Quick Fresh Red Enchilada Sauce

Have 10 minutes? Make this fresh enchilada sauce! Smoky, spicy, fresh, and bright, this sauce requires broiling vegetables briefly, then puréeing them with fresh lime juice and chipotle in adobo. Your enchiladas will never taste so good!

This enchilada sauce tastes incredibly complex with notes of heat, smoke, and char, but it has a brightness, too, thanks to the fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapeño. What’s more, it’s truly a snap to throw together:

To make it, you simply broil tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapeños all tossed with a little bit of olive oil and salt. Ten minutes later, when the vegetables have blistered, purée them with a chipotle in adobo, fresh lime juice, and a little bit of water (just enough to make it a pourable consistency).

That’s it! It yields about a quart of sauce, enough to make many servings of your favorite enchiladas, which will never taste so good. Find a few of mine below.

PS: Quick Enchilada Sauce (Canned Tomatoes)

5 Favorite Enchilada Recipes

1. Lasagna-style enchiladas : Here, you layer tortillas in a casserole dish with enchilada sauce, cheese, scallions, cilantro, and shredded chicken (or grilled, rotisserie, roasted, etc.). Then you bake it for 15 minutes — so simple, so good.
2. Roasted vegetable enchiladas : In place of the chicken in this recipe , use roasted vegetables: eggplant, peppers, onion, summer squash — whatever you have on hand. Leftover corn, stripped from the cob is a great addition.
3. Black bean and cheese enchiladas: The success of this recipe relies on using well-seasoned black beans. These slow-cooker black beans are so tasty and so simple — the base recipe has become my favorite way to cook beans.
4. Chicken tinga : I learned this recipe many years ago while working at Fork. I typically use tinga for tacos or tostados, but recently I’ve been using it as an enchilada filling with Monterey Jack cheese. (I recently made this in the Instant Pot … recipe soon!)
5. Kale and mushroom : Sauté a mix of mushrooms with a little bit of garlic. Add finely slivered kale. Cook briefly until the kale wilts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Layer with Monterey Jack cheese.

How to Make Quick Red Enchilada Sauce, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients: tomatoes, 1 onion, 6 cloves garlic, and a jalapeño. You’ll need 1 chipotle in adobo sauce as well as a lime.

Spread the vegetables onto a sheet pan. Toss with a tablespoon of oil and a teaspoon of salt.

Broil for 10 minutes or until nicely charred.

Transfer to a food processor, and purée until smooth.

Add a chipotle in adobo sauce, and purée again.

Add fresh lime juice and salt, and purée again.

Taste, and adjust with salt. Add water to thin.

Transfer to storage jars until ready to use.

Description

Have 10 minutes? Make this fresh enchilada sauce! Smoky, spicy, fresh, and bright, this sauce requires broiling vegetables briefly, then puréeing them with fresh lime juice and chipotle in adobo. Your enchiladas will never taste so good!

To freeze : I like using these quart containers for freezing. Freeze for up to 3 months.

• 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 jalapeño, seeded if you are sensitive to heat, roughly chopped
• 28 ounces ( 5 heaping cups) cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• kosher salt
• 1 chipotle in adobo
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Heat the broiler to high.
2. Place the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and tomatoes on a sheet pan. Toss with the oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Transfer to the oven and broil for 10 minute or until the vegetables are nicely charred.
3. Transfer vegetables to a food processor (be sure your food processor is large enough: mine is a 14-cup capacity). Add the chipotle, the lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Add 1/2 cup water. Purée until smooth. Taste. Mixture should taste both sweet and spicy with a nice balance of acidity. Adjust with salt to taste. Add water by the 1/4 cup till it is thinned to the right consistency — it should have some texture because of the vegetables, but it should be pourable as well.
4. Use in your favorite enchilada recipe or store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Broil
• Cuisine: Mexican, American

Have 10 minutes? Make this fresh enchilada sauce! Smoky, spicy, fresh, and bright, this sauce requires broiling vegetables briefly, then puréeing them with fresh lime juice and chipotle in adobo. Your enchiladas will never taste so good!

This enchilada sauce tastes incredibly complex with notes of heat, smoke, and char, but it has a brightness, too, thanks to the fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapeño. What’s more, it’s truly a snap to throw together:

To make it, you simply broil tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapeños all tossed with a little bit of olive oil and salt. Ten minutes later, when the vegetables have blistered, purée them with a chipotle in adobo, fresh lime juice, and a little bit of water (just enough to make it a pourable consistency).

