Red Chile Sauce (vegan)

An authentic and healthy plant-based red chile sauce – fresh and flavorful! The perfect accompaniment for tamales and enchiladas.

What is Red Chile Sauce? It’s a delicious sauce made with steeped dried red chiles. It’s used on a wide variety of foods, including tamales, enchiladas, bowls, burritos, and more.

What’s the difference between Red Chile Sauce and Enchilada Sauce?

In all fairness, it truly depends on the recipe. Red Chile Sauce is the authentic and traditional Mexican sauce for tamales and enchiladas. However, over the years and through many many iterations – in the United States and around the world – many opt for a tomato-based sauce.

So in reality, there are three primary differences – ingredients, time, and preference.

As I stated before, Red Chile Sauce is made by steeping dried red chilies on the stove or in a pressure cooker. Simply heat the broth, red chilies, and seasonings in a pot and allow them to steep for about an hour. If you’re short on time, you should allow them to steep until they’re softened, but at least thirty minutes.

My Easy Enchilada Sauce is made with tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Since the ingredients are already cooked, the sauce is ready in less than three minutes.

The biggest advantage for the enchilada sauce is that it’s quick and easy. But the other reason you may choose one or the other is the flavor. What flavors do you prefer? What are you used to? When you go to your favorite Mexican restaurant, how do they serve their enchiladas? With an authentic red Chile sauce or a tomato-based sauce?

This Red Chile Sauce gives you fantastic options. It’s easy to make in advance and stores extremely well in the refrigerator for a week. You can enjoy it on tamales and enchiladas, which are also great make-ahead meals.

This Red Chile Sauce can be made as mild or spicy as you prefer. Simply use more or less spicy or milder chilies. I use two or three passillo, two or three ancho, and eight to ten Guajillo peppers. You can use Anaheim chili peppers as well. Again, it really depends on what you prefer.

If you like your food on the mild side, be sure to remove all of the seeds before steeping and blending. A great deal of the spice belongs to those little seeds. This means that if you prefer a spicier sauce, simply keep a portion of those seeds. You can always add a little to the blender until. you get your preferred heat level.

Besides the dried red chilies, the other primary ingredient used to make this authentic Red Chile Sauce is broth.

Red Chile Sauce traditionally uses beef broth from cooking a beef roast. Since I don’t consume beef at all, I opt for a flavorful vegetable broth. You can use any commercial broth, just be careful to use a natural one with low salt if you’re avoiding excess sodium. One of the benefits to making Umami Vegetable Broth is that you don’t have to add sodium and thereby it is sodium-free.

Umami Vegetable Broth. It’s an easy homemade broth using kitchen scraps like onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, mushrooms, kombu, and so on. Since the ingredients are scraps or discarded peels or ends, it costs next to nothing to make. And it contains so much flavor!

The final ingredients are simply seasonings – onions, garlic, cumin, a bit of sugar, and salt. They’re all steeped with the chilies and vegetable broth. Once the chilies are soft, everything goes in a high-powered blender. Process it until the sauce is smooth. Add a little more broth if it’s too thick. Taste and adjust the seasonings (including reserved seeds if you want it more spicy) until you’re satisfied with the flavor.

Like chili and many soups, I find that this sauce is best made the day before. Time really allows the flavors to develop and deepen. But it’s also quite delicious right at the start. Transfer to a serving container and enjoy!

Now that you’ve made this delicious and authentic Red Chile Sauce, how will you use it? Let me know in the comments below.

I hope you enjoy this Red Chile Sauce as much as I do.  

I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!

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Ingredients

• 12-15 dried chilies*
• ½ onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 3 cups Umami Vegetable Broth
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• ½ tsp salt (or more to taste)

Instructions

1. If you have sensitive skin, put gloves on.  Slice each chile in half and remove the stems and seeds. Rinse well in a colander or strainer. 

1. Place the chilies, onion, garlic, cumin, coconut sugar, and broth in a sauce pan.
2. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover, and allow to steep for 30-60 minutes, or until the chilies are soft and pliable.  (The flavor is best if you allow it to steep 1 hour)

1. Transfer to a blender and process until smooth.
2. If not using immediately, store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
3. Delicious on tamales and enchiladas.

Notes

* 12-15 dried chilies* (2-3 passillo, 2-3 ancho, 8-10 Guajillo) or Anaheim (depending on desired spice level)