When fall frost is around the corner, I inevitably end up with more green tomatoes than I know what to do with. Some will ripen indoors, but the rest don’t need to go to waste.
Canning green tomato enchilada sauce is one of my favorite ways to put a large harvest to use. Green tomatoes have a firm texture and tart flavor that work especially well with green chiles, onions and spices. Once canned, the sauce is ready on the pantry shelf for enchiladas, tacos, chicken, breakfast burritos and plenty of quick winter meals.
If you’ve been staring at a pile of green tomatoes wondering what you’re going to do with all of them, this recipe will put a good dent in the harvest.
What to Do With an Abundance of Green Tomatoes
Every year, frost arrives before all of our tomatoes have finished ripening, and I’m left with what feels like a garage full of green tomatoes. Some years, I’ve had nearly 100 pounds to deal with at once.
While I let some ripen indoors, there’s only so much room for boxes of tomatoes. Canning green tomato enchilada sauce is one of my favorite ways to use a large amount at once and turn that end-of-season harvest into something we’ll actually pull from the pantry all winter.
Green tomatoes have a tart flavor and firm texture that work especially well with green chiles, onions and spices. And when you’ve got 100 pounds sitting in front of you, a recipe that uses 8 quarts of prepared green tomatoes at a time can make a pretty good dent in the pile.
Canning Green Tomato Enchilada Verde Sauce
This green tomato enchilada sauce is an easy way to put all those end-of-season green tomatoes to use. The canning recipe below follows the tested proportions for the National Center for Home Food Preservation's Tomato Taco Sauce, using green tomatoes in place of ripe tomatoes.Yield: About 16 to 18 pints
Prepare your canner and jars. Wash your pint canning jars and keep them hot while you prepare the sauce. Prepare your boiling-water canner and lids according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Prepare the green tomatoes. Wash the tomatoes and place them in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, or until the skins begin to split. Transfer them immediately to cold water. Slip off the skins, remove the cores, and finely chop the tomatoes. Measure 8 quarts of prepared tomatoes.
Prepare the peppers and onions. Wearing gloves when handling hot peppers, remove the stems and seeds and finely chop the jalapeños and long green chiles. Chop the onions and crush the garlic.
Cook the sauce. Combine the prepared green tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers, 5% acidity vinegar, salt, black pepper, sugar, oregano, and cumin in a large stockpot.
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 1 hour. Do not purée or thicken the sauce with flour, cornstarch, or other thickeners before canning.
Fill the jars. Ladle the hot green tomato enchilada sauce into hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace.
Remove air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary. Wipe the jar rims clean and apply the lids and bands according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Process the jars in a boiling-water canner according to your altitude:
0 to 1,000 feet: 15 minutes
1,001 to 6,000 feet: 20 minutes
Above 6,000 feet: 25 minutes
Begin timing once the water has returned to a full boil. These processing times are for pint jars only.
When processing is complete, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Remove the jars according to standard boiling-water canning procedures and allow them to cool undisturbed.
After 12 to 24 hours, check the seals. Remove the bands, label the jars, and store properly sealed jars in a cool, dark place.
Notes
To Make Creamy Green Tomato Enchilada Sauce
When you’re ready to make enchiladas, open a pint and blend the sauce until smooth, if desired. Heat it in a saucepan and stir in about ¼ cup cream cheese until melted and creamy.The cream cheese is added after the jar has been opened. Do not add cream cheese or other dairy products before canning.
More Ways to Use Green Tomato Enchilada Sauce
Don’t save this sauce just for enchiladas. Once you have a few pints on the pantry shelf, it makes an easy base for all kinds of meals.
Chicken enchiladas: Pour over shredded chicken and cheese-filled tortillas before baking.
Green chile chicken: Simmer chicken thighs or shredded chicken in a jar of sauce and serve over rice or tortillas.
Breakfast burritos: Spoon warm sauce over eggs, potatoes, sausage and cheese.
Chilaquiles: Simmer the sauce, add tortilla chips and top with eggs, cheese and sour cream.
Tacos: Use it as a warm green sauce for pork, chicken or beef tacos.
Mexican-style rice bowls: Add it to rice, beans, meat, avocado and cheese.
Slow-cooked pork: Pour a jar over a pork roast or pork shoulder before cooking.
Soup starter: Add chicken broth, shredded chicken, beans and corn for a quick green chile soup.
A pint is a handy size to keep on the shelf because you can open one for dinner without committing to a huge batch of sauce.
Canning Enchiladas Verde Sauce
Want more heat? You can adjust the heat by choosing hotter varieties of peppers while keeping the total amount of peppers called for in the recipe the same. For even more heat, add cayenne, chili powder, or hot sauce after opening the jar.
Yes. Green tomatoes have a firm texture and tart flavor that work well in enchilada verde sauce. They are also a practical way to use tomatoes that haven’t ripened before the first fall frost.
Can I use tomatillos instead of green tomatoes?
Green tomatoes and tomatillos are different fruits, even though they have a similar tart flavor. Because this canning recipe is written specifically around the tested proportions used here, I don’t recommend making ingredient substitutions when preparing it for canning.
Can I make green tomato enchilada sauce hotter?
Yes, but don’t increase the total quantity of peppers in the canning recipe. Choose hotter pepper varieties within the amount called for, or add cayenne, chili powder or hot sauce after opening the jar.
Can I can green tomato enchilada sauce in quart jars?
Stick with pint jars for this recipe. The processing instructions provided here are for pints, so I don’t recommend simply doubling the jar size and guessing at a processing time.
Do I have to peel green tomatoes before canning this sauce?
For this recipe, yes. Prepare the green tomatoes according to the recipe instructions by blanching, peeling, coring and chopping them before measuring.
Can I add cream cheese before canning enchilada sauce?
No. Add the cream cheese after opening the jar, when you’re heating the sauce to serve. This also lets you decide whether you want the sauce creamy or leave it as-is for tacos, chicken or other meals.
I just tried this recipe last night and it smells delicious. Even after cutting away bad parts, 17 lbs of green tomatoes was enough for 9 1/2 qts. Thanks! It’s a keeper for sure!
I just tried this recipe last night and it smells delicious. Even after cutting away bad parts, 17 lbs of green tomatoes was enough for 9 1/2 qts. Thanks! It’s a keeper for sure!