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.
YES! My husband always makes this from scratch (tomatillos from a can though, as fresh is hard to come by here in Germany) for slow cooked pork on the weekends and it’s amazing! I’ll have to give him your recipe to try for next time.
Hi, I just happened to read this. I’m from Bavaria and I’ve been growing my own tomatillos from seeds. So easy, and you can even do it in a pot on your balcony in case you don’t have a garden.
How cool! Thanks for letting me know, Susi.
Susi, I love this recipe as well My family lives in Germany. Where did you get your seeds, can they buy tomatillo seeds in a store? Canned tomatillos don’t sound that great to me, but never tried them.
Thanks for any advice
Hi Christine, I’m so sorry! I only see this omment now that I’m googling tomatillo recipes again! I always get the seeds on ebay. :-)
This looks perfect! Salsa verde is my absolute favorite, and I love the suggestion of adding avocado for a creamier dip! Pinned!
Homemade salsa verde is the best and sooo easy to make! I think the hardest part is procuring the tomatillos. It freezes wonderfully too if you make too much.
Random story: the girl the bf used to date once made him fresh salsa verde from her family’s recipe and she had talked it up so much and he was so excited to try it but it tasted awfulllll. Turns out her family just chucks all the raw ingredients into a blender and ya, raw tomatillos are pretty sour. Eek.
Hey J.S.! Thanks for the freezing tip! Raw tomatillos are suuuuper sour. Not surprised he didn’t like it!
Also helped for my only question here…freezing! This recipe sounds so good that I’ve already bought all my ingredients and am making it in just a few mins! Thank you for posting this :)
Roasted tomatillos! Brilliant! I am making this very soon. Perfect for a hot summer day. Yum!
Yummy! I love salsa verde on scrambles egg whites.
This looks awesome! Love the idea of roasting the tomatillos and peppers before blending. I’ll have to give this a try when tomatillos start showing up in my CSA!
Wow, 450 recipes! Congratulations on so many recipes!! :)
Thanks, Sarah!
*Roasting* the tomatillos! So smart. This looks so dang good. We had tacos at home the other day, and I realized I really need to work on my salsa game. This one is going on my to-cook list!
I haven’t used tomatillos for many years, but they are readily available now. I’ll try roasting some soon. I always make salsa from scratch and “toast” peppers in a toaster oven. No turning necessary, oven works on a timer, and the juices fall into the drip tray.
Oh, I bet those toasted tomatillos taste just as good! I’d stick with that method if it works well for you! :)
Hmmmm. Great idea Nellie. Thanks! I usually roast them in an iron skillet, but it’s a pain.
I would never have thought to use a toaster oven……brilliant!
I think I found my soulmate :)
Salsa verde is my favorite — which means this is making me super hungry! Definitely going to have to give it a try!
I agree, sometimes it just feels like ‘But should I be doing more with this?!’ when I do a recipe. I do find that people love the simplest things the most, like this lovely salsa. I’m picturing this paired with a chips and beer and eaten on a patio : )
Yep, I think we all love a good simple recipe. Even us food bloggers who like to make things complicated. ;) This salsa would taste even better on a patio, for sure!
Thank you for the lovely recipe. I love salsa verde.
This is great! I love making homemade salsa. Pico de gallo is amazing too!
I’m so gonna make this as a salad dressing!!!
I can totally picture eating this with a corn tortilla and refried black beans. Can’t wait to try!
I’ve always loved Salsa Verse on my burritos and enchiladas but have never made it before. Glad to know tomatillos must be roasted before purreeing. One of my summer must-do recipes. Thanks!
I LOVE salsa verde, especially from scratch! Soooo much better than the jarred stuff. I usually make mine by boiling the tomatillos, but the idea of roasting them sounds incredible!!! Being the salsa addict that I am, I have no doubts that I will be trying this in the next few days. Thanks for yet another amazing recipe, Kate!
I haven’t tried the boiling method! I think roasting them brings out more flavor, but I’ll have to give that a shot. Thanks, Leah!
Homemade salsa is the best…looks delicious!!!
Funny, I just had it in my mind that I wanted to try making a tomatillo salsa after seeing them everywhere in the markets, but I hadn’t given much thought to using them raw or roasted. Will give roasted a try!
Roasted is way better than raw, that’s for sure! I’ve also seen pan-roasted and boiled methods.
Well now I’m definitely never buying salsa verde again…there’s no point when it’s so easy to make at home! From scratch!
Right?! Thanks, Joanne!
I’ve been wanting to make salsa verde for so long but never know how to choose the tomatillo! May have to try making this summer!
Perfect! Hope you love this salsa, Taylor!
