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 in the blender and loved it!!!
Can you can this recipe?
Unfortunately, I don’t have experience with canning. But I’ve been told this recipe cans well.
Sooo easy and tasty. Heat varies by peppers.
Glad you enjoyed it, and yes! :)
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!
Easy, delicious and just the right amount of spice. Love It!!!
Thank you, Sherita, we’re so glad you enjoyed 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! :)
that sounds amazing!!! I need to make this
Thanks, Stephanie, we hope you enjoy it!
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!
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).
These tomatillos look amazing. I have never made salsa verde but will give this recipe a try :)
Thanks, we hope you enjoy!