Tomatillos Means Homemade Salsa Verde, Here's Three Easy Ways to Make It (2024)

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Grab your favorite tortilla chips for dipping in the best homemade salsa verde.

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Updated January 16, 2024

104 Ratings

In This Recipe

Oven Roasting Method
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What are Tomatillos and How to Use Them - Isabel Eats Benefits of Tomatillo And Its Side Effects | Lybrate Tomatillos - Lexington Community Farm What To Do About Bugs on My Tomatillo? 🐛
Pan Roasting Method
Boiling Method

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Growing up we always had a choice of two kinds of salsa—a red tomato salsa which we made from scratch, and a salsa verde, or green salsa, which we got from a bottle (Victoria brand).

As a kid I always thought that green salsa was made from green tomatoes, but actually it is made with a distant relative of the tomato from Mexico, the naturally tart tomatillo (pronounced "toe-mah-TEE-yo"). A tomatillo looks like a little green tomato covered with a husk. It's not in the same genus as tomatoes, though both are in the nightshade family (along with eggplants and peppers).

Tomatillos Means Homemade Salsa Verde, Here's Three Easy Ways to Make It (3)

Salsa verde is really easy to make from scratch, all you need are tomatillos, onion, jalapeño, lime, and cilantro.

To make the salsa verde, you will need to cook the tomatillos, which you can do by either boiling them, broiling them in the oven, or pan roasting them. All three approaches are quick and easy, though with broiling or pan roasting, you get added flavor from the searing of the tomatillos.

Then it's a quick spin in the blender with the other ingredients, easy!

Tomatillos Means Homemade Salsa Verde, Here's Three Easy Ways to Make It (4)

Tomatillos Means Homemade Salsa Verde, Here's Three Easy Ways to Make It (5)

Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings12 servings

Yield3 cups

To cook the tomatillos, you can either roast them in the oven, brown them on the stovetop, or boil them. Roasting in the oven or browning on the stovetop will deliver more flavor. Eachway works, though boiling is a more common way to cook the tomatillos.

Garlic is optional. You can either cook a few cloves with the tomatillos in any of these steps, or add one or two raw garlic cloves when you go to blend the salsa.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds tomatillos (about 12 medium)
1/2 cup chopped white onion
See Also
Why Are Tomatillos Sticky?
2 cloves (or more) garlic, optional
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves and stems
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 jalapeño or serrano peppers , stemmed, seeded and chopped (you can use whole for more heat if you want)
Salt to taste

Method

Oven Roasting Method

Preheat the broiler:
Set the rack about 6 inches from the heating element.
Prep the tomatillos:
Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse well. Cut the tomatillos in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Add a few garlic cloves in their skin (if using). Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skins of the tomatillos.
Combine the cooked tomatillos and seasonings, then pulse in a blender:
Place the cooked tomatillos, lime juice, onions, garlic (if using), cilantro, chili peppers in a blender or food processor and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.
Season and serve:
Season with salt to taste.
Cool, then refrigerate. Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.

Pan Roasting Method

Blister the tomatillos:
Coat the bottom of a skillet with a little vegetable oil. Heat on high heat. Place the tomatillos in the pan and sear on one side, then flip over and brown on the other side. Remove from heat.
Combine the cooked tomatillos and seasonings, then pulse in a blender:
Place the cooked tomatillos, lime juice, onions, garlic (if using), cilantro, chili peppers in a blender or food processor and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.
Season with salt to taste.
Cool, then refrigerate. Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.

Boiling Method

Simmer the tomatillos in a pan:
Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tomatillos with a slotted spoon.
Combine the cooked tomatillos and seasonings, then pulse in a blender:
Place the cooked tomatillos, lime juice, onions, garlic (if using), cilantro, chili peppers in a blender or food processor and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.
Season with salt to taste.
Cool, then refrigerate. Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.
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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
24	Calories
1g	Fat
5g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	24
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g	1%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 98mg	4%
Total Carbohydrate 5g	2%
Dietary Fiber 1g	5%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 9mg	46%
Calcium 9mg	1%
Iron 0mg	2%
Potassium 182mg	4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.