I am ALL ABOUT the sauce! Wait, what? I mean I love stocking my fridge with various sauces that I can mix and match through out the week to keep my meals interesting and delicious. This enchilada sauce is super easy, and packs a tasty PUNCH! My very favorite use of it is in my ultra comforting, yet healthy Cheesy Cornbread Chicken Enchilada Skillet.
Enchilada sauce gets its spicy goodness from dried chiles. I don’t often have bags of dried chiles, so I found that this recipe works just as well with Chile powder. Be sure you don’t mix that up with cayenne pepper, though…that would be an unhappy surprise! This recipe has a secret ingredient that adds amazing flavor, and no-one would ever guess it’s there. Stumped…? Keep reading!
Turn up the heat!
In order to get that deep, rich enchilada flavor you’ll want, you’ve got to toast those spices. It doesn’t take long, but your kitchen will soon be filled with the fragrance of warm spicy goodness. Toasting the spices in a little oil over medium heat will make all the difference.
Give your blender a workout!
To get that creamy smooth enchilada sauce you will want, you’ll need to blend it for awhile. I find that a Vitamix works best, but other blenders will do the trick, just fine. You will just need to blend for a little longer. A good 5 minutes should do the trick.
After you give it a good blend, you’ll just need to cook it down for awhile. This will help the flavors intensify, as well as thicken up a little. The very last step of this whole process involves a secret ingredient…DARK CHOCOLATE. It adds a wonderful depth of flavor and the perfect amount of sweetness to balance everything out. And who doesn’t need more chocolate?!
What else can I use it for?
Besides the cheesy cornbread chicken enchilada skillet I mentioned earlier…you could also:
- Stir it into ground beef or ground turkey for some DELISH taco meat
- Spread it on a tortilla and top with your favorite veggies, protein and cheese, then bake to make a super satisfying enchilada-pizza!
- Pour over chicken breasts, top with cheese and bake for a great low-carb dinner option
Easy DELICIOUS Enchilada Sauce
A super easy and mega flavorful sauce that you can keep in the fridge for a variety of uses throughout the week.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Ingredients
1 Tbsp avocado oil (or other vegetable oil)
1/4 Chile powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano (Mexican variety if you can find it)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 small onion, quartered
1 medium tomato, quartered
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 Cups Chicken Stock
1 ounce dark chocolate
Instructions
- In a medium, heavy bottomed sauce pot, warm 1 Tbsp of oil, then stir in all the spices. Over medium-low heat, continue to stir, as the spices begin to toast and become fragrant. It will only take a minute or two.
- Remove from heat. (But keep the pot handy, because you will use the same pot again) Combine toasted spices and all remaining ingredients into a blender. If using a vitamix, blend for 2-3 minutes. If using other blenders, just blend a little longer…maybe 5-6 minutes. You want the spices to blend until nice and smooth.
- Pour mixture back into the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a low heat, and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes, or until reduced to about 2 cups. Remove from the heat. Lastly, stir in the dark chocolate until completely melted.
- Pour into a jar and keep in the refrigerator or use immediately in your favorite recipe!
Notes
If you feel like your sauce isn’t smooth enough, you can strain it through a fine mesh sieve.