Try this Tomatillo Salsa recipe for an authentic, tangy Mexican salsa verde. Perfect for pairing with tacos, enchiladas or a generous serving of tortilla chips!
Salsa Verde Recipe with Tomatillos
Most people think of salsa as red and tomato based. Or they love my simple fruit salsa. And while I love both, you simply must give this green salsa a try!
Tomatillo Salsa Verde is a tangy salsa made from tomatillos, small green fruits known as Mexican husk tomatoes. They make a great base for salsa!
- It takes just 15 minutes to make this homemade salsa verde!
- Just 5 ingredients needed (plus salt)!
- This recipe is super versatile! You can use it as a topping with all of your favorite Mexican dishes – or just scoop some up with chips!
Ingredient Notes
- Tomatillos – You can find these in the produce area of the grocery store, near the tomatoes. Be sure to remove the papery husks from each tomatillo before cooking them.
- Onion – We like to use a white onion for this recipe. You could also substitute a sweet or yellow onion if that’s what you have.
- Cilantro – This adds tons of freshness to the salsa, plus extra green coloring!
- Jalapenos – Remove the membrane and seeds first to control the level of heat in the salsa. You could also add a serrano pepper for some heat.
- Limes – Fresh lime juice is the best! You need the juice from 2 limes for this salsa. Before slicing the lime, roll it with your palm to help extract some of its juices.
How to Make Salsa Verde
To learn how to make tomatillo salsa, it only requires a few simple ingredients and is easy to assemble.
Cook the tomatillos. Remove the husks from the tomatillos then add to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
Blend the salsa. Blend cooked tomatillos, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapenos, and salt together in a blender or food processor. Pulse until finely chopped and blended to a desired consistency.
Chill then serve. Transfer the salsa to a bowl and chill in the refrigerator to allow the salsa to cool and allow the flavors to mingle. Then serve and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Cooking the tomatillos is necessary for the best flavor. You can quickly boil them, as listed in the recipe card. You can also broil or roast them in the oven, but they lose a bit of tartness and have a slightly sweeter flavor.
- Like it spicy? Leave some of the membranes and seeds with the jalapenos to give the salsa more heat. Or you could add a third jalapeno to this recipe.
- Refrigerate the salsa, covered, to allow the flavors to marinate and allow the salsa to cool down before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Tomatillos, also known as Mexican husk tomatoes, resemble small, unripe green tomatoes with a husk covering them.
They are a fruit and while they are technically not tomatoes, they are in the same nightshade family.
Make the salsa at least 30 minutes ahead so it can cool down and the flavors can mix well.
You can store the salsa, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
What to serve with Tomatillo Salsa
- Crock Pot Carnitas
- Barbacoa Recipe
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Chicken Lime Enchiladas
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Instant Pot Barbacoa
- Chicken Fajitas
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Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds tomatillos
- 1 small white onion
- ¾ cup cilantro
- 2 limes juiced
- 2 jalapeno peppers seeded
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Remove husks from tomatillos. In a large pot of boiling water, add tomatillos and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapenos, and salt to blender. Add in warm tomatillos. Pulse until finely chopped and blended.
- Cool in refrigerator to allow flavors to mingle. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cooking the tomatillos is necessary for the best flavor. You can quickly boil them, as listed in the recipe card. You can also broil or roast them in the oven, but they lose a bit of tartness and have a slightly sweeter flavor.
- Like it spicy? Leave some of the membranes and seeds with the jalapenos to give the salsa more heat. Or you could add a third jalapeno to this recipe.
- Refrigerate the salsa, covered, to allow the flavors to marinate and allow the salsa to cool down before serving.
This is such a great salsa recipe!! Thanks.
We have made this so many times- it’s so good!
I could live on salsa and this is so good!
When I read this, I thought ground cherries were the red fruit that had been ground up!!!! When I looked it up, I found that ground cherries are like small tomatillos ( cherry tomatoes). It’s a good thing I did not grind up some red cherries to put in the recipe!!! LOL
Although to be honest, regular red cherries would be delicious I’m sure…as I have a mango salsa that is fantastic with the sweet and spicy combo 🙂
I too was confused by the “cherries “ in your recipe. Would you please clarify your recipe to say, ‘cherry tomatoes’ so people don’t think of actual cherries. Thanks
I actually describe what ground cherries are in the blog post…you know the part that most readers complain about having to scroll through, haha!