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Tomatillo Green (Verde) Chili Salsa

May 4, 2012 by Sandra Shaffer 20 Comments

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Tomatillo green chili 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.

baked tortilla chips with tomatillo green chili salsa

Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa Recipe

Some of my favorite salsa ingredients are cilantro, onion, and garlic, so I use plenty in this recipe.

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.

Once I get the basic ingredient then I taste the sauce along with my husband and son’s taste testing opinions.

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

They like a hotter salsa, so between the tweaking the spices we quickly end up with a medium full flavor salsa.

This chili verde recipe has just enough heat from the jalapeños that doesn’t leave us sniffling or dabbing perspired foreheads!

Cilantro, onion, jalapeño pepper

What are tomatillos?

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. This fruit (yes, tomatoes are fruits!) are tart giving it the unique taste to sauces.

Fresh tomatillos for tomatillo green chili salsa
Tomatillos are used in the Chile Verde Sauce
Broiling tomatillos to make green chili salsa
Broil or blanch to get the tomatillos soft

How to Prepare the Jalapeños for Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa

I use jalapeño or serrano peppers for this sauce.

The seeds in the chili peppers are potent, so protect yourself by using gloves or after handling the peppers rinse in cold water.

DO NOT touch your lips or eyes after touching the peppers.

First, clean the peppers and then cut the stem off and slice in half.

These little guys are spicy hot, especially the white pith!

Should the Seeds be Removed When Making Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa?

If you are concerned about the heat it’s important to know that the pungency (or heat factor) of chile peppers is measured in multiples of 100 Scoville units.

Jalapeños range from 5,000 – 25,000. The hottest pepper is the Ghost Pepper coming in at 1,000,000 units. Now that is HOT!

Also note that the heat doesn’t come from the seeds. Capsaicin is the compound where the heat comes from and is located in the white pith or membrane or the pepper.

A little bit of the capsaicin will be on the seeds, but not nearly as much as in the pith, so use your judgement when leaving or removing the seeds.

Personally, it’s a habit for me to remove the seeds when making green chili salsa because they don’t blend up well.

Pepper Heat Index

When shopping for peppers, I always remember, the smaller the chili the hotter the bite!

Pepper Heat Index visual
Photo source: Culinary Services Group

Recipe Ideas Using Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa

You can get super creative with this green chili salsa. Here I browned some pork, added the sauce for a Pork Chili Verde dish.

Chile Verde

The sauce is tasty all on it’s own, and great with chips. Make your own Baked tortilla chips and salsa!!

Baked Tortilla Chips for tomatillo salsa verde

Mmmmm, now we’re going to add it as a condiment on top of fried or baked chicken taquitos!

taquitos topped with tomatillo green chili salsa
serve with taquitos
Platter of taquitos topped with sour cream and tomatillo green chili salsa
adds great flavor

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!

Continue to Content
Yield: 4-6 servings

Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa For Mexican Dishes

Baked Tortilla Chips and Salsa

Make your own tomatillo green chili salsa and adjust the heat to your preference. Use as a dip with tortilla chips or as a base for Mexican dishes like chile verde or enchiladas.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 5-6 (approximately 2 lbs) tomatillos
  • 3/4 cup white onion, chopped
  • 3/4 cup cilantro leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 lime, freshly juiced
  • 1-2 jalapeño peppers (stemmed, seeded, and chopped)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Clean tomatillos by removing the husks and rinsing well. Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, turn the tomatillos to ensure even cooking OR
  • Halve the tomatillos and broil (skin side up) for 5-7 minutes. Let cool.
  • When the tomatillos are cool enough to handle, remove the stems and put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
  • Now comes the most important part, taste your sauce! Every jalapeño has a spicy life of its own. Some super hot and others not as potent. I seed my jalapeños and start adding slowly. I usually end up using one whole chili pepper, adjusting my recipe to the flavor I like.
  • Nutrition Information:

    Yield:

    6

    Serving Size:

    1

    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 19Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 179mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g

    Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.

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    If you like this recipe, don't forget to leave a review on the blog or share a photo and tag on @thefoodieaffair on Instagram

    © Sandra Shaffer
    Cuisine: Mexican / Category: Sauce

    Thirsty For A Mexican Cocktail?

