Homemade Salsa Verde! This easy to make salsa is loaded with fresh ingredients making this a perfectly healthy dip or sauce to use for dipping chips into, making enchiladas, or pouring over some tacos. Don’t buy the jar versions anymore! This recipe is quick to make at home.

Bowl filled with green salsa and a chip being dipped in.

How to make Salsa Verde:

  1. Boil/Roast/Grill tomatillos, peppers, onion. If roasting you can add the garlic to the pan also. If roasting the ingredients, cook them 15-20 minutes until softened, then give them a couple minutes under the broiler to get additional color. 
  2. Add ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend until desired consistency is reached. Salsa can be thick, you can use water to thin it out if needed. 
Step by step showing how to roast tomatillos.

What pepper to use in salsa? 

If depends on how much heat you are wanting. Some common options would be:

  • Serrano (10,000-23,000 SHU)
  • Jalapeno (2500-8000 SHU)
  • Anaheim (500-2500 SHU)

The number refers to the Scoville Heat Units. The higher the number the hotter the pepper. Jalapeño is a great middle option. Remove seeds and membranes if desired, most heat from peppers comes from the membranes. 

Uses:

  • Dipping with chips of course! 
  • Drizzling on grilled/cooked chicken, shrimp, or fish.
  • Stir in some sour cream to create a creamy sauce perfect for enchiladas.
  • Smother chicken and bake with cheese on top to create an easy chicken dinner.
Food processor filled with ingredients to make salsa.

Important Tips

  • Water: If you boil the ingredients, keep the water to use in the salsa to help thin it out if needed.
  • Roast or boil the ingredients prior to blending. This will ensure that we’re getting the best flavor from the tomatillos.
  • Start with smaller amounts of lime juice, lime can be overpowering. If too much is added it can make the salsa too tangy. So start small and you can add more to taste.
  • Customize! Making your own salsa verde recipe means that you can customize the flavor. More or less cilantro. More heat with more peppers or less. More or less salt. More or less lime. Maybe you want more sweetness and add some honey. You can make this just the way you want.

Other Salsa Recipes:

Bowl filled with salsa verde and a chip being dipped in.

Salsa Verde Recipe

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 13 minutes
Author: Serene
Course: salsa
Cuisine: Mexican
Homemade Salsa Verde! This easy to make salsa is loaded with fresh ingredients making this a perfectly healthy dip or sauce to use for dipping chips into, making enchiladas, or pouring over some tacos. Don’t buy the jar versions anymore! This recipe is quick to make at home.
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients

  • 1½ lb fresh tomatillos, husks removed
  • 1 jalapeno , de-seeded, membranes removed
  • ½ white onion , roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  • ½ cup cilantro
  • juice from 1/2 lime
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground cumin

Equipment

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400℉. Prepare large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, foil, or parchment paper. 
  • Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse with water to clean.
  • Slice tomatillos in half. 
  • Prepare large baking sheet by laying out all the tomatillos, cut side down, halved jalapeno, chopped onion and garlic cloves. 
  • Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until the tomatillos are softened. Then broil for an additional 3-5 minutes to get additional color to the skins of the tomatillos. 
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly.
  • Add the all ingredients to a food processor. Blend for about 30 seconds until all ingredients are mixed and combined and there are no large pieces remaining.
  • Add water as needed to thin out the salsa to your preference.
  • Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Can store for about 1 week.

Video

Notes

To boil ingredients: add the tomatillos (whole but with husks removed), onion and jalapeno into a large pot. Cover with water and boil for about 20 minutes until soft.
Peppers: If you prefer more heat, you can opt for a Serrano pepper, or add a portion of a Serrano pepper to taste. For less heat an Anaheim pepper can be used. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 43kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 196mg, Potassium: 324mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 244IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @HouseofYumm on Instagram and hashtag #houseofyumm!

Recipe first posted on June 5, 2018. Updated March 13, 2020 with new images and video. Recipe is unchanged.