Gluten-free enchilada sauce is the secret to making good tasting gluten-free Enchiladas. This recipe is low carb and easy to prepare. Enjoy it on enchiladas, tacos, or your morning eggs.
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I grew up in the Southwest and one of my favorite foods was enchiladas. In Arizona and Texas, when you order enchiladas in a restaurant, it’s understood that you want enchiladas with red sauce. In New Mexico, enchiladas with green sauce is available, too, and so so good. Today I’m sharing a low carb and gluten-free red enchilada sauce that is perfect on eggs, breakfast omelettes or burritos and of course… enchiladas!
Red Enchilada Sauce is the secret to making good tasting Enchiladas. Making a traditional red enchilada sauce involves re-hydrating dried chile peppers, blending them (in a blender) with chicken broth and spices, and then cooking the sauce on the stove until the flavors mingle and the sauce thickens.
There are many “quick” enchilada sauce recipes on the internet, but most involve making a roux with flour and chicken stock and ground chile powder instead of whole dried chiles . The roux thickens the sauce and helps make it smooth. The chile powder gives the sauce its distinctive flavor and saves time.
This is gluten-free enchilada sauce recipe that is easy to make and low carb. It calls for REAL GROUND CHILE POWDER and is thickened with tomato paste instead of a roux. I developed this recipe several years ago when we were following a casein-free and gluten-free diet.
For this red enchilada sauce to taste its best, make sure you use REAL GROUND CHILE POWDER. I buy it in the Mexican section of my grocery store. There are usually two to three kinds to choose from. For a more complex flavor, I mix them together.
The ingredient list for this enchilada sauce is a little long, but you should have all of the ingredients in your spice cabinet. Don’t worry, this recipe is very easy. Simply add the ingredients to a pan and simmer on the stove. You will want to have 1 1/2 – 2 cups of enchilada sauce at the end of cooking, so add more chicken broth (or water) to equal 1 1/2 – 2 cups if you need to. If you would like more heat, add cayenne pepper.
This low carb enchilada sauce recipe makes enough sauce for 1 batch of enchiladas (to serve eight people). If you are using it to sauce tacos or eggs, simmer and reduce the red sauce further to thicken it and concentrate the flavors. It’s so good on eggs!
[NOTE:] Why are instant coffee, clove, and cinnamon listed in the ingredients? The coffee adds a smokey flavor to the sauce while the clove and cinnamon lend complexity. This is a very tasty low carb enchilada sauce.
1/4 cup of this Gluten-free Enchilada Sauce is 3 net carbs.
Gluten-free Enchilada Sauce (Low Carb Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 cups unsalted chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp pure chile powder*
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon low carb sugar (or Swerve Granulated or sugar if not low carb)
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee powder
- 1/16 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/16 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients into a medium to large frying pan on medium heat.
- Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the red enchilada sauce has reduced by one cup and there are about two cups are left. (The burner heat may need to be adjusted) The sauce will be thin but flavorful. It thickens-up in the oven as the enchiladas cook and thickens up when refrigerated. Enchilada sauce should NOT be thick like pasta sauce.
This sauce became jelly like in consistency. I had to add more seasonings and tomato sauce. I am ready to throw this out. Wouldn’t know it was enchilada sauce if I hadn’t made it. Terrible recipe.
Hi Darcy, while I don’t doubt you, I have no idea how your sauce became “jelly-like”. I literally make this once a month and it has never happened.
I think that perhaps you used a bone broth that contained a lot of dissolved collagen and gelatin. And, after being cooked-down and refrigerated, the collagen and gelatin hardened – like jello. In that case, all you had to do was heat it up to melt the gelatin.
This sauce is very much like canned enchilada sauce, but without the flour or starch to thicken. And while not authentic, it’s easier and faster than rehydrating whole dried chiles, putting them through the blender and cooking them down with seasonings until thickened. It is NOT a terrible recipe. -Kim
Hi, can you make this ahead of time and store it..? If so how would I store it and how long would it last.
