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Growing up we always had a choice of two kinds of salsa—a red tomato salsa which we made from scratch, and a salsa verde, or green salsa, which we got from a bottle (Victoria brand).
As a kid I always thought that green salsa was made from green tomatoes, but actually it is made with a distant relative of a tomato from Mexico, the naturally tart tomatillo (pronounced “toe-mah-TEE-yo”). A tomatillo looks like a little green tomato covered with a husk, and is more closely related to gooseberry than it is to tomato.
Salsa verde is really easy to make from scratch, all you need are tomatillos, onion, jalapeño, lime, and cilantro.
To make the salsa verde, you will need to cook the tomatillos, which you can do by either boiling them, broiling them in the oven, or pan roasting them. All three approaches are quick and easy, though with broiling or pan roasting, you get added flavor from the searing of the tomatillos.
Then it’s a quick spin in the blender with the other ingredients, easy!
Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe
To cook the tomatillos, you can either roast them in the oven, brown them on the stovetop, or boil them. Roasting in the oven or browning on the stovetop will deliver more flavor. Each way works, though boiling is a more common way to cook the tomatillos.
Garlic is optional. You can either cook a few cloves with the tomatillos in any of these steps, or add one or two raw garlic cloves when you go to blend the salsa.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb tomatillos
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 2 cloves (or more) garlic (optional)
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped (you can use whole for more heat if you want)
- Salt to taste
Method
1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.
2a Oven Roasting Method Cut the tomatillos in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Add a few garlic cloves in their skin (if using) Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skins of the tomatillos.
2b Pan Roasting Method Coat the bottom of a skillet with a little vegetable oil. Heat on high heat. Place the tomatillos in the pan and sear on one side, then flip over and brown on the other side. Remove from heat.
2c Boiling Method Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tomatillos with a slotted spoon.
3 Pulse in blender: Place the cooked tomatillos, lime juice, onions, garlic (if using), cilantro, chili peppers in a blender or food processor and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.
4 Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.
Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.
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Links:
Botanical information on the tomatillo, from Purdue University
Salsa Verde Chicken Bake here on Simply Recipes
Grilled Tomatillo and Corn Salsa
Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
I couldn’t find a good recipe for salsa verde to save my life and all of the bottled versions are horrible. I LOVE Rubios and could not find a copy cat recipe. Well, this is essentially it except the boil method is a MUST! I’ve tried in the past with broiled and the taste, for me, is just off. This salsa is so very good. I’ve made 5 batches so far and the last one I took to work and it’s gone!
My changes:
I added a teaspoon of sugar, a half teaspoon of salt, and the juice from 2-3 limes. I like it a bit limey! I added avocado to one batch as I had some to use up and it was still SO GOOD!! I grow my own chilis and have a plant that’s a modified jalapeno.
All of the flavor, none of the heat. I used those. Everything else is the same. I’ve added it to our family cookbook. I will make this from now on. Never again the red salsa. This is my favorite!
xxxxxyyyyy
How long does this last In the fridge? Can you freeze it?
Hi, Emily! Yes, this will freeze well for about three months. Once opened and in the fridge use it up within a week to 10 days.
You could try a food mill? It’s commonly done with tomatoes for pasta sauce, it might work for tomatillos as well
Is there anyway to deseed a tomatillo? I can’t eat seeds.
Maybe you can strain the end result using cheesecloth?
Hi, Sheri! I think it would be tough to do. You could certainly buy a couple at the store and give it a go, either by scooping out the seeds with a spoon or straining it through cheesecloth as Emilie suggested. With either approach, however, I fear you would loose a lot of the texture in the salsa.
If you roast or cook the tomatillos first, scooping out the seeds becomes much easier.
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make!
xxxxxyyyyy
I’m so glad you like it Leah!
Do you take the skins off after roasting/boiling before blending them up?
Hi Connie, you remove the husks before roasting and boiling, but there is no need to remove the skins after roasting or boiling.