My son has Celiac and cannot eat flour so I was really disappointed when I saw that my favorite “go to” canned red enchilada sauce was not gluten free because it contains wheat flour as well as some other ingredients with names I could not pronounce properly. But my problem was easily remedied when I asked Maria (someone I work with) for her enchilada sauce recipe and of course, what a bonus that it was so easy to make! She only adds garlic and water, I added onions and spices. Now I make enchiladas from scratch at home all the time and they are far less expensive than buying them  “to go ” from any of the local neighborgood Mexican restaurants! While the sauce recipe calls for dried Guajillos which Maria said are the best to use, I love Ancho Chilis and you can combine the two. Or, you can experiment with other types of chilis, all of which are really inexpensive – another bonus!

Dried Guajillo or Ancho Chilis are the main ingredient in Red Enchilada Sauce.

To make the sauce:

• 10 (or so, what is in one small package) Dried Guajillo Chilies (I purchase them at a Mexican market or my local Fresh n Easy market carries them which is so convenient).
• 1/2 Yellow Onion sliced or chopped
• Small pot of water or broth
• 1-2 Cloves Garlic
• Pinch of Oregano 
• Pinch of Cumin 
• Cayenne if you want it spicier (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Remove the stems and some of the seeds from the Guajillos (or remove all the seeds if you do not want it spicy).

Simmer chilis until soft. Then add spices.

Add the chilis, onions and the garlic to the pot and add enough water to cover the chilis well.

Bring to a simmer and simmer the until the chilis are soft and bend easily. 

Drain first. Then blend. Add fresh water back in as needed.

Drain about half the water out from the pot and then place the chilis with the garlic, onion and spices in a blender. Blend. Add fresh water back in to thin the sauce as you prefer. 

Scrape Sauce through Strainer with a spoon.

Strain through a strainer over a larger, clean container. (Scrape the sauce back and forth with a spoon until the sauce drips through.)

Finished Enchilada Sauce.

The enchilada sauce will now be very smooth and ready to pour over chicken or to use in any traditional red enchilada recipe.