Hi Emma. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. -Kim
Love having the ability to make a full flavored sauce from spices I have on hand. This is now my go to sauce for making lower carb Mexican dishes. Thanks!
I’m so glad you like this. I have a great BBQ chicken enchilada recipe posting shortly that uses this sauce and BBQ sauce. I think you would like it. Have a great Memorial Day. -Kim
This looks great. I haven’t made it yet. It says to discard the bay leaf? It’s not in the ingredient list. How many leaves?
Thank you. Looking forward to this
Hi Frances. Bay leaf is listed at the third ingredient. Just use 1 leaf. -Kim
Excellent enchilada sauce Kim! Love the combination and complexity of the spuces. We’ve been on a low carb diet since January and crave Mexican cuisine and this really does the trick. I’ve made it several times and am making it again for cinco de mayo. My question is can the recipe be doubled? Thanks!
Hi Al. I’m glad you like the sauce. Yes, you can double the recipe but be careful to not burn the ground chile or it will be bitter. Adding a little sweetener can help. Also, the cooking time will be slightly longer. What I would do is boil the chicken broth down by a third before adding it to the other ingredients. This will help cut down on the cooking time and prevent overheating/cooking. And, A bigger diameter skillet will also help the process of reducing happen a little faster. Happy Cinco de Mayo. -Kim
This sauce was really good!!! I made a couple of tweeks, thanks to one comment that mentioned it’s heat level… I cut back the ancho chili powder to 1 tbsp instead of 2 since I had a 10 year old that was going to be eating enchiladas. It was still a bit hot for a child, so I doubled the swerve and used the entire 6 ounces of tomato paste instead of just 3 tbsp. I made enchiladas using a rotisserie chicken.. and now I want them again as I am typing this!! thanks for this recipe!
Yes, different chilies have differing amounts of heat. The packages I get usually say California Chiles or New Mexico Chiles and I usually mix them together. -Kim
How much chili powder is used from the three different ones shown?
Hi Shelley. I just mix them together. Sometimes I can only find 2 of the three. It doesn’t really matter. Although they each have their own flavor, they all taste good. -Kim
I am trying to eat healthy lose some weight but I love enchalada. So I am gonna give this a try
Enjoy, Stacie. You can add less of the chili powder if you prefer less of that flavor. The chili powder and tomato paste help thicken the sauce. I really love this on baked low carb enchiladas and on eggs. -Kim
I used this recipe for my enchilada bowl that I made. I have to say that the chipotle chili powder made the sauce taste a little bit like mole (sorry I don’t know how to attach a tilde on that word lol). It tasted great though!! Thank you for this, I’ve been missing my Mexican food ever since I started this diet a month ago. I’ve always used canned, store bought enchilada sauce, now I have a very easy option to work with. :)
This was a very good enchilada sauce recipe. I through in additional hot peppers and found it was just right. Low Carb Maven does good research.
My husband was excited to try this recipe and it was very popular. The only change my husband made is he added more chipolte and hot chilies as we are from the eastern part of Texas (think forest area) and the hotter the better. Thank you for creating an easy to follow recipe that tastes great.
This is excellent, and has a very authentic taste without the usual flour. When I ran this through the My fitness nutritional analysis I got way fewer calories than Kim indicates. Fat and carbs about the same. Don’t know what caused the difference in calories, I don’t see anything very heavy on calories in this recipe. But again, this is excellent and will be my go to red enchilada sauce. We used it on Chile Rellenos. Big thumbs up!
Oh, yes. After reading Donna’s comment I remembered another note I had.was to freeze the sauce in two ways. One is to freeze in containers for regular meal recipes. The other was to freeze in ice cube trays then transfer to freezer bags. This is for quick meals and snacks. For those cooking for only 1 or 2 people this would be an amazing way to quickly have your sauce for egg dishes or on microwave melted cheese on tortillas, jazz up fast food tacos or sauce some rotisserie chicken to add to a Mexican style salad. There are so many wonderful uses for your Enchalada Sauce. And it is so good.
Thanks so much for sharing your ideas Debby! -Kim
This sauce was amazing and so easy …..will keep in stock in my freezer , good for so many quick things
Adore this enchilada sauce! Making out again today. Yum! Thanks LCM!
