Skip to Content

Tease Your Taste Buds with Taco Truck Green Sauce

This taco truck green sauce recipe satisfies your spicy cravings in a big way. You can enjoy it as-is or tone down the heat a few different ways by adding milder ingredients.

bowl of taco truck green sauce beside a platter of chips

I like it as-is when I’m eating a small amount. But when I want more, I dial down the heat. This is one of those recipes that you can tweak in so many different directions.

This is a good recipe for a delicious taco sauce that rivals anything you’ll find at your favorite taco trucks. It’s easy to get good results with very little effort. In fact, taco night will never be the same once you’ve tried this ultimate sauce recipe. Spicy green sauce is a favorite in many taco shops. Whether you’re eating a street taco or a traditional crunchy taco, it adds the best flavor.

Spicy and Delicious Sauce

This creamy jalapeño sauce is good in so many ways. I like to use it on tortilla chips, on chicken tacos, with fish tacos, and more. You can even make enchiladas verdes with this sauce.

There are so many different ways to enjoy this yummy green sauce. Make it with the original recipe or tweak it to your personal taste. As long as you like it, you can call it a success. Serve the sauce in a small bowl for dipping, alongside your favorite chips. 

Add a side of these Mexican Green Beans to any Mexican or Tex Mex meal for loads of deliciousness. It’s a great way to get your family asking for another serving of vegetables!

Ingredients

All of the ingredients listed below should be available at any grocery store. Just remember that a little bit goes a long way, so you don’t need to make a massive amount, including those times when you’re feeding a lot of people.

fresh, whole jalapeno peppers

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 5 whole fresh jalapeño peppers (or other peppers such as Serrano peppers)
  • 1/2 cup avocado oil (or whatever oil you have on hand)
  • 1/2 cup chopped yellow or white onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt (table salt, kosher salt, Himalayan pink salt, or sea salt)
  • Black pepper (optional)
  • 1/2 cup avocado, sour cream, or mayonnaise (optional)
avocado oil, chopped onions, and minced garlic

I put a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

I like to use fresh ingredients whenever possible. However, I keep frozen onion, jarred minced garlic, and frozen avocado chunks for those times when I can’t access the fresh items.

If you don’t have avocado oil, I recommend any type of vegetable oil that doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own. Olive oil is good, but it alters the flavor quite a bit.

bowl of green sauce with chips

Other Ingredients You Can Add

I’ve tested out quite a few add-on ingredients. Here are some we’ve enjoyed:

  • Fresh cilantro
  • Bell peppers
  • Black beans
  • Pinto beans
  • Chives
  • Fresh lime juice

Directions

This is a super easy recipe, especially if you like sauce with a creamy texture. When I make it, I wind up with a creamy green sauce that looks innocent but delivers a spicy punch.

pot of boiling jalapeno peppers

Fill a medium pot with enough water to cover the peppers and boil the jalapeños over high heat for at least 10 minutes. They need to be fork tender, so test them. If they’re not, keep boiling until they are.

jalapeno peppers cooling on a paper towel

After they’re tender, drain them and allow them to cool enough to handle. They can still be warm, but you don’t want them to scald your hands. I learned this the hard way.

removing stems and seeds from jalapeno peppers

Remove the stems and most of the seeds. The more seeds you leave the hotter the sauce will be. I like spicy food, but leaving all of the seeds in makes it too hot for me.

Put the jalapeños and the remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender. I usually use my food processor, but my NutriBullet was right in front of me. So I used that.

If you want to tone it down a bit, add some avocado, sour cream, or mayonnaise. When you make this for a wide range of tastes, it’s always a good idea to make it less hot and offer hot sauce on the side.

blended ingredients for taco truck green sauce

Blend the ingredients until you have a creamy yellow-green sauce. I like it smooth, but if you want it chunkier, you can stop blending sooner.

How to Serve Green Sauce

There are many different ways you can serve this delicious green sauce. One way is to put it in a bowl and provide a spoon for everyone to serve themselves.

bowl of taco truck green sauce with a plate of chips

Or you can put it in a squeeze bottle. This makes it easy to squirt the desired amount into tacos or over any dish that needs extra seasoning. If you know that everyone can handle the heat, go ahead and cook with it. Add it to the enchilada or taco sauce next time you make a Mexican meal.