That’s it! It yields about a quart of sauce, enough to make many servings of your favorite enchiladas, which will never taste so good. Find a few of mine below.

PS: Quick Enchilada Sauce (Canned Tomatoes)

5 Favorite Enchilada Recipes

1. Lasagna-style enchiladas : Here, you layer tortillas in a casserole dish with enchilada sauce, cheese, scallions, cilantro, and shredded chicken (or grilled, rotisserie, roasted, etc.). Then you bake it for 15 minutes — so simple, so good.
2. Roasted vegetable enchiladas : In place of the chicken in this recipe , use roasted vegetables: eggplant, peppers, onion, summer squash — whatever you have on hand. Leftover corn, stripped from the cob is a great addition.
3. Black bean and cheese enchiladas: The success of this recipe relies on using well-seasoned black beans. These slow-cooker black beans are so tasty and so simple — the base recipe has become my favorite way to cook beans.
4. Chicken tinga : I learned this recipe many years ago while working at Fork. I typically use tinga for tacos or tostados, but recently I’ve been using it as an enchilada filling with Monterey Jack cheese. (I recently made this in the Instant Pot … recipe soon!)
5. Kale and mushroom : Sauté a mix of mushrooms with a little bit of garlic. Add finely slivered kale. Cook briefly until the kale wilts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Layer with Monterey Jack cheese.

How to Make Quick Red Enchilada Sauce, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients: tomatoes, 1 onion, 6 cloves garlic, and a jalapeño. You’ll need 1 chipotle in adobo sauce as well as a lime.

Spread the vegetables onto a sheet pan. Toss with a tablespoon of oil and a teaspoon of salt.

Broil for 10 minutes or until nicely charred.

Transfer to a food processor, and purée until smooth.

Add a chipotle in adobo sauce, and purée again.

Add fresh lime juice and salt, and purée again.

Taste, and adjust with salt. Add water to thin.

Transfer to storage jars until ready to use.

Description

Have 10 minutes? Make this fresh enchilada sauce! Smoky, spicy, fresh, and bright, this sauce requires broiling vegetables briefly, then puréeing them with fresh lime juice and chipotle in adobo. Your enchiladas will never taste so good!

To freeze : I like using these quart containers for freezing. Freeze for up to 3 months.

• 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 jalapeño, seeded if you are sensitive to heat, roughly chopped
• 28 ounces ( 5 heaping cups) cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• kosher salt
• 1 chipotle in adobo
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Heat the broiler to high.
2. Place the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and tomatoes on a sheet pan. Toss with the oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Transfer to the oven and broil for 10 minute or until the vegetables are nicely charred.
3. Transfer vegetables to a food processor (be sure your food processor is large enough: mine is a 14-cup capacity). Add the chipotle, the lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Add 1/2 cup water. Purée until smooth. Taste. Mixture should taste both sweet and spicy with a nice balance of acidity. Adjust with salt to taste. Add water by the 1/4 cup till it is thinned to the right consistency — it should have some texture because of the vegetables, but it should be pourable as well.
4. Use in your favorite enchilada recipe or store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Broil
• Cuisine: Mexican, American

Description

Have 10 minutes? Make this fresh enchilada sauce! Smoky, spicy, fresh, and bright, this sauce requires broiling vegetables briefly, then puréeing them with fresh lime juice and chipotle in adobo. Your enchiladas will never taste so good!

To freeze : I like using these quart containers for freezing. Freeze for up to 3 months.

• 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 jalapeño, seeded if you are sensitive to heat, roughly chopped
• 28 ounces ( 5 heaping cups) cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• kosher salt
• 1 chipotle in adobo
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Heat the broiler to high.
2. Place the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and tomatoes on a sheet pan. Toss with the oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Transfer to the oven and broil for 10 minute or until the vegetables are nicely charred.
3. Transfer vegetables to a food processor (be sure your food processor is large enough: mine is a 14-cup capacity). Add the chipotle, the lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Add 1/2 cup water. Purée until smooth. Taste. Mixture should taste both sweet and spicy with a nice balance of acidity. Adjust with salt to taste. Add water by the 1/4 cup till it is thinned to the right consistency — it should have some texture because of the vegetables, but it should be pourable as well.
4. Use in your favorite enchilada recipe or store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Broil
• Cuisine: Mexican, American

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2020/08/14/quick-red-enchilada-sauce/

These vegetarian black bean and cheese enchiladas are so satisfying. It’s a simple recipe with a modest ingredient list, and best of all, it’s ready in 40 minutes! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

This has become one of my favorite vegetarian recipes: bean and cheese enchiladas. It is a simple recipe with a modest ingredient list, and because of this, its success lies in the details, namely:

• A super flavorful sauce: this fresh, red enchilada sauce , made with broiled vegetables, fresh lime juice, and a chipotle in adobo sauce comes together in no time and is the foundation of the dish: it smothers the stuffed, rolled tortillas on both sides, infusing them with heat and spice, smoke and char, sweetness and acidity.

