This homemade tomatillo salsa recipe made with fresh tomatillos is bright, tangy, and so much better than anything from a jar. Also known as salsa verde, it comes together in about 30 minutes-just chop, simmer, and blend. Use it for enchiladas verdes, spoon it over tacos, chicken, eggs, or roasted vegetables, or use it as a flavorful base for soups. Make a batch and freeze it in portions so you always have this versatile green sauce ready to go.
Yes, you can grab salsa verde off the shelf, but homemade is a different story-brighter, fresher, and done in about 30 minutes. A quick chop, a gentle simmer, and a spin in the blender, and you've got a flavorful tomatillo salsa you can freeze in portions and use whenever you need it. Try it with my salsa verde chicken breasts, or use it in one of my favorite soups, tomatillo soup with chicken.
Tomatillo Sauce Recipe Snapshot
- Fast and easy - A quick chop, simmer, and blend and it's ready in about 30 minutes.
- Fresh, bright flavor - Fresh tomatillos give the salsa its signature tangy flavor.
- Customizable heat - Keep it mild or turn it up with your favorite chiles.
- So many uses - Use it for enchiladas verdes, tacos, eggs, bowls, or chicken.
- Freezer-friendly - Make a batch now and freeze portions for fast meals later.
Use this tomatillo sauce over these grilled shrimp tacos. Skip takeout tacos and make these!
Chef's Tip: Buying Tomatillos - Peel back a little of the papery husk and look for smooth, firm, bright green fruit. Avoid tomatillos with black spots, shriveled areas, or soft spots. Although they look a little like green tomatoes, tomatillos are a different fruit entirely.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Tomatillos - They come in green, yellow, and even purple. I use green tomatillos with their papery husks for the classic bright, tangy flavor and color.
- Chiles - Anaheim chiles add mild green chile flavor, while jalapeño adds more heat. Adjust the jalapeño to taste.
- Onion - Adds savory depth and a little natural sweetness as it simmers.
- Garlic - Use fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor.
- Liquid -I use water to keep the tomatillo flavor fresh and bright, but chicken broth or vegetable broth works too for a little more savory flavor.
- Spices - Ground cumin adds warmth; ground coriander is optional for a subtle citrusy note.
- Oregano - Mexican oregano is best here for its earthy, citrusy flavor that pairs especially well with tomatillos and green chiles. Regular dried oregano works if that's what you have.
- Arrowroot starch - Optional if you prefer a thicker, more sauce-like consistency. Cornstarch works too.
Please see the recipe card for measurements, salt, and pepper.
Substitutions and Variations
- Try different tomatillos - Green is classic, but yellow (milder and sweeter) or purple tomatillos (sweetest and least acidic) work too; the color and flavor will vary.
- Make it hotter - Swap the jalapeño for a serrano pepper, or use two jalapeños.
- Pepper swap - If you can't find Anaheim chiles, use a poblano or another mild green chile. Poblano has a deeper, earthier flavor.
- Make it creamy - For a creamy salsa verde or enchilada sauce, blend in a little sour cream, Mexican crema, or Greek yogurt after the salsa has cooled slightly.
How to Make Tomatillo Salsa
- Peel tomatillos and wash off the sticky coating. Discard the husks.
- Roughly chop the tomatillos into quarters or sixths.
- Slice chili peppers lengthwise, de-seed, remove white membrane, and chop.
- Add tomatillos, onions, spices, salt, chili peppers, and garlic to the pot.
- Bring almost to a boil, turn down to low, cover with a lid, simmer on low for 15-20 minutes until falling apart.
- Carefully add hot tomatillo sauce to a blender container, tight lid on, pulse to refine, chunky or smooth. Do in two batches with a smaller blender.
Chef's Tip: Thicken Tomatillo Salsa in the Blender - For enchiladas, I like the salsa with a little more body so it clings to the tortillas and filling. While the salsa is still hot, add 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch directly to the blender and pulse until smooth. It thickens almost immediately and evenly-no slurry needed-and gives the salsa body without making it heavy or starchy.
