This authentic Mexicansalsa verde recipe is easy to make in the blender or food processor, and tastes absolutely delicious!
Are you more of a red or green salsa sort of person?
Being someone who never-ever-ever turns down chips and salsa, I definitely love both. But when given the choice, I’ve almost always opted for red salsa 9 times out of 10 in the past.
Interestingly, though, on our honeymoon in Mexico this past month, we were served salsa verde almost everywhere we went. (Like, sooo much salsa verde.) It definitely seemed to be the more popular salsa option at every restaurant we visited in Mexico City and Oaxaca. And with each passing day there, I fell more and more in love with its fresh, tangy, spicy, roasted-tomatillo goodness. So much so, actually, that by the end of the trip, when our favorite server asked us each morning whether or not we’d like “chilaquilesrojo o verde”…I was surprised to find myself enthusiastically back on Team Green. And loved every single delicious bite of it. 💚
Of course, as many of you saw on Instagram, my first order of business upon arriving home after eating 24/7 Mexican food for 10 days was…to make more Mexican food. 😂 Namely, a big batch of freshly roasted salsa verde. I’ve actually had this recipe on my site since 2009, but thought it could use some new pictures and a little bump to the top of the recipe list, just in case any of you also need some fresh green salsa in your life this week. This recipe’s a classic, easy to make in the blender or food processor, the flavors are perfectly balanced (and easy to adapt to be as mild or spicy as you’d like), and has never let me down.
Who’s ready for some salsa???
Salsa Verde Recipe | 1-Minute Video
The good news about making salsa verde from scratch is that it’s incredibly easy to make. Just pick up a batch of fresh tomatillos. (👆Pro tip: look for the ones that are firm and vibrant green and not shriveled up.)
Roast them up along with some serranos until they’re slightly charred. (Or if you want to speed up that process, you can pop them under the broiler!)
Then add them to a blender or food processor with lots of fresh cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, and lots of fresh lime juice. Puree until combined…
…and then a vibrant, delicious, warm batch of fresh salsa will be yours to enjoy. Serve it up with chips (my standard), or whatever Mexican recipe happens to sound good to you that day. Or this salsa will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Easy peasy…and muy delicioso.
Rinse and dry the tomatillos. Then spread the tomatillos out evenly on a baking sheet (I recommend lining it with foil for easy cleanup), along with the serrano pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the tomatillos start to brown on top and are cooked through.
Remove from the oven, and transfer the tomatillos and serrano pepper to a blender or food processor. Add the garlic, cilantro, onion, lime juice, salt, and cumin (if using) to the blender or food processor, and pulse the mixture until it reaches your desired consistency. (Always be careful when blending hot mixtures, as they expand while blending.) Taste and season with extra salt and/or cilantro if needed.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Notes
*To make this salsa more spicy, I recommend adding in an extra serrano pepper or two. Or to make it less spicy, omit the serranos entirely (or use a jalapeño, which has slightly less heat). You can also always core chile peppers (remove the seeds) to reduce the heat.
Recipe adapted from my friend Ita and Chef Remolina
*If the salsa is too thick, feel free to add in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water (or chicken/vegetable stock).
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
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.
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.
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.
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
Anyone in the UK who can’t get tomatillos, they are so easy to grow if you have a greenhouse. Plant two plants as they need to pollinate each other, you’ll get loads.
Actually a question. Love good Mexican food but I am one of those poor souls that has an aversion to cilantro – not only tastes soapy and astringent but even smells that way to me. I can take it in small amounts but it really ruins good food for me if there is too much. Read that it’s a legitimate thing. Believe me, I am NOT a fussy eater! 😄 What can I use in its place without ruining the integrity of the dish? Maybe a small amount of cilantro and supplement the balance with ?what?
Susan —
Leslie, you might try some Mexican oregano to supplement the cilantro. I haven’t seen it fresh (except growing wild in our local state park), just dried, so you’d want to reduce the amount to about ⅓ of the cilantro called for. Mexican oregano has (at least for me) a much nicer flavor than the standard Italian stuff. I feel badly for you that you can’t do cilantro.
YUM!! I’ve always been more of a salsa verde person, generally prefer it to the red – except, in restaurants it is always hotter and my stomach can no longer handle a lot of spicy heat. I would make this with a disemboweled jalapeño. There’s something about the flavor combination of salsa verde that tastes like heaven to me (there aren’t many things to do that for me). I’m glad you brought this recipe to our attention.
This recipe looks great! Do you need to remove the charred tomatillo skin before adding it to the blender? thank you!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you, Tracey, we hope you enjoy! And no, you don’t need to remove the skin before adding the tomatillos to the blender (just make sure to remove the husks before putting them in the oven).
I live in England where it is impossible to find tomatillos.
Is there any substitution for this recipe as it looks just delicious.
Thank you.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Ann! Oh no, that’s a bummer! :( You could try using green tomatillos (they would be the most similar thing you could substitute). W hope this helps!
Though I have my own Salsa Verde recipe, I will be trying yours soon, as I have loved everything I have made from your site – and like when I make mine, I will also be making a bigger batch for pork Chile Verde – Yum!!! For those of you who are having trouble finding tomatillos – I have found that markets/stores in areas of town that have a higher concentration of Latino families often have a variety of specialty items for Latino cooking – cheeses, salsas, produce, canned goods, tortillas, meat selection, etc.
