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5 from 3 votes

Ancho Chile Enchilada Sauce

This enchilada sauce is just spicy enough, and it's full of warming spices that will have you licking your plate.
*Makes about 2 ½ cups
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Condiments, Sauces
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 20
Calories: 28kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces Ancho chiles, dried (about 5 large chiles)
  • water
  • 1 cup cooking liquid reserved -- see recipe instructions
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 4 small garlic cloves peeled and smashed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground oregano
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  • Place the dried chiles in a medium-sized sauce pot and add enough water to cover them.
  • Bring the water to a boil and then cover the pot and remove it from the heat. Let the chiles hydrate in the hot water for about 20 minutes.
  • Remove 1 cup of the water from the pot and pour it a blender.
  • Then remove the chiles from the pot. Use your hands or a paring knife to gently remove the stems and seeds. Then add the chiles to blender.
  • Add the stock, garlic, spices, sugar, salt and pepper.
  • Purée until the sauce is completely smooth. This should take about 1 minute.
  • Pour the sauce into a storage container and stir in the olive oil. (The sauce should keep for at least 3 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Notes

If you don't have a blender, you can use a knife to finely chop the hydrated, dried chiles until they are as close to a purée as possible.
If you want more heat in your sauce, don't remove all of the seeds from the chiles.

Nutrition

Calories: 28kcal