Viva la homemade salsa verdi…it’s my favorite…especially tomatillos harvested from your very own edible garden…yum!
We just bought a jar of this for a recipe. I’m SO happy to find a recipe easy enough for me in my email. :)
The salsa verde looks amazing! This is actually the first time I have come across a salsa recipe and wanted to make it, so thanks :)
I made this salsa yesterday after coming across extremely cheap tomatillos at the store — less than $1/lb! I will say this recipe makes a LOT of salsa (2 jars full for me with 1.5 avocados added), so it would come in handy if you have a party or something like that coming up. I also found that it came out a little more citrus-y than I expected –which I like, but I might just use one lime next time. I was worried about over roasting the tomatillos, but ended up feeling like I could have roasted them much longer! I served this over your recent quinoa/black bean tacos with plenty of arugula, avocado and goat cheese — delightful combo. Thank you for another hit, Kate!
Thanks, Claire! I appreciate your feedback. I’ll adjust the recipe accordingly. I actually used three limes in my salsa and didn’t find it too limey, but I love citrus! So glad you enjoyed it. Those tacos sound epic.
Funny, my son eats pico de gallo by the bowl-full (straight), and loves it with tomatoes, with tomatillos, and with a combination. All raw! I love it, too. Though our farm share tomatillos are sweeter than any I’ve ever found at the stores.
I’ll try some roasted, too… Will see how he likes it.
I believe you! I love pico de gallo. I remember when I tried it during a family trip to Mexico and proceeded to pile pico de gallo on every meal for the rest of the trip.
I just made this salsa verde. I made it in the oven under the broiler. I’m really surprised at how sweet the finished food really is…., I roasted 10 tomatillas, 6 cloves garlic, 2 jalapenos, 2 seranos, a hand full of cilantro, 4 green onions, salt, 3 limes,and blended all while it was still warm-hot. Roasted all except cilantro and salt and next time i will roast other types of peppers for better flavor on the roast. Only disappointment is this beautiful roast tastes too sweet (as if i put sugar in but i didnt).
That’s interesting, Joel! I don’t recall this one being very sweet for me. I wonder if your tomatillos had more naturally occurring sugar than my batch. Roasting really mellows out/sweetens the flavor of peppers, so you might try adding a raw pepper to the mix next time.
Roasted garlic becomes very sweet
So…I’ve been using your recipes and tips for a while now and can I just say: thank you!? I am an Oregonian but lived in SW Kansas for a year (hubby worked on windmills). While there, I pretty much survived on steak, corn and ugh, Wal-Mart! Are you sure youre from Kansas!? ;) I’m so happy to be back here but Kansas will always have a special place in my heart…just too odd that I stumbled upon your blog in search of “the best brownies,” – p.s, they really are! The point: My in-laws are all vegetarian. I love healthy, raw, local and whole foods but was raised a meat-eater and truly love meat also…I was struggling for simple, fresh, meatless recipes that make us all happy. Now, i just ask Cookie and Kate! I’m so grateful to share your healthy recipes with my family…it’s one way this carnivorous babe shows them – and myself – more love. Learning to cook veggie-style is an incredible creative process! Thanks!
Hey Crystal! I’m glad you found my blog! Thank you for saying hello. :) It’s true, I live in Kansas and grew up in Oklahoma! So glad you like those brownies—they’re my favorite, too. Truly delighted by your comment, thank you!
Hi Kate! It was so nice meeting you last night at Pierpont’s! I LOVE your blog – absolutely beautiful! Keep up the great work!
Hey Sarah! It was great to meet you! I’m so glad you commented, because I was kicking myself for not getting your blog’s name at Pierpont’s! Hope to see you again soon!
I’ve actually never used my broiler (!) and typically don’t go for salsa verde, but you inspired me to give it a try! I made this last night and it was a big hit in our house! Thanks for sharing! Well done, Kate! :)
Hooray! Glad you put that broiler to use and enjoyed the salsa. Thank you, Elizabeth!
Hey Kate — I’ve been enjoying this salsa so much that I was wondering if you might consider putting together a red salsa recipe in the future? No pressure/rush! Just love your blog and your recipes have all been real hits. I’d love to see your take on a classic red salsa!
Hey Claire! Really happy to hear that, thank you! I have a red salsa on my list, but I’m not sure if I’ll post it before summer ends. I really think this salsa would be fantastic with red tomatoes instead of tomatillos, if you want to give that a shot!
Going to try this verde receipe. I have a similar red salsa receipe that is delishous
I hope you like it, Janice!
Just made it. Had to try it out right away. Blew on it to cool it down some. Love it. Be great on my scrambled eggs tomorrow morning, and along with doritto chips during the Packer game tomorrow.
