Homemade Salsa Verde
This roasted tomatillo salsa is so easy to make. You're only six ingredients away from the best salsa verde you've ever tasted! Get the recipe here.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
I’m never going back to store-bought salsa verde! This salsa verde is fresh, bright, and not too salty like those store-bought versions.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that simple is best. This salsa was originally a component in a seven-layer dip concept, but the salsa blew the dip out of the water. One part, on its own, was so much better than the other six combined. This salsa verde is so fresh and irresistible.
Then, I made it a couple more times, with the same ingredients, but each time, it tasted a little different. That’s just what happens with a simple recipe made with natural ingredients. You can pick up each tomatillo, squeeze it to gauge ripeness and peel back the husk to look for bright green skin, but you don’t know how flavorful it really is until you taste it.
Add eleven more tomatillos to the mix, plus jalapeño that may or may not be crazy spicy, plus onion and cilantro of varying freshness, and you’ll never make a batch of salsa that tastes quite like another.
Your salsa will be delicious, fresh and so much better than the salty jarred varieties. I can guarantee that much. That’s the beauty of simple recipes made with fresh, natural ingredients—they’re inevitably awesome. Don’t over think it. Trust the recipe. Adjust to suit your taste buds.
Watch How to Make Salsa Verde
Salsa Verde Notes
Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes with husks, but they aren’t tomatoes—they’re cousins. I’ve had an easy time finding them at grocery stores lately. I tried making this salsa with raw tomatillos, but they’re borderline sour. Roasting them really brings out their best side.
Some roasted tomatillo salsas I’ve tried taste too roasted or smoky, but not this one. You can also control just how roasted those tomatillos get when you roast them yourself. I think it turned out just right with the times specified in the recipe below.
Uses for Salsa Verde
Salsa verde is great with pretty much anything that goes well with regular tomato salsa. I think it’s especially fantastic with sweet potatoes (check out these burritos and this burrito bowl) and eggs (like chilaquiles verdes, huevos rancheros, frittatas and breakfast tacos).
I also really love creamy avocado salsa verde, which you can make by throwing some diced avocado into the mix. I decided to divide my salsa in two and blend one avocado into one-half of the salsa. I’ve included instructions below.
Or, serve it alongside my favorite guacamole recipe with tortilla chips for the best of both worlds!
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! I hope you love it as much as I do.
Are you building a salsa bar or taco spread? Don’t miss my favorite red salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, corn salsa or mango salsa.
Homemade Salsa Verde
This roasted salsa verde recipe is so easy to make. Just roast the tomatillos and pepper(s) and blend with a few basic ingredients for the best salsa verde you’ve ever tasted! Recipe yields about 2 ½ cups salsa.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds tomatillos (about 12 medium), husked and rinsed
- 1 to 2 medium jalapeños, stemmed (omit for mild salsa, use 1 jalapeño for medium salsa and 2 jalapeños for hot salsa, note that spiciness will depend on heat of actual peppers used)
- ½ cup chopped white onion (about ½ medium onion)
- ¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves (more if you love cilantro)
- 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup lime juice (1 to 2 medium limes, juiced), to taste
- ½ to 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- Optional variation: 1 to 2 diced avocados, for creamy avocado salsa verde
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler with a rack about 4 inches below the heat source. Place the tomatillos and jalapeño(s) on a rimmed baking sheet and broil until they’re blackened in spots, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully flip over the tomatillos and pepper(s) with tongs and broil for 4 to 6 more minutes, until the tomatillos are splotchy-black and blistered.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine the chopped onion, cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Once the tomatillos are out of the oven, carefully transfer the hot tomatillos, pepper(s) and all of their juices into the food processor or blender.
- Pulse until the mixture is mostly smooth and no big chunks of tomatillo remain, scraping down the sides as necessary. Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt, if desired.
- The salsa will be thinner at first, but will thicken up after a few hours in the refrigerator, due to the naturally occurring pectin in the tomatillos. If you’d like to make creamy avocado salsa verde, let the salsa cool down before blending in 1 to 2 diced avocados (the more avocado, the creamier it gets).
Notes
Recipe adapted from Rick Bayless, Serious Eats and Simply Recipes.
Storage suggestions: This salsa verde should keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 1 week. If you added avocado, it will keep well for about 3 days—be sure to press plastic wrap against the top surface to prevent oxidation.
Change it up: Feel free to substitute red tomatoes for a more traditional roasted tomato salsa.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This was so good! And so easy to make! I used 1 giant jalapeño and 1 Serrano with some of the seeds removed. The end result was delicious with a nice kick.
It’s remarkable how something so simple can taste so good. I never knew what those strange looking green balls were. It makes everything taste better. Thank you so much! I love your recipes too.
Best ever!!! Can this be put in the freezer?
Yes! It freezes great for up to 3 months (maybe longer).
This recipe is so easy to make and absolutely delicious. I used two large jalapeños and still found the salsa to be quite mild. If you like a lot of spice I would roast at least 4 jalapeños and adjust the spice level by adding more to reach the desired level.
So delicious! I also canned it!!!
Can this be adapted for jar canning in a water bath?
Hi LaRetta, I haven’t tested this for canning, and my best advice is to use a recipe tested by the National Center for Home Food Preservation, a state extension, or Ball Canning, when canning things like salsa or other fruits. Acidity of various ingredients can impact the processing times and other factors for safe canning.
First time making this I think it’s wonderful I’m telling all my friends and I’m sending it to all my friends simple and easy and it tastes great it’ll go great with my pork shoulder
I overdid the jalapeño a bit but wow this is soooo much better than store bought salsa verde. Amazing recipe!
I haven’t been able to find tomatillos at any grocery store near me. Can you make this with green tomatoes?
Hi Erin, green tomatoes and tomatillos are very different in terms of flavor and texture, even though they look similar. Do you have a Latin grocery store near you? They would almost certainly carry tomatillos. Substituting green tomatoes would be a different salsa entirely, but you may enjoy it. Commercial salsa verde can be used in recipes that call for it, but can have a lot of salt so you may want to adjust for that. I hope this helps!
Thanks so much! I used green tomatoes, followed the instructions in the recipe for roasting, and followed the rest of the ingredients. I had a yummy salsa turn out! Looking forward to making this when I can find tomatillos and comparing!