Tomatillo Salsa Recipe

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Easy tomatillo salsa is spicy and addicting. It’s great with tortilla chips or as a sauce on top of your favorite Mexican dishes!

This tomatillo salsa is packed with flavor, and is an easy dip to make fresh! Pour this over your favorite Mexican recipes like Pork Tacos or Carne Asada.

A Favorite Green Salsa

This tomatillo salsa verde has just the right amount of salt and spice in it. I love a good green salsa and this one is amazing.

It’s different from our other Sweet Salsa Verde recipe because it doesn’t have any sugar in it—just savory ingredients! They are both really good but this one is great if you’re craving salt and heat.

I love eating salsa with my favorite Tortilla Chips. If I’m not careful I could sit down and just keep eating and eating until the salsa and chips are gone! Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this!?

The great thing about this salsa verde is that it can be used with lots of different Mexican recipes.

How to Make Tomatillo Salsa

This tomatillo salsa recipe is really easy to whip up and have for a snack or make for friends/neighbors. I also like to make big batches and save them for later. Read more about freezing this salsa below!

COOK. In a large pot, add tomatillos, onion, minced garlic cloves, and serrano chile peppers. Season with cilantro, oregano, cumin, and salt. Add water and bring to a boil over high heat.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until tomatillos are soft. Remove from heat.

PUREE. In 2 batches, carefully puree in a food processor until smooth. Serve warm or refrigerate until cold.

Recipe Tips

Prep your tomatillos or roast them for added flavor with these simple tips.

A tomatillo (toe-mah-TEE-uo) is a distant relative of red tomatoes. These little green tomatoes are covered in a papery husk that needs to be removed before cooking them.

How to husk a tomatillo. Simply peel off the papery husk and then rinse the tomatillos in cold water to remove the sticky residue.

Serrano pepper is a fairly spicy chile pepper. If you wish to make salsa with a more mild taste, you can substitute them with jalapeño peppers.

How to roast tomatillos for salsa. Instead of simmering the salsa on the stove, roast the ingredients in the oven to make roasted tomatillo salsa for an added layer of flavor.

Remove the husks and cut the tomatillos in half. Toss them with the onion, garlic, and serrano pepper.
Place an oven rack about 6 inches below the top heating element. Turn on the broiler so that it can heat up.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place the coated tomatillos face down on the baking sheet.
Roast for 5-7 minutes watching carefully. The tomatillos are done when the skins are slightly charred.
Let the tomatillos cool for a couple of minutes before adding them to the blender along with the cilantro, oregano, cumin, and 1 cup of water. Blend, adding more water to help obtain the desired consistency.

Storing Info + Serving Tips

STORE tomatillo salsa verde in mason jars or any airtight container you have! Keep it chilled in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If a film starts to develop on the top, the salsa is no longer good.

FREEZE this fresh tomatillo salsa verde by placing it in a covered airtight container or in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. This should keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. For more tips about freezing salsa, CLICK HERE.

Serving suggestions:

We use this kind of salsa in many recipes, but here are some of our favorite Mexican recipes that it goes well with:

You really can’t beat salsa, and we are so happy to have mastered this green sauce – both with this savory version and with our sweet version. We know you’ll love them!

Tomatillo salsa stored in a bowl close up.

Recipe FAQ

How can I make tomatillo salsa less sour?

Tomatillos have more acidity than red tomatoes which can cause a tart or sour taste. There are a few ways to reduce bitterness when making salsa. Smaller tomatillos are less bitter than large tomatillos, cooking tomatillos helps reduce their acidity, and you can add some salt and sugar to help balance out the acidity.

When making tomatillo salsa how many tomatillos are in one pound?

You will need 15-18 small tomatillos or 8-10 medium tomatillos to equal one pound.

How many cans of tomatillos can be substituted for fresh tomatillos in salsa?

If you wish to use canned tomatillos substitute an 11-ounce can for 1 pound of fresh tomatillos.

For More Salsa Recipes, Try:

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