# The Best Authentic Tomatillo Salsa Recipe (Roasted Salsa Verde) Source: https://trevorfarias.com/recipes/tomatillo-salsa Author: Trevor (Trevor's Kitchen) Published: 2026-09-06 · Updated: 2026-09-06 Category: Sauces & Salsas · Cuisine: Mexican > Authentic tomatillo salsa, or salsa verde, is made by broiling or dry-roasting husked tomatillos with serrano or jalapeño chiles, a wedge of white onion and unpeeled garlic cloves until charred and soft, then blending or grinding them in a molcajete with fresh cilantro, lime juice and salt. Roasting sweetens the tomatillos and adds smokiness, and the salsa is tangy, bright and just spicy enough. It takes about 25 minutes. ## At a glance - Prep time: 10 minutes - Cook time: 15 minutes - Total time: 25 minutes - Yield: About 2 1/2 cups - Servings: 10 - Calories per serving: 25 ## Ingredients - 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, 680 g, about 10 to 12 medium, husked and rinsed - 2 serrano chiles, or 1 to 2 jalapeños; see notes for heat - 1/2 medium white onion, cut into 2 wedges - 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled - 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, loosely packed - 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice - 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste - 2 tablespoons water, as needed to thin ## Instructions 1. **Roast the vegetables.** Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler to high. Arrange the tomatillos, chiles, onion wedges and garlic cloves on a foil-lined sheet pan. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes until blackened in spots, then flip everything and broil 4 to 6 minutes more, until the tomatillos are soft, collapsing and charred. _Tip: No broiler? Char everything in a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, about 12 minutes. Pull the garlic first, as it cooks fastest._ 2. **Cool and peel.** Let everything cool for 5 minutes. Slip the garlic out of its skins. Pull the stems off the chiles, and remove the seeds if you want a milder salsa. 3. **Blend.** In a blender or food processor, pulse the garlic, chiles, onion and salt until finely chopped. Add the tomatillos with all their juices from the pan and pulse until the salsa is blended but still slightly chunky. Add the cilantro and lime juice and pulse 2 or 3 times more. For a molcajete, grind in the same order, garlic and chiles first. 4. **Season and rest.** Taste and add more salt or lime as needed, and a tablespoon or two of water if it is thicker than you like. Let the salsa sit for 15 minutes before serving so the flavors settle. It thickens as it cools. ## Equipment - Sheet pan and foil, or a cast-iron skillet - Blender, food processor or molcajete - Tongs ## Notes - Rinse the tomatillos well after husking to remove their sticky coating. - Char hard. Black spots are flavor, not a mistake. - Start with fewer chiles and blend more in to taste; you can add heat but you cannot take it away. ## Why this recipe works - Broiling tomatillos until blistered concentrates their flavor and tames their acidity without any added sugar. - Roasting the garlic in its skin makes it sweet and mellow instead of raw and harsh. - Serrano chiles bring clean, bright heat; roasting them alongside keeps the salsa balanced. - Cilantro and lime go in at the end, raw, so their freshness cuts through the smoky roasted base. ## What are tomatillos? Tomatillos are small green fruits in a papery husk, related to tomatoes but firmer and much tarter, with a citrusy flavor. Look for them in the produce section near the chiles; choose firm ones that fill their husks, and avoid any that are shriveled or yellow. Remove the husks and rinse well under warm water to wash off the sticky film on the skin. If fresh tomatillos are not available, canned tomatillos work for a milder, softer salsa: drain them, skip the roasting of the tomatillos, and still roast the chiles, onion and garlic. ## How to control the heat Two serrano chiles make a medium salsa with a pleasant, building heat. For mild, use one jalapeño with the seeds and ribs removed. For hot, use three or four serranos and leave the seeds in. Roasting softens the heat a little, and you can always blend in the chiles one at a time and taste as you go. ## Blender or molcajete? A molcajete, the traditional volcanic-stone mortar, grinds the ingredients into a rustic, slightly chunky salsa with a texture no machine can match. Grind the garlic, chiles and salt to a paste first, then work in the onion, then the tomatillos, then the cilantro. It takes about ten minutes of effort and is worth it for guests. A blender or food processor makes a smoother, thinner salsa in 30 seconds. Pulse rather than purée, and stop while there is still some texture. If the salsa is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water. ## Ways to use salsa verde - Spooned over tacos al pastor, carnitas or grilled chicken tacos. - With tortilla chips, or over a bowl of chili in place of sour cream. - As the sauce for chilaquiles verdes, enchiladas verdes or chicken tinga. - Stirred into scrambled eggs or spooned over a fried egg at breakfast. - Simmered with cubes of pork shoulder for chile verde stew. ## Storage - Refrigerate in a covered jar for up to a week. The flavor is best on day one and two. - Freeze in small containers or an ice-cube tray for up to 3 months; thaw and stir well, adding a squeeze of fresh lime. - The salsa thickens in the refrigerator; loosen with a spoonful of water before serving. ## Variations - Salsa verde cruda: skip the roasting and blend everything raw for a bright, grassy salsa. - Creamy avocado salsa verde: blend in one ripe avocado for a smooth, rich taqueria-style sauce. - Chipotle salsa verde: add one canned chipotle in adobo for smoky heat. - Salsa verde with pineapple: fold in 1/2 cup finely diced fresh pineapple for pork tacos. ## Frequently asked questions **Do you have to cook tomatillos for salsa?** No, but roasting makes the salsa sweeter, smokier and less sharp, and gives it the deep olive-green color of taqueria salsa verde. Raw tomatillo salsa is brighter and tangier, and is also traditional. **Why is my tomatillo salsa bitter?** The tomatillos were underripe or the garlic burned. Choose tomatillos that fill their husks and are bright green, not pale or shriveled, and pull the garlic from the broiler as soon as it softens. A pinch of sugar can rescue a slightly bitter batch. **Is salsa verde the same as tomatillo salsa?** In Mexican cooking, yes: salsa verde means green salsa, and tomatillos are what make it green. Italian salsa verde is a completely different herb-and-caper sauce. **How spicy is this salsa?** With two serranos, it is medium. Use one seeded jalapeño for mild, or three to four serranos with seeds for hot. Blend the chiles in gradually and taste as you go. **Can I can this salsa?** Only using a tested canning recipe with verified acidity, since this recipe was developed for fresh use. It freezes very well, which is the simplest way to keep a big batch. ## Nutrition (per serving, estimated) - Calories: 25 - Fat: 0.7 g - Saturated fat: 0.1 g - Carbohydrates: 5 g - Fiber: 1.5 g - Sugar: 3 g - Protein: 1 g - Sodium: 240 mg - Cholesterol: 0 mg --- Recipe by Trevor. Full page with photos: https://trevorfarias.com/recipes/tomatillo-salsa Structured data (JSON): https://trevorfarias.com/recipes/tomatillo-salsa/recipe.json