Green Enchilada Sauce is tangy and rich and, best of all, so easy to make yourself! Just roast green chiles, then simmer them with tomatillos, onions, garlic, jalapeños and spices. Give the mixture a quick blend and you’re ready to make enchiladas from scratch! Watch the video at the bottom to see the step by step process of making homemade green enchilada sauce – you won’t believe how easy it is.
When it comes to comfort food, Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are hard to beat. I love the tender chicken, melty cheese and tortilla, soft in the middle with edges that get perfectly crisp in those last few minutes in the oven. For years I made enchiladas with Hatch brand Green Chile Enchilada Sauce. But one day I read the ingredient label and began my search for a homemade green enchilada sauce recipe that would compare.
The first few recipes that I tried were okay, but were largely flavored by tomatillos. I like tomatillos as the star in things like pork chili verde, but for enchilada sauce, having them as the primary ingredient makes the sauce too tangy for my taste. They still have a presence in this green enchilada sauce, but the roasted chiles are the star (as they are in White Chicken Chili). It’s a simple combination of roasted Hatch or Anaheim chiles, olive oil, tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeño, cumin and water – a great copycat version of the Hatch brand sauce, but without the ‘extra’ ingredients.
I like to use 3 cups of green enchilada sauce per batch of Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas (make slow cooker pulled chicken to fill them, it’s easy!), a bit saucier than some recipes. That’s one perk of making your own sauce that you can use more or less according to your tastes. And this sauce freezes very well. You’ll get 3 batches from making this just once! For convenience, freeze leftover sauce in one-batch portions.
How to Make Green Enchilada Sauce
Step 1: Roast Anaheim or Hatch chiles in a 400˚F oven until brown and blistered. Let steam and then remove skins, stems and seeds. Coarsely chop.
Step 2: Meanwhile cook and stir tomatillos, onions, garlic and jalepeños in a saucepan until soft. Add chiles, cumin and water and bring to boil. Simmer, covered 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Blend sauce in batches until smooth (covering blender with towel instead of lid when liquid is hot). Use immediately or transfer to containers to refrigerate or freeze.
Important Notes:
- Please note that handling raw chiles that have been cut up can severely irritate your skin. I always recommend wearing gloves when working with raw chiles.
- Take care when buying your chiles whether they are ‘mild,’ ‘medium,’ or ‘hot.’ The spiciness of your sauce will reflect your choice of chiles! And note that seeds add heat. So if you want a mild sauce, be sure to discard them.
Green Enchilada Sauce Recipe Video
Green Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds Anaheim or Hatch Chiles
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound tomatillos papery coverings removed and diced
- 2 medium white onions thinly sliced
- 8 cloves garlic peeled and coarsely chopped
- 2 jalapeños stem, seeds and membrane removed, chopped (see recipe note #1)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3 cups water
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange chiles on it in a single layer. Roast chiles for 30 minutes then transfer to bowl and cover for at least 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle.
- When chiles are cool enough to handle, remove stems, skin and seeds; coarsely chop.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapeño; cook and stir until soft, about 15 minutes. Add chopped chiles, cumin and water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Blend in 2 or 3 batches, taking care to have a similar ratio of liquid to solids and covering the blender with a towel not the lid if the sauce is hot.
- Pour sauce into canning jars or other heat-safe containers and let cool. Refrigerate or freeze sauce or use it right away!
Notes
- Please note that handling raw chiles that have been cut up can severely irritate your skin. I always recommend wearing gloves when working with raw chiles.
- Take care when buying your chiles whether they are 'mild,' 'medium,' or 'hot.' The spiciness of your sauce will reflect your choice of chiles! And note that seeds add heat. So if you want a mild sauce, be sure to discard them.
- This sauce freezes beautifully and this recipe makes 9 cups, enough for 3 batches of 8 enchiladas. I recommend freezing leftover sauce in 3-cup portions.
- Refrigerate the enchilada sauce up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
What a great idea! We always make sure to keep a can or two of green enchilada sauce in the pantry. I’ve never through about making my own…until now! I’m thinking this would be great for a cold winter day. Enchiladas are some serious comfort food!
