Enchilada Sauce Dry Mix (Make Once, Use All Year)

I made enchiladas the other night and realized, once again, how much I don’t miss the canned sauce. Cans are big, bulky, and heavy, and my husband and I travel enough that lightweight, space-saving pantry staples matter more to us than most people’s grocery lists ever have to consider.

Most homemade enchilada sauce recipes have you measure out the same handful of spices fresh, every single time you make it. Nothing wrong with that, but I’d rather do that measuring once, store the mix, and just scoop and stir when dinner rolls around. That’s the whole idea behind this recipe.

Enchilada sauce dry mix in a nutshell: Combine flour, chili powder, and a handful of pantry spices once, store it in a jar, and it’s ready whenever you need sauce. Whisk 4 tablespoons of the dry mix with 2 cups of water and an 8 oz can of tomato paste, and you’ve got a full batch of enchilada sauce in about 5 minutes, no fresh measuring required.

Why a Dry Mix Instead of Cooking It Fresh Each Time

Nearly every enchilada sauce recipe out there has you build a roux and measure spices from scratch each time you want sauce. That’s fine if you only make enchiladas once in a while, but if it’s in regular rotation, that’s the same five minutes of measuring, over and over, for the same result every time.

Mixing a big batch once and storing it means dinner starts at “add water and tomato paste” instead of “get out six spice jars.” It also travels far better than a can, one jar of dry mix takes up a fraction of the space and weighs almost nothing compared to hauling cans of sauce. It’s the same reasoning behind most of the staples I keep stocked, do the work once, and dinner gets easier for months afterward.

The Recipe

This recipe makes enough dry mix for one batch of sauce. If you want to make it in bulk so it’s ready to go for months, double or triple the dry mix ingredients below, the ratio for turning it into sauce (4 tablespoons dry mix per batch) stays exactly the same either way.

Instructions:

One batch makes enough sauce for a standard 9×13 pan of enchiladas, roughly what one can of store-bought sauce covers.

Want a deeper, more developed flavor? This version is built for speed, just whisk and heat, but if you have an extra 2 minutes, cooking the dry mix briefly in a tablespoon of oil before adding the liquid (the same way a roux works) blooms the spices and gives a richer flavor. Totally optional, the quick version is genuinely good on its own, this is just for anyone who wants to take it further.

Adjusting the Heat Level

This mix lands on the mild-to-medium side as written. If you like more heat, add a pinch of cayenne pepper or a dash of hot sauce when you’re making the sauce, not into the dry mix itself, that way you can adjust it batch by batch depending on who’s eating.

Where Else to Use This

Enchiladas are the obvious use, but this sauce works well in a lot more:

• Drizzled over huevos rancheros
• As a base for a quick taco soup
• Poured over rice with black beans for a simple side
• Stirred into ground beef or shredded chicken for a fast enchilada-style filling

If Mexican-inspired flavors are already in regular rotation at your house, this pairs well with a couple of other dry mixes I keep on hand: Taco Seasoning and Fajita Seasoning, both work the same make-once, use-often way this one does.

Storage

The dry mix: store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for use within a few months. My go-to is this airtight container.

For lightweight travel storage: mylar bags are what I use, they’re light, easy to pack, and take up almost no space.

For long-term storage: vacuum seal the dry mix with an oxygen absorber in a mason jar or mylar bag. Removing the air is what actually extends shelf life, oxygen exposure is what makes spice blends go stale and lose potency.

The finished sauce: once made, it keeps in the fridge for about a week in an airtight container. It also freezes well, portion it into a freezer bag or container and it’ll keep for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

If building a from-scratch pantry feels overwhelming, I put together a free guide to make it simple. It’s called the From-Scratch Pantry Starter Guide, grab it below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use this as a substitute for canned enchilada sauce in any recipe? Yes, one batch of prepared sauce is roughly equivalent to one standard can of store-bought enchilada sauce, use it the same way.

Is this spicy? It’s mild to medium as written. Add cayenne or hot sauce to taste when making the sauce if you want more heat.

Can I make this without chicken bouillon, for a vegetarian version? Yes, swap in vegetable bouillon or vegetable broth powder in the same amount, or leave it out entirely and season with a little extra salt to taste.

Can I double or triple the dry mix to make a bigger batch? Yes, it scales directly. The amount used per batch of sauce, 4 tablespoons, stays the same no matter how much dry mix you have stored.

Does the sauce freeze well? Yes, up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Final Thoughts

This is one of those recipes that saves real time on a night you don’t feel like measuring six spices from scratch. Mix it once, store it, and dinner starts a lot closer to the finish line than it used to.

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