Red Chile Pumpkin Sauce combines the spicy and unique flavor of dried New Mexico red chiles with the flavor and a little bit of the texture of pumpkin purée.
Not only is this sauce just downright delicious, but it is a great solution to toning down the heat in a red chile sauce. You get all of the flavor of a traditional New Mexico red chile sauce, but not the mouth-burning heat that can come with it, especially if you are using HOT or Extra HOT chiles.
I’ve had several inquiries as to how to make a red chile sauce “less hot” and my typical answer is to add honey, 1 tsp. at a time. But the problem with adding honey is, if you add too much, then you end up with a sweet sauce that can ruin a good batch of enchiladas. Adding pumpkin puree to red chile is definitely a great solution.
The pumpkin adds an even more earthy flavor (in a good way) to red chile, but the flavor of the chile is still dominant which is the reverse of my pumpkin soup with red from last year. I think the biggest change is in the texture. You can sort of see it in the pictures below. It’s not much, but a red chile aficionado would definitely notice it. But then if you strain the classic sauce as I have been doing the past few years, you hardly see any difference in texture at all.
Red Chile from Pods (left) / with Pumpkin puree (right)
This sauce can be used in the same way that you use a traditional red chile sauce – as an enchilada sauce, over eggs, to smother burritos and for huevos rancheros. With the pumpkin, it’s even more nutritious, has a milder heat level, and the flavor – red chile delicious!
Red Chile with Pumpkin
A nice twist on the traditional New Mexico red chile sauce.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 8 to 15 pods of dried red chile, washed, stems and seeds removed (amount depends on how you want the heat level of the chile) I use 8 to 10 pods of HOT.
- 4 heaping cups of pumpkin pieces, seeded, peeled, cut into large chunks (about a 2 pound pumpkin)
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- ½ small onion (~3 ounces), coarsely chopped
- 4 cups water (you might need more once you start blending)
- ½ tsp. cumin seed
- ¼ heaping tsp. coriander seeds
- ½ tsp. dried oregano (Mexican oregano if you have it)
- 1 tsp. salt or to taste
- Juice from 1 lime
- Rinse the chile pods. Break into pieces discarding stems and seeds. (Use gloves!)
- In a large pot, add all of the ingredients, except the lime. Bring the water to a boil and reduce heat for a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is fully cooked. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Add some of the ingredients with some of the water from the pot to a blender. Blend.*
- Continue to add the ingredients, a little at a time to the blender, with just enough water to be able to create a purée.
- Continue to blend the sauce until you have a smooth texture. To achieve a good sauce consistency, some additional water may be needed.
- Once fully blended, add the lime juice and stir to incorporate well.
- Reheat for about 10 minutes before using.
The Number of Chile Pods – This is one’s personal preference for the amount of heat you want. I use 8 – 10 hot chile pods for about 2 pounds of pumpkin and get a nice spicy hot sauce. If you want a mild sauce made with hot chile, then decrease the number of chile pods to 5 to 6. If you aren’t sure as to how much chile you need, then remove all but two of the chile pods after cooking. Purée the pumpkin, the 2 chile pods, and other ingredients. Taste. If you want it hotter, blend in more chile, one pod at a time until you get the heat level you want.
Also, if you can find medium dried chile, then you probably won’t have to worry about the sauce being too hot.
Amount of Pumpkin – A 4.5 pound pumpkin, once peeled, seeded, and chopped, yields a heaping 4 cups of pumpkin. More pumpkin can always be added to make a milder and large batch of sauce. Just adjust the seasoning accordingly.
Blending – Blending to a purée may take about three batches. A double blend makes an even smoother consistency. After the first blend, let sit for 10 minutes then blend again.
Storing The Sauce – These 6 cups yielded enough sauce for four single servings of red chile enchiladas and enough sauce to freeze for two more meals. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. After that, divide into containers and freeze.
This sauce can be used on any dish that calls for red chile. Here are some of my personal suggestions:
- Red Chile Enchiladas
- Shiitake and Black Beans Enchiladas
- Huevos Rancheros
- Southwestern Pileup
- A bowl of pinto beans, black beans, or bolita beans along with chopped onion, green olives and feta cheese, or any toppings of your choice.
If you need more suggestions, then here is a whole list of possibilities for you to try.
And for something completely different, give these Red Chile Goat Cheese Pumpkin Empanadas a try. YUM!
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Just seeing this MJ, and it looks wonderful! I’m always looking for great spicy sauces to punch up my grains dishes, and this is perfect. Especially with the pumpkin. Pinning it right now!!
Oh my… this is so inventive MJ. I’ve never combined pumpkin and chile… in fact, my pumpkin recipes tend to be rather… pumpkin plain ;-). I just revisited your soup as well. Love this idea and can imagine how delicious it would be on eggs, quesadillas or tacos… endless possibilities really. The colour is just smashing too!
Pumpkin and red chile! I love the surprise (but not so surprise in your blog! ;)) in the soup with red chile here. You’re Queen of Chile, MJ. 🙂
I LOVE the color on this sauce, MJ. What a creative combination!
It sounds so unusual! I think I have already told you that the only way I could consider eating pumpkin is with lots of heat, so this looks for me like THE dish to convert the pumpkin hater I am!
Peach Lady even the color is fiery. I wish I could eat this but those days are gone. Can I just look at your beautiful pictures?
