I’ve been making burritos with homemade tortillas for years. And they were good. But one day I thought I’d make enchiladas (which I hadn’t made in years), and decided to make the enchilada sauce from scratch. Afterwards, I had some leftover sauce and, as a woman who hates waste, decided to make burritos, covering them with said sauce. Wow! Game changer! Those burritos went from good to “I could eat these everyday” great!!!

This fast and easy recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce. As Queen of Freeze, I would be remiss if I didn’t suggest you double the recipe (try it first, to be sure you like it), then freeze it in portion sized containers for future use. At this point I haven’t tripled or more the recipe. Note: this sauce can be doubled well, but some recipes don’t fare well made in bulk.

ENCHILADA SAUCE: makes about 2 cups

• 21g / 3T all-purpose or whole wheat flour (I use AP flour)
• 4g / 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1g / 1 tsp cumin
• 1g / 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 3T olive oil
• 27g / 2T tomato paste
• 475 ml / 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Into a small bowl, combine the flour, chili powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, oregano, and salt.

Into a saucepan, heat the oil over medium flame. Add in the flour mixture, stirring for 1 minute. This will heighten the spice flavor.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute to deepen the flavor of the paste.

VERY SLOWLY add the vegetable stock, smashing the lumps as you go, until well blended. (I like to use a flat-headed spatula.) Bring to simmer over medium/high flame.

Maintain the simmer by adjusting the flame as needed until the sauce is thickened somewhat – about 5-7 minutes. (The sauce will NOT be thick like a cream sauce – just a little thickened.) Remove from heat.

Stir in the vinegar and ground pepper. Serve.