Homemade green enchilada sauce with green chiles is so easy to make with just a few simple ingredients and is a healthier and tastier alternative to canned enchilada sauce. (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)
Enchiladas are a staple here in Texas, and I’m sure if you live in the southwest, they are for you, too! But restaurant enchiladas can get greasy and sodium-packed and make you feel not-so-good quickly if you eat them often. Homemade enchiladas can be a better option, but canned sauces tend to also be very high in sodium, sometimes not so great ingredients, and also just a little bland.
That’s why I decided to make my own! This homemade green enchilada sauce is packed full of veggies and spices for tons of flavor without a bunch of added salt or fat. And it’s so simple to make.
How To Make Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce
All you need is a few simple ingredients, an oven, and a blender for the best green enchilada sauce. (I use my Vitamix.)
- Place some peppers, an onion, and garlic on a baking sheet. Roast them at 425°F for 20-30 minutes.
- Peel the skins from the peppers and remove the seeds.
- Blend everything in the blender with some broth, lime juice, and cumin. And now you have enchilada sauce!
How easy was that?
Roasting and Peeling Chiles
This green enchilada sauce recipe is great for using those roasted hatch chiles when they’re in season! Since it’s not always hatch chile season, you’ll have to improvise September through July. Fortunately, it’s easy to roast and peel chiles. Just roast in a 425°F oven for 20-30 minutes, rotating periodically so that all sides get charred. When you remove the chiles, either place them in a bowl covered with foil or plastic wrap or wrap them up in foil without a bowl. Let them rest for about 10 minutes. This will steam the peppers and make the skins easier to remove. After a quick steam, simply use your hands to slip the charred skins from the chiles. I also remove the stems and seeds at this point.
Storing Homemade Enchilada Sauce
You can store enchilada sauce a few ways, depending on when you are going to use it.
- In the refrigerator. Pour sauce into a mason jar or other airtight container. Refrigerate 2-3 days.
- In the freezer. Pour sauce into a freezer-safe jar or container leaving at least an inch for expansion, or freeze in a large ice cube tray (like this one), then pop the cubes out into a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for 3-6 months.
- Canning. When I make a big batch of enchilada sauce, I usually can it in mason jars for easier storage in the pantry. To can sauce, pour into sanitized pint jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Wipe rims, apply new lids and screw on bands. Place in a pressure canner with a rack and 2 inches of water. Lock lid and bring to pressure, then process 50 minutes. Let pressure release naturally before opening the lid and removing jars. (For a more complete canning tutorial, read my guide here.)
What To Make With Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce
- Enchiladas, obviously.
- Green Chile Chicken Quinoa Enchilada Bake
- Chile Rellenos
- Huevos Rancheros, or turn them into Huevos Rancheros Tostadas
- Add it to breakfast tacos or a Mexican breakfast bowl
- Throw it in the slow cooker with chicken for easy green chile shredded chicken.
- Use it as a shortcut in green chile stew.
If you haven’t tried making green enchilada sauce at home yet, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how little effort it requires, and how much it pays off when you take the first bite!
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!
PrintHomemade Green Enchilada Sauce
Homemade green enchilada sauce is so easy to make with just a few simple ingredients, and is a healthier and tastier alternative to canned enchilada sauce. (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: About 4 cups 1x
- Category: sauce
- Method: roasted and blend
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, halved
- 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 jalapeños
- 2–3 Hatch green chiles (anaheim peppers)
- Small bunch (about 1/2 cup loosely packed) cilantro
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth if doesn’t need to be vegetarian)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- Pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Place onion, garlic and peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
- Roast 20-30 minutes, or until pepper skins are blistered. Rotate peppers once or twice while cooking to make sure all sides get charred.
- Remove vegetables from oven. Wrap peppers in foil or place in a a covered bowl for 10 minutes to steam, then peel skins off and remove stems and seeds.
- Place peppers and onion in a blender. Squeeze garlic cloves from the peels into the blender. Add remaining ingredients, starting with 1 cup of broth.
- Blend until smooth. Add more stock until you reach your desired consistency.
- Pour over enchiladas, or your other favorite Tex-Mex dishes, or store according to preference.
Notes
- This recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
- Canned green chiles may be used in place of roasted fresh chiles. you’ll need about 2 small cans.
- To store in the refrigerator, pour sauce into a mason jar or other airtight container. Refrigerate 2-3 days.
- To freeze, pour sauce into a freezer-safe jar or container leaving at least an inch for expansion, or freeze in a large ice cube tray, then pop the cubes out into a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for 3-6 months.
- To can sauce, pour into sanitized pint jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Wipe rims, apply new lids and screw on bands. Place in a pressure canner with a rack and 2 inches of water. Lock lid and bring to pressure, then process 50 minutes. Let pressure release naturally before opening the lid and removing jars.
Keywords: green enchilada sauce recipe, homemade green enchilada sauce, green chile enchilada sauce
I can’t wait to try this recipe for green chile enchilada sauce. I love Hatch chiles and have a couple of recipes for Hatch green chile sauce that I simmer with pork, fresh corn, onions and garlic (of course!), cilantro, and chicken or pork broth. I make burritos with that concoction and it can’t be beat! Can’t wait to try your recipe for a good green sauce over enchiladas. I’m not too crazy about tomatillos so I got excited to see this variation without the tomatillos. Thanks so much for posting it!
By the way, for canning this sauce, do you need to add citric acid, lemon juice, etc.?
Hi Dianna, I hope you enjoy! No, I don’t ever add anything when canning. I do use a pressure cooker, though.
How much sauce does this recipe make? I’m really looking forward to making this and using it in Mexican recipes. Thank you.
Hi Nora,
This recipe makes about 4 cups of sauce. I hope you enjoy it!
Hi Kaleigh, this looks absolutely delicious! I agree with you so much that store sauces have so much salt. And homemade not only taste better but are much much healthier! I am really glad I can visit your blog from time to time to find great reicpes like this! Cheers!
Thank you , Elaine!
Wow, this looks wonderful! Anytime I can go homemade on a sauce, I do!
Me too! Store bought has so much salt, and homemade tastes way better!
YUM! I am totally saving this recipe. I make homemade red enchilada sauce all the time but haven’t tried green. Canned sauce has so much salt it’s ridiculous.
P.S. We should totally get together for coffee sometime since we are both in Dallas! 🙂
You should try the green, is fantastic with all of the peppers!
I agree, lets schedule a coffee date soon! I’ll e-mail you! 🙂
I adore the spicy stuff in the little green bottle. This looks better!
Thanks, Serena! This is way better than the bottled! 🙂