ahead of time and freeze.
Tried this recipe?Click photo & send it @carveyourcraving or tag #carveyourcraving on Facebook or Instagram to be featured!

I hope you give it a try and make it a regular affair at your place.

enc9

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best vegan enchilada sauce from scratch

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Filed Under: Accompaniments, All Recipes, Dips & Dressings Tagged With: healthy, mexican, sauce, scratch, veganNovember 25, 2015

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Usha

    June 25, 2021 at 8:18 am

    Hi khusboo!
    I tried your pasta loaded bake today.the look was very appealing.
    For the sauce what cup measurement you take.is it the standard cups we use for measuring.!!
    Secondly nachos go soggy so is it ok if we don’t bake after puting nachos n serve it with cheese n dressing likewise.
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Khushboo

      June 29, 2021 at 3:25 pm

      Hello Usha, I am glad you liked the tex mex pasta recipe. Yes, please make it to suit your taste. Chips shouldn’t become soggy though!! Classic loaded nachos are actually baked until the cheese is melted. But again, please adjust the recipe to your preferance.

      Reply
  2. Pinky

    March 23, 2021 at 1:01 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Khusboo,

    This Enchiladas sauce recipe is amazing, way better than any store bought sauce I have tried. Never in my life would I have imagined adding cocoa to sauce but you are genius. Loved it!!!! I made the bean and veggie enchiladas topped with your sauce and super hit with my family and neighbors. Thank you!

    Reply
  3. janki parekh

    January 16, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    Hi Khushboo
    Can we skip cocoa ?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Khushboo

      January 16, 2019 at 4:43 pm

      Yes Janki you may skip cocoa. But trust me on it:)

      Reply
  4. Namrata

    April 25, 2017 at 7:31 pm

    Absolutely delicious. Damm this is what I was missing – secret ingredient cocoa . Thank you. It tasted like fine restaurant dining sauce.

    Reply
    • Khushboo

      April 26, 2017 at 1:48 pm

      Haha Namrata, yes cocoa it is 🙂

      Reply
  5. suchita

    January 15, 2016 at 8:19 am

    4 stars
    Khushboo-Lovely recipe. I just made the freen goddess dressing and the enchilada sauce. I should say till now they are the best recipes i have tried. Will bake the rest tomorrow since having guests.
    Thanks so much

    Reply
    • khushboo kothari

      January 15, 2016 at 3:35 pm

      glad to know that Suchitra <3 make sure to click your hard work 🙂

      Reply
  6. Sonal

    January 07, 2016 at 9:22 am

    You are a star ! Superb recipe .. Just made this and now making baked enchiladas per your recipe

    Reply
    • khushboo kothari

      January 07, 2016 at 9:44 am

      Lol thanks , that made me smile 🙂 hope you enjoyed it Sonal.

      Reply
  7. Prachi Wadhwa

    January 06, 2016 at 12:45 pm

    Hey Khushboo…first let me thank you for the lovely receipe….today I had made veg enchiladas for dinner…they turned out very yummy…My husband and my 2.5 yrs old daughter totally relished on it….my daughter while eating said “mumma it’s tasty….delicious”….all credits to u ?

    Reply
    • khushboo kothari

      January 07, 2016 at 9:46 am

      You are welcome Prachi , I am elated especially when you have mentioned that your toddler loved it. Hugs!

      Reply
  8. Darshna

    January 02, 2016 at 6:47 am

    Thank you so much for sharing your recipe of enchilada sauce. I made the sauce last week and it was a huge hit at our place.

    Reply
    • khushboo kothari

      January 04, 2016 at 9:56 am

      Glad to know that Darshna , thanks for a lovely feedback.

      Reply
  9. Surya

    December 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm

    Hi
    Is there any diffrnc btwn salsa and enchilada? ?

    Reply
    • khushboo kothari

      December 14, 2015 at 9:46 am

      yes there is , standard salsa is uncooked version and enchilada sauce is cooked and blended to a smooth puree

      Reply
  10. Neha

    November 26, 2015 at 9:04 am

    1 lb orlf tomato puree means?

    Reply
    • khushboo kothari

      November 26, 2015 at 9:16 am

      ready puree tin 28oz /1lb

      Reply
  11. Nupur Mehta

    November 26, 2015 at 7:44 am

    5 stars
    Wow Khushboo! Cocoa powder in enchilada sauce sounds excellent. I need to try it soon.
    I had one quick question- can your recommend type of tomatoes that you use for pasta sauce or enchilada sauce. Appreciate the help!

    Reply
    • khushboo kothari

      November 26, 2015 at 9:17 am

      i use tomatoes on vine

      Reply

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