This roasted tomatillo salsa verde recipe is easy to make and customize to your liking, and always tastes absolutely delicious!
My tried-and-true favorite recipe for homemade salsa verde! ♡
Recipe Tips
Here are a few tips to always keep in mind when making tomatillo salsa verde:
- Choose ripe tomatillos. Look for firm tomatillos with tight, dry husks and vibrant green color. Avoid ones that feel sticky or shriveled.
- Keep an eye on the charring. Place your baking sheet 4 to 6 inches from the heat and broil for about 5 minutes per side, or until the tomatillos are nice and charred and blistered. But be sure keep a close eye so that they don’t overcook and burn.
- Add a splash of water or broth if it’s too thick. Tomatillos can vary in juiciness. If your salsa is too thick, loosen it up with a bit of water or chicken/vegetable broth without diluting the flavor.
- Adjust the heat to taste. Use more/less serrano or jalapeño peppers depending on your spice preference. The heat levels can vary significantly between fresh peppers, so if you’re sensitive to heat, I would always start with considerably less and you can always add more. Removing the seeds will also mellow the heat.
- Balance the acidity with sweetness, if needed. If your tomatillos seem overly tart, a small pinch of sugar or honey can help to mellow their acidity.
- Let it rest before serving. Give the salsa at least 30 minutes to rest so that the flavors can meld. It will taste even better after chilling for a few hours.
Recipe Variations
Here are a few different salsa verde variations that you’re welcome to try:
- Boiled salsa verde: Add the tomatillos, serrano, and garlic to a pot of boiling water. Simmer for 5–6 minutes, until tomatillos are pale and softened, then drain and blend with the remaining ingredients as instructed to make boiled salsa verde.
- Raw salsa verde: To make salsa verde cruda, skip the roasting and just blend all of the ingredients raw for a more acidic salsa with bright tomatillo flavor.
- Avocado salsa verde: Let the salsa cool to room temperature then blend in an avocado to make creamy avocado tomatillo salsa.
- Pineapple salsa verde: Add 1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks to the blender for a sweet-and-spicy twist.
- Apple salsa verde: Add 1 Granny Smith apple (cored) to the blender for a fresh apple twist.
More Mexican Salsa Recipes To Try!
Looking for more great salsa recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:
Salsa Verde
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
Learn how to make delicious, authentic, and irresistible Mexican tomatillo salsa verde recipe with this easy recipe!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1 serrano pepper (or jalapeño for milder heat), stem removed
- 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/3 cup diced white onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
Instructions
- Roast. Place the tomatillos, serrano, and garlic on a baking sheet. Broil for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until charred and softened
- Blend. Carefully squeeze out the roasted garlic flesh into a blender (or food processor), discarding the peels. Add the tomatillos, serrano and all of their juices to the blender, along with the cilantro, onion, lime juice, salt, and cumin (if using). Blend until smooth or pulse for a more chunky consistency.
- Season. Taste and season with additional salt or lime juice, if needed.
- Chill and serve. Let the salsa chill in the fridge for at least an hour to allow flavors to meld. Serve and enjoy, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Made this just now. This is awesome! I used cast iron to dry roast everything. Also subbed the Serrano for two jalapeño peppers. This is for a dish I watched on TV last night. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Posted a pix on Facebook and tagged it #gimmesomeoven
See what you think!
Chris
Thank you Chris! Aren’t cast irons the best? So happy you enjoyed this, and I love your pic, it looks awesome! : D
Oh my god is this great
I like the idea of roasting everything!!!
My mother just boiled them then placed them in a blender and used the boiled water, if the mixture was too thick, to thin it out for the blender.
Can this be frozen?
I’m pretty sure it can be frozen. I’ve been married to my husband for 32 years, who hails from Aguascalientes MX. He makes whatever salsa suits his fancy at the time in large batches, divides it into freezer bags with the date on it, and tries to use within 3 to 6 months.
can this salsa be canned?
love this!!!
Fact in Puebla no one roast the garlic and doesnt not add onion to the salsa , i was born in the state of puebla
This stuff rocks!
It took some searching to find tomatillos, but other than that this was so easy to throw together. When I first took a bite, the cilantro and hot peppers hit my nose and I thought I had made it too spicy, but then the sweet flavors of the tomatillos and onions (vidalia, in my case) kicked in and it never tasted overwhelmingly hot. I will definitely make this to serve with chips at my next party.
This salsa also tends to act as an excellent expectorant and nasal decongestant if you’re sick and don’t want soup.
THANK YOU for such colorful photography and a great recipe and its variations in preparing (for the next neighborhood Salsa contest!) and the neat little stories…appreciate your sharing
yes, yes….I have so been wanting to try this. I think you’ve just convinced me!