Homemade Enchilada Sauce — From Fresh Tomatoes

Welcome to the August 16, 2015 edition of Sunday Scratchups — your weekly recipe from scratch around grocery store sales and affordable ingredients. Or, say, garden bounty when it’s in season! This week’s mystery recipe ingredient is again: TOMATOES, just in case your garden is also exploding with fresh tomato goodness.

Make it or buy it: Homemade Enchilada Sauce

A lot of the more authentic red enchilada sauce recipes just use chiles as the base rather than tomatoes, but my goal here was to use up some of these garden tomatoes, while also pleasing child palates. I’ve never been too thrilled with store-bought enchilada sauce, so I looked at the ingredient lists of some canned tomato-based red enchilada sauces (Old El Paso pictured above) and figured I could definitely scratch up something fresher and tastier!

Unlike many of the store bought varieties I looked at, my version is also gluten, corn, and soy free.

It’s also deee-licious, if I do say so myself! Seriously eat-it-with-a-spoon good, and it made for the best homemade enchiladas I’ve ever cooked. I’m going to make another batch today to freeze for homemade enchilada goodness this winter, too.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients

20-25 small to medium Roma tomatoes
1 small jalapeño pepper
1/2 a medium yellow onion
olive oil
Handful fresh oregano
6 roasted garlic cloves — see note if using fresh
juice of 1/2 a small lime
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp chili powder

Directions

Wash tomatoes, cut off stem end, and slice in half lengthwise. Place cut side down on rimmed baking sheet. Chop onion into large chunks, add to baking sheet. Cut stem off pepper, cut into chunks, add to baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, until tomatoes are wrinkled and starting to brown.

* Note: I had roasted garlic left over from another recipe that I used in the second step below. If you don’t, just add fresh garlic cloves to the baking sheet and roast along with your tomatoes.

Add roasted tomatoes, pepper, and onion to food processor. Add all other ingredients and blend until fairly smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste, if desired, then use in your favorite enchiladas recipe.

That’s some gorgeous enchilada sauce

Plus, this homemade enchilada sauce will make your kitchen smell great from beginning to end. 🙂

So, about those enchiladas?

Stay tuned next week for an easy homemade chicken enchiladas recipe — And, what are some of your favorite recipes using fresh garden tomatoes?

Homemade Enchilada Sauce, printable recipes

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Homemade Enchilada Sauce -- From Fresh Tomatoes

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Seriously eat-it-with-a-spoon good, and makes for the best homemade enchiladas I’ve ever cooked. This sauce also freezes well.

Course sauce

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Author Rachel Singer

Ingredients

• 20-25 small to medium Roma tomatoes
• 1 small jalapeño pepper
• 1/2 a medium yellow onion
• olive oil
• Handful fresh oregano
• 6 roasted garlic cloves -- see note if using fresh
• juice of 1/2 a small lime
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 tsp chili powder

Instructions

• Wash tomatoes, cut off stem end, and slice in half lengthwise.
• Place cut side down on rimmed baking sheet.
• Chop onion into large chunks, add to baking sheet.
• Cut stem off pepper, cut into chunks, add to baking sheet.
• Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, until tomatoes are wrinkled and starting to brown.
• * Note: I had roasted garlic left over from another recipe that I used in the second step below. If you don't, just add fresh garlic cloves to the baking sheet and roast along with your tomatoes.
• Add roasted tomatoes, pepper, and onion to food processor.
• Add all other ingredients and blend until fairly smooth.
• Adjust seasonings to taste, if desired, then use in your favorite enchiladas recipe.

Notes

Unlike many of the store bought varieties I looked at, my version is also gluten, corn, and soy free.

More Make it or Buy It Ideas

If you’re looking for more “make it or buy it” ideas and recipes, read more here:

• Frugal Homemade
• Make It or Buy It?
• Sunday Scratchups

Anything else you’d like to see covered in these categories? Comment here!