Authentic Red Chile Sauce Recipe (Enchilada Sauce)
An authentic dried chili based red sauce that is mixed in a blender and can be used as an easy enchilada sauce or enhanced for other recipe options.
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Mexican, Mexican American
Servings: 2 cups
Cost: $5
1 Blender
3 quart saucepan
- 3 ounces Dried New Mexico Red Chile Pods, (Seeds and stems removed)
- 6 cloves fresh garlic
- 4 cups cold water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Boil Chiles: Fill pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Add the garlic and the dried chile pods and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Blend Chiles: After 30 minutes turn off the heat. Put the chile pods and garlic into a blender with a strainer. Don't discard the water yet.
Add one cup of the water that the chile was simmering in and blend the chiles until they become a thick chili sauce (about 3 minutes). It should be smooth with no seeds or skin.
Optional: Sift the sauce through a strainer or fine sieve to get any chunks or remaining seeds out.
When Picking Dried Chile:
- New Mexico (or California) Dried Chile will be bright red and have an earthy flavor with slight heat. These are hatch chiles.
- Guajillo or Pasilla peppers will be darker in color and sweeter with a flavor that is richer with no heat.
Optional: If there is still skin and seeds in the red chile sauce then pour the red chile sauce through a mesh strainer to separate.
Storage: This can be used immediately or you can store in a mason jar for up to 10 days in the refrigerator. Otherwise freeze in quart sized baggies to make it last up to one year.
Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 1227mg | Potassium: 832mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 11265IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 3mg