Basic Tomato Sauce & Simple Enchilada Sauce

What do you do with a bunch of tomatoes?  Make tomato sauce!  It’s super simple and you can freeze it to use in a million different ways.  I made a batch of enchilada sauce with some of the tomato  sauce I made and froze the rest. 

The enchilada sauce is also very basic and can be used for enchiladas, Mexican casseroles, rice dishes, soups, and one of my all-time favorite brunch items, Huevos Rancheros, which I’m making tomorrow night for dinner.  I’ll do a post on it next week.

Basic Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:  Tomatoes & Water

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile, make a small X incision onto the bottom of each tomato; this will allow for easy peeling.  

When the water comes to a boil, drop the tomatoes in and blanch for about 4 minutes.  Remove from the water and set aside to cool.  

When cooled down, peel the tomatoes.  The skin should very easily peel away from the tomato.


Core the tomatoes and set in a large bowl or pot to blend with an immersion blender (this step can easily be done in a blender or food processor).  Now you have your own tomato sauce.  I don’t season it since I’ll be using it for other recipes that I’ll be adding salt to anyway.

Simple Enchilada Sauce

Yields enough for 2 batches of enchiladas & a 20-oz mason jar for freezing

1/4 C Canola Oil

1 large white onion, chopped

1 T minced garlic

1/4 C flour

1/2 C chili powder (hot, medium, or mild; whatever you prefer)

2 t ground cumin

About 8 C tomato sauce

2 t granulated onion

2 t granulated garlic

S&P, tt

About 1 C chicken stock (if needed)

Heat up oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions & cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes.  Turn heat down to medium & add flour to make a roux and allow to cook until blonde in color, about 10 minutes.  Add chili powder & cumin and cook another 2 minutes.  Add tomato sauce, season with S&P, granulated onion & garlic, and allow to come to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for about 1 hour.  If you feel the sauce is a bit thick, add chicken stock to get the consistency you’re looking for.