Homemade Enchilada Sauce Mix (Vegan and Gluten-Free)
Ten pantry spices and a little cornstarch make a jar of red enchilada sauce mix. Add tomato sauce and water for 2 cups of sauce, the same as a 16 oz can.
Canned enchilada sauce is one of those things I always seemed to run out of on the night I needed it. This jar fixed that. It’s a red enchilada sauce mix made only from spices, dried onion, a little sugar and cornstarch, so it happens to be vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free without trying. A quart jar makes twelve batches, each one the same as a 16 oz can.
Why it’s vegan (and why that matters more than you’d think)
Plenty of “red sauce” mixes and seasoning packets sneak in chicken bouillon, whey or cheese powder. This one has none of that. Everything in the jar comes from a plant: chiles, paprika, cumin, garlic, onion, oregano. That makes it an easy base for:
- Bean and sweet potato enchiladas, for a fully plant-based dinner.
- Cheese enchiladas, if you eat dairy, since the sauce itself has none.
- Chicken or beef enchiladas for everyone else at the table.
One jar, three kinds of dinner, and you don’t have to cook a separate sauce for the vegan at the table.
How to turn the mix into sauce
The cornstarch is what makes it thicken like the canned kind, and the trick is to keep it from lumping:
- Bring 1 cup tomato sauce and ½ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan.
- In a cup, stir 4–5 tablespoons of mix into another ½ cup of cold water until smooth.
- Pour the cold mixture into the boiling tomato and keep stirring. It thickens in about a minute. Simmer 2–3 minutes more.
That’s 2 cups of sauce, the same as one 16 oz can, so any enchilada recipe that calls for a can works as written. Use 4 tablespoons for a milder, lighter sauce and 5 for a deep red, spicy one.
Making it milder
There are 2 tablespoons of cayenne in the jar, which gives a noticeable kick. If you’re cooking for kids or anyone who doesn’t like heat, leave the cayenne out entirely when you mix the jar. Add hot sauce at the table instead.
Chili powder varies a lot by brand too. A dark, mild chili powder gives a rounder sauce; a bright red one is sharper.
Gluten-free notes
The jar has no flour; cornstarch does the thickening. That’s why the book marks it gluten-free. Spice blends like chili powder sometimes contain anti-caking agents, so if you cook for celiac disease, check the label on your chili powder and buy one marked gluten-free.
A note on salt
With 6 tablespoons of salt in the jar, this is a high-sodium mix: about 466 mg per serving. To bring it down, halve the salt when you mix the jar and use no-salt-added tomato sauce. The chiles and cumin carry the flavor.
Make-ahead dinners
Enchiladas made with this sauce freeze well and bake straight from frozen. On a slow Sunday, roll two pans, bake one and wrap the other for a busy weeknight.
Storage
Keep it airtight in a cool, dark cupboard, away from the stove. It keeps its best flavor for about 6 months. The heavier spices settle over time, so stir the jar before you measure.
The Dry Mix Pantry Cookbook has 69 vegan recipes, and 55 of them are also gluten-free, all marked with diet labels at the top of the page. This one sits in the sauces chapter next to taco sauce, salsa and a dozen dressing mixes.
Recipe
Enchilada Sauce Mix
In the jar
- ¾ cup chili powder
- ¾ cup dried onion flakes
- ½ cup paprika
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 6 tbsp salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup ground cumin
- ¼ cup garlic powder
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
Add on cooking day
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup water (½ cup hot, ½ cup cold)
Make the mix
- 1Whisk everything together in a large bowl until the color is even.
- 2Store in a glass jar and stir before each use.
To use
- Bring 1 cup tomato sauce and ½ cup water to a boil.
- Stir 4–5 tbsp mix into another ½ cup cold water, pour it in and boil, stirring, then simmer 2–3 minutes.
- Makes 2 cups, the same as a 16 oz can.
From The Dry Mix Pantry Cookbook by Maggie Ellery
