Homemade Paleo Enchilada Sauce Recipe (SO Addicting!)

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This from scratch enchilada sauce is both nourishing and delicious, made with a base of bone broth. It’s simple to make and comes together in only a few minutes with basic ingredients you likely already have stocked in your pantry! If you’re looking for an easy, homemade, paleo enchilada sauce recipe—you found it.

Back in 2012 when I was first introduced to the idea of eating real, unprocessed food, my world was turned upside down. As we transitioned from eating primarily processed foods to whole foods, one big surprise was how easy it was to make many foods that we had only ever bought in cans or packages.

This easy enchilada sauce is a great example. Made with chicken broth and Mexican spices, this healthy enchilada sauce with no added sugar is not just better for you, it’s also a delicious alternative to the canned stuff (full recipe below).

How to Use Homemade Enchilada Sauce

There are so many great options to use this red enchilada sauce. It’s perfect for any and all enchilada recipes. Our kids’ favorite recipe to request for dinner is this layered chicken enchilada casserole with leftover chicken and served with Spanish rice. We have also added enchilada sauce to traditional enchiladas, soups, nachos, or a sourdough skillet.

Tip: This recipe makes a pretty mild enchilada sauce, which works well for our family. But if you like spicier Mexican food, you can turn up the heat on this sauce.

Over the years we’ve tweaked our recipe, adjusting the seasonings for different levels of heat and flavors. But the basic idea is always the same. That being said, feel free to adjust the spices and quantities to your preferences. 

The Components:

Bone Broth: Bone broth is simply made by taking your leftover bones and inedible pieces from meat, covering it with water and a splash of apple cider vinegar, and letting it simmer for several hours. Alternatively, this can be made much more quickly in a pressure cooker.

Tip: Bone broth is a traditional food that contains an array of vitamins and minerals, skin enhancing collagen, and is excellent for gut healing. We typically use chicken stock in this recipe but vegetable broth or even whey leftover from making cheese would also work well.

Arrowroot Powder: Arrowroot powder comes from the extraction of starch from the arrowroot plant. The arrowroot plant in a tropical tuber and when it’s extracted it becomes a white powder that is both flavorless and odorless. 

Tip: Arrowroot is a wonderful thickening agent that has two times the thickening power of wheat flour and avoids using cornstarch (which usually is from genetically modified corn). We often use it to thicken soups, jams, fillings, and sauces like this enchilada sauce. Tapioca starch substitutes perfectly for arrowroot starch.

Chili Powder: This is a spice mix typically made with a blend of cayenne pepper, cumin, and garlic to give a flavor profile that is commonly referred to as “tex-mex.” It is perfect for seasoning ground beef or shredded chicken. It can vary significantly in its heat depending on the ratios of spices that are used. More cayenne will result in a much spicier chili powder.

How to Make Paleo Enchilada Sauce

Full of clean ingredients, this 5-minute enchilada sauce is so easy to make.

For best results, this delicious sauce starts with making a roux. 

What is a roux?  

Simply put, a roux is a cooked mixture of fat with a thickening agent that will cause a soup or sauce to thicken. This is the magic behind avoiding a runny enchilada sauce.

In this case, add fat to a small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted.

Once melted, add arrowroot or tapioca starch and Mexican spices. 

Once these are mixed and the texture of wet sand, pour in broth.

Heat over medium-high heat until the sauce thickens.

Remove from heat and it’s ready to use.

What makes this recipe paleo and how can I adjust it for different diets?

This recipe can easily be adjusted depending on how you are trying to eat and what you have available. Arrowroot or tapioca starch make this enchilada sauce a great grain free recipe and paleo option.

Alternatively, cornstarch can be substituted for arrowroot or tapioca starch to still give you a gluten free enchilada sauce.

Paleo Enchilada Sauce Recipe

Yield: ~3 Cups

Ingredients:

– 3 Cups Broth
– 3 Tbsp Arrowroot powder
– 3 Tbsp Chili powder
– ½ tsp Cumin
– ½ tsp Garlic Powder
– ½ tsp Oregano
– 2 Tbsp Cooking Fat (Olive oil, coconut oil, lard, avocado oil, etc.)
– Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Add your fat of choice to a saucepan over medium heat. 
2. Once the fat melts, add arrowroot starch and spices. 
3. Mix thoroughly for one minute until everything comes together and there are no clumps. 
4. Add broth and stir gently over medium heat until it is brought to a gentle boil. Once it reaches this point, the sauce should start to thicken.
5. After it has reached your desired consistency and can coat the back of a metal spoon, remove it from heat. Note that it can continue to thicken a bit once in the fridge.
6. Pour into a quart-sized mason jar or other airtight container and store in fridge for 3-4 days.

Or, if you want to use wheat flour as a thickener, you can substitute that. You will need to add twice as much wheat flour or all-purpose flour as arrowroot starch.

Every time we make this, I think how strangely addicting this sauce is! What is your favorite way to use Enchilada sauce? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

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Other recipes you will love:

Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Grain Free Egg Based Tortillas
Spanish Rice
Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole

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