Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
Canned green enchilada sauce is just kind of sad. It’s watery and usually not very flavorful. Authentic green enchilada sauce is a little bit of a project, involving roasting fresh tomatillos, onions, garlic, and peppers—not something I necessarily want to be doing in addition to making the rest of dinner on a busy weeknight. I needed something in between. A rich and flavorful green enchilada sauce that was still super fast and easy. So I crafted this super easy Green Chile Enchilada Sauce, based on my Easy Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce, but with a green chile base and a slightly different mix of spices. If you love my red enchilada sauce, I think you’re going to enjoy this one just as much!
What’s in Green Enchilada Sauce?
Green enchilada sauce is a mix of roasted peppers, onions, garlic, tomatillos, and spices. If you want to try an authentic recipe, give this Green Enchilada Sauce from Isabel Eats a shot. But as I mentioned in the intro, I was looking for convenience without sacrificing a lot of flavor. So I swapped out the fresh roasted peppers, onions, and garlic for canned green chiles and dried spices. I also add a little oil and flour for thickening power. On days when I have time to cook for fun, I’ll probably make my enchilada sauce the real way, but this quick version will be my go-to most of the time!
Is This Sauce Spicy?
It can be. Canned green chiles can vary in heat level. The canned diced green chiles I purchased from Kroger were completely mild, but depending on the brand, they may have a little heat. If you want to make your green enchilada sauce spicy, you can always add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper.
How Do You Use Green Chile Enchilada Sauce?
Enchilada is great for so much more than just enchiladas (try my Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas)! It’s also great for:
- Combining with eggs, tortilla chips, and cheese for chilaquiles or migas
- Drizzled over tacos
- Stirred into sour cream for a creamy-tangy chip dip
- Smothering burritos
- Mixed into mayo to use as a green chile coleslaw dressing
Can I Skip the Flour?
Yes, if you need to make this sauce gluten-free, you can skip the flour. The flour-oil combo does help thicken the sauce, but you’ll still have a wonderfully flavorful sauce without it, just slightly less viscous.
Easy Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 4oz. cans diced green chiles ($1.58)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the canned green chiles (with any liquid in the can) to a blender and purée until smooth. Set the puréed chiles aside.
- Add the cooking oil, flour, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder to a small sauce pot. Stir and cook over medium heat until it begins to simmer and bubble up. Continue cooking and stirring for about 1 minute to toast the flour and spices.
- Carefully add the water and puréed green chiles to the oil, flour, and spices in the sauce pot. Whisk the mixture until everything is evenly combined.
- Allow the sauce to come back up to a simmer, then add 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste.
- Use the green chile enchilada sauce immediately, or refrigerate up to four days.
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Green Chile Enchilada Sauce – Step by Step Photos
These are the canned green chiles that I used as the base for this sauce. Some brands are spicy, some are mild (the kind I used are mild).
Add two 4oz. cans of green chiles to a blender (with all the liquid in the can) and purée them until smooth.
Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil, 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp onion powder to a small sauce pot.
Cook and stir the oil, flour, and spices over medium heat until they begin to simmer and bubble. Continue to cook and stir for about one minute to toast the flour and spices.
Carefully add 1 cup water…
Also add the puréed green chiles.
Whisk the ingredients together until smooth, then allow it to come back up to a simmer, stirring occasionally. This should only take a few minutes. Finally, season the finished sauce with 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste.
Use the Green Chile Enchilada Sauce immediately on your favorite enchiladas, or refrigerate the sauce up to four days.
I disagree with the person with issues with this recipe not being all fresh and alternative etc. I cook from scratch alllll the time (it’s like therapy for me and my creative outlet) but I work 2 jobs, have some cooked chicken to use and had a hankering for enchiladas on a Monday night and zero time or desire to roast tomatillos and junk today at 7pm. This is fantastic. For those of us who do cook a ton from fresh/scratch to see we can still whip something up and make it our own (I used fresh onion I minced with some jarred garlic and chicken broth instead of water mostly because i dont have powdered onion), it’s a lifesaver for a quick dinner decision. This is the best recipe I’ve found on the fly late after a long day. Thank you!!! Keep doing it! I can’t wait to see your other recipes now that I’ve found you!
We don’t have canned green chillies here. Can I used jarred (brined) jalapenos or fresh green chillies instead? (And thanks for the post, this is right up my alley!)
Honestly, I’d need to test it with those substitutions before offering advice. Both of those options might result in significant flavor and texture changes to the sauce.
I’ve never seen enchilada sauce made that way. I’m from southern NM. Las Cruces which is next to Hatch.
Canned and jarred green chile doesn’t even resemble the actual taste of fresh green chile. We prepare our
green chile by removing the stem, rinsing off most of the skin and cleaning out the seeds. The skin gives it a lot
of flavor so we leave some of it on. We don’t process the green chile sauce to the point of puree. In fact I just tap
the processor a few times and thats it. We don’t want a smoothy. Your recipe may taste good…..but its certainly
nothing authentic about it. I suppose since you’re using canned green chile and onion powder that you’re not
trying to achieve an authentic taste and that may work for some people. Raw tortillas? Frying them brings out
the flavor and makes them as crispy as you want them to be. Uncooked corn tortillas are just massa.
Correct. In the first paragraph of the blog post, I explain how this is a quickie version of enchilada sauce made for busy weeknights, not an authentic enchilada sauce. :)
Good sauce. 2 suggestions….use masa harina for the roux (more flavor)….and after cooking the roux, just dump the water and the chopped chiles straight from the can and use stick blender to puree….easier clean-up.