Slow Cooker Chipotle Enchilada Sauce

Slice open the chipotle peppers and remove the seeds. Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar and chicken broth in your slow cooker. Put the lid on and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.

Remove the chipotle peppers from the mixture. Then, using an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth. You can also use your blender to puree the sauce. If you do this, puree it in small batches leaving space in the blender canister for steam to escape. Otherwise it will explode.

Store the sauce in glass mason jars in the fridge. This can be kept in the fridge up to 2 weeks, or will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Recipe Note: This sauce is a little spicy, so if you want to tame it down for little mouths, reduce the amount of chipotle peppers and adobo sauce you use.

Freezer directions: Cool the sauce completely. When it’s completely cool, ladle into quart sized freezer bags which are placed standing up in a glass measuring cup. Gently squeeze the air out and seal the bags. Lay the bags flat on a baking tray and put the tray into the freezer to allow the sauce to freeze.

When ready to use: Thaw the frozen sauce for 24 hours and reheat on the stove top or by microwaving slowly. You can also reheat by placing the the frozen enchilada sauce in your slow cooker. Turn on low and cook until heated through.

Use in your favorite recipes in place of store bought enchilada sauce.