Make Vegan Enchilada Sauce

Mexican food is delicious. But, it's easy to feel a little guilty when ordering dishes with so much meat and cheese. Take your enchiladas to a whole new level with this amazing vegan enchilada sauce that is both healthy and bursting with all the flavors you crave from Mexican food. Making your own enchilada sauce is fun and easy. You can also take the opportunity to add some of your favorite herbs and spices that might be missing from most recipes. Try these quick and simple steps to make your own homemade vegan enchilada sauce in no time at all!

Ingredients

Red Vegan Enchilada Sauce

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 2 tomatoes
• ⅛ tsp cayenne powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• ¾ cup water or vegetable broth

Green Vegan Enchilada Sauce

• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 7-oz. (198 g) can whole green chilies, drained and chopped
• 1 lb. (450 g) green tomatoes or tomatillos, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Steps

Making Red Vegan Enchilada Sauce

1. Heat your oil. Pour 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil into a medium saucepan and place it on the stove over medium heat. Your oil is heated when it starts to shimmer slightly.
   • If you are on a diet or you want a light sauce, you can remove the oil, and add onion and garlic powder.
   • You can also use a skillet.
2. Drop in the chopped garlic. Dice up 4 garlic cloves and drop them into the pan. Be careful, once the oil is hot, it may pop when you add the garlic. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the garlic from sticking.
   • Adding the garlic early gives it a chance to brown up a bit, helping it release flavor.
   • Garlic is a very strong herb packed with anti-oxidants that are great for the heart. Unfortunately, the sulphuric compounds that give garlic their health benefits and taste can also cause garlic breath. If you are sensitive to garlic, use just 1 clove of garlic, or a few dashes of garlic salt instead.
3. Add the tomatoes. Use your own personal preferences for this step. You can chop up 2 fresh tomatoes or use 2 canned tomatoes. Follow with 1 can of tomato sauce, or use homemade tomato sauce.
   • You can also remove the tomatoes and use only tomato sauce.
   • If you are using chopped up whole tomatoes, you may want to blend them first to get a smoother consistency for your sauce.
4. Sprinkle in the spices. Add 1/8 tsp cayenne powder, 2 tsp oregano and 2 tsp cumin. Cook for another 5 minutes.
   • Cayenne powder is very spicy so be careful how much you add. If you are sensitive to spices, just use a pinch. If you are interested in a spicier sauce, you can use 2/8 tsp and a dash of black pepper.
5. Pour in the water or vegetable broth. Use either 3/4 cup water or vegetable broth, not both. Using vegetable broth will give your sauce more flavor, but many store bought broths have preservatives and additives so you may be better off making your own vegetable broth.
   • Making it yourself will take a little extra time, but will enhance the flavor of your sauce.
6. Bring your sauce to a simmer. Cook your sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   • If you want to get creative with flavors, you can use a separate spoon to taste your sauce after it has had some time to cook and take the opportunity to add a little more oregano, cumin, or any other spice you desire.
7. Remove your sauce from heat. After 15 minutes, pour your finished sauce over a dish of freshly assembled enchiladas, or store your sauce in an airtight container to save for later.

Making Green Vegan Enchilada Sauce

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour 1 tbsp oil into your pan and heat it until it starts to shimmer.
2. Pour in the onion. Use 1/2 of a fresh medium onion, diced. You can use a white, yellow, or purple onion. Any one will taste great, so use your favorite kind or whatever you have on hand. Stir your onions frequently and cook them in the oil for about 5 minutes or until they turn translucent.
   • Be careful adding the fresh onion, once your oil has heated up, it may pop and sizzle when you pour the onion into the pan.
3. Add the garlic. Peel and dice two garlic cloves and cook with the onions for another minute.
   • Garlic is delicious and has great health benefits, but it is also very strong in flavor. If you are sensitive to garlic, just add one clove or half a clove.
4. Pour in your chilies. Drop in 1 can of drained and diced green chilies, and 1 lb of green tomatoes or tomatillos, roughly chopped. You can use fresh green chilies too.
5. Spice it up! Add 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup vegetable broth and 1/2 cup water to the skillet.
   • Many store bought broths have preservatives and additives so you may be better off making your own vegetable broth.
6. Cook your sauce. Bring your sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Your tomatoes should start to break down, giving your sauce a thicker and richer consistency.
   • This is a great time to get creative with your sauce. Taste it as it heats up and add an additional pinch of salt or oregano if you desire.
7. Remove from heat. At this point, you are ready to pour your sauce onto a dish of freshly assembled enchiladas. Just sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cilantro and use it immediately or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for later.
   • You can adjust the amount of cilantro to your taste.

Adding Exciting Variations

1. Add some chopped vegetables. Thinly slice some black olives or mushrooms and stir them in. You can also try some green onion or diced celery.
   • After making enchiladas with your sauce, scatter some fresh, diced onion and cilantro over the top of your dish before serving.
2. Make it sweet. Give your enchilada sauce a kick of sweetness by adding half a cup of cooked sweet potato in place of a tomato. Sweet potato will add creaminess to your sauce too!
3. Make it spicy. If you like your food extra spicy, try chili powder to taste. Start with 1 tbsp and go from there. You can also add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce. Be careful when making spicy sauce. If the sauce is too spicy, it can make the dish hard to enjoy.

Tips

• Tomatillos can usually be found near the tomato bins at your local grocery store. They are covered in a papery husk, which you should remove before you use the tomatillos.
• If you’re in a rush, you can whip up a quick green enchilada sauce by adding pre-made salsa verde to your saucepan in place of the oil, chilies, and tomatoes. Use a 7-ounce (210 ml) jar of salsa verde in the recipe. Simply combine the onions and garlic, the salsa verde, and the cilantro leaves in the blender or food processor. You will not have to cook the sauce.
• Use end-of-season green tomatoes from the garden to make batches of this sauce. Freeze it in portions and use it all winter long.
• You can use this sauce to make another recipe, like pasta, pizza, rice or whatever you can imagine.

Things You'll Need

• Nonstick skillet
• Wooden spoon
• Knife
• Container for storage

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• Make Nasturtium Pesto
• Make a Vegan Bread and Butter Pudding
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• Make Vegan Fish Sauce
• Make Tofu Cream
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• Make Vegan Sauces and Dips