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This homemade green enchilada sauce couldn’t be easier! It’s made with healthy, fresh ingredients and can easily be prepped in advance or frozen for homemade enchiladas or other Mexican-inspired dishes!
The BEST Green Enchilada Sauce
Many of my recipes are inspired by our trips to New Mexico. C’s dad grew up there and so we’ve done quite a few trips over the years. Every time I’m there I get inspiration for new recipes. But I also find it’s important to have some of the basic staples already prepped at home. Recipes like this green enchilada sauce are necessities.
I personally like to prepare this enchilada sauce in the summer when our tomatillos are going crazy in the garden. While some people choose to can, I prefer to freeze since we go through it fairly quickly anyway. So we’re oftentimes eating green enchiladas in the middle of winter but made freshly from our garden! Last year we had hatch chiles and jalapeños too so a good chunk of the sauce was homegrown.
Truly nothing beats the flavor of homemade. While you can certainly purchase green enchilada sauce at the store, I find the taste of homemade is superior. So if you’re looking to try making it yourself, this is my go-to recipe and I know it will become yours too!
Ingredients in Green Enchilada Sauce
- Hatch green chiles – or anaheim peppers work well too.
- Tomatillos – be sure to remove the papery husk before roasting.
- White onion – roughly chop but no need to chop finely as you’ll add these to your blender.
- Garlic cloves– be sure to peel them.
- Jalapeno peppers – add based on spice preference. I like 1 or 2 with seeds removed but if you like it spicy, leave the seeds.
- Olive oil – for roasting.
- Salt + Pepper – I’ve included measurements but you can add to your taste or sodium preferences.
- Ground cumin – you can also add other traditional herbs like oregano.
- Vegetable broth – or chicken broth. Use veggie broth if keeping recipe vegan.
- Lime juice – freshly squeezed lime juice is ideal.
You’ll also need a high speed blender for this recipe.
How to Make Green Enchilada Sauce
STEP 1: ROAST CHILES, TOMATILLOS + ONION
Place hatch chiles, tomatillos and chopped white onion on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes or until peppers have a slight char and tomatillos and onion are browned.
STEP 2: PREP CHILES
Remove from oven and place peppers in a large bowl and cover for 15-20 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard stems, skins and seeds from peppers and place remaining chiles directly into blender.
STEP 3: BLEND ALL INGREDIENTS
Add roasted tomatillos and onion, garlic cloves, jalapenos, salt, pepper, cumin, stock and lime juice to your blender. Blend until smooth. Add more stock or water for a thinner sauce.
Easy Swaps + Substitutions
Add cilantro – if you love cilantro like I do, I recommend adding a handful of it to your blender.
Kick up the heat Рleave the seeds in your jalape̱os if you love spice!
Use canned chiles – can’t find green chilis? Use store-bought instead. You’ll need about 4 x 4 oz cans and you’ll add those directly to the blender with the rest of your ingredients.
How to Use Your Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce
On enchiladas – it wouldn’t be enchilada sauce if you couldn’t use it on your enchiladas! I highly recommend these green chicken enchiladas but this recipe would also taste great in place of red enchilada sauce in these black bean enchiladas.
On tacos – the perfect sauce to drizzle on your tacos! I highly recommend these spicy grilled shrimp tacos. Same goes for nachos, burritos or burrito bowls!
In soup – I love using this green enchilada sauce in my enchilada soup recipe.
On vegetables – Use as a green sauce marinade on roasted veggies
On protein – use as a marinade for protein before baking or grilling.
As a dip – honestly this green enchilada sauce makes a perfect dip for tortilla chips!
Make it red! – prefer a red enchilada sauce? Try this homemade version.
Storage Instructions
Refrigerator: Store your homemade green enchilada sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freezer: freeze enchilada sauce in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in fridge.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes You’ll Love:
- Homemade salsa verde
- Chicken Pozole
- Green Pork Chili
- Instant Pot Chicken Taquitos
- Quinoa Taco Casserole
- Homemade pico de gallo
Green Enchilada Sauce
This homemade green enchilada sauce couldn’t be easier! It’s made with healthy, fresh ingredients and can easily be prepped in advance or frozen for homemade enchiladas or other Mexican-inspired dishes!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb hatch green chiles (or anaheim chiles)
- 1 lb tomatillos, husks removed
- 1 large white onion, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1–2 jalapeno peppers, seeded
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 cups chicken or veggie stock
- 1 lime, juiced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place hatch chiles, tomatillos and chopped white onion on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil.
- Roast for 15 minutes or until peppers have a slight char and tomatillos and onion are browned.
- Remove from oven and place peppers in a large bowl and cover for 15-20 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard stems, skins and seeds from peppers and place remaining chiles directly into blender.
- Add roasted tomatillos and onion, garlic cloves, jalapenos, salt, pepper, cumin, stock and lime juice to your blender. Blend until smooth. Add more stock or water for a thinner sauce.
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or 3 months in the freezer (see above for detailed storage instructions).
