Homemade Ancho Chili Enchilada Sauce
This homemade enchilada sauce made with Pasilla Ancho and Red California dried chili peppers is rich and flavorful.
Have you ever seen packages of dried chili peppers in the grocery store and wondered what to make with them?
It wasn’t until I realized they’re used for making enchilada sauce, that I started looking closer at them in the store.
I began reading the labels about what type of chili peppers they were, and what kind of taste they had.
Now I buy dried chili peppers all the time so that I can have them on hand to make quick batches of enchilada sauce.
Homemade enchilada sauce is one of those recipes where you put all of the ingredients in the “pool” or in this case, the blender.
Then blend them together and that’s really it.
About this Recipe
When making this sauce, the items in the blender will be warm so it’s important to use caution when blending because steam can build up and blow the lid off of the blender.
Tips on using a blender to blend hot/warm ingredients are below in the step-by-step instructions and also in the recipe at the bottom of this post.
Some recipes call for straining the sauce after blending it, but I generally don’t take the time to do that.
Mostly because my mouth is watering and my stomach is growling too loud, so I need to hurry up and make enchiladas with lots of homemade sauce on them.
Types of Dried Chilies Used in this Recipe
In this recipe I used a combination of dried chiles.
One is the Pasilla Ancho chili which has a brownish red color when soaked.
It’s mild and has a rich and slightly smoky flavor.
I also used Chili California peppers.
They’re more on the spicy side and are a beautiful red color when soaked.
Uses for Enchilada Sauce
A batch of sauce can be made ahead of time and makes a wonderful gift when put in mason jars.
Enchilada sauce is so flavorful and can be used to make, what else but…cheese or meat enchiladas.
Let’s check out the ingredients.
Preparing (Soaking) the Dried Chili Peppers – Pasilla Ancho dried chili peppers, Chili California dried peppers and water
Sauce – prepared (soaked) dried chili peppers, water from the soaking liquid, salt, ground cumin, beef bouillon granules, dried Mexican oregano, sugar, cinnamon, masa flour, onion, garlic, lime juice, pepper and water
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.
For the Dried Chili Peppers:
Toast
Toasting the Pasilla Ancho and California dried peppers brings out more flavor from the chiles.
Toasting the Dried Chili Peppers – Rinse and dry off the dried chili peppers.
Heat a large skillet to medium heat.
Add the chiles to the pan and lightly brown each side of the peppers.
The images above show just the California red chili peppers being toasted in the pan. I toasted the Pasilla Ancho dried peppers separately in another batch so not to overcrowd the skillet.
TIP – Depending on the size of the pan used, you may need to toast the peppers in batches so not to overcrowd the pan.
Remove from the skillet and let cool.
Carefully snap off the stems and shake out the seeds in a bowl.
If needed, break the peppers in half to shake out the seeds.
Discard the stems and the seeds.
Boil
Boiling (Soaking) the Dried Chili Peppers – Fill a large pot about half full with water…
…and add the chiles.
Bring the water to a boil for 30 minutes…
…then cover the pan and remove from the heat.
Let sit for another 45 minutes to an hour.
Season and Blend
Using tongs, transfer the chiles to a blender.
To the blender, add 3 cups of the soaking liquid…
…beef bouillon granules…
…Mexican oregano…
…salt…
…ground cumin…
…pepper…
…onion…
…garlic…
…lime juice…
…masa flour…
…water, and cinnamon.
Blending the Warm Ingredients – The next step is to blend the warm ingredients.
When using a blender for hot liquids it’s very important to use caution; since the ingredients are hot, steam can build up and blow the lid off of the blender.
Here are some tips when using a blender for hot liquids:
– add the soup to the blender jar in batches that are no larger than 1/3 full
– remove the center piece from the blender lid
– place the lid (minus the center piece) on the blender jar
– cover the lid with a clean towel folded to a size slightly larger than the lid
– hold the towel over the lid while blending on the lowest speed
Next…
…blend on the sauce setting.
Taste the sauce and if needed, add more salt.
