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:
- Green Chili Chicken Soup
- Loaded Nachos
- Baked Chicken Chimichangas
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake
- Chicken Quesadillas
- Chicken Tacos
- Chicken Enchiladas
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!
Recipe FAQ
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.
You will need 15-18 small tomatillos or 8-10 medium tomatillos to equal one pound.
If you wish to use canned tomatillos substitute an 11-ounce can for 1 pound of fresh tomatillos.
For More Salsa Recipes, Try:
Tomatillo Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb tomatillos husked
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 serrano pepper minced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- In a large pot, add tomatillos, onion, garlic, 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.
- In 2 batches, carefully puree until smooth. Serve warm or refrigerate until cold.
I love when restaurants have this salsa, because it’s so good!! So happy I can make it at home now! This recipe looks super easy. I’d love to try it on tacos!
It’s so hard for me to pull myself away from this salsa once I start eating it. It’s so good and perfect on just about everything!
Only the best salsa ever!!!
LOVE TOMATILLO SALSA VERDE (OVER THE RED SALSA). I DIDN’T REALIZE IT WAS SO EASY TO MAKE AT HOME. THANKS!
Super easy to make and just like you get in the best mexican restaurants. Perfection!
I love any type of salsa!!! And this could be my all time favorite!
My family loves eating chips and SALSA for a snack and I’m always on the lookout for different salas to mix things up. My kids love your classic red salsa and so I thought id try your GREEN one. It’s a great recipe and will be one we keep using.
is it bad that i can eat this whole thing by myself? It is so YUMMY! I did share it and everyone loved it!
A great tasting salsa for any occasion and its pleasantly mild in taste!
I always go the easiest way possible. So, how many cans of tomatillos equals 1 lb. of fresh?
There are different sizes in cans, so that will depend. But, I would say a 16 ounce can is close. Enjoy!
Easily a favorite! We make this to go with the chicken flautas. So good!
Hi!
Cooking newbie here! So excited to make this and was wondering if I’m still supposed to boil the tomatillos if I used canned instead of fresh?
Thanks so much!
I haven’t tried, but I don’t think you need to 🙂 Enjoy!!
I want to use canned Tomatillos. If I follow the recipe for the recipe with sugar, and just leave the sugar out, would it taste like the recipe above that uses fresh tomatillos ? I can never find the fresh ones . How do I find your answer to this question?