Thanks, Kirk!
Thank you for another great recipe. Cannot wait to have this with huevos rancheros.
Hooray! Thanks, Molly!
Never made salsa before and I made this one and my husband LOVES it! I can’t keep it in the house! I added some roasted garlic in the recipe and within 24 hours of making the salsa, it’s gone!
Woohoo! Thanks, Jessica!
Kate
Can you freeze this?
I have so many tomatillos from my garden that I want to make some recipes that will last through the winter.
Thank you!! Brooke
Hi Brooke, I’m sorry for the slow response! I think you can!
I would like to know if I could can this so I can have it threw out the year. If so let me know if there would need to have anything added so it will keep. Thanks
Hi Kenneth, that’s a really good question. I think you would have to can the salsa to keep it year-round, and I’m not a canning expert so I have no idea if this salsa is suitable for canning. You might have good luck freezing it!
Kenneth,
I just came across this recipe and was thrilled to see your question since I, also, would like to can. Please let me know how it came out for you. One thought I had was to can WITHOUT the avocado and adding it later. Let me know what you think (and what you did).
We’ve been making one fave red salsa recipe for years but have only ever had green in restaurants. Today I scored a bag of 35 (yup 35) medium tomatillos in the discount produce bin for 89¢ and 30 were keepers. So incredibly excited to use your recipe and freeze about 2/3 of the salsa verde. Thank you! Awesome pictures btw.
35 tomatillos! Hope you love how this salsa turned out, Candice!
Great Verde! I want to try some chilis other than japs, maybe Serranos or whatever I can find at the Mexican market. Re-canning/jarring, I think your recipe would be fine for jarring – just replace the fresh lime juice with bottled. You’re beautiful! (and the blog is pretty nice too) Cookie is a lucky dog.
Thanks, Colby! :)
Just made this. So YUMMY!!!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Yay! Thank you, Momma B.
I’m a salsa verde freak. I scramble about a teaspoon and a half of the jarred salsa verde into my scrambled eggs for breakfast, but I’ve never tried fresh, and I’ve never made it from scratch. Definitely going to try this!
I’m also a salsa verde freak. I think you’re going to love the homemade kind!
I’m going to make this delicious salsa verde again for Christmas dinner! When I made it first time, my husband loved it so much, and guess what? He is Mexican! Thanks for the great recipe!!!!
Awesome!!! Really glad to hear it.
I made this tonight with my daughter who is almost 3. She was in charge of removing the tomatillo husks and rinsing them, and also helped with squeezing the limes. Your blog is helping this household of reluctant vegetable eaters turn into avid veggie monsters. We can’t wait to put this on tomorrow night’s dinner of the sweet potato green rice burrito bowls which is now my favorite meal.
That’s wonderful. Thank you, Birdie!
Made this last night, but added 2 cloves of roasted minced garlic. Juice of one whole lime was a little much for me but it got rave reviews from the girlfriend! :)
Love love love this salsa! I make it whenever I make tacos. My hubby, having grown up in Texas, says this is better than any salsa Verde he’s had! From a man who would live off chips and salsa, this is pretty huge! Thank you for the recipe!!!!
Wow, that is quite a compliment! Thank you to you both!
My husband loves the public markets but always comes home with strange things for me to prepare something with. Today it was small green tomatoes. So the search began to find a recipe and I stumbled on this one. I made this and it is fabulous! I did use one avocado as I found it a bit bitter without and it was perfect. He can bring me small green tomatoes anytime!
Fantastic! This is great with and without the avocado. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Love this simple recipe! I broiled the tomatillos in my Krups toaster oven on high for 10 mins on each side. I couldn’t believe all the juice in the pan. I then transferred them to my Vitamix blender with all the other ingredients and flash blended. This was my first attempt at Salsa Verde but this yummy recipe made me look like an expert! Thanks, Kate!
I have made this salsa many different ways in the past, but I appreciate your comments that address simplicity and the honesty with respect to reproducibility. Thank you
So simple and FRESH! Made it today in about 10 minutes and will be enjoying it tonight after work with some home made tortilla chips! :P
I’ve made this twice. The first time I followed the recipe to a ‘T’. This time I added more jalapeño. Fresh lime juice makes a huge difference, too. Because I use Himalayan salt, I reduced it by half.
My family loved it and informed this was the only recipe we will be using in the future.
Made it for Cinco de Mayo served over pork chops. Delicious and sweet. I toasted under broiler about 30 mins and would use 2 chiles next time, but will definitely make this again. Nice to know the flavor will vary with the ripeness of the tomatillos. Thank you for posting this.