Add the olive oil to a medium pot on the stove over medium heat.
Add the minced garlic to the heated oil and cook for 1 minute.
Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and vegetable broth.
Stir everything together, then add the chili powder, salt, sugar, cumin, oregano, cocoa powder and onion powder.
Combine well, then bring the sauce to a simmer.
Once the sauce begins to bubble, reduce the heat on the stove to low, cover the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender, puree until smooth.
Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Notes
The nutritional information provided is for one ounce, or two tablespoons, of the sauce.
This sauce is naturally gluten free.
To make the sauce vegetarian, simply use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
This sauce is mild. If you’d like to spice things up a bit, I recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the sauce with the other spices. For a smoky, spicy flavor, I recommend adding 1-2 minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce.
This recipe makes 24 ounces of red enchilada sauce. This should be enough sauce to make 16 enchiladas, or two pans of 8 enchiladas each.
To make a double batch, or triple batch, of the sauce simply hover over the number of servings in the recipe card above. To double the amount of sauce, slide the servings up to 48 ounces. The ingredient amounts in the recipe card will automatically update for the desired serving amount.
This sauce can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure if you’re storing it in a glass container, such as a mason jar, that you leave at least 1 inch of space at the top of the jar for the sauce to expand. You can also store the sauce in freezer-safe bags, making sure to push any extra air out as you’re sealing the bag.