Enchiladas with Real Red Chile Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 Dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 4 Dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 Yellow onion, half chunked for the sauce, half diced
• 1 ½ tsp Ground cumin
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp Canola oil
• 2 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 cans Black beans, canned no-salt-added, drained
• 2 Sweet potato, diced and roasted
• 12 Corn tortillas
• 6 oz Monterey Jack, grated
• 2 oz Queso fresco, crumbled
• ½ cup Cilantro

Method

1. Toast the opened dried chiles in a dry skillet, 20-30 seconds a side, pressing them flat. They should smell like raisins and tobacco. Burnt chiles make bitter sauce, so err on the pale side.
2. Cover them with boiling water and soak 20 minutes. Blend them with the garlic, chunked onion, cumin, oregano, vinegar, salt and 1 cup of the soaking water until completely smooth. Strain if your blender is not powerful.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan until shimmering and pour in the chile purée — it will spatter. Fry 5 minutes, stirring, then add the broth and simmer 10 minutes until it coats a spoon.
4. Mix the beans, roasted sweet potato and diced raw onion with half the Monterey Jack.
5. Soften the tortillas: brush them lightly with the remaining oil and warm them in a dry skillet or a 350°F oven for 30 seconds. A cold tortilla cracks when rolled.
6. Ladle sauce into the dish. Dip each tortilla in sauce, fill, roll, and lay it seam down. Cover with the rest of the sauce and cheese.
7. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes until bubbling. Finish with queso fresco and cilantro.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Dip every tortilla in the warm sauce before filling it. It is messy and it is the reason restaurant enchiladas taste all the way through.

🧒 For the kids

Ancho and guajillo are mild — this sauce is deep and slightly sweet rather than hot. Most children take to it faster than to jarred sauce.

🥡 Leftovers

Keeps 4 days. The sauce alone freezes 6 months and is worth doubling.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.