Homemade Salsa Verde Recipe

If you’ve never made your own salsa verde before, you’re in for a treat. The bottled stuff from the store can never compare to this.

A good salsa verde recipe is one of those things you should always have in your back pocket. It’s great for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, over eggs, rice, chicken, quesadillas, dip, and pretty much anything else you put hot sauce or salsa on. Vegetables and protein combo dinners are always improved with a little salsa verde, in my experience!

What Is Salsa Verde?

Mexican salsa verde, also known simply as salsa verde, is a tangy and vibrant green salsa that is commonly used in Mexican cuisine. “Salsa verde” translates to “green sauce” in English. It’s made from tomatillos, a small green fruit with a tart flavor, along with other ingredients such as chili peppers, onion, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice.

Different regions and households in Mexico may have their own variations of salsa verde, with slight differences in ingredients and preparation methods. Some may add additional ingredients such as avocado or epazote (a Mexican herb) for added flavor.

Salsa Verde FAQs

What Is The Difference Between Green Salsa And Salsa Verde?

Green salsa is more of a general term. The way salsa can be applied to many different types of salsa, so it is with green salsa.

Is Salsa Verde Made From Green Tomatoes?

Salsa Verde, is a green salsa made from tomatillos. And while the interwebs cannot seem to agree, some folks say you can use green tomatoes in place of tomatillos. This girl is not convinced. They are two different plants. And while there may be some similarities, I’ll stick to tomatillos when making my salsa verde, thank you very much.

Is Salsa Verde The Same As Green Enchilada Sauce?

While they are similar, there are some key differences. Namely, that salsa verde is a raw dish while enchilada sauce is typically cooked with water or broth.

Not Sure What To Do With A Tomatillo?

Here is the guide on how to deal with fresh tomatillos. Once you have cleaned and prepared them, the process of making this verde sauce becomes really, super easy and only involves a food processor and about 10 minutes of your time (once the tomatillos are roasted). I roasted my tomatillos the day before, so this came together quite easily for me the next day.

Can I Use A Blender Instead Of A Food Processor?

In theory, yes, if you pulse it the whole time and stop occasionally to stir things up. But you can’t overland this in a blender or you’ll end up with soup instead of salsa. A food processor is much better suited for getting your desired consistenc

What Is Salsa Verde Made Of? Here’s What You’ll Need

Tomatillos – Make sure these are firm and unblemished. Check my guide for picking the best tomatillos. The recipe calls for 2 pounds tomatillos, but you can double this entire recipe if you have a lot of them that need to be used. Just be prepared to work in batches.

Serrano chili peppers – Here again, you want firm and unblemished serrano peppers. You can also use jalapeño peppers, if you prefer.

Yellow onion – You can use white onions too. The only onions I would avoid are purple onions for this recipe.

Garlic cloves – This is pretty much an entire head of garlic. One, more or less, won’t hurt.

Fresh cilantro – For those who don’t like cilantro, you can leave it out. For those that do, don’t skip it! It’s delicious!

Lime – You’ll only need the juice. So if you prefer bottled juice, it’s approximately 1 tablespoon.

Salt to taste – I used pink Himalayan salt, but use what you have on hand.

How To Make Homemade Salsa Verde

Prepare and roast the tomatillos. (See the guide linked above to walk you through the process of removing the papery husks, cleaning the tomatillos and roasting them in the oven. You can also broil them under a broiler.)

Cut the jalapeno peppers in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Then chop the peppers coarsely.

Chop your onions coarsely. This is really just to make things a little easier on your processor.

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until it reaches the consistency you like best.

This is what it looks like with and without the cilantro added. The cilantro flavor is not overpowering. It just adds a nice, subtle flavor enhancement. Add salt to taste. Serve with some tortilla chips for a quick and tasty snack.

How Long Does Salsa Verde Stay Fresh?

Homemade salsa verde will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Freezing Tomatillo Salsa Verde

While some people say you can freeze salsa verde, I don’t recommend it. The texture after freezing becomes a little too mushy for my liking.

Recipe Supplies

For this recipe, you’ll need a food processor and a good-quality baking sheet or two.

More Homemade Salsa Recipes

• Strawberry Salsa
• Cilantro Salsa (Pico De Gallo)

Homemade Salsa Verde Recipe Card