It goes without saying that this Homemade Roasted Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce (Green Enchilada Sauce) is heaps better than any of the store-bought canned stuff with those added preservatives. With a little kick from jalapenos, concentrated flavour from roasting tomatillos and pablanos, a little tang from lime juice and all the amazing spices, this delicious homemade green enchilada sauce will transform anything you pair it with!
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Following my tequila braised slow roasted pork carnitas and the roasted tomatillo salsa verde, I’ve got another lip-smackingly delicious sauce of Mexican heritage to share with you guys today – this Homemade Roasted Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce (Green Enchilada Sauce)!
The base of this green enchilada sauce is my roasted poblano and tomatillo salsa verde, but you’re welcome to use your favourite bottled salsa verde if you like. Please note though that my tomatillo salsa verde is quite a thick salsa with concentrated flavour due to the roasting of tomatillos and peppers.
For the liquid component in this roasted tomatillo enchilada sauce, I used some of the leftover stock from my slow roasted pork carnitas and it’s easily one of the best decisions I’ve made in recent times! 🙂 All those amazing spices, lime juice, milk, tequila, lard etc. yield such incredible flavour to those pork carnitas, that leftover stock really perks up the flavours in this green enchilada sauce as well. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave you high and dry if you don’t want to make pork carnitas just so that you have enough stock to make this sauce. 🙂 Instead you can use chicken stock, or pork stock, or vegetable stock and mix in some lime juice, cumin, coriander and milk, and you still get a wonderfully flavourful liquid component for your enchilada sauce!
I have included all this in the recipe, so that you can make your pick. But remember to add more or less liquid, to get the consistency that you desire.
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Ingredients:
Roasted Salsa Verde (makes 1 ½ cups)
- 1 lb tomatillos about 8 -9
- 3 poblanos
- 2 jalapenos for extra spice
- ⅓ of large red onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- Pinch of cumin
- Handful of cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 lime
- Salt to taste
Liquid
- 1 cup of leftover stock from Slow Roasted Carnitas Recipe OR
- 3/4 cup stock chicken or vegetable
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp coriander
- 2 tbsp milk or replace it with extra stock if you want to keep it dairy-free
Roasted Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp oil or butter
Instructions:
Roasted Salsa Verde
- Click here to get the recipe for Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Roasted Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce
- Place the oil or butter in a nonstick saucepan and heat over medium heat.
- When it's heated, add the flour and mix well to create a roux. Stir for a few minutes until the flour is cooked and forms a paste.
- Add the stock (or the ingredients for the stock) into the saucepan and bring it to a simmer and let it thicken.
- Stir in the salsa verde and heat through.
- Add salt to taste (and extra stock if you need to thin it out).
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
The charred tomatillos and pablanos with that great smoky flavour, the extra heat you get from the jalapenos, the tang of lime juice, the creaminess of milk, and the spices all come together in this flavour-packed homemade green enchilada sauce that’s fantastic on your enchiladas or pork carnitas or any Mexican dish that’ll be perked up with some sauce.
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Lynn says
Why is my verde sauce a little bitter?
Dini says
Hi Lynn
If it’s bitter, then it’s likely that you burnt the tomatillo or the chili and the burnt parts were included in the verde.
Peg says
You want the burnt parts (charred skin from the tomatillo). A bit of bitter is a good thing, you just need to add a wee bit of sugar to balance it out. Grew up making Tex-Mex and that’s what we always do. Your recipe is exactly like how we use to do it except we just really blended the salsa verde, added a couple tsps. of the pork butt gel and used that for the the enchiladas. No milk or flour needed.
GingerFoodsTeacher says
Awesome recipe!
Used in my IP to make my pulled chicken, and used 2 stock cubes (tomato and chicken/cilantro), the broth for the sauce was delicious. I charred my tomatillos, garlic and onion on the grill and opted to omit the dairy.
I will definitely make this again!
Taryn c. says
So, I’m the weirdo who makes this by the GALLON! It cans beautifully btw. I don’t think I would go through the effort for one batch, but 12 batches is well worth it to have the best chicken enchiladas in town (and I live in southern az so that’s saying something)
June says
Can’t bring myself to use canned with all the preservatives anymore….making this for dinner tonight. Thank you!
Niki Arya says
This is hands down my fave enchilada sauce recipe! And it’s also SO EASY. I discovered this last year and it has become a staple in my house! Make a batch at least once a month and it’s a HIT every time.
Sandy stewart says
This was an amazing tomatillo enchilada sauce. I make this for the grandkids because it isn’t so spicy and I also make a red sauce that I usually kick up for the adults thank you so much!
Hanna D says
Best enchilada recipe hands down! Super simple and great texture and flavor. Roasting the veggies makes this a next level flavor explosion. Give it a shot. You won’t be sorry.
Amy Carter says
Just made my second batch of sauce using your salsa verde. My daughter is vegan so I use coconut milk and veggie stock. My meat eating son thinks it’s delicious! We serve over not with pork for him, Thanks so much for your wonderful recipe
Dini says
So glad you liked the recipe Amy! Thank you so much for letting me know. 🙂
Joey Phillips says
Can this sauce be frozen rather than canned?
Dini says
Hi Joey!
Yes it can be 🙂 I haven’t done it myself, buy I see no reason why it couldn’t be! I couldn’t tell you how long it will last in the freezer, but I would personally use it at least within a month.
Hope that helps!
Dini
Michelle says
Hello there 😀 This looks soooo delicious! Do you have instructions to can this? How long do you process this in a water bath canner?
Candice says
So some recipes call for the outer blackened skin to be removed. Not so here?
Dini says
Hi Candice!
I removed the husk before roasting the tomatillos, but I did keep the charred skin because I liked the smoky flavor they add – however you can remove it if you prefer 🙂 Hope that helps!
Sadia says
Hey Dini! This green enchilada sauce recipe looks great. I only tried the red enchilada sauce till now. Would love to tasta this. Will be cooking this soon. Saved.
Suchi @elegant meraki says
I love sour tomatilloes! Specially on a total sandwich and in taco. Roasted it is something I never did before. Can’t wait to try it out.
Christine | Mid-Life Croissant says
I have to have Dini night at my house. We are all loco for Mexican flavors. Well, I say “all” but Iris is afraid of heat. She’ll learn.
Anyway, I have to do your salsa, carnitas and then make this sauce. Sounds just delicious.