Yay! I’m so excited for you to try this, David!! 🙂
I have loved green chili sauce for- the first time i tried it was sometime in the late 70’s. I have all ways wanted to make my own but never could get a lead or direction. I will definatly make this one here looks very good. My question is i grew a bunch of Anahiem chilis this summer and some chilies were green and I cooked with these and some turned red. i know the red ones are more mature would your recipie still work or be green sauce with the red ones.is there a taste difference?
Hi Doug! Lucky you with your own homegrown peppers! You can definitely use the ripe, red peppers, but note that your sauce will be sweeter than sauce from peppers that are still green. 🙂
Love the video Marissa! And I love making homemade enchilada sauce! I have yet to make a green one. I’ll need to give your recipe a try!
Thank you so much, Mary Ann!
I love this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing! Sounds so delicious.
Thanks so much, Billy!
I made the enhilada sauce yesterday and it is pretty good! I stumbled upon your site while searching for a green sauce. I am from the pacific nw and had never heard of hatch chilis nor used many chilis in my life. I followed the recipe exactly….I didn’t wear gloves and my hands burned for 11 HOURS! Nothing worked to fix the immense pain, I tried everything. I feel like you need to put a disclaimer that this is a HOT and SPICY sauce which it says nowhere on your recipe. Please also let people know to wear gloves! I feel like it is irresponsible to not tell people these chilis can burn you.
Hi Annie! I’m so sorry about your burning hands! I’ve never had skin irritation from chiles that have been roasted whole before handling. It must have been from cutting up the raw jalepenos? In terms of the sauce being spicy, I’m guessing that you bought ‘hot’ Hatch chiles. They vary from mild to medium to very spicy. I typically make this sauce with medium chiles so it isn’t particularly spicy.
Thank you for your suggestions: I’ve made a notes on the recipe about varying levels of chile heat and added a warning about handling raw chiles without gloves.
Instead of freezing sauce can you put it in hot water bath and can them
Hi there, Betty! I haven’t canned the sauce myself, but don’t see why not. Here is a link to the best canning safety guide I know – I recommend having a look before you begin. Thanks!
This sounds so delicious! I’m excited to try it. I have a question. I’m a baby and don’t like hot stuff, how hot would you say it is?
Hi Laurie. Use mild peppers and you should be just fine! 🙂
I use dry ancho chiles to make red enchilada sauce. I learned how to make it from a Mexican friend. But I’ve never heard of green enchilada sauce.
Wouldn’t it be easier to halve the fresh chiles, remove the stem and seeds before roasting?
Hi Bunny,
I like to roast them whole and then remove the stem, seeds and peel all at once, but you could definitely halve and remove stem and seeds beforehand if you prefer.
Hi Marissa . . . I just found your site searching for a green enchilada sauce. I’ve been making red enchilada sauce for years for my own twist on sour cream enchiladas but have wanted to venture into the ‘green arena’ for a long time. Your recipe and all the great comments have pushed me into action. I’ll be embarking this afternoon for serving tomorrow for a work party of volunteers on a local farm project.
Nice video work too!
Best,
Robert on Bainbridge Island, WA
Hi Robert…that’s fantastic! I hope you enjoy the recipe…I’d love to hear how it goes. We love Bainbridge Island btw! So many great memories… Keith and I lived in Poulsbo for 5 years not long after we got married and love that whole area.
Hi Marissa,
this looks great!
2 questions for you regarding the sauce/recipe:
Can I make it 2 days in advance, storing it in the fridge? (i.e. planning on using it for enchiladas Christmas but have to work all day on Christmas Eve…so I would like to make it on the 23rd.)
2nd … any thoughts on using chicken stock instead of water??
Thanks!! – Matt
Hi Matt!
Yes, you can absolutely make it a couple of days in advance. And it freezes really well too if you don’t end up using the whole batch.
Chicken stock will work great and will add a little depth of flavor. I make it both ways.
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
Cheers!
This sauce sounds delicious, Marissa! So much better than store bought 🙂
Thanks so much, Sabrina!
This is SO awesome! I love that you make your own sauce…those ingredient labels scare me too! And I totally agree about the tomatillos resulting in a tangier sauce. Your video is gorgeous too btw! I can’t wait to try this recipe, my sweet friend <3
Thank you, Beeta! xo
Lovely recipe Marissa! And such a great job on that video, beautifully done and the soundtrack was so cheery and relaxing. I still haven’t taken the plunge into video making but I know I need too…
Thanks, Sonali…I love the way you described the music! 🙂 Making the video was more fun than I expected…
YES! I love hatch green chiles! And omg, homemade is always better than store-bought! It’s crazy what you find once you start reading the back of labels. I can’t believe how easy it is to make your own sauce, I’ll be making my own from now on!
