Grilled Chicken with Creamy Green Chile, Tomatillo and Avocado Sauce
Summer is synonymous with grilling, and we’ve been doing quite a bit of it the past several weeks. Hamburgers are my go-to summer weekend dinner, but this grilled chicken recently made an appearance on our menu and was a huge hit. It’s quick enough that you can fire the grill up on a weekday and have this dinner done in practically no time.
The sauce is the real star of this dish. Made of grilled/broiled tomatillos and peppers, it’s got a smoky flavor with just a hint of spice. The avocado and Greek yogurt cool it off enough to consider it kid-friendly. We only made enough chicken breasts to feed the three of us (which meant a small one for Clara), so we had leftover sauce which I enjoyed with tortilla chips the next day. I also think this would be fab over scrambled eggs or on top of steak. The sauce was so delicious that I ate a spoonful of it while I was putting away the leftovers. No shame. If you’re looking for a way to spice up chicken, this sauce is definitely the way to go.
- YIELD: Serves 4
1 very small onion, peeled and quartered
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and halved
1 poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
2 medium or 3 small tomatillos, husked, cored, and quartered
1 clove garlic, peeled
Canola or olive oil, for drizzling
1 avocado, peeled
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
¼ cup Greek yogurt (or half and half)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1
Place the onion, jalapeño, poblano, tomatillos and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit of canola oil and place under a broiler for a few minutes, until the tomatillos are starting to soften and everything is beginning to char. Alternately, char these on the grill. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, cook the chicken. Season each breast with salt and pepper. Heat grill to high, wiping down grates with a canola oil coated paper towel. Grill chicken over direct heat until well browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Alternately, cook the chicken in a grill pan until cooked through.
- 2
Transfer the cooled peppers, tomatillos and garlic to the bowl of a food processor. Add the avocado and cilantro and pulse until well combined. Add the yogurt and continue pulsing until the sauce reaches your desired smoothness. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- 3
Spoon sauce over the grilled chicken and serve immediately. The sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
I would like a vatful of that beautiful sauce, please! I bet it would be amazing on everything from lamb to garlicky white beans.
We love this so much. That sauce has its place everywhere, I swear. We also like it on shrimp tacos, in wraps, with taco salads. Yeah, love.
I made a tomatillo-based sauce last night and it was super. Now I want to try this one with the avocado and yogurt to de-spice it a bit!
I made this tonight and it was awesome! I added a few teaspoons of sriracha to the sauce for a little spicy kick…it was seriously good!!
Oooh yum! That sounds like a great addition!