I also make mine FODMAP friendly by omitting the onion (traditional recipes don’t always call for it) and substituting garlic oil for the fresh garlic.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you, Nikki, we hope you enjoy this one, and we’re so happy to hear you have loved other recipes from the blog! :)
This was incredibly easy and turned out fabulous! Serranos scare me (I’ve tried some store-bought salsa verdes where “medium” was like an “extra hot” to my taste buds!), but I went ahead and added one to the tomatillos… and surprisingly, I think I could handle at least one more! I’m saving this as a favorite recipe, for sure.
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yes, yes….I have so been wanting to try this. I think you’ve just convinced me!
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
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.
Fact in Puebla no one roast the garlic and doesnt not add onion to the salsa , i was born in the state of puebla
love this!!!
can this salsa be canned?
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.
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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.
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Oh my god is this great
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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
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This is so freakin easy and I will NEVER buy store bought again!! I didnt have a mortar & pestle, but I used a Magic Bullet….still worked. heh.
Thanks Emily, so glad you liked it!
About how much (volume-wise) does this make? 2 cups?
I believe so, yes!
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Thank you for sharing that tip with us Nidia! :)
My mom just boils in all and put it in a blender Tastes pretty good.
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loved the taste but how would you make it thicker turned out a little thin.
can I freeze this -have too many green tomatoes since I didn’t like the taste of the rise ones . I have made this before but I need to freeze.
Hey there! Yes, we think you should be able to freeze this.
Anyone in the UK who can’t get tomatillos, they are so easy to grow if you have a greenhouse. Plant two plants as they need to pollinate each other, you’ll get loads.
Actually a question. Love good Mexican food but I am one of those poor souls that has an aversion to cilantro – not only tastes soapy and astringent but even smells that way to me. I can take it in small amounts but it really ruins good food for me if there is too much. Read that it’s a legitimate thing. Believe me, I am NOT a fussy eater! 😄 What can I use in its place without ruining the integrity of the dish? Maybe a small amount of cilantro and supplement the balance with ?what?
Leslie, you might try some Mexican oregano to supplement the cilantro. I haven’t seen it fresh (except growing wild in our local state park), just dried, so you’d want to reduce the amount to about ⅓ of the cilantro called for. Mexican oregano has (at least for me) a much nicer flavor than the standard Italian stuff. I feel badly for you that you can’t do cilantro.
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YUM!! I’ve always been more of a salsa verde person, generally prefer it to the red – except, in restaurants it is always hotter and my stomach can no longer handle a lot of spicy heat. I would make this with a disemboweled jalapeño. There’s something about the flavor combination of salsa verde that tastes like heaven to me (there aren’t many things to do that for me). I’m glad you brought this recipe to our attention.
Thanks, Susan, we hope you enjoy this!
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I just know salsa verde, Kayanya need to try ya …. thanks
These tomatillos look amazing. I have never made salsa verde but will give this recipe a try :)
Thanks, we hope you enjoy!
This recipe looks great! Do you need to remove the charred tomatillo skin before adding it to the blender? thank you!
Thank you, Tracey, we hope you enjoy! And no, you don’t need to remove the skin before adding the tomatillos to the blender (just make sure to remove the husks before putting them in the oven).
I live in England where it is impossible to find tomatillos.
Is there any substitution for this recipe as it looks just delicious.
Thank you.
Hi Ann! Oh no, that’s a bummer! :( You could try using green tomatillos (they would be the most similar thing you could substitute). W hope this helps!
that sounds amazing!!! I need to make this
Thanks, Stephanie, we hope you enjoy it!
Though I have my own Salsa Verde recipe, I will be trying yours soon, as I have loved everything I have made from your site – and like when I make mine, I will also be making a bigger batch for pork Chile Verde – Yum!!! For those of you who are having trouble finding tomatillos – I have found that markets/stores in areas of town that have a higher concentration of Latino families often have a variety of specialty items for Latino cooking – cheeses, salsas, produce, canned goods, tortillas, meat selection, etc.
I also make mine FODMAP friendly by omitting the onion (traditional recipes don’t always call for it) and substituting garlic oil for the fresh garlic.
Thank you, Nikki, we hope you enjoy this one, and we’re so happy to hear you have loved other recipes from the blog! :)
Easy, delicious and just the right amount of spice. Love It!!!
★★★★★
Thank you, Sherita, we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
This was incredibly easy and turned out fabulous! Serranos scare me (I’ve tried some store-bought salsa verdes where “medium” was like an “extra hot” to my taste buds!), but I went ahead and added one to the tomatillos… and surprisingly, I think I could handle at least one more! I’m saving this as a favorite recipe, for sure.
★★★★★
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it!
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Sooo easy and tasty. Heat varies by peppers.
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it, and yes! :)
Can you can this recipe?
Unfortunately, I don’t have experience with canning. But I’ve been told this recipe cans well.
Made this in the blender and loved it!!!
★★★★★
Easy and tasty
★★★★★
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