This canned enchilada sauce hack results in Restaurant Style Enchilada Sauce in a fraction of the time, only a few simple modifications required!
There's nothing inherently wrong with buying canned enchilada sauce, especially if you're strapped for time or just don't really enjoy cooking all that much. Canned enchilada sauce makes a great base for a semi-homemade sauce.
I find that the 2 primary things canned enchilada sauces lack are body and flavor. Body, aka viscosity, mouthfeel, whatever you want to call it, is quite easily rectified by starting with a rue - a little butter and flour rue is a quick and easy way to instantly amp up canned enchilada sauce.
Canned enchilada sauces are notorious for having a "tinny" or slightly "off" flavor that results from the canning process. Fortunately, it's easy to hack canned enchilada sauce's flavor, making it taste like the enchilada sauce from your favorite Mexican restaurant.
Buying canned enchilada sauce can save you time and make your grocery budget stretch further. Learn more grocery budget saving tips. Another money-saving hack is to make homemade turkey gravy with the leftover carcass - plus it'll be the richest most delicious gravy you've ever had!
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How to Improve Canned Enchilada Sauce -Ingredients
There are a lot of ways to improve canned enchilada sauce, and the following is one of my favorites because it results in a smoky, spicy sauce that instantly elevates any kind of enchilada.
- unsalted butter or bacon grease
- all-purpose flour
- canned red enchilada sauce
- chicken or beef stock
- salt
- chili powder or chipotle chili powder*
*Note: If you are sensitive to spice, use less chili or chipotle chili powder than the recipe below calls for, and taste before adding more.
Variations
Fortunately, the flavor of canned enchilada sauce can be tackled in many different ways so you end up with a sauce you can be proud of without having to start from scratch. Here are a few canned enchilada sauce flavoring suggestions.
Add fresh ingredients - Onion, garlic, and peppers are obvious additions. I like to finely chop or mince these ingredients when adding them to enchilada sauce, giving them a quick saute in butter (or bacon grease) beforehand. Then when the sauce is almost finished, a quick blend with a blender or immersion blender results in a smooth sauce.
Add seasonings - Cumin, chili powder, Mexican oregano, etc. are great ways to punch up the flavor of canned enchilada sauce. You might also consider adding a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce.
Add stock - Chicken, beef, or vegetable, stocks pack a ton of flavor - because they are prepared by simmering bones and vegetables in water for hours, often with herbs and spices until the flavor is extracted - and can instantly elevate the flavor of canned enchilada sauce. You could also use a powdered product like Better than Bouillon, adding a little water along with it (if necessary to maintain a smooth, sauce-y consistency).
How to Improve Canned Enchilada Sauce -Instructions
Step 1. Add butter or bacon grease to a sauce pan over medium-high heat. When the butter or bacon grease has completely melted, add the flour.
Step 2. Stir constantly for one minute.
Step 3. Add the canned enchilada sauce, chicken (or beef) stock, salt, and chili powder.
Step 4. Increase heat to high and bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened (approximately 10-15 minutes).
Step 5. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve. Makes approximately 1 ½ cups of enchilada sauce.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend storing any leftover canned enchilada sauce in a lidded container in the refrigerator and using within 5 days.
How thick your enchilada sauce should be really depends on personal preference, but I would say that it should be around the consistency of tomato soup. You don't want it too be too thin or it won't cling to your enchiladas.
The answer to what's in canned enchilada sauce ultimately depends on what brand you buy, though of course there will be similarities across brands. For instance, this is the ingredient list from a popular enchilada sauce brand: Water, Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Modified Corn Starch, Contains 2% Or Less Of: Sugar, Salt, Chili Pepper, Soybean Oil, Vinegar, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Citric Acid, Onion Powder, Red Pepper, Color Added, Natural Flavor. It's a tomato sauce condiment of sorts flavored with seasonings like chili pepper and onion powder.
Canned enchilada sauce can be bitter tasting to some, or otherwise off-tasting. The preservatives included in canned enchilada sauces are usually to blame, but are a necessary evil to prevent the sauce from spoiling. Fortunately, this recipe corrects that imbalance, leaving you with a lovely enchilada sauce that doesn't taste like it came from a can.
Opinions are mixed about whether enchilada sauce from a can is good. I think canned enchilada sauce is just fine in a pinch. But if you have a few minutes to spare you can greatly improve its flavor - so definitely do that! If you're strapped for time or semi-homemade cooking is just your jam, starting with canned enchilada sauce saves a lot of time.
Try Pairing the Hacked Canned Enchilada Sauce With
Try this Restaurant Style Enchilada Sauce from a Can with the following dishes:
Restaurant Style Enchilada Sauce from a Can
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or bacon grease
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
- ½ cup chicken or beef stock
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder or chipotle chili powder*
Instructions
- Add butter or bacon grease to a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
- When the butter or bacon grease has completely melted, add the flour and stir constantly for one minute.
- Add the canned enchilada sauce, chicken (or beef) stock, salt, and chili powder.
- Increase heat to high and bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened (approximately 10-15 minutes).
- Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.
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