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Recipes Sauces and Spreads

Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce

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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}

Sauce for hearty main dishes in small mason jars.

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.

Sauce for hearty main dishes in small mason jars.

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’!

Sauce for hearty main dishes in small mason jars next to fresh parsley and chili powder.

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).

Olive oil, gluten-free flour, and spices in a stainless steel skillet.

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.
Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce in a stainless steel skillet.

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.
Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce in small mason jars next to red chili powder and fresh parsley.

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! 🩷

Pinterest Pin for Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce.
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Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce

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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}

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 cups 1x
  • Category: Sauce and Salad Dressings
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons gluten-free flour
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 2 cups Homemade Vegetable Broth
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Instructions

  1. In a large skillet, combine the olive oil and gluten-free flour. On a MEDIUM to HIGH heat, stir the oil and flour 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 sauce or paste, vegetable broth, and red wine vinegar. Stir until thickened, about 5-10 minutes (I usually cook right in the middle at about 7-8 minutes when using tomato sauce and even fewer minutes when using tomato paste). Remove from heat and let cool. Sauce will continue to thicken as it stands.
  3. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Notes

  • If the flour and olive oil start to clump, reduce heat and gently press the clumps down, stirring them into the mixture. Once the lumps are smoothed out, then increase the heat to where it was prior and continue cooking.
  • The enchilada sauce will start out thin and watery. Continue to cook and stir at the same time. The sauce will thicken within about 5-10 minutes, and will thicken more when it stands during cooling.
  • Yields will vary depending on how much liquid is lost to evaporation and whether tomato sauce or tomato paste is used. Tomato paste is thicker to begin with and may not need as long of a cook time, potentially yielding more than two cups of enchilada sauce.

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About Spirited and then Some

I'm Morgan. A spirited, social chatterbox, small biz owner, and teacher. Lover of all things food. Think dip. Lover of all things family. Think K-Hubs, Toodlebug, and Twinkleberry. I'm so glad you found our spirited community.... Click Here to Read More

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I'm Morgan. A spirited, social chatterbox, small biz owner, and teacher. Lover of all things food. Think dip. Lover of all things family. Think K-Hubs, Toodlebug, and Twinkleberry. I'm so glad you found our spirited community. Learn more…

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