Chef's Tip: Safely Handling Chili Peppers - If you're sensitive to chile heat or want to protect your hands, wear disposable kitchen gloves when trimming and seeding chile peppers. Discard the gloves when finished and wash your hands thoroughly before touching your face or eyes. This is especially important when working with hotter chiles, which contain higher levels of capsaicin and can cause a lingering burning sensation on skin and eyes.
Ways to Use Tomatillo Sauce
- Enchiladas verdes - Use it for chicken enchiladas or Enchiladas Suizas; thicken the salsa slightly if you want more body.
- Chips and salsa - Serve it simply with tortilla chips-my great weakness.
- Eggs - Spoon it over scrambled or poached eggs, omelets, or Huevos Rancheros.
- Creamy dips - Combine it with cream cheese or Greek yogurt for an easy dip with chips, crackers, or fresh vegetables.
- Chili - Add a spoonful to a bowl of chili for a bright, tangy finish.
- Rice and grain bowls - Spoon it over rice, quinoa, or other grain bowls for extra flavor.
- Tacos - Spoon it over chicken, beef, pork, shrimp tacos, or fish tacos.
- Nachos - Drizzle it over baked nachos with plenty of melted cheese.
- Grilled steak - Serve it alongside grilled flank steak for an easy Mexican-inspired dinner.
- Grilled shrimp - Serve it with these easy grilled shrimp skewers.
Storing and Freezing
Tomatillo salsa keeps in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. If you won't use it all, freeze it in portions and label them with the date and amount, such as 8 ounces or 1 cup. Souper Cubes work great for freezing sauces in convenient portions.
Recipe FAQs
The terms can overlap. Salsa verde simply means "green sauce," and Mexican salsa verde is typically made with tomatillos and green chiles. Tomatillo salsa can be raw, roasted, or cooked. Green enchilada sauce is generally a cooked green sauce used for enchiladas and may be thickened slightly so it clings well to the tortillas and filling.
For a milder salsa, use less jalapeño and remove the pale inner ribs before chopping. For more heat, add another jalapeño or substitute a hotter serrano chile. Because individual chiles vary in heat, start with less and adjust to taste.
Not really. Although they look similar, green tomatoes and tomatillos are different fruits with different flavors and textures. Tomatillos have the distinctive bright, tangy flavor that gives salsa verde its character, so I recommend using tomatillos for this recipe.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
If you're making tacos, skip the packaged seasoning with crazy high sodium and make your own with my homemade taco seasoning blend.
If You Make This Recipe
If you make tomatillo salsa, please leave me a comment and let me know how you served it. I love hearing from you and your comments help other readers too. Thank you!
📖 Recipe
Tomatillo Salsa Recipe
Equipment
- large pot with lid like a 5 ½ quart dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 ½-3 pounds green tomatillos
- 1 medium onion
- 1 large Anaheim chile pepper
- 1 large jalapeno chile pepper
- 2 large garlic cloves chopped
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch optional
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Instructions
Prep Tomatillos, Onion, and Chiles
- Remove paper husks from the tomatillos, wash and chop them. Roughly chop the onion. Split the chiles in half lengthwise, remove seeds and membrane, then chop. Peel and chop the garlic cloves.
Cook the Tomatillo Salsa
- Add everything to a medium (4-5 quart) saucepan with the water, cumin, oregano, coriander, and salt. Bring to a boil then turn down to low. Cover and simmer with a lid on for approximately 15-20 minutes, until it all falls apart and gets very soft.
Blend and Store
- Carefully transfer the hot salsa to a blender. Secure the lid, allowing steam to escape safely, and blend to your preferred consistency. Work in batches if necessary.Use as is (warm) or cool and refrigerate, or portion and freeze. Salsa will last 5 days in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer. To thicken, see note below.
Notes
Nutrition
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Margaret Bruckner says
What else do you add to this salsa and do you add a liquid before cooking them? Thanks!
Sally Cameron says
Hi Margaret. There is water in the recipe. Do you see it? The recipe is at the very bottom. 1 cup water is the third ingredient after 2 1/2 pounds of tomatillos and 1 small onion. Please let me know if you have any other questions. It's such a tasty, easy and versatile sauce.
Daisy @ DaisyLinden.com says
I am loving this spicy little thing. thanks