    Give this green chili salsa a try, and serve it with a cold cerveza, paloma cocktail, low sugar margarita or Spanish sangria!

    Hugs Sandra Signature

     

    Filed Under: Appetizer, Sauces, Side Dish Tagged With: salsa, Salsa Verde, sauces, side dish, taquitos, Tomatillos

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sandra

      May 4, 2012 at 3:29 pm

      Hi 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!

      Reply
    2. Sammie

      May 4, 2012 at 4:06 pm

      ooh 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!

      Reply
      • Sandra

        May 8, 2012 at 5:21 pm

        I missed your comment, Sam! Yes, don’t be fooled by small cuteness! They’re packed with itty bitty spicy seeds.

        Reply
    3. Heather @ SugarDish(Me)

      May 5, 2012 at 3:45 am

      I 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…………….. 🙂

      Reply
      • Sandra

        May 7, 2012 at 5:16 am

        It’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!

        Reply
    4. Norma Chang

      May 5, 2012 at 1:56 pm

      A pretty and versatile sauce. Just wondering if this sauce would freeze well.

      Reply
      • Sandra

        May 7, 2012 at 5:06 am

        Hi Norma, it does freeze well, but I actually prefer canning it. I can’t keep it stocked though!

        Reply
    5. Karen (Back Road Journal)

      May 5, 2012 at 2:09 pm

      Tomatillo salsa is so good. I use it when I make pozole verde. It has to be great on the taquitos.

      Reply
      • Sandra

        May 7, 2012 at 5:12 am

        Mmmm, 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!

        Reply
    6. Sandra

      May 7, 2012 at 5:14 am

      I like it a lot. It does add a lot of flavor to the dish.

      Reply
    7. Zoe

      May 7, 2012 at 5:57 am

      Everything looks very delicious. You just have to make sure that no one will double-dip in this yummy salsa.

      Reply
      • Sandra

        May 8, 2012 at 5:16 pm

        No double dipping!! I have a mini spoon nearby, so we’re safe 😉

        Reply
    8. Sandra

      May 15, 2012 at 6:22 am

      It’s so easy to make too!

      Reply
    9. Roger

      August 27, 2016 at 4:48 pm

      Our 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.

      Reply
      • Sandra Shaffer

        August 28, 2016 at 3:07 pm

        Wow, 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!

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Skillet Chicken Enchiladas | says:
      March 5, 2013 at 5:18 am

      […] you have just a few minutes more, I highly recommend that you make your own green enchilada sauce because it tastes so much better, but you already know […]

      Reply
    2. Baked Tortilla Chips | The Foodie Affair says:
      May 5, 2014 at 10:14 pm

      […] You can’t have a fiesta without some tortilla chips, especially on Cinco de Mayo! It’s pretty much expected that when you eat Mexican food, chips with some type of a dip like guacamole is served as your appetizer. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get to dip your chips in some homemade Tomatillo Salsa Verde! […]

      Reply
    3. Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos - The Foodie Affair says:
      January 21, 2015 at 4:56 pm

      […] with the help of your slow cooker!  With this recipe you’ll have two options; make a homemade tomatillo salsa verde sauce (#instayum) or your can purchase jarred salsa with great results as […]

      Reply
    4. Pico de Gallo (Fresh Salsa) - The Foodie Affair says:
      April 26, 2015 at 11:14 pm

      […] you’ll be offered a variety of salsas; a pureed sauce with a smooth consistency like this Tomatillo Salsa Verde or a chunky salsa like I’m showing you here. Both varieties have some heat from the pepper, […]

      Reply
    5. Healthy Red Enchilada Sauce For All Your Latin Dishes says:
      January 8, 2017 at 11:03 pm

      […] a pro at making Tomatillo Salsa Verde and love to add it to my meals, but can you believe that I’ve never made a red enchilada […]

      Reply

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    Hi! My name is Sandra. I’m a health enthusiast, a recipe tweaker, and a wine sipper!! On my website I share my favorite family dishes… some are healthy low carb recipes, some are sinful, but all are delicious!

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