Enchilada Sauce
My version of enchilada sauce is super easy and so full of flavor. This recipe is very customizable! My family does not tolerate heat, so when I wanted to make a smothered burrito, I played with the flavors and seasonings until I found the balance of heat that was just right for us.
Another thing I discovered along the way of making enchilada sauce several times, is that you can impact the texture right in the pan! By adding the ingredients in the specified order, your enchilada sauce will be silky and rich. I also found that if you mix butter and oil together instead of one of the other, it really adds to the silkiness as well.
Is enchilada sauce low carb?
The simple answer is, it sure can be! Most authentic recipes I studied contained Mexican Chocolate, cocoa powder or sugar. The sweetness is added to enchilada sauce to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and the heat from the chilies. My recipe does not contain any sweeteners because I chose to add coriander. Coriander has a sweet floral aroma that comes out when it is toasted. Since I don’t use a lot of heat, the coriander was a good choice to balance the heat in place of sugar or sweeteners. If you want your sauce a little more spicey, you might want to add a tiny amount of powdered, low carb sweetener.
Powdered spices vs roasted veggies in an enchilada sauce.
I will almost always choose roasted onions and garlic over powdered! There were a few things that influenced my recipe. During my trial runs I actually roasted my veggies! I roasted onions, garlic, and tomatoes. I rehydrated dried ancho chiles and guajillo chilis as well. The end result was very nice, but it was also very similar to the powdered version that I had originally made. By the time you wash, prep and roast the veggies, reduce the sauce, and spend your time shopping at stores you don’t normally go to for fancy dried peppers, you end up disappointed that it wasn’t much better than dried spices and tomato paste! Another big factor was price. I spent $12 on the chilis alone. Bone broth comes in around $7 for my favorite brand. Luckily, I usually always have homemade on hand, but I’m sure that’s not the case for everyone. I still couldn’t fathom telling my friends and family they should spend close to $20 for a sauce I can recreate for around 85 cents. 2 hours of life invested in ONE condiment? That’s not an exchange I was willing to make. That’s not an exchange I would promote you to make either.
Do Enchiladas fit into a hormone balancing diet?
Low Carb works well when you are trying to balance your hormones. Too many carbs will spike your blood sugar and cause an imbalance in your hormone, insulin. So as long as you are mindful of your choices of ingredients, then enchiladas can definitely fit into a hormone balancing diet. This is my link to my low carb enchiladas https://balancedbanquet.com/index.php/2024/02/03/low-carb-chicken-enchiladas/ . Here you can find ingredients you don’t have to worry about. This dish is loaded with protein, a great asset to hormone production. The body uses amino acids from protein rich foods to make hormones. Protein also helps to stabilizes blood sugar levels. Learn more about the evidence of a study done on the effects of whey protein. https://gogood.co/blogs/news/does-whey-protein-spike-insulin#:~:text=Research%20indicates%20that%20whey%20protein,The%20process%20of%20gastric%20emptying This post also tells you about two more shocking effects of consuming protein.
Cooking Tips I love.
Every time I cook a chicken that has bones in it or skin on it, I save the bones and skins. I put the bones and skins in my freezer with the date on them. When I have enough to fill a crock pot I make my own bone broth. Bone broth could not be easier to make! Bone broth takes time but it is mostly hands off! I can make it when I’m not even home.
Store your tomato paste in a reusable, silicone squeeze tube! You can purchase tomato paste in a tube, but it’s almost three times the price of a can. If you empty the can of tomato paste into a reuseable food-grade silicone tube, it makes using it so much cleaner and easier. I don’t typically use a whole can at once, and for this recipe, you don’t need a whole can either. When I am making a quick sauce, a tube makes this process so simple. A reuseable tube is going to be cheaper in the long run than purchasing the disposable tubes.
Enchilada Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Whisk or whatever you want to mix with.
Ingredients
- 2 tbs Butter Unsalted.
- 2 tbs Oil I choose avocado.
- 1/8 tsp Chili powder
- 1/8 tsp Chipotle powder
- 1/2 tsp Coriander powder
- 4 tbs Tomato paste
- 2 cups Chicken broth or bone broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
Instructions
- Heat pan over medium heat.
- Add butter to pan
- As soon as the butter starts to brown, add oil.
- Add powdered seasoning.
- After the seasoning toast for about 30 seconds, add tomato paste and cook for a minute or two.
- Slowly add the broth mixing rigorously to maintain a smooth texture.
- Simmer until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
- Enjoy : )