Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce

If you are in the market for a spicy, tangy enchilada sauce, then you’re in luck! Made with chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder, to name a few, this Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce is anything but tame or boring! Store it in the fridge for up to a week and enjoy it with burgers, burritos, tacos, ground beef, chicken, or grilled veggies! {Vegan + Gluten-Free}

Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce is the recipe we’ve been missing, friends. It all started when I was on the hunt for a Taco John’s-style taco salad dressing that harkened back to my childhood. A surf of the internet told me it was a combo of enchilada sauce and Catalina dressing. Fair enough. So I set out to create recipes for both.  

And now we DO HAVE BOTH, Spiriteds! Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce when paired with Gluten-Free Catalina Dressing tastes just as delicious as I remember it on those early taco salads. It also tastes mouthwatering on its own. In fact, we started developing more recipes just to have an excuse to consume more enchilada sauce.

Who can even blame us? You seriously can’t go wrong with enchilada sauce of any kind. And in case you need a vegan enchilada sauce recipe, we have you covered. This recipe is made with gluten-free flour and homemade vegetable broth, which creates a balanced flavor that goes with just about everything. Then you can jazz it up with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion salt, oregano, sea salt, and even a pinch of cinnamon. 

This sauce is thick enough to match hearty meals that include ground beef, chicken, grilled vegetables, tacos, burritos, enchiladas (of course!), and MORE. And all without getting lost in the shuffle.

Grab your skillet, tomato sauce (or paste, I’ll tell you more in a minute), and spices, and let’s get sizzlin’!

Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce is

• Gluten-free (hence the name!)
• Dairy-free
• Vegan
• Tangy and piquant and all things delicious

Many enchilada recipes call for tomato paste, but our recipe works with either tomato paste OR tomato sauce. And here’s the deal about that – I went to the store in the hopes of finding tomato paste, which is how most enchilada recipes are made. But I couldn’t find any. So I used tomato sauce instead. It has a slightly different taste, but it’s mouthwatering and tantalizing. Since that first store run, I have made this sauce several times, some with tomato paste and some with tomato sauce. Both are so delicious! You truly cannot go wrong either way. 

Tomato sauce will produce a thinner sauce with a piquant flavor and a reddish-brown color (pictured in the first two images in this blog post). Tomato paste, on the other hand, will produce a thicker, redder sauce that boasts a tangy flavor (pictured in the image just above this section).

Ingredients needed to make Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce

Below are the ingredients for Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce. You can sub apple cider vinegar for the red wine vinegar, if you’d like.

• The base: gluten-free flour and olive oil.
• Spices: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion salt, oregano, sea salt, and cinnamon.
• Final add-ins: tomato sauce or paste, vegetable broth, and red wine vinegar.

How to make Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce

Had I known how easy it would be to make my own Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce, I would have done it sooner!

1. In a large skillet, combine the olive oil and gluten-free flour. Stir together until the mixture heats up and thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Then stir in the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion salt, oregano, sea salt, and cinnamon.
2. Next, add in the tomato paste or sauce, vegetable broth, and red wine vinegar. At first the enchilada sauce will look watered down. This is normal. Continue to cook, stirring until thickened.
3. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Pair this spicy, piquant deliciousness with…

• Slow Cooker Beef Tacos
• Paleo Cauliflower Rice Tacos
• Spicy Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

Spiriteds, stay wild, enjoy this spicy flavor, and know how glad I am you’re here! 🩷

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