Homemade New Mexico Roasted Hatch Green Chile Sauce

What You Can Expect From This Recipe

What Is Hatch Green Chile Sauce?

Hatch Green Chile Sauce is a robust New Mexico Chile sauce sauce made from roasted Hatch Chile Peppers who hail from the chile capitol of the world, Hatch New Mexico. Chile sauce is known for it’s smoky, rich and earthy flavor, and is a staple in Southwestern cuisine. Beloved for it’s versatility, grab a spoon and drizzle it on everything. It can be used as a topping for tacos, Breakfast Burritos, Scrambled Eggs and even stews.

With the addition of broth and flour, and cooked stovetop, this is different than a fresh salsa, like this Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, and pushes it into the green chile sauce category. It’s a simple, but exciting combination of chopped chile peppers, onions and garlic.

Finding Hatch Chile Peppers

Hatch Chile Pepper harvest begins in August and normally runs through the end of September. But will all crops, weather is king, so the season can start in July and run into October.

Simply stated, for a pepper to be labeled as a Hatch Chile Pepper this caspicum must be grown in the Hatch Valley region of Southern New Mexico. These New Mexico green chiles are more than a single variety. In fact, there's a wide selection of sub-varieties grown in the Hatch Valley,  that fall under the title of "Hatch Chiles" which gives Hatch peppers a wide swing on the Scoville scale.

What If I Don’t Have A Chile Roaster Near Me?

Living in Colorado, as soon as fresh Hatch chile peppers arrive, we’re lucky to have an abundance of chile roasters that pop up on street corners and grocery store parking lots.

If you live in an area where Chile roasters aren’t a common occurrence, a reputable on-line site to order fresh or frozen roasted chiles delivered to your doorstep is The Hatch Chile Store. You can also check the freezer section of your local supermarket.

There are also canned chile peppers that are labeled “Hatch” that you can purchase at your grocery store. From what I’ve been told when visiting the Hatch area, these are not chiles from the Hatch Valley, but a brand name that uses the word Hatch. They’re still a good option for recipes calling for Hatch Chiles.

Also known as chile verde sauce, this is a recipe from a popular Taos, New Mexico restaurant who served this combined with a fried egg entree for breakfast.

Let’s take a look.

Noteworthy Ingredients To Make Hatch Green Chile Sauce

Mise en place. Always gather ingredients before starting any recipe. It will save you time and organize your mind.

See full list of ingredients and precise measurements in the recipe card below.

• Roasted Hatch Green Chile Peppers: You’ll need two cups which will equal about 10 roasted chile peppers. Seeds and stems removed, most of the outer charred skin removed and chopped.
• Chicken Broth: Homemade is always best, but store purchased will work just fine.
• Olive Oil: No need to haul out the expensive olive oil you’ve purchased to make vinaigrette’s. I keep a big bottle of Costco olive oil that I use for sauteeing.

Ingredient Swaps and Substitutions

• Chile Peppers: If you simply don’t have access to fresh roasted Hatch Chile Peppers, you can use roasted Anaheim or roasted Pueblo Chile Peppers grown in Colorado. Roasted Poblano peppers are also a good choice here. You can also use canned roasted Hatch Chile Peppers and many grocery stores carry frozen roasted, chopped peppers in the freezer section. Keep in mind Anaheim peppers carry little heat.
• Broth: Substitute vegetable broth to make this a vegetarian green chile sauce recipe.
• Onion: You could substitute a red onion for the yellow or sweet onion, however, keep in mind, red onions have a strong flavor and will over-power the Hatch Chile peppers. And after all, those peppers are the star of the show. Stick with a milder onion.
• Oil: Canola oil is a good substitute for olive oil.
• Garlic: Don’t have any fresh garlic? Substitute ½ teaspoon of garlic powder or garlic salt.

Step by Step Instructions, It’s Easy

1. Step 1: Start by heating the oil in a fry pan on your stovetop over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onions. Turn heat down a bit and saute until onions are tender, about 5 – 6 minutes, stirring often. Add the chopped garlic and cook until fragrant. About 1 minute.

2. Step 2: Add the flour to the onion and garlic mixture. Stir and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Be careful not to let the flour brown.

3. Step 3: Add the chopped Hatch Chile Peppers to the pan and cook, stirring until peppers are heated.

4. Step 4: Stir in the chicken broth and simmer until the sauce has thickened. This will take about 5 minutes.

Uses For Green Chile Sauce

Now that you’ve got a big beautiful bowl of Hatch green chile sauce, here are some ideas on how to use it.

• For an easy steak meal, simply grill a salt and peppered flank steak for about five minutes per side.Slice the steak against the grain, then drizzle some of the Hatch chile sauce over the top. And since the sauce is make ahead, this is such an easy steak dinner.
• A perfect condiment for Achiote Chicken.
• Drizzle over fried potatoes.
• Add a spoonful to your next serving of scrambled eggs.
• It’s perfect for a Smothered Breakfast Burrito.
• Serve with Chuck Roast Tacos.

Storage

• This Sauce will last for about 5 days in the refrigerator.
• Can I Freeze This Sauce? Yes! This sauce easily freezes. Tip: freeze in pre-measured ½ cup portions to easily pull out the amount you need. It will last about three months in the freezer. I like to use freezer safe zip-lock style bags. Once you push the air out of them you can store them laying flat to optimize space.