On today's fast and easy vegan menu: homemade enchilada sauce! Aka, Smoky Maple Chipotle Enchilada Sauce. Never buy enchilada sauce again with this go-to, customizable recipe!..

Simmer the blended sauce to thicken and develop the flavors..

Ready to go or save for later!..

One of my most favorite entrees ever: enchiladas! Growing up in Santa Cruz, California, our family was always going out to eat to Mexican restaurants. And even before I was vegetarian, I always ordered spinach enchiladas. Moist, spicy, steamy, amazing enchiladas, smothered in red or green enchilada sauce, with a side of fluffy red rice and silky black re-fried beans. It was my version of restaurant heaven.

And enchiladas were also one of the first meals I learned to make for my family when I was in high school. But I always bought the enchilada sauce. I never knew it was SO easy to make it from scratch!

My Recipe. Today's recipe is a basic red enchilada sauce. Super easy to make with minimal ingredients. The best part about this sauce is that you can jazz it up with a few fun flavor accents. Try adding these to taste:

- peanut butter or whole peanuts
- cocoa powder or melted dark chocolate for a "mole" flavor
- fresh or roasted chiles for a smoky spicy flavor
- get creative with different spices

For this recipe I used a can of fire-roasted tomatoes as the tomato base. But you can substitute with tomato paste and veggie broth if you'd prefer. Use about 5oz paste and 1 cup veggie stock. (Though I have not tested that substitution so you may need to modify a bit to taste.)

You could also substitute the canned or boxed tomatoes with fresh tomatoes that have been oven-roasted until they blister. Something like this..

..I wish I had some tomatoes on hand, but I will absolutely be trying that method the next time I make this sauce. Which should be very soon since the ending meal was so freaking fantastic. And easy!

In a few days I will share the enchilada recipe - but for today let us start with the sauce.