I’m so glad you like it Misty! Have a great day. -Kim
Would I be able to leave out the instant coffee? That isn’t something I have at home.
Sure, Jacey. It just adds a nice smokey depth of flavor. -Kim
This sauce is not for the faint of heart! Love that it’s low carb, but it’s so very spicy. I can tolerate a little bit of heat; but this recipe had way too much for my liking. That said, the recipe itself is super simple and easy to throw together.
Hi Sarah. I’m sure you know that ground chile peppers vary in their heat. Try to looking for a package that says “mild”. I find that the New Mexican or California Chiles are more mild. Having said that, I do know that personal tastes, like people, vary. Try adding half the amount of ground chile and see if that is better. Thank you so much for your feedback. Have a wonderful week!
I was wondering if this recipe could be canned/jarred and stored?
Melissa, I bet this could be canned. I’m not a canner so I can’t give you any tips on it. It can also be frozen. -Kim
Would this taste “off” if I didn’t use sweetener of any kind?
It can be a little more bitter than some people are used to and the sweetener balances it out nicely. You can also use less chile powder. -Kim
How long with the enchilada sauce keep in the frig?
Hi Michelle. The sauce should keep 7-10 days, but for health and safety reasons I should say 7 days. -Kim
Is this spicy?
It depends on the pure chile powder that is used. I usually choose ground chiles that are more mild like California and New Mexican. If you want it spicy you can add chipotle chile powder for a smokey flavor or cayenne for over-all spiciness. -Kim
Fantastic enchilada sauce! Everyone loved it. Next time, I’m making twice as much. Thanks, Kim.
I’m glad you like it Gerri! Have a great day. -Kim
was wondering if you might have a recipe for a green chili enchilada sauce?
Hi Lori. I don’t have an official green chile sauce for enchiladas, but it is on my recipe list. I will be posting a white chicken enchilada recipe soon. -Kim
This is so good! We doubled the sauce because that’s how we roll and it was fantastic!
I’m so glad you liked the sauce, Precious. If you have any left over, try it on breakfast. Yum! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Have a great week. -Kim
What can use as a substitute for the erythinol?
Great question, Dawn. What ever sweetener you have – just a little. It helps round out the flavor a bit. -Kim
Hi there! Do you have a substitute for the instant coffee powder?
Hi Stephanie. You don’t have to add it. The coffee gives a nice smokey flavor to the sauce. -Kim
I’ve been looking for a low carb enchilada sauce recipe everywhere! Thanks for this!!
You’re welcome, Lydia. enjoy! -Kim
I was actually looking for an enchilada sauce recipe, so this is great timing ! It sounds delicious!
Hi Adina! I love this enchilada sauce. It’s not traditional by any means, but it still tastes great! Enjoy. -Kim
So many uses for this delicious-sounding sauce!!!
Thanks Georgina!!! -Kim
OMG, I have been actively looking for a GF low carb version of this online and in the store! Thank you!! :)
You’re welcome Stacey! :) -Kim
What a great idea! Seems so easy to just make this fresh at home.
Thanks, Lisa! -Kim
I’ve never made enchilada sauce before. I need to try this!
Hi Taryn. It’s so great on eggs. Enjoy -Kim
I can’t wait to try this! Any way to make a dish taste good – and this sounds like it. :)
Thanks, Lisa. Have a great day. -Kim
I do love enchiladas and love how easy this sauce is to make!
Yes, enchiladas are great. Thanks, Kathy! -Kim
i love red sauce as well as all types of sauces and dressings. due to lack of pure ingredients we never by ready chills powder, or broth. we make every thing at home and we select the raw materials and process them. even other spices we do not buy them in the shape of powder, we prefer to ground them at home when we need them so as to make sure that they are pure as well as not to loose their aroma if they are stored for long time.
have a nice day,
zouhair
Thank’s for sharing, Zouhair. That’s a great reminder that not everyone is honest about what goes into a product that is supposed to be pure. You have a nice day, too. :) -Kim