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
½ a medium yellow onion
olive oil
Handful fresh oregano
6 roasted garlic cloves -- see note if using fresh
juice of ½ a small lime
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoon 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
Homemade Enchilada Sauce -- From Fresh Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 20-25 small to medium Roma tomatoes
- 1 small jalapeño pepper
- ½ a medium yellow onion
- olive oil
- Handful fresh oregano
- 6 roasted garlic cloves -- see note if using fresh
- juice of ½ a small lime
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon 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
More Make it or Buy It Ideas
If you’re looking for more “make it or buy it” ideas and recipes, read more here:
Anything else you’d like to see covered in these categories? Comment here!
Is that your fresh oregano from your garden that you planted last year!? I planted mine several years ago and it was totally taking over my small patch of herbs. I yanked it all out last year along with the lemon balm and both are creeping back up again! I bought a single oregano plant to start over and try to keep it contained. I have dill popping up all over the place as well, but that one is an annual which reseeds itself. The others are perennial and will come back every year (even if you destroy it!)
Yes! It has totally taken over. But it makes me feel like at least I can grow SOMEthing. 😉
I had no idea oregano was a perennial! I put in hot oregano! Yikes. I also planted lemon thyme which is a perennial all in the same spot! My mint keeps coming back in the same spot. It will be a mess if they all keep coming back. #dontknowwhatiamdoinggardener
I love all types of Thyme! Mine never comes back though, so I replant each year. I have never heard of hot oregano. I have Greek and Mexican oregano. I think the Greek one is the one that goes crazy. I have Mexican this year and it is still real confined and low growing. I am coming across shoots of last years Greek coming up all over the place. Both oregano and lemon balm (Melissa) are in the mint family so I imagine you are going to have them all coming up along with your Thyme if yours will winter over? I cannot tell the difference in my oregano (fresh) when I use it in cooking, does the hot variety actually taste spicy? I wonder if the differences come out when it is dried. That is when things can get really potent!
I always grow my herbs in large pots so they don't take over the world. And in the winter put them on my patio and they come back every year. Just a thought.
Rachel, I just made this enchilada sauce and have some questions! Did you use the tomatoe skins or did you take the skins off before putting it in the food processor? and the jalapeno pepper....I put all the seeds in and it is pretty hot! Did you use the seeds? other than being hot, it is pretty good!
I put them in the food processor skins and all. And I did not de-seed my pepper (although it was a small pepper) -- if you don't like it as hot you surely could remove the seeds before roasting though, or use half a pepper. Glad you liked it! 🙂
thanks!
I don't see any mention of cilantro ,But looks like you had a bunch in your hand
so yes or no ?
That was oregano 🙂 -- I didn't use cilantro, but you could certainly add some in or substitute for some of the oregano if you are a fan. 🙂
Do you can or freeze large batches?
I have never canned enchilada sauce -- I just freeze it in freezer bags.
Hi
I found your recipe for homemade enchilada sauce. You noted it freezes well, can it be canned in a hot water bath.
I'm sorry, I don't know -- I've never canned.
@Erica, yes... hot water bath canning this is fine... pints 30 min
Acanthus you use regular tomatoes instead of Roma's?
Sure. Just adjust proportionally and use fewer tomatoes, if you're using bigger ones.
I really wish people would put weights of ingredients like tomatoes and onions instead of how many. Size is subjective.
I was very sorry to discover my blender wasn't working when I put these roasted vegetables in it. So I chopped them up and added them to the refried beans and made burrito filling out of it.
This makes phenomenal filling!