This Green Enchilada Sauce recipe is made from roasted green chiles, onions, garlic, and some classic Mexican herbs and spices all in only 20 minutes! It’s easy to make and great for making enchiladas, chilaquiles and more.
One of my favorite things about Mexican food is all the flavorful sauces. And today we’re bringing you another one!
I’ve shared this authentic enchilada sauce made with whole dried chiles and Mexican chocolate, easy enchilada sauce made with common pantry ingredients like chili powder and this salsa verde recipe with you. And now I’m excited to finally be sharing this green enchilada sauce recipe! It’s about time, right?!
Ready in only 20 minutes, this sauce is super easy to make and better than any store-bought green enchilada sauce that I’ve ever tried. The best part is that you can customize the spice level and make it as hot or mild as you want!
Green enchilada sauce ingredients
Everything in this homemade green enchilada sauce is easy to find and source at your local grocery store. Here’s what you need:
- Green Chiles: I used Anaheim and Jalapeno peppers, but you could use others as well. See the ‘substitutions’ section below for more green chile pepper suggestions.
- Onions + Garlic: Always a winning duo in sauces, these two ingredients perfectly compliment the peppers.
- Mexican Herbs + Spices: A touch of ground cumin and dried oregano to add some earthy flavors.
- Cilantro + Lime Juice: Adds some brightness and acidity to compliment the roasted green chiles.
- Olive Oil: To lightly fry the sauce and help meld all the ingredients together.
- Broth: I used vegetable broth but you could also use chicken broth. This thins out the sauce to your liking.
Substitutions and Variations
If you don’t have Anaheim peppers (which are fairly mild), you could use Poblano Peppers (also fairly mild), Hatch/New Mexico chiles (mild-medium) or Cubanelle peppers (extremely mild).
Don’t want it spicy? Omit the jalapeno pepper. You could also remove and discard all the seeds and veins of the chiles since that’s where a lot of the heat comes from.
If you’re a chili lover and want to add more heat, you can use a serrano pepper instead of a jalapeno. (Learn more about chile peppers and their spice level on the scoville scale here.)
Love roasted tomatillos? You can roast one or two along with the green chiles to add in some of that bright acidic tomatillo flavor.
Ways to use green enchilada sauce
There are so many ways to use this green enchilada sauce in your everyday tex mex cooking! Here are some of my favorites:
- Enchiladas! You can use this sauce in pretty much any enchilada recipe. Just swap it out for the sauce in these weeknight enchiladas verdes or red chicken enchiladas.
- Easy Dinners! Use this sauce in dishes like quinoa enchilada bake or chicken enchilada stuffed sweet potatoes.
- Tex Mex Breakfasts! Drizzle it on top of migas or chilaquiles.
Ingredients
- 4 anaheim peppers (see notes for substitutions)
- 1 jalapeno pepper (optional – see notes)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, packed
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
- 3 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 1/2 limes)
Instructions
- Roast the peppers: Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and place anaheim peppers and jalapeno (if using) on top.
- Set your oven rack directly underneath the broiler and turn the broiler on. Broil peppers for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the skin is blackened and blistered.
- Remove them from the oven and loosely cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to keep in some of the heat and help them steam. Let them sit for 5 minutes.
- Pull and rub off as much of the loose skin on the peppers as possible. It doesn't have to be perfect, just as much as you can.
- Discard the stems. Make a vertical slit down the middle of the peppers with a knife and remove the seeds and veins. (You can leave them in if you prefer your sauce extra spicy.)
- Blend: Add the roasted peppers, onion, cilantro, garlic, cumin, salt, oregano and a splash of the vegetable broth to a large blender. Blend until completely smooth.
- Heat: Heat the olive oil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add the blended green enchilada sauce and lightly fry for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Season: Remove from heat and add the remaining vegetable broth and lime juice. Mix together, taste and season with more salt if necessary.
- Serve: Serve immediately or store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Isabel’s Tips:
- If you don’t have Anaheim peppers (which are fairly mild), you could use Poblano Peppers (also fairly mild), Hatch/New Mexico chiles (mild-medium) or Cubanelle peppers (extremely mild).
- Don’t want it spicy? Omit the jalapeno pepper. You could also remove and discard all the seeds and veins of the chiles since that’s where a lot of the heat comes from.
- If you’re a chili lover and want to add more heat, you can use a serrano pepper instead of a jalapeno.
- Love roasted tomatillos? You can roast one or two along with the green chiles to add in some of that bright acidic tomatillo flavor.
Nutrition Information
Love this green sauce with tomatillo. One note, line baking sheet with parchment instead of tin foil. It’s much healthier.
I am making this for a friend who cannot tolerate oil in her diet. Can I use butter instead?
Hi Leslie! I think the sauce would be okay using butter! It will also make a more rich flavor. Happy cooking!
Absolutely Wonderful! It’s so good I can eat it plane😊
My husband is from Oaxaca Mexico. He loved this. I should have doubled the batch. Everyone went for seconds. I love to find a authentic recipe. I have found another maeal from your page that we are going try. This sauce was a 10. Thank you for sharing.
Do you have a recipe for shrimp enchiladas?
Delicious and so easy! Thank you for sharing!
Just made this sauce for chicken enchiladas and it was magnificent! Used your excellent enchilada recipe and swapped the red sauce for the green sauce. Skipped the cilantro (my wife is not a fan) and replaced with roasted tomatillos. I had never roasted peppers before and was a little nervous, but the directions were spot on. Thank you for this great recipe.
This was fantastic! We used it on chicken enchiladas and they were soooo good! I’m so glad I found this website. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you!
This Green Enchilada Sauce recipe is now my go-to, tasted totally authentic (as far as I can tell, anyway), super flavor! Used four really large Anaheims, easy to roast & peel, and also used a serrano (removed the seeds & some ribs, kept a little of their heat). I can’t believe how easy this was, beats the pants off store-bought sauce, and really took only 25 mins for me. Assuming you have the peppers, etc., definitely well worth the relatively small effort to make this fabulous sauce.
Awesome recipe!!!! This is a staple in my kitchen!!!
Delicious! I used hatch chiles as suggested in the substitutions, but followed everything else to a T. Was perfect for enchiladas, and will definitely be our go-to from now on!
This is a wonderful recipe! I only had poblanos and jalapeños, but I followed the recipe and it turned out delicious. We used the sauce to make smothered burritos.
Wow! I needed to use some of the chiles and tomatillos that are coming on, so I made a huge batch to put in the freezer. The flavors are incredible, and I’m so looking forward to enjoying enchiladas all winter. Since it is going in the freezer, I left out the cilantro for now. I will add it and more lime juice to freshen it up when I use it. Pro tip: if you have an air fryer, it works GREAT for roasting the chiles!
I’d like to add tomatillos to the sauce. Should the husk be removed before roasting? Thank you! I love green sauce and so glad you include a recipe.
Yes! Remove the husks and then rinse them under warm water to remove any of the sticky residue that the husk leaves.
Delicious! The second time I made a few changes and liked it even better. I quartered the onion and charred it in a dry cast iron skillet and also lightly charred the garlic. Used only 2 Tbl lime juice. Really great and authentic. Thanks!
Can you can this recipe?
Hi there, I don’t have any experience or expertise in canning so I can’t say for sure. However, I do know that it can be frozen for up to 3 months!
love making sauces like these from scratch, and love green sauces, including enchilada sauces like this one and one of the best things about them is the ability to control how spicy to make it, thank you