This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Quick and easy green sauce recipe for enchiladas uses fresh tomatillos, peppers, and herbs to create a versatile sauce that transforms ordinary enchiladas into restaurant-quality meals. Perfect for anyone who wants to add authentic flavor to weeknight dinners without spending hours in the kitchen!
I hope this quick and easy Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce makes your dinner just a little easier and as tasty as ever! This is a great sauce to make during summer’s garden harvest of tomatillos. It also freezes well, so make a double batch and keep some in the freezer for a busy night.
Beyond enchiladas, you can use it in soups, chilies, or as a topping for grilled meats. Making ahead and storing in meal-sized portions is great for those nights when you need dinner on the table fast but don’t want to sacrifice quality or nutrition for convenience!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Green Sauce Recipe For Enchiladas
- Make-Ahead Time Saver: Prepare this sauce on the weekend and refrigerate or freeze for quick weeknight meals. Double the recipe and freeze portions for later use. Having homemade enchilada sauce ready to go means you’re always just minutes away from a delicious dinner your family will love.
- Versatility Champion: This isn’t just for enchiladas! Use it as a simmer sauce for chicken, a base for tortilla soup, or even as a zesty salsa with chips. One sauce, endless possibilities.
- Customizable Heat Level: You control the spice! Adjust the jalapeños up or down depending on your family’s preference. It’s perfect for households with varying spice tolerances.
- No Artificial Ingredients: Unlike store-bought versions, this homemade sauce contains no preservatives, artificial colors, or excessive sodium. Just pure, fresh ingredients that you can feel good about serving your family.
🍽️ My family’s most requested meal using this sauce is One Pan Chicken Enchilada Casserole, but I share more delicious meals to make with this sauce below!
Recipe Ingredients
- Tomatillos — Fresh tomatillos will be in a papery husk and are smooth and limey green on the inside. You can also used canned tomatillos for this recipe.
- Anaheim peppers — Mild to lightly spicy peppers that are easy to find and work with. These peppers don’t have much heat; it’s normally just above bell peppers and definitely less than jalapeños.
- Jalapeño peppers
- Cilantro
- Onion
- Garlic
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Green Enchilada Sauce
- Blend: Throw all of your ingredients in the blender or food processor and let the appliance do the chopping! If your appliance won’t hold all of the broth, just use as much as needed to blend up the vegetables and add the rest of the stock to the pan.
- Cook: Add everything you blended up to a large stock pot or Dutch oven and simmer until it thickens.
- Use: Use this for your favorite enchilada sauce, as a salsa verde for dipping chips into, or mix it with equal parts sour cream for an easy dip.
Recipe FAQs
The consistency is a matter of preference. After simmering for 30 minutes, you’ll have a medium-thick sauce. For thinner sauce, add more stock; for thicker sauce, simmer longer. Remember that the sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.
When buying tomatillos, pick ones that have crispy tan husks and no blemishes. If you can’t find tomatillos locally, you can use canned tomatillos for this recipe.
The heat level is completely customizable. As written, with 1-2 jalapeños, it provides a mild to medium heat that most family members can enjoy. Remove all seeds and membranes from the jalapeños for milder flavor, or add more peppers if your family loves spice.
Absolutely! This sauce actually improves with time as the flavors meld together. Make it up to 5 days ahead and store in the refrigerator, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Expert Tips
- Freezer Friendly: To freeze, simply let the mixture cool and store it in a freezer-safe container. Mark the lid and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
- Choosing Tomatillos: Look for firm tomatillos with tight-fitting husks. The stickiness under the husks is normal and actually a sign of freshness. Rinse them well under warm water to remove this natural residue.
- Depth of Flavor: For an even richer flavor profile, try roasting the tomatillos, peppers, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet at 425°F for about 15-20 minutes before blending. This extra step adds wonderful smoky complexity to your sauce.
- Blend In Batches: If your blender is smaller, work in batches rather than overfilling. This ensures everything gets properly incorporated and results in that velvety-smooth texture we’re looking for. My new fave way to make this sauce is by using an immersion blender directly in the pan to blend the ingredients and have less clean-up!
How to Use Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce
Use this sauce as an addition to chilis or taco-style soups, as a condiment for tacos, or as the sauce base for any of these yummy recipes!
- Easy Shredded Meat and Corn Enchilada Bake
- Easy Chicken Enchiladas
- Instant Pot Chipotle Chicken Taco Meat or Easy Crispy Instant Pot Pork Taco Recipe—just roll them up and cover them with enchilada sauce and cheese.
More Sauce Recipes to Consider
Condiments, Marinades & Spreads
Easy Tartar Sauce Recipe
Seasoning Mixes
Garlic Parmesan Seasoning – Perfect for Breadsticks
Dip Recipes
Lemon Garlic Hummus Recipe Without Tahini
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Green Sauce Recipe For Enchiladas | Quick & Easy
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in the blender and process until smooth. (If the jar of your blender doesn't fit it all, add all of the ingredients except for the chicken or vegetable stock. Add only enough stock to allow the blender to process everything until smooth. Add the rest of the stock to the pan before cooking.)
- Add the blended mixture to a large pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes. If the sauce is thicker than you like, add a little more chicken or vegetable stock.
- Serve inside burritos or pour it over enchiladas for a smothered styled meal. I also use this as part of my liquid in tortilla soup and chili!
- Freeze any extras for later use or make a double batch to keep some on hand in the freezer.
Video
Notes
- If you’d like your enchilada sauce extra smooth, blend it a second time after you cook it to achieve a more velvety texture.
- Poblano peppers can be substituted for Anaheim in this recipe.
- To freeze, simply let the mixture cool and store it in a freezer-safe container. Mark the lid and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
- Make extra of this sauce in the summer when tomatillos are in season and save for quick weeknight meals during the winter.
I made this first using the minimum peppers but found the ideal for us was 1.5 jalapeños and 3 Anaheim’s. It tastes just like our favorite canned brand.I used homegrown tomatillos but had to buy the rest. My garden is not in sync with those crops.
thanks a lot for the recipe. i was thinking of trying a green sauce the next time i make enchiladas since the butternut squash recipe i tried called for it but she used canned sauce and i’d rather make my own stuff. as a vegetarian i’m always disappointed when recipes call for broth since we never have any and that’s just one more packaged item to buy. finally saw tomatillos at the produce market but i’m still looking for a green enchilada sauce recipe that doesn’t require packaged products.
Amazing! I am almost speechless…. My family love Mexican food and we decided to give this a try. I did have to tweak this recipe though. Instead of Anaheim peppers, I used a yellow bell pepper. This is the best green enchilada sauce I have ever had! Well done Melissa!!!
Such a great review! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Hi
I live in Australia and can only get tinned tomatillos. Would those be okay to use?
Miss my Mexican food. From Cali.
Yessss! They work great. Could you grow your own at all? I do that and stick them in the freezer, that works great too. You might want to be mindful of the liquid you are adding though because they’ll have more than a tomatillo that isn’t canned, so add less because it might be thinner than you want.
I roasted all the vegetables and threw in blender. Added lime juice and oregano. Only 2 cups chicken stock. No need to boil down if roasting. Very good.
Do the tomatoes and Chile need to be roasted?
You do not have to roast them though it is extra delicious if you do. It’s really up to do you if you want to add that extra step!