This easy homemade tomatillo salsa verde recipe only uses a few ingredients and is ready in under 30 minutes! You can make it mild or spicy, according to your taste.
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I can never get enough Mexican food. My mom craved it when she was pregnant with me. So, I guess I was literally born to love it. Mexico is one of my absolute favorite travel destinations, but since I can't get there as often as I like, I love to make authentic Mexican recipes at home. This tomatillo salsa verde is one of those recipes!
Maybe you've had this before, billed as tomatillo sauce, not as a salsa. But salsa actually just means "sauce" in Spanish. The smooth texture makes this recipe very versatile - it can be served hot as part of another dish like chilaquiles, or eaten at room temp or chilled for chips and salsa.
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5 reasons to make your own tomatillo salsa verde!
- You only need a few ingredients.
- Making it at home means it can be spicy or mild to suit your tastes.
- You can make a big batch and freeze a portion for later use.
- It's ready in about half an hour!
- You can use it in so many ways to add bright flavor to countless recipes.
Ingredients you'll need
- Fresh tomatillos: Make sure the husk is still nice and green, and that the fruit inside is bright green and firm. If the husks have turned yellow or brown, they are likely not very fresh and have been sitting around for a while, so avoid those.
- Fresh serrano or jalapeño peppers: Serranos are a bit spicier. You can use one pepper of your choice, or more if you like it spicier.
- Chicken stock or vegetable stock
- Yellow onion: Traditionally, Mexican food frequently uses white onion, but I prefer the sweeter taste of yellow onion. Use whichever you like best.
- Garlic
- Fresh cilantro
- Vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
How to make tomatillo salsa verde in 3 easy steps!
Adapted from Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless.
Step 1: Prep and cook the tomatillos
Remove husks and stems from tomatillos. Run them under warm water to remove the sticky residue.
In a large pot, boil the tomatillos and chiles in salted water for about 10 - 15 minutes until tender and cooked through.
Step 2: Blend the salsa ingredients together
Place tomatillos, chiles, onion, garlic, and cilantro in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, but retaining a little texture. Don't totally liquify it.
Step 3: Cook the tomatillo salsa
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it's hot enough to make a drop of the salsa mixture sizzle, add all of it to the pan at once and stir frequently for about 4 - 5 minutes until the sauce thickens and darkens.
Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt to taste.
Tips for making tomatillo salsa verde
- When you are ready to use the tomatillos, remove the husks and stems, and run the tomatillos under warm water to get rid of the sticky residue on the outside. If you find this to be a pesky task, you can also drop them into simmering water for a few seconds to make the husk easier to remove and clean the residue in one fell swoop. See how Justin Chapple does that in this video.
- If you don't want to spend time cooking the tomatillos, you can shorten the recipe by about 10 minutes and used canned tomatillos instead. Your chiles will be raw when you add them to the food processor, which will make them a little spicier than if you had cooked boiled them with the tomatillos, so just be aware of that and adjust accordingly.
How to serve tomatillo salsa verde
- Serve with tortilla chips for chips and salsa.
- Use as a sauce for enchiladas
- Make chilaquiles.
- It's a great salsa with fish tacos!
FAQ
No. Green tomatoes are the unripe version of any tomato variety you can think of. Tomatillos are unique unto themselves. They remain green, and they grow with a leafy husk around them.
Tomatillo salsa verde has a bright, tangy flavor and a smooth texture. It can be spicy or mild, depending on how many chile peppers are used. It's a cooked salsa, which helps the flavors to meld together well, and may appeal to those who don't like raw onions or find fresh chiles to be too spicy.
More Mexican recipes
- Mango Avocado Salsa is another easy salsa recipe that's super quick!
- Chilaquiles Verdes with Fried Eggs and Chorizo uses this very salsa recipe as the base.
- Grilled Halibut with Almond-Orange Mole will give you a taste of the Mexican seaside.
- Mexican Black Beans (vegetarian) are a perfect side dish with any meal.
Recipe
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh tomatillos husk and stem removed, rinsed clean. (or two 13oz cans tomatillos)
- 1 fresh serrano pepper or jalapeño. Add more chiles if you like it spicier.
- 6 sprigs fresh cilantro
- 1 garlic clove peeled, roughly chopped
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
Instructions
- Remove husks and stems from tomatillos. Run them under warm water to remove the sticky residue. In a large pot, boil the tomatillos and chiles in salted water for about 10 – 15 minutes until tender and cooked through.
- Place tomatillos, chiles, onion, garlic, and cilantro in a food processor. Blend until smooth, but retaining a little texture. Not liquified.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot enough to make a drop of the salsa mixture sizzle, add all of it to the pan at once and stir frequently for about 4 – 5 minutes until the sauce thickens and darkens.
- Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt to taste.
Notes
- If you don't want to spend time cooking the tomatillos, you can shorten the recipe by about 10 minutes and used canned tomatillos instead. Your chiles will be raw when you add them to the food processor, which will make them a little spicier than if you had cooked boiled them with the tomatillos, so just be aware of that and adjust accordingly.
- I recommend a food processor instead of a blender for making this salsa. You still want some texture and that is easier to control. I used my Kitchenaid 7-cup food processor.
- This recipe is adapted from Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless. He is one of my favorite chefs and I have several of his cookbooks.
- Be sure to read the post above for more tips and FAQs.
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