Thanks, Kathleen! It really is crazy – I always wonder why all of those mystery are necessary to make foods commercially.
I have been wanting to make homemade green enchilada sauce for a while now! I’m bookmarking this to save for a rainy day when the urge strikes…because I am always craving Tex-Mex, lol!
You and me too, Faith! Tex-Mex forever!! 😉
Marissa, are you shocked to hear me say I’ve never heard of green enchilada sauce? 🙂
I so love Mexican food, but nothing but the most simple of recipes are well known over here. This is why I really enjoy reading Mexican recipes from my US friends.
Really like your chicken in the crockpot idea, too. I have to try that!
Wha!? I hope you can get your hands on some fresh green chiles, Helen. Green Enchiladas are sooo good. If you try this out, I’d love to hear what you think! xo
Is is SUPER scary what is in canned food, right?! I grew up thinking canned stuff was ‘normal’ to eat, but now I totally steer clear because I don’t like all that extra crap with my food. Ew. Anyways, Green chile chicken enchiladas are TOTAL comfort food!! And your sauce looks BOMB, Marissa! Love the hatch chiles in here! Awesome job on the video too! I can’t wait to make your sauce… although I may eat it all with a spoon before it makes it to the enchiladas. 😉 Cheers!
aww, thanks so much, Cheyanne! I may have had a spoonful or two myself. 😉
Hi Marissa! I have become much more aware of what is in canned goods in the past decade as we are very salt sensitive, but also because if I can’t pronounce it or don’t know what it is I don’t want it! I cannot get a very wide variety of chiles here so I do use canned chiles. The brand I buy is Tres Hermanas, it is a New Mexico green chile and the ingredients are “green chile peppers, water, less than 2% of calcium chloride, citric acid and salt”. They come in varying degrees of heat, but I use the mild usually because I add my own spices. I could substitute these in making this(?). I’m just not sure of the quantity to use in place of fresh chiles.
Hi Dorothy! You got me curious about raw vs. roasted chiles. So I’m going to nerd out for a minute here. 🙂 I found this pretty funny post where someone did a home experiment to answer just that question. It turned out that roasted chiles weighed about 43% less than raw. So, if I started with 1 3/4 pounds / 28 ounces, then I probably ended up with 12 ounces, and lost another ?? ounces when I stemmed, peeled and seeded them. I saw that the brand of chiles you mention come in 10 ounce cans, of course some of that will be liquid weight. And, to me, canned chiles seem like they absorb more water. So, I’d use 2 drained 10 ounce cans of whole chiles and start out with just 2 cups of water instead of 3 in this recipe and add more if necessary. How’s that for a long winded answer. 😉
Hi Marissa! I do believe that is the perfect answer to MY long winded nerdy question!! Thank you so much, you always make me smile! 🙂
You are so welcome!! And you always make me smile too.
I have a whole lot of Hatch chiles here at the house and even though you don’t like tomatillos in there, and I do, I will adhere to your recipe and taste test. 🙂 Love the video, way to go Marissa!
I bet you and David buy the HOT Hatch chiles! My forehead starts to sweat just thinking about them. 🙂 Thanks for your kind words, my friend.
Update! Kevin, I decided to experiment with tomatillos and I’m a convert! What I discovered is that I like them better as an enhancement to the chiles instead of the main attraction as you’ll see in this updated recipe. 🙂
Wow! This is a must-try for me, Marissa. The ingredient list is so simple, but I’m with you when I read the list of “things” on the can of store-bought sauce. And the ease of creating the enchiladas after the sauce is complete is unbelieveable. Sign me up! Great photos, too.
Wow, thanks so much, Sally! If you give this a try, I’d love to hear how it goes…
Ooh hatch chillies! When we travelled through the US there was a lot of stuff about the green and hatch chillies. These look spectacular Marissa 😀
Thank you, Lorraine! I remember your Road Trip USA!! 🙂
I always wondered what the green enchilada sauce was made of- I definitely prefer it to red sauce and of course it’s hatch chiles! So delicious : )
Thank you, Medha!