My favorite way to serve taco truck green sauce is to offer it with a variety of other sauces. A couple of my favorites are this homemade salsa and my super easy classic guacamole. Another delicious sauce is this Copycat Taco Bell Baja sauce.

How to Store Taco Truck Green Sauce

If you have leftover Mexican green sauce, it’s easy to store. Put it in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to a couple of weeks. It’s also fine to freeze the green sauce.

Make sure you put it in an airtight container that is freezer safe. Freeze it for up to a couple of months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

bowl of taco truck green sauce

Salsa Verde

You can turn this wonderful recipe into salsa verde by adding tomatillos if you like. If you’re serving a lot of people, I think it’s a good idea to make a variety of flavors and heat levels. Make sure others know which salsa is which, along with the heat levels.

Some people like to add green tomatoes if they can’t find tomatillos. That’s fine. In fact, I like them made with green tomatoes just as much. In my opinion, tomatillo salsa tastes very similar to green tomato salsa.

bowl of taco truck green sauce with a plate of corn chips and jalapeno peppers in the background

More Delicious Recipes You’ll Love

If you’ve read other posts on my blog, you probably know that I love spicy food or anything that’s good with spicy sauce over it. Here are some of my favorite recipes:

Air Fryer Corn Chips – It’s so easy to make your own corn chips in an air fryer you’ll wonder why you haven’t always made them this way.

plate of tortilla chips

Chicken Taco Soup – I make this in my Instant Pot. But you can make it in a slow cooker or on the stovetop.

Catalina Taco Salad – How many ways can you say, “Yum!” This is so delicious!

catalina taco salad topped with cheese

Tex Mex Salad – Here is where you’ll find as much nutrition as flavor!

Restaurant Style Refried Beans – This refried beans recipe from Julia’s Simply Southern will have you asking for seconds!

Tex Mex Ranch Potatoes – If you like potatoes, and you like south-of-the-border flavors, this one’s for you!

tex mex ranch potatoes on a plate

Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole – For an easy meal with easy cleanup, make this delicious beef and bean enchilada casserole.

beef and bean enchilada on a plate with chips

Delicious Sauce

I love having a variety of options when I eat Mexican or Tex Mex food. And this sauce is one of my favorites, so it always has a special place on the snack table!

Yield: 8 servings

Taco Truck Green Sauce

bowl of taco truck green sauce with chips

Spicy and delicious, this taco truck green sauce is a delicious addition to any Mexican-inspired table!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 5 whole fresh jalapeños
  • 1/2 cup avocado oil (or your favorite oil)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Dash of black pepper (optional)
  • 1/2 cup avocado, sour cream, or mayonnaise (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a medium pot, boil jalapeños for 10 minutes or until tender.
  2. After the jalapeños are tender, remove them from the water and allow them to cool until you can handle them. They will still be warm.
  3. Cut off the stems and remove most or all of the seeds. If you leave the seeds in, the sauce will be fiery hot. It will still be hot, but the seeds might take it where you don’t want to go.
  4. Put the jalapeños, oil, onion, garlic, and salt in a blender or food processor. This is going to be a very hot sauce. So if you want to tone it down a bit, add 1/2 cup avocado, sour cream, or mayonnaise.
  5. Blend until you have a creamy sauce.
  6. Now it’s ready to serve with chips or other favorite Mexican food.

Notes

If you want to tone down the heat, mix in some sour cream, mayonnaise, or avocado.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 162Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 2mgSodium 277mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 1g

The nutrition information is a product of online calculators. I try to provide true and accurate information, but these numbers are estimates.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Please feel free to share!

Esme Slabbert

Thursday 6th of July 2023

Great, although I am not a jalapeno lover, so will use less and see how it goes. Pinned. I visited you via the Linkup Party at Full Plate Thursday, 648 My entries this week = 33+34 as I would love to invite you to come and share your posts and you will have an opportunity to get featured. We're open Monday through Saturday every week. You will find the linkup information (1) In the Top bar under Blogging: Weekly Senior Salon Pit Stop OR 2nd image In the sidebar We hope to meet you there virtually.

Skip to Recipe