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This Green Enchilada Sauce is a tangy flavorful sauce made with tomatillos, green chilies, garlic, and spices. It is super easy to make and beats the store bought sauce every time!
Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce is a game-changer for bringing bold, fresh flavor to your favorite Mexican-inspired dishes. With a blend of tomatillos, green chilies, garlic, and spices, this sauce is tangy, slightly spicy, and perfectly seasoned. Once you try making it at home, you’ll never want to go back to the canned version.
This sauce is obviously perfect for enchiladas, but it is also great drizzled over tacos, served on burrito bowls, or even as a dip. Plus it’s easy to make, freezer-friendly, and a simple way to add fresh, authentic flavor to just about any meal.
Ingredients Needed
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- Tomatillos – remove the husk and wash them well
- Jalapeno
- Anaheim Pepper – Poblano peppers work great as well. In a pinch you could use a green bell pepper.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Oil
- Chicken Broth
- Cilantro
- Ground Cumin
- Dried Oregano
- Salt & Pepper
How To Make Green Enchilada Sauce
- Chop. After you have removed the husk and washed your tomatillos, cut them into quarters. For the peppers, cut off the stems and remove the seeds. You can leave the ribs for the jalapeno if you want it spicy. Finely dice your onion and garlic.
- Sauté. Add the oil to a large skillet and add in all the veggies. Cook for 5-10 minutes until they are soft.
- Blend. Add the veggies to a blender with the cilantro and the remaining ingredients, process until completely smooth.
- Simmer. Pour into a saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until it has thickened a little and is smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning if desired.
Storage
You can use the sauce immediately to make Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas, Breakfast Enchiladas or Green Chile Enchilada Dip or you can store for later. It will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. It also freezes well, so feel free to make a double batch and save some for later.
Freezing
If you want to freeze the sauce, let it cool completely and then store in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the fridge. The recipe makes about 8 cups total, so I like to freeze in 2-3 cup containers, so I can just take out what I need.
Recipe Tips & Suggestions
- Spicy. This recipe is not spicy if you remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeno pepper. Poblano and Anaheim peppers are mild. You can use a bell pepper, but I think it changes the taste enough, a poblano and Anaheim are my first choice. If you like it spicy you can leave the seeds and ribs in, or you could also add cayenne pepper as well.
- Vegetarian. If you want to make this vegetarian you can use vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth called for in the recipe.
- Cilantro. If you aren’t a fan of cilantro you can use fresh parsley.
- Roast Veggies. If you want a little bit of char and smokey flavor you can roast the vegetables instead of just sauté them. Arrange all of the cut veggies on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Place in a 450º F oven for about 15-20 minutes until they are browned. Then continue with the recipe.
Serving Suggestions
There are a million different ways that you can use this green enchilada sauce, aside from just making green enchiladas. You could swap it out for any red enchilada sauce that is called for in a recipe.
- Breakfast: This sauce would be great in chicken chilaquiles, spoon over avocado scrambled eggs, or with chorizo breakfast burritos.
- Topping: Drizzle it on top of chicken, pork, fish, steak….you name it!
- Salad Dressing: Thin out the sauce with some water and try using it as a dressing for my chicken fajita salad.
- Dinner Time. You can mix this sauce into your quesadilla, burritos, chicken fajitas, southwest chicken wrap, etc. It is a great way to add a little flavor to just about anything.
More Tex-Mex Favorites
Green Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound tomatillos
- 2 Anaheim peppers, or poblano peppers
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 handful cilantro
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables by remove the husk from the tomatillos and washing well. Cut into quarters. Remove the stem and seeds from the poblano and jalapeno peppers.1 1/2 pound tomatillos, 2 Anaheim peppers, 1 jalapeno pepper
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add tomatillos, both peppers, onion and garlic. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the veggies have softened.2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 onion, 4 cloves garlic
- Remove from the heat and to a blender. Add the remaining ingredients and process until completely smooth.1 handful cilantro, 2 cups chicken broth, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Pour into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes until it starts to cook down a little and thicken slightly.
- Remove from the heat and use immediately or store for later.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
