Tomatillo salsa verde is made with tomatillos, onions, Serrano peppers, limes, cilantro, and garlic. It is perfect for eating with crunchy tortilla chips or topping on your favorite Mexican foods. You can find all of the ingredients at your local grocery store. Try making it today!
"I upped the Serrano to 6 and upped the garlic to 7 pieces/slivers, whatever you call them. Delicious!! Serve over rice or on top of tacos, great on breakfast tacos with fried eggs, black beans, and rice. Muah!!"
- ★★★★★-Laura
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🔍 Quick Look: Homemade Tomatillo Salsa Verde
⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
🕒 Cook Time: 10 minutes
👥 Servings: 12
📊 Calories: 18 per serving
🌶️ Main Ingredients: Tomatillos, Serrano peppers, onion, garlic, fresh cilantro, lime juice
🌿 Flavor: Bright, tangy, fresh, earthy, and spicy
⭐ Difficulty: Easy
A note from my kitchen
Salsa verde is made with tomatillos. Tomatillos look like little green tomatoes wrapped in a papery husk, but actually taste nothing like a tomato. Instead they have somewhat of a tart, earthy flavor.
Raw tomatillos are almost too bitter to eat. This is why you will want to cook them when making salsa. The addition of the cilantro, onion, and lime ingredients create a very vibrant, tangy mixture.
This recipe uses Serrano chiles for a hot and spicy effect. If you like your salsa a little more mild, you can use seeded jalapeños. For me, the hotter the better. I like to sweat just a little....
When choosing fresh tomatillos for your salsa, choose firm tomatillos with fresh-looking husks. Avoid tomatillos that are soft, mushy, moldy, or sticky.
Like most things, homemade tomatillo salsa (salsa verde) is much better than the store bought. I love it on chicken tacos or as spicy dip for my homemade tortilla chips. I hope you love it as much as we do. Enjoy! Xoxo ~Katie.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
You will need the following ingredients to make tomatillo salsa.
- tomatillos-Tomatillos look like green tomatoes, but they are not green tomatoes. Unlike tomatoes, they are covered in a light brown husk and have a more of a tart, zesty, earthy flavor.
- lime juice-I highly recommend fresh lime juice for the best flavor.
- cilantro
- garlic cloves
- Serrano peppers-If you cannot find serrano peppers, substitute with jalapeno peppers or chile peppers.
- onion- I use white onion, but you can use yellow onion also.
(*Full recipe is located at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.)
How to make tomatillo salsa verde
Follow these easy steps to make tomatillo salsa verde:
- The tomatillos will have a crackly husk around them. Remove the husks by pulling them off. They will also have a sticky film on the skin. Rinse the tomatillos in water to remove the sticky film.
- Roughly chop tomatillos, onion, and Serrano chili peppers. The size doesn't have to be uniform or perfect because they will be thrown in the blender or food processor.
- Add the tomatillos, Serrano chiles, onion, and garlic to a large stock pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until tomatillos and Serrano chiles change into a dull olive green color and the vegetables are softened.
- Remove vegetables from liquid and add the vegetables to food processor or blender.
- Add fresh cilantro and lime juice to the tomatillo mixture.
- Blend green sauce until smooth and salt to taste. You can serve immediately. I prefer to refrigerate an hour or more before serving to allow the flavors to fully build.
Watch how to make
Should you roast or boil tomatillos?
I have tried both the roasting and boiling method for cooking tomatillos for salsa. I thought the boiling method would take away from the flavor, but I discovered I was very wrong.
The roasted technique offers a nice smokey flavor, however, the boiling method enhances and brightens up the tomatillo flavor. Having made it both ways, the boiling method is more preferable to me.
How long can you store salsa in the refrigerator?
Properly stored in an airtight container, salsa will keep in the refrigerator up to a week. You can also freeze homemade salsa verde. It might be a little watery when you thaw it, but overall, the taste should still be similar.
About the recipe
This fresh tomatillo salsa recipe is from Chef Tez Abbott. He lives in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and runs an amazing gourmet catering business called Cabo Private Chef. (If you are ever in Cabo, you should totally reach out to him for a dinner party!)
I have tried other tomatillo salsa recipes, but his has become my favorite. Because I have made Chef Tez's recipe so often, I thought I would share it with you.
Do you love chips and salsa as much as me?? Fantastic! Try these!
Please leave me a comment below if you make this salsa verde and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your green salsa on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
📖 Recipe
Fresh Tomatillo Salsa Verde (Perfect for Tacos & Chips)
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 10 tomatillos
- 2 Serrano Chiles
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 onion
- cilantro a large handful
- 2 limes
- salt to taste
Instructions
- The tomatillos will have a crackly light husk around them. Remove the husks by pulling them off. They will also have a sticky film on the skin. Rinse the tomatillos in water to remove the sticky film.10 tomatillos
- Roughly chop tomatillos, onion, and Serrano chili peppers. The size doesn't have to be uniform or perfect because they will be thrown in the blender.1 onion, 2 Serrano Chiles
- Add the tomatillos, Serrano chiles, onion, and garlic to a large stock pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until tomatillos and Serrano chiles change into a dull olive green color and the vegetables are softened.5 garlic cloves
- Remove vegetables from liquid and add the vegetables to food processor or blender.
- Juice limes. Add fresh cilantro and lime juice to the tomatillo mixture.2 limes, cilantro
- Blend until smooth. Salt to taste.
Laura says
I upped the Serrano to 6 and upped the garlic to 7 pieces/slivers, whatever you call them. Delicious!! Serve over rice or on top of tacos, great on breakfast tacos with fried eggs, black beans, and rice. Muah!!
Johnathan Rice says
Fantastic! We upped the number of serranos and used lemon juice because we didn’t have any limes and it turned out fantastic.
Angie says
This was great! Delicious flavors!