The tomatillos used in this green salsa is the backbone to a host of Mexican dishes. I use my blender for this salsa, mixing a few basic ingredients (tomatillos, onion, garlic, cilantro, and a jalapeño pepper), and then adjust the flavor to my preference. I love cilantro, onion, and garlic so I use plenty. On the other hand, I’m a wimpy salsa eater when it comes to the added heat from chili peppers, so I start with half a jalapeño, then taste the sauce, get my husband and son’s taste testing opinions since they like a hotter salsa, and we quickly end up with a medium full flavor salsa with just enough heat from the jalapeños that doesn’t leave us sniffling or dabbing perspired foreheads!
Tomatillos are used in the Chile Verde Sauce
These funny looking fruit are a relative of the tomato family with a papery outer skin, leaving behind a sticky residue. Tomatillos are not sweet like the red tomatoes we serve with our salads, they’re tart giving it the unique taste to sauces.
Cilantro, onion, jalapeño pepper
I got a bonus while preparing this salsa, a glass of my hubby’s home-brew. One of his best batches!
Boil or broil to get the tomatillos soft, these were boiled
I use jalapeño or serrano peppers for this sauce. The seeds in the chili peppers are potent, so protect yourself after handling by rinsing in cold water, and DON’T touch your lips or eyes after touching the peppers.
These little guys are spicy hot, especially the seeds!
When shopping for peppers, I always remember, the smaller the chili the hotter the bite!
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Ingredients
Instructions
How hot do you like it? I used one jalapeño in this batch and it was HOT! I adjusted by adding more basic ingredients and 1 teaspoon of instant chicken bullion
Chile Verde
Here I browned some pork, added the sauce for a Pork Chili Verde dish.
Dish it up!
The sauce is tasty all on it’s own, and great with chips. Chips and salsa!!
I broiled the tomatillos in this batch, and left some of the charred skin on while blending. That’s what the black specks are. Perfectly harmless.
Can you fill my glass with another cerveza, please?!
Mmmmm, now we’re going to add it as a condiment on top of taquitos!
chicken taquitos
tasty taquitos!
The Tomatillo Salsa Verde is so versatile. Add it to any protein, use the sauce for green enchiladas, add it to eggs. The possibilities are endless! Give it a try, and serve it with a cold cerveza or home-brew 🙂
Jasline (Food Is My Life)
May 4, 2012 at 3:13 pmI’m not a fan of too overly spicy stuff so I can only admire how beautiful and delicious-looking this is. Do you have a non-spicy version for me?? 😉
Sandra
May 4, 2012 at 3:29 pmHi Jasline! You can leave the chili peppers out, and add some cumin (1 tsp) or chicken broth (1 tsp, instant granules) for added flavor without the spice! Definitely play with the flavors to suit your preference!
Sammie
May 4, 2012 at 4:06 pmooh wow! This looks amazing! I didn’t know that smaller peppers = more spicy! Wow, your tomatillo salsa verde (did i spell it right? yes. phew! lol) looks amazing and it’s so versatile. I think I would love this one since I’m crazy about spice!
Sandra
May 8, 2012 at 5:21 pmI missed your comment, Sam! Yes, don’t be fooled by small cuteness! They’re packed with itty bitty spicy seeds.
Heather @ SugarDish(Me)
May 5, 2012 at 3:45 amI am all over this salsa, Sandra! It’s bee-yew-tee-full! I always wanna play with tomatillos when I see them at the store. Now I have an excuse! Chips, taquitoes, chili verde… yuuuuuuuuum…………….. 🙂
Sandra
May 7, 2012 at 5:16 amIt’s so easy to make too! I’m lucky because I have a few Latin grocery stores to shop at, and they stock the best tomatillos!
Norma Chang
May 5, 2012 at 1:56 pmA pretty and versatile sauce. Just wondering if this sauce would freeze well.
Sandra
May 7, 2012 at 5:06 amHi Norma, it does freeze well, but I actually prefer canning it. I can’t keep it stocked though!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
May 5, 2012 at 2:09 pmTomatillo salsa is so good. I use it when I make pozole verde. It has to be great on the taquitos.
Sandra
May 7, 2012 at 5:12 amMmmm, a bowl of pozole sounds wonderful right now! I don’t think I’ve ever had it with a green chili base, only red chili. I bet it is just as tasty!
Choc Chip Uru
May 6, 2012 at 2:59 amWhat a beautiful salsa – it has a great combo of flavours which must make it both unique and delicious 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Sandra
May 7, 2012 at 5:14 amI like it a lot. It does add a lot of flavor to the dish.
Zoe
May 7, 2012 at 5:57 amEverything looks very delicious. You just have to make sure that no one will double-dip in this yummy salsa.
Sandra
May 8, 2012 at 5:16 pmNo double dipping!! I have a mini spoon nearby, so we’re safe 😉
Mama's Gotta Bake
May 15, 2012 at 6:10 amI love all the different dishes you made with the tomatillo salsa! I can’t wait to give it a try!
Sandra
May 15, 2012 at 6:22 amIt’s so easy to make too!
Roger
August 27, 2016 at 4:48 pmOur Latino neighbors planted 1/2 acre of tomatillos in our garden. They harvested probably close to a ton of them and we put about 100 pounds in our freezer. Many of the tomatillos were ripened to dark purple. They showed us how to make salsa, which also included a Roma tomato. Using riper tomatillos, our salsa turned out purple. They put water to cover the tomatillos, tomato, and jalapeño peppers, but I will chop them and use less water next time . Also they didn’t add any acid, but I will add some lemon or lime juice.
Sandra Shaffer
August 28, 2016 at 3:07 pmWow, you’re so lucky to have neighbors that share their amazing harvest. Your method sounds nice and easy. I definitely like that. Thanks for stopping by!