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If you're obsessed with taco trucks and all things Tex-Mex, this creamy Taco Truck Green Sauce Recipe is about to rock your taco-loving world! Using just 5 fresh ingredients and a few pinches of salt, you'll have Mexican restaurant-quality roasted jalapeño sauce in your own kitchen. Happy sauce-ing!
The creamy texture of this sauce doesn't come from any type of dairy. Instead, using a neutral oil while blending the green salsa creates a perfect emulsion that gives the sauce a rich, creaminess that's irresistible.
It's the ultimate sauce recipe for your next Taco Tuesday or chips and dip session. Let's get cooking on this crazy easy recipe!
What you'll need to make this sauce:
Before we get to the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Spicy peppers: use whole jalapeños, or mixture of jalapeños and poblanos or Anaheim peppers for a milder sauce.
Oil: choose a neutral oil like safflower, avocado oil or canola oil so it doesn't mask the deep flavors of roasted peppers and onions.
Citrus: fresh lime juice is the very best flavor pairing for this salsa. Substitute lemon juice, if you must!
Full ingredient list and measurements included in the printable recipe card below.
Step by Step Instructions:
1. Roast veggies
Preheat oven to 400℉.Clean and dry peppers, then place them on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment. Cut the onion into quarters and add to baking pan.
Drizzle vegetables with 2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt.Bake for 10-15 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip.
Bake for additional 10-12 minutes, or until peppers are very soft and slightly charred on both sides. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.
Skin the peppers, cut open and remove seeds and membranes.(Note: most of the heat in peppers sits in the seeds and white membranes. If you're looking for a deeply spicy sauce recipe, cut off the stems and leave the seeds intact.)
2. Blend all ingredients
To a food processor or chopper, add cleaned peppers, charred onions, raw chopped garlic, lime juice, remaining salt and ¼ cup neutral oil. Process for 30-45 seconds.
Add remaining oil and process for another 30 seconds, or until sauce is completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
3. Serve and enjoy
Green taco sauce can be served immediately, or covered and refrigerated, then served later. The garlic flavors will continue to develop and strengthen as the spicy green sauce sits, so taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
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- Simple Homemade Arroz Rojo (Mexican Red Rice)
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FAQ's and Serving Suggestions:
What can I serve with this green creamy sauce?
Easy baked fish tacos, Shrimp tostadas, breakfast tacos, tamales, shrimp taco salads or as a great dip with a bag of tortilla chips...everything this sauce touches is made even more delicious!
Variations and optional flavor add-ins:
- fresh cilantro leaves
- fresh or frozen avocado chunks
- a pinch of chili powder
- canned green chiles (in place of fresh peppers)
How can I make this sauce super spicy?
If you're a fan of spicy food, adding a combination of serrano peppers and jalapeño peppers will create a high heat sauce. Leaving the seeds and white membranes in the peppers while you blend the sauce will also increase the heat level.
How can I make this sauce more mild?
The heat level of fresh peppers can vary, so creating a mild sauce will require testing and adjusting seasoning. For a very mild sauce, use only poblano peppers, or a combination of 1-2 jalapeños, and 5-6 poblanos. And be sure to remove all of the seeds. Once the sauce is made, if you find it too spicy, add half of a ripe avocado to the green sauce, then mix in your food processor (or using a high-powered blender or immersion blender) until it is fully incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning. If you don't have an avocado, adding a little sour cream will create a cooling sensation in this Mexican taco truck green sauce.
Can I use olive oil in this recipe?
I find olive oil carries a more robust flavor than avocado, vegetable oil or other neutral oils. So I don't recommend it in this recipe. A neutral oil allows the peppers and other veggies to shine through on the flavor.
How to store leftover green taco sauce?
To store, transfer this creamy jalapeño sauce to an airtight container, mason jar or squeeze bottle with a tight fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Taco Truck Green Sauce Recipe
- Author: Christina Jolam
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
Scale
8 whole jalapeño peppers (or 4 jalapeños and 3 poblanos, for less heat)
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
½ cup neutral oil (safflower, avocado oil or canola), divided
6 fresh garlic cloves
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉.Clean and dry peppers, then place them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Quarter onion and add to baking pan. Drizzle vegetables with 2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with about ½ teaspoon salt.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, then turn the vegetables and return to the oven. Bake another 10-12 minutes or until peppers are very soft and slightly charred. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Skin the peppers, cut open and remove seeds and membranes.
- To a food processor or chopper, add cleaned peppers, charred onions, raw garlic, lime juice, remaining salt and ¼ cup neutral oil. Process for 30-45 seconds. Add remaining oil and process for another 30 seconds, or until sauce is completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Green taco sauce can be served immediately, or covered and refrigerated, then served later. The garlic flavors will continue to develop and strengthen as the spicy green sauce sits, so taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
Notes
Most of the heat in peppers sits in the seeds and white membranes of the pepper. If you're looking for a deeply spicy sauce recipe, cut off the stems and leave the seeds intact.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: sauce
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: Taco Truck Green Sauce, Mexican Green Sauce, Jalapeno Sauce, Jalapeno Salsa
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About Christina Jolam
Christina Jolam is a fish-forward recipe developer, photographer, and food writer. She creates easy and impressive seafood-focused recipes that home chefs of all levels can make and share. Her recipes and seafood expertise have been featured on CNNHealth, MSN, Pip and Ebby, Savoring the Good, Eat Blog Talk and more. She spends most of her time in a seaside village in Portugal with her adventure-loving husband, Ramesh.