Serve
Serve warm…
…over cheese or meat enchiladas…
…burritos (for a wet burrito)…
…or over pulled pork.
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Homemade Ancho Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
For Preparing (Soaking) the Dried Chili Peppers:
- 1 package (1.5 ounces) Pasilla Ancho dried chili peppers
- 1 package (3 ounces) package dried Chili California peppers
- Water for boiling (soaking) chili peppers
For the Sauce:
- Prepared dried Pasilla Ancho and California Chili Peppers
- 3 cups of the soaking liquid from boiling the chiles
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 onion coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 lime juiced
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano leaves
- 2 pinches ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons masa flour
- 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
Equipment
- Blender
Instructions
For Preparing (Soaking) the Dried Chili Peppers:
- Rinse and dry off the dried chili peppers.
- Toasting the Dried Chili Peppers - Toasting the Pasilla Ancho and California dried peppers brings out more flavor from the chiles.Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add the chiles to the pan and lightly brown each side of the peppers. Remove from the skillet and let cool. Depending on the size of the pan used, you may need to toast the peppers in batches so not to overcrowd the pan.
- Carefully snap off the stems and shake out the seeds in a bowl. If needed, break the peppers in half to shake out the seeds. Discard the stems and the seeds.
- Boiling/Soaking the Dried Chili Peppers - Fill a large pot about half full with water and add the chiles. Bring the water to a boil for 30 minutes then cover the pan and remove from the heat. Let sit for another 45 minutes to an hour.
For the Sauce:
- Using tongs, transfer the chiles to a blender. Add 3 cups of the soaking liquid to the blender.
- To the blender add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, lime juice, oregano, cinnamon, sugar, masa flour, and beef bouillon granules.
- Blending the Warm Ingredients - The next step is to blend the warm ingredients.
- When using a blender for hot liquids it’s very important to use caution; since the ingredients are hot, steam can build up and blow the lid off of the blender.Here are some tips when using a blender for hot liquids:- add the soup to the blender jar in batches that are no larger than 1/3 full- remove the center piece from the blender lid- place the lid (minus the center piece) on the blender jar- cover the lid with a clean towel folded to a size slightly larger than the lid- hold the towel over the lid while blending on the lowest speed
- Blend on the sauce setting. Taste the sauce and if needed, add more salt.
- Serve warm over cheese or meat enchiladas, burritos (for a wet burrito), or over pulled pork.
Notes
TIPS:
- Depending on the size of the pan used, you may need to toast the peppers in batches so not to overcrowd the pan.
- When using a blender for hot liquids it’s very important to use caution; since the ingredients are hot, steam can build up and blow the lid off of the blender.
- Here are some tips when using a blender for hot liquids:
-
- add the soup to the blender jar in batches that are no larger than 1/3 full
- remove the center piece from the blender lid
- place the lid (minus the center piece) on the blender jar
- cover the lid with a clean towel folded to a size slightly larger than the lid
- hold a towel over the lid while blending on the lowest speed
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is delicious poured over a burrito for a “wet burrito“.
And it’s great for drizzling over pulled pork.
Here’s a “3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Pulled Pork recipe” that this enchilada sauce would taste delicious on.
Recipes Made with Enchilada Sauce
One-Skillet Enchilada Sauce Taco Meat
Homemade Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
Mexican Food Recipes
More Mexican Food Recipes You May Like:
Corned Beef Taquitos with Homemade Avocado Sauce
Mexican Fideo Pasta with Vegetables
Hello Nancy my name is Glen, in the pictures of the chilies that you’re frying look pretty red are those what ancho Chili’s look like or not quite sure about these dry chilies yet. Thank You
Hi Glen, thank you so much for your message. You’re right, the chiles being toasted in the pan are the California red dried peppers and not the Pasilla Ancho dried peppers. I just added a short explanation by the images in the pan noting that just the California red chiles are shown. The Ancho peppers are darker, and their skin isn’t as smooth as the California red peppers (the ancho peppers are in the pictures below the images of chiles in the pan). Thank you again for your question!