This roasted tomatillo salsa verde recipe is easy to make and customize to your liking, and always tastes absolutely delicious!
My tried-and-true favorite recipe for homemade salsa verde! ♡
Recipe Tips
Here are a few tips to always keep in mind when making tomatillo salsa verde:
- Choose ripe tomatillos. Look for firm tomatillos with tight, dry husks and vibrant green color. Avoid ones that feel sticky or shriveled.
- Keep an eye on the charring. Place your baking sheet 4 to 6 inches from the heat and broil for about 5 minutes per side, or until the tomatillos are nice and charred and blistered. But be sure keep a close eye so that they don’t overcook and burn.
- Add a splash of water or broth if it’s too thick. Tomatillos can vary in juiciness. If your salsa is too thick, loosen it up with a bit of water or chicken/vegetable broth without diluting the flavor.
- Adjust the heat to taste. Use more/less serrano or jalapeño peppers depending on your spice preference. The heat levels can vary significantly between fresh peppers, so if you’re sensitive to heat, I would always start with considerably less and you can always add more. Removing the seeds will also mellow the heat.
- Balance the acidity with sweetness, if needed. If your tomatillos seem overly tart, a small pinch of sugar or honey can help to mellow their acidity.
- Let it rest before serving. Give the salsa at least 30 minutes to rest so that the flavors can meld. It will taste even better after chilling for a few hours.
Recipe Variations
Here are a few different salsa verde variations that you’re welcome to try:
- Boiled salsa verde: Add the tomatillos, serrano, and garlic to a pot of boiling water. Simmer for 5–6 minutes, until tomatillos are pale and softened, then drain and blend with the remaining ingredients as instructed to make boiled salsa verde.
- Raw salsa verde: To make salsa verde cruda, skip the roasting and just blend all of the ingredients raw for a more acidic salsa with bright tomatillo flavor.
- Avocado salsa verde: Let the salsa cool to room temperature then blend in an avocado to make creamy avocado tomatillo salsa.
- Pineapple salsa verde: Add 1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks to the blender for a sweet-and-spicy twist.
- Apple salsa verde: Add 1 Granny Smith apple (cored) to the blender for a fresh apple twist.
More Mexican Salsa Recipes To Try!
Looking for more great salsa recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:
Salsa Verde
Learn how to make delicious, authentic, and irresistible Mexican tomatillo salsa verde recipe with this easy recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1 serrano pepper (or jalapeño for milder heat), stem removed
- 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/3 cup diced white onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
Instructions
- Roast. Place the tomatillos, serrano, and garlic on a baking sheet. Broil for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until charred and softened
- Blend. Carefully squeeze out the roasted garlic flesh into a blender (or food processor), discarding the peels. Add the tomatillos, serrano and all of their juices to the blender, along with the cilantro, onion, lime juice, salt, and cumin (if using). Blend until smooth or pulse for a more chunky consistency.
- Season. Taste and season with additional salt or lime juice, if needed.
- Chill and serve. Let the salsa chill in the fridge for at least an hour to allow flavors to meld. Serve and enjoy, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
This was amazing I wish I could find the recipe for the red salsa Verde that they have at authentic Mexican restaurants
So delicious! I love the addition of the lime juice and cilantro. I roasted the tomatillos, jalapeños, and garlic. I made a big batch and used much of it for chili verde.
It was very good! My family and I love garlic so I doubled the garlic and added more lime juice! Tasted wonderful!
Made your recipe and followed it as written. No heat to speak of, but really good flavor. I’m adding more jalapeno since I don’t have a Serrano and if still not enough, I’ll add hot pepper flakes. Good tasting recipe though. Thanks for sharing.
Sooo good! I add a few extra Serrano peppers because I like more spice but other than that 10 out of 10!!
Excellent!! This is my go-to recipe. Thank you!
Made this a month ago. Used some and froze the rest. It’ has a kick and is really good. I followed the recipe exactly. I was looking for a sauce to put in a squeeze bottle, so I pretty much pureed it it a blender. It came out a little thin so I added xanthan gum to firm it up a bit and it’s perfect.
Hello!! I love this salsa! This year I planted a Serrano pepper plant and it is doing terrifically well. I would love to freeze this salsa. Have you ever done that?? If so can you tell me the best way?
Perfect! Living on an island without any tomatillos, so had to improvise with a substitute, but still turned out great.
Growing tomatillos is one of the easiest things to grow! You should try it so you don’t miss out on that awesome flavor!
Fantastic recipe – used a regular green bell pepper as I wanted zero heat… worked really well on basic grilled fish, but would probably be terrific on pretty much everything. Thank you!