Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe
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This recipe for roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde is a delicious addition to your salsa repertoire.
For many years I had made fresh salsa but never salsa verde, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect when I first made Tomatillo Salsa Verde. It’s a tangy, zesty salsa, but usually milder in heat than tomato salsas.
Tomatillos are a smallish green fruit covered with a paper-like husk. It’s easy to grow Tomatillos in your garden and even easier to homemade Tomatillo Salsa Verde.
How to Make Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Do you want to see how easy it is? Here’s what you’ll need: tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, garlic, cilantro and salt.
Under the papery skin, tomatillos are a little sticky, so you’ll need to wash them in warm water to remove the sticky stuff. I also soaked them in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes, then rinsed them well.
Next a quick roasting of the garlic, onion, jalapeños and tomatillos will take the flavor to the next level. Roasting vegetables is a simple way to intensify flavor. Chop the onion in half, crush the garlic, leave the jalapeños and tomatillos whole. Roast on a baking sheet in a 400-degree F oven for about 15 minutes, turning all halfway through roasting time. When roasted, tomatillos will turn a warm yellow in color.
After roasting, peel the garlic, de-seed and rough chop the jalapeño, then peel and rough chop the onion.
Finally, time to chop it all up. Transfer all of the roasted ingredients, along with the fresh cilantro and salt, into a food processor or blender and process until desired texture is achieved.
There’s no real right or wrong order or way to process the salsa, but I always like to chop the spicy stuff first in order to make sure the spicy ingredients get chopped up into small pieces. It’s no fun biting into a big piece of jalapeño.
Lots of fresh cilantro makes it very green! And green is always a good thing.
Serve with chips, veggies or even as a hotdog topping. Yes, Tomatillo Salsa Verde even a delicious replacement for pickle relish.
Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe
Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe
Homemade tomatillo salsa verde is easy to make and such a delicious addition to many dishes.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed & washed
- 6 jalapeños
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 medium-large onion
- 2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Chop the onion in half, crush the garlic, and leave the jalapeños and tomatillos whole. Roast on a baking sheet in a 400-degrees F oven for about 15 minutes, turning all halfway over through roasting time.
- Peel the garlic, deseed and rough chop the jalapeño, and peel and rough chop the onion.
- In a food processor, add all roasted ingredients, plus cilantro and salt and pulse until all ingredients are chopped and desired consistency is reached.
This was/is amazing! We followed the recipe exactly (although we were about 1/3 lb short on our tomatillos) and it is perfect! Best tomatillo salsa we’ve ever had! Now I can’t wait for more of our tomatillos to ripen from our garden! Thank YOU!
Thank you for posting this delicious recipe! My boyfriend and I LOVE it! I added the juice of one lime, and it was just out of this world good!!
Just made this recipe (well a half size version) and it’s so good! I also added a couple of Roma tomatoes to take the tangy-ness down a little. Thank you for sharing! It was my first time trying to make any kind of salsa and this hit the spot 🙂
Hmm, interesting that someone would feel that Pico de Gallo is not a salsa…it was a salsa growing up in my mother’s household. She’s from Mexico City, I’m first gen American, although you wouldn’t know it. Something she taught me about Salsa Verde, that I’d like to pass on…when choosing your tomatillos, the degree of ripeness varies according to the color and that influences the taste of the salsa. The beautiful brite green you see in the pics above will give you a tart and tangy salsa, however if you use them when they are more yellow (like they looked after roasting) then the taste is sweeter taste. My mother told me that the brite green color isn’t ripe, but the yellowish color is ripe and will yield a sweeter salsa (not to be mistaken with sweet as say a mango salsa, this mildly sweet). Nice to see a recipe that is really close to what I grew up on…..two differences tho….First, we used a comal (thin cast iron griddle, and I mean thinner than a standard pan) to do our toasting, second we used a blender…like Amy we tended to blend the spicier ingredients first then move onto the rest…just remembered we don’t use garlic in our recipe, but I more than likely would add it. Good for your digestive health. 😉 Hope the ripeness advice helps those who aren’t sure how to gauge how ripe the tomatillos are.
After trying store bought salsa verde, I found this recipe on pinterest and decided to try making it myself. I loved it so much that I found myself putting it on everything! It did not last very long. I attempted to make it again, this time I tried a different recipe, huge mistake, I mean HUGE!!!! This recipe is far superior, I have saved the recipe so that I will never make the mistake of using another recipe! Thank you!!!!!
So glad you enjoyed it Jo. It is the perfect condiment for so many things!
have you ever tried to can this?
I have not tried to can it before. It should work the same as regular salsa, right?
I would love to can this in pint jars. Would that be safe?
This is the most excellent fresh salsa verde I’ve tried. I modified it slightly, cutting down on the jalapenos for spouse’s more tender palate, upped the cilantro slightly, and reduced the salt. Otherwise, followed the recipe. Outstanding results! I will have this in my recipe box for frequent future use. Thanks so much!!
So glad to hear it! Now I’m craving a bowl of it. Tomatillo season can’t come too soon.
We love this recipe. Thank you for sharing. It’s so simple but has great depth of flavor. Making it again tomorrow!
Glad you enjoy it, Susan. I can’t wait to make a big batch this summer.
Beautiful! I literally almost licked my screen… This is my new go to summer salsa recipe. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this and I have one question as to how long could I keep this in the fridge for? I am sure it will not last but just wondering about “shelf life” as it is fresh salsa with no preservatives……..Thanks so much!
I like to use it within 5 days, Nancy.
Hi Amy, tried your Salsa Verde recipe. Its the bomb! Even the Grand kids loved it. I planted Tomatillo plants for the first time and would like to preserve enough for the year. Is there a way to can this recipe? I’m loaded with Tomatillos. Thanks!!
Happy to hear it, John! Although I’ve never canned it, I’m sure it can be easily adapted for canning.
Made this last night and love it. I will definitely make again.
Can this be frozen, or will that alter the texture?
It can be frozen, but freezing may change the texture a bit.
I don’t understand the step about the garlic… crush it first in the skin? then peel after roasting? or leave skin on before roasting and crush after? I’ve never crushed garlic before roasting and left the skin on, so confused.
I quickly crush the garlic with a flat wooden spoon or my hand, leaving the skin on to roast, then remove it after roasting. You may go ahead and remove the skin before roasting if you like.
Wonderful flavor. It’s a bit spicy even when deseeded after roasting so please wear plastic gloves to remove. My fingers were hot. I am writing to see how long do this salsa last in fridge and can it be canned?