• Highly seasoned beans : These slow-cooked black beans are seasoned with olive oil, salt, a bay leaf, onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. I have been cooking them by the pound and stashing them in the fridge. As they marinate in their cooking liquid, they become even more flavorful. They freeze well, too.

• Lots of fresh herbs: Inspired by this enchilada casserole recipe , which calls for layering the tortillas, sauce, and cheese, with lots of fresh cilantro and sliced scallions, I’ve been sprinkling a heavy handful of both on top of the assembled and sauced enchiladas.

Note: This is not a traditional preparation of enchiladas, which calls for lightly frying each tortilla in oil, then dipping each in the enchilada sauce before stuffing and rolling. Here, you spread the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish and on top of the rolled, stuffed tortillas, too.

PS: Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

PPS: Vegetarian Tortilla Casserole

How to Make Bean and Cheese Enchiladas, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients; then spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce across your baking dish.

Spread a few tablespoons of black beans and a light sprinkling of cheese across the center of a 6-inch tortilla.

Roll into a coil, and place in your baking dish seam side down.

Repeat until you have enough coils to fill your baking dish.

Smother the coils with more enchilada sauce.

Top with chopped scallions and cilantro.

Top with more grated cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is beginning to blister in spots.

Description

These vegetarian black bean and cheese enchiladas are so satisfying. It’s a simple recipe with a modest ingredient list, and best of all, it’s ready in 40 minutes!

A few notes:

• Scale this recipe up or down as needed. For a 10-inch square or round baking dish, these proportions are about right. Use more or less sauce if you are using a larger or smaller pan. I am using this tart pan here. For a 9×13-inch pan, I imagine using 1.5 times this recipe will be about right.

• I am partial to using flour tortillas, which is not traditional, but I find them to be more flavorful. When I have a stash of Caramelo tortillas on hand, that is my preference. When I don’t, I look for the tortillas made from a blend of flour and corn (Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods) or I make them from scratch (this one is made with sourdough starter or discard ). If you are using Caramelo tortillas, char them on one side in a skillet. If you are using standard flour tortillas, warm them in a skillet before using — this makes them more pliable and therefore easier to roll.

• The success of this recipe relies on using super flavorful black beans. This is my favorite way to prepare black beans: Simplest Slow Cooker Black Beans . If you are using canned beans, consider draining and rinsing them, then placing them in a pot with enough water to cover, a healthy splash of olive oil, a bay leaf, some crushed red pepper flakes, a good pinch of salt, and a clover of garlic. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes or until the beans have taken on some flavors from the broth.

• To Freeze : Assemble the enchiladas, stopping after you smother the rolled tortillas with sauce in the baking dish. Cover the dish tightly with a few layers of foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw and bake : uncover the foil, then sprinkle the rolled tortillas with scallions, herbs, and the final layer of cheese. Return the foil. Bake covered at 375ºF for 20 minutes. Uncover. Increase the heat to 425ºF and bake until the cheese is beginning to blister, about 15 minutes.

• 1 cup enchilada sauce

• 7 to 8 flour tortillas , 6-8 inches, lightly warmed, see notes above

• 1.5 cups cooked black beans, I use this slow-cooker recipe, see notes above

• 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated

• 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Heat the oven to 425ºF.
2. In a 10-inch baking dish (see notes above regarding other vessels), spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce.
3. Place a tortilla on work surface. Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of beans across the center. Top with a light sprinkling of cheese. Fold the tortilla in half; then roll into a coil (see video for guidance with the rolling). Transfer to the sauced baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas until you have filled the dish.
4. Spread another 1/2 cup enchilada sauce over top. Sprinkle the cilantro and scallions over top. Top with the remaining cheese. (At this point, you can cover the dish and place it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.)
5. Transfer pan to the oven (uncover it if you stashed it in the fridge) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until some of the cheese is beginning to blister.
6. Let cool briefly, then serve.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: Mexican, American