Making homemade roasted tomatillo salsa is easier than you think. With just a handful of simple ingredients, delicious salsa verde can be ready in 20 minutes.
I think of red and green salsas like I do pasta sauce. Sometimes you’re in the mood for marinara, other times you’re craving pesto. It’s no different when it comes to classic Mexican salsas. Much like pasta sauce, I think I actually prefer the green version when it comes to salsa.
Salsa verde (which literally translates to green sauce) is made with tomatillos instead of tomatoes. They’re a small green tomato-looking vegetable in the nightshade family with a papery husk on the outside. Before not to long ago, I had always bought salsa verde in a jar. For some reason, I thought just because it was green, it was harder to make than regular salsa. Newsflash — I was wrong. Salsa verde is as simple as it gets and once you make it yourself, you’ll never go back to store-bought varieties.
Why Homemade Salsa Verde Is The Best
- You control the herbs. In my opinion, the best part of any salsa is the freshness from the ingredients. With a homemade salsa, you get to control this. I love to use a lot of cilantro in my salsa verde so it’s bursting with fresh flavor. You can also play around with it and use a combination of fresh green herbs.
- No gums, thickeners or preservatives. Read the back of any jar of salsa and you’ll usually find some suspect ingredients. Homemade condiments are where it’s at if you want to be able to pronounce everything you’re eating. And you don’t have to worry about it going bad because this green salsa won’t last long.
- The spice level is up to you. Instead of having to decide between milk, medium and hot, you can taste the salsa as you go and adjust as necessary. I like a punch of heat in my salsa verde, but not so much that it overpowers all the other fresh ingredients.
What You’ll Need
Salsa verde is quick and simple. It really comes down to just seven ingredients.
- Tomatillos — This tomato cousin is tart by nature. How tart will depend on their ripeness. It’s important to roast them before making the salsa otherwise it’ll be far too sour tasting. Roasting brings out their sweetness and makes them juicier.
- Onion — A bit of chopped white or yellow onion adds some subtle sweetness to the salsa.
- Garlic — Don’t worry, you’re not eating raw garlic. A few cloves get roasted alongside the tomatillos so the flavor is more subdued.
- Jalapeños — These are also roasted before blending into the salsa. Remove the stems and seeds and adjust the quantity to your desired spice level. You can swap them out for serrano peppers if you like a spicier salsa.
- Cilantro — In my opinion, this is the star of the salsa. It’s refreshing brightness perfectly complements the roasted flavor of the tomatillos.
- Lime juice — Tomatillos are naturally tart but since we’re tempering that by roasting them, a bit of lime juice adds some nice acidity to the finished salsa.
- Salt — Of course, don’t forget to salt to taste.
My Pro Tip
Ingredient Tip
Tomatillos should have a slight give to them when pressed if they’re ripe and ready to use. Peel off the papery husk and rise them to remove the sticky residue before roasting.
How To Make Salsa Verde
- Arrange the tomatillos, jalapeños and whole garlic cloves with skins still intact on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Roast everything for about 10 minutes under the broiler until blistering in spots.
- Squeeze the garlic out of the paper skin and add all the remaining ingredients to a food processor or blender.
- Blend until everything is processed and combined. Cool the salsa before serving. It will thicken as it cools from the naturally ocurring pectin in the tomatillos.
How To Use Salsa Verde
Once you’ve made this deliciously fresh salsa, put it to good use! Of course, tortilla chip dipping is the most obvious choice, but there are a bunch of ways to enjoy it beyond the addictive appetizer approach.
Salsa verde is great on anything you’d use regular salsa on. For instance, this baked salsa chicken recipe can easily be made using green salsa instead of red. Or, make a recipe created with the green salsa in mind, like this salsa verde chicken.
Use salsa verde to drizzle on top of tacos, tostadas, fajitas or your favorite nachos.
You can also try it on top of scrambled eggs for breakfast or a frittata to bring some extra flavor to the meal.
My Pro Tip
Make It Creamy!
For a thicker, creamy dip — add half a ripe avocado to the blender.
More Homemade Salsas To Make
If you’re building a taco bar or Mexican inspired feast, here are some other recipes to consider:
Easy Homemade Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds tomatillos, husks removed
- ½ cup chopped white or yellow onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, kept whole – don’t peel
- 1-2 jalapeños, stems and seeds removed (you can also use serrano peppers)
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler to high and situate the top rack about 6” from the top heating element in the oven.
- Place the husked tomatillos, jalapeños and whole garlic cloves on a foil or parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Broil for about 5 minutes until brown spots are appear on the tops of the tomatillos. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, use tongs to flip the tomatillos, peppers and garlic over and return to the oven to broil for another 5 minutes. The tomatillos should be starting to blister at this point.
- Meanwhile, add the remaining ingredients to a blender or food processor. Once broiled, add the tomatillos (and any accumulated cooking juice), jalapeños and garlic (after removing their paper) and process until the mixture is mostly smooth and no big chunks of tomatillo remain. Scrape down the sides as necessary and add more salt or lime juice as needed to taste.
- Cool the salsa before serving. It will thicken in the refrigerator due to the pectin in the tomatillos.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