You can look at the pictures any time! Sorry you can’t eat spicy any more. 🙁
Oh what a beautiful recipe MJ! I think I would like that more earthy flavor (and I must admit, I’m a chile wimp….unlike my sons who love hot sauces of any kind!) But it’s good to know you could tone it down with honey. Such a vibrant color, too…having this on my eggs in the morning would certainly kick start my day! : )
Thanks Anne! Oh yea – it’s great over eggs!
Wow..just look at that bright orangy-red colour…and I love the texture of this spicy pumpkin sauce..I am making this and trying it out with my Spaghetti this weekend. Hugs.
Thanks Sanjeeta! Please let me know how it is with spaghetti. I’ve never tossed spaghetti in a chile sauce of any kind, so I’m curious. Thanks for the suggestion!
This is such a great tip and idea to tone down the heat with pumpkin. I never event thought to research such an idea. I like a touch spicy so a very practical recipe for me.
I loved the red colour of this soup. This is such a great combination of ingredients! Looks so gorgeous and tasty!
This would be good with burritos and enchiladas
This sounds utterly delicious! OMG I can see trying all these recipes just to use this sauce. My family will love this. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks Vicki! We really like the red chile enchiladas with this sauce! For your family you can use the batch method I describe in the Kitchen notes.
My latest wildest fantasy: I’m in a blue dress and having that red, hot, darn sexy chile sauce with a loaf of bread that just came out of the oven 🙂
That pumpkin sauce looks so wild! Man! Killer beauty! Best part: you infused oregano in it. Bam!
Thanks for the recipe and breathtaking pictures.
Now that’s a great fantasy! 🙂 Thanks Darlin!
I’d never though about a possible combination between pumpkin and red chile. How interesting! And I bet it’s a happy marriage 🙂
It’s a very happy marriage! 🙂 Thanks Giulia!
This red chile pumpkin sauce is beautiful! I can already imagine how wonderful it tastes by your pictures. I love how creative you are with NM cuisine!
Thanks so much Renee!! Like you, New Mexico cuisine is what we love, so being creative is easy. 🙂
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I really do love Mexican flavours but sometimes have a bit of difficulty with keeping my lips attached to my face when eating really hot, hot, hot spicy food. I am genuinely going to try this recipe on my enchiladas, thanks for this one MJ!
Thanks Abbe! I hope you do get a chance to try it. It really does work to tone down that heat!
Gorgeous sauce MJ! I love the addition of the pumpkin!
Oh a made a similar one and will never buy it again.
MJ, bravo again for another excellent post. thanks.
This was such a yummy post. Many thanks.
What a great idea for a holiday twist on chili sauce. My mouth is watering thinking chicken enchiladas with this sauce. Another great recipe from MJ! 🙂
Thanks Bill! This sauce is perfect for chicken enchiladas, but I can’t wait to try it with smoked turkey enchiladas. 🙂
I can feel the heat to get in to the kitchen MJ. This is a great use for pumpkin.
Thanks Bellini! I love the combination of pumpkin and red chile and this just works.
Oh my, the colour of this sauce is gorgeous.You know, seeing it all there in a bowl, so velvety and smooth, it kind of makes me want to eat it with a spoon like a soup, although I guess that might cause a few problems (burning mouth might be one of them!).
Lovely looking sauce MJ!
Thanks Charles! It is a beautiful color isn’t? Yep, even though it was toned down a bit, it was still hot, so you definitely would have a burning mouth. 🙂
That colour is absolutely beautiful 😀
Cheers
CCU
What a great way to tone down the heat! You are the master of all things chile!!!
Thanks Liz!! I don’t know if I’m a master or not, but I do work at lot with chile! 🙂
I love the idea of using pumpkin instead of tomatoes to make chilli sauce. Gorgeous flavours and colour!
Thanks Angie! I add tomatoes sometimes, but it’s like the honey, if you go too far, your sauce tastes like a tomato sauce. That isn’t the case with the red chile pumpkin.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have roasted pumpkin in the fridge that I have got to do something with and I still have bags of dried NM peppers. This is a great idea. Thanks again.
You are most welcome Debra! I hope you enjoyed it!
This sounds great, but I think I would like the red chile sauce even better! I like the idea of toning it down with pumpkin puree though. This recipe sounds delicious. I’ll have to try both!
Thanks Jodee! I actually prefer the traditional red chile sauce myself, but with the chiles I bought last year, this recipe did wonders in making it edible. They were HOT! 🙂
I’ve never tried anything like this but I’m sure I would love it. I must give it a go. 🙂
Sounds wonderful!! I love getting the pumpkin in the sauce. 🙂
I really like this recipe! I’ve seen similar recipes with other types of squash, but I’ve never made any of them. I really must – this sounds unbelievably wonderful. Good tips on using sweet (honey) to tone down the spice. I’ve never tried it, but I wonder if adding a bit of cream might help, too. Although of course if you use too much you’ll be changing both the color and the flavor – not something one would usually want to do. Anyway, super recipe – thanks.
Thanks John! In reference to the honey, you’ll find a bottle of honey on the tables of just about any NM restaurant. People think it’s just for the sopaphillas, but when the chile is really hot, I’ve been know to put honey on the tortilla chips. It works instantly to kill the burn. 🙂