Tired of your standard green or red enchilada sauces? Try this hatch chile enchilada sauce!!! It features smoky, earthy roasted New Mexican hatch chile peppers, is quick and easy to prepare, and can be made mild or hot to suit your taste. Naturally vegan and gluten-free.
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What you’ll love about this recipe
- It’s simple! Making your own enchilada sauce is quite easy to do and so worth the little effort that it requires. It is mostly hands-off and takes just 20-minutes to prepare.
- It tastes so much better than store-bought enchilada sauce! While I definitely use store-bought enchilada sauce from time to time, nothing beats making it from scratch. Plus, I’ve yet to see hatch chile enchilada sauce sold in a store – so if you want it (which you should!!!) you’ve got to prepare it yourself. I can assure you you won’t regret it. This homemade sauce is fresh, robustly flavorful, and as I mentioned above simple to prepare.
- It’s not just for enchiladas! Who said enchilada sauce was strictly meant for enchiladas? Don’t get me wrong it’s definitely amazing on enchiladas like these hatch chile chicken enchiladas BUT this sauce can be smothered on a burrito, huevos rancheros, and more, used to top veggies or protein, or even served with chips for dipping. To be honest, it’s so tasty you’ll probably just want to drink it – Don’t worry, I won’t judge you if you do.
Ingredients (+ notes & substitutions)
- Olive oil: For sautéeing the aromatics.
- White onion: Could sub for yellow onion.
- Garlic: Feel free to include additional garlic if you like.
- Broth: This hatch green enchilada sauce can be made with chicken broth or to keep it vegan, vegetable broth. Personally, since I am not a vegan/vegetarian, I prepare it with chicken broth as it adds more flavor to the sauce.
- Roasted hatch chile peppers: When in season, early August through late September, you can typically find these chiles at the grocery store. They are also available for purchase from The Hatch Chile Store. Although, only fresh part of the year, they will deliver them pre-roasted all year round! If possible I highly recommend you roast the hatch chiles yourself for optimal freshness. Here is my easy oven roasting guide. Also worth mentioning, they come in different levels of heat; from mild to extra-spicy so you can easily control the level of heat in this dish.
- Cumin: For additional earthiness and warmth.
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Lime juice: A touch of acid right at the end brightens things up.
How to make hatch chile enchilada sauce (+ tips)
1. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent then add the garlic and sauté for another two minutes.
2. Add the broth, increase the heat to high, and boil for two minutes to soften up the onions a little more.
3. Transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender, add the hatch chiles, cumin, salt, and ground black pepper then pulse until smooth.
4. Transfer the sauce back to the saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, stir in the lime juice, and serve immediately or refrigerate for later.
Storage
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week or can it for later.
FAQ
Hatch chiles are a variety of green chiles originating from New Mexico, specifically the Hatch Valley. They are naturally smoky in flavor and subtly sweet. As far as spiciness goes, they range from mild to extra hot.
Hatch chiles are in season for only a small period of time each year; early August through September.
Recommended Products
More homemade sauce recipes featuring chiles that may come in handy:
- Verde Enchilada Sauce: Go ahead and ditch the store-bought enchilada sauce. Trust me. This homemade verde enchilada sauce is super easy to prep, inexpensive, and so so tasty. Naturally gluten-free and vegan.
- Hatch Green Chile Sauce: During hatch chile season this is the only sauce you need! It’s earthy, smoky, and buttery; a wonderful addition to burritos, enchiladas, and more that is easy to make and takes only 25-minutes. Naturally vegan.
- Chile de Árbol Hot Sauce: Smoky and spicy; this quick and easy five-ingredient chile de árbol hot sauce packs a mighty punch. The use of Mexican chiles makes it an ideal addition to dishes like tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. Naturally gluten-free and vegan.
If you make this hatch green chile enchilada sauce I’d love your feedback. Please leave a comment and/or a rating below as I greatly value your opinion. Or snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @taoofspiceblog. Love, light, and happy cooking ya’ll ♥
Hatch Enchilada Sauce
Tired of your standard green or red enchilada sauces? Try this hatch enchilada sauce!!! It features smoky, earthy roasted New Mexican hatch chile peppers, is quick and easy to prepare, and can be made mild or hot to suit your taste. Naturally vegan and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 6 roasted hatch chile peppers, peeled and deseeded
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent then add the garlic and sauté for another two minutes.
- Add the broth, increase heat to high, and boil for two minutes.
- Transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender, add the hatch chiles, cumin, salt, and ground black pepper then pulse until smooth.
- Transfer the sauce back to the saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in the lime juice, and serve immediately or refrigerate for later.
Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week or can it for later.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1/4 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 110Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 184mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 7g
The nutritional information provided is computer generated. It is only an estimate and intended for informational purposes only. Nutrition details may vary depending on various factors such as origin, freshness of ingredients, etc
Donna B.
Thursday 30th of January 2025
Never mind that up here in Canada we don't get Hatch chilies...we can't even get canned green chile enchilida sauce (red enchilida sauce is available in most Supermarkets, but not green) 😕
I made this ("sort of")...because having no Hatch chilies to roast, I had no choice but add in two 4oz. cans of Old El Paso chopped green chilies (undrained) to the sauce.
I did not transfer the sauce to a blender, but did "blitz" the sauce in the pot with a stick/immersion blender and simmered it for about 10 minutes to thicken a bit. Took it off the heat and whisked in some sour cream (about 1/4C.)
It was a decent substitute poured over a casserole dish of "Cheesy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas"...topped with more grated Cheddar cheese and baked at 350° for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cheese melted 😋😋😋
Rita H
Tuesday 1st of August 2023
Can hatch peppers be frozen for year round use or should I make the enchilada sauce and freeze ?
Andrea Lively
Monday 1st of January 2024
@Rita H, yes, we buy the chilies in season, roast and freeze for year round use.
Sally C
Friday 14th of July 2023
I used 9 mild hatch chiles and 2 hot ones and doubled the recipe. I also added a half a bunch of chopped cilantro. SO Good!
CindyH
Monday 29th of August 2022
Plan to make and can this. Ant idea how long to can for pint jars…. And pressure or WB?
Ann
Sunday 19th of June 2022
This sounds like a great substitution for a green sauce for enchiladas! Excited to give it a try on our Taco Tuesday night!