Mexican food is a staple in our house and salsa verde tops the list of our favorites. Making your own fresh salsa takes just minutes and is so dang good, you’ll want to keep a supply on your kitchen counter around the clock. Blend up fresh or roasted tomatillos and a few key ingredients for this flavor-packed dip.
This easy salsa verde is made from tomatillos instead of tomatoes and is frequently served alongside red salsas. It has a distinctly different, bright flavor. It can be mild or spicy, depending on the type and spice of the hot peppers added. We like to eat this salsa with tortilla chips and on top of carnitas tacos. It makes a delicious compliment to our favorite fresh mango salsa.
Salsa Verde Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh tomatillos, husked and chopped
- 2 tablespoons red onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bunch of fresh cilantro (approximately 1 cup
- 1-2 limes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
How to Make Salsa Verde
Tomatillos can be found in most grocery stores. They are a small, round fruit that grows in a thin, paper-like husk. If you would like to grow tomatillos at home, they grow well in environments where tomatoes grow well. The trick with successfully growing tomatillos, though, is that you have to plant two plants so that they can fertilize one another. If you only have one plant, you won’t get any fruit.
Tomatillos grow in the husk which can easily be pulled apart. Check for a bright green and shiny fruit. Summer is when tomatillos are naturally ripe and will have the most flavor. When you remove the husk, the tomatillos will be slightly sticky. Rinse them with cold water before cutting them into chunks. It is not necessary to cut out the stem. The whole fruit is edible and blends up easily in this recipe.
When you are using fresh, ripe fruit, this salsa verde recipe is delicious with the tomatillos just the way they are. If your tomatillos are not completely ripe or if you’d like a little more of a smokey flavor, you can roast them in the oven until they blister just a bit and then blend them in.
Once your tomatillos are prepared, pop them into a food processor or blender. Add the red onions, garlic, cilantro, lime, jalapeño, and salt. Pulse the ingredients until an even salsa is formed. I like it just a bit chunky. If you blend it for too long, you’ll have a very thin salsa, so go easy. Give the salsa a taste and add more lime juice or jalapeño to taste.
That’s all there is to it. This recipe will make about 2 cups of salsa verde. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but I doubt you’ll have any left that long.
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Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 2-3 c. tomatillos husks removed, washed, and roughly chopped
- 2 T. minced red onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 handful fresh cilantro rinsed and roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeno
- juice of 1-2 limes
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Roughly chop all ingredients and place in food processor or blender.
- Pulse until the mixture is a thick puree. Do not liquify.
- Salsa verde will keep in refrigerator for several days.
