This recipe for salsa verde is my version of an authentic Mexican salsa recipe! The main ingredients for a salsa verde are tomatillos and serrano peppers. But, there are many variations and techniques to make a salsa verde. Here's how to make it!
When it comes to salsa verde Mexicana (or Mexican green sauce), there are several types of salsas and different recipes depending on where you are from and family adaptations.
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This Mexican green sauce is ideal for tacos, but it has many uses like for making enchiladas verdes, chicken chilaquiles verdes, pork in salsa verde, and chicken tamales in green sauce, just to mention a few.
Different Types of Salsa Verde
Types of salsas with tomatillos are:
- Roasted salsa verde - where all or some of the ingredients are roasted.
- Raw green salsa - everything goes fresh into the blender or molcajete.
- Fried tomatillo salsa - all the ingredients are fry or first, you boil the tomatillos with the peppers and then fry.
- Boiled salsa verde - the most popular ways to serve this table salsa.
I almost forgot the mention the creamy green sauce, the one made with avocado!
Fun fact: Salsa verde is also known as tomatillo salsa outside of Mexico. So you might hear it both ways!
Tips On How To Make The Best Mexican Green Salsa
When it comes down to making this homemade salsa, there are a few things you can do to make sure you make the best tasting batch every single time:
- Just remember to buy the freshest produce to make your meals. Old tomatillos will render a bitter taste and really just ruin your salsa.
- Choose the tomatillos that have loose husks. This helps remove the husks easier and lets you know they are ready to be used.
- Make it as spicy as you like. Depending on how you like your salsa, whether it's mild or spicy, you can reduce or increase the number of serrano peppers to your liking.
Homemade Salsa Verde Recipe
Here is the list of ingredients you will need...
- Green tomatillos (you can also use these canned tomatillos if you are not able to find them.)
- Chopped onion
- Garlic clove
- Serranos peppers (or jalapeno peppers)
- Salt
- Water
- Chopped cilantro (optional)
Please note: For exact measurements of the ingredients listed above, scroll down to the recipe card located at the bottom of this post!
How To Make Salsa Verde Mexicana: Step By Step Tutorial
To make things easier for you, I am going to breakdown the directions to this recipe into sections.
Prep The Tomatillos
- Before you start cooking the tomatillos, make sure to remove the husk all around the tomatillos and wash them thoroughly. Also, take this time to wash the serrano peppers as well.
Cook The Tomatillos And Peppers
- In a big enough saucepan, bring the water to a boil.
- Add the serrano peppers and tomatillos to the boiling water.
- Simmer uncovered for 12-15 minutes.
Make The Green Sauce
- After the tomatillos and peppers have finished boiling, drain all the water from the saucepan, reserving ¼ cup water of the liquid for later.
- In a blender, add the peppers, tomatillos, garlic, and chopped onion (add the cilantro as well if you are using).
- Puree everything together.
- Add the reserved liquid if needed to get a saucier texture. But, you don't want it to be too thin.
- Transfer the salsa verde to a bowl and add salt to taste.
How To Store Salsa Verde Sauce
This green salsa should be stored in an airtight container to really maintain its freshness. It can also be refrigerated for up to 3 days and can also be stored in the freezer to eat at a later date.
What To Serve With Mexican Green Salsa
There are a few different ways to use and serve this salsa verde.
When I have company over, I love to make a batch of this green salsa with some of my fresh salsa roja and serve it alongside some fresh crispy tortilla chips. All of my guests tend to want to take some of these chips and salsa home with them because they love it so much!
I also like to use this green tomatillo salsa in other dishes like scooped on top of some tacos (like these beef tongue barbacoa tacos) or enchiladas (like these enchiladas rojas but swapping out the red sauce for this Mexican green sauce).
I also like to cook with salsa verde like this recipe for lengua en salsa verde and chicharrones en salsa verde!
More Authentic Mexican Recipes To Enjoy
If you enjoyed this recipe for salsa verde, take a look at some of these other authentic Mexican recipes:
- Pan Scrambled Eggs With Poblano Peppers And Green Salsa
- Red Salsa En Molcajete
- Green Tamales With Chicken
- Super Spicy Salsa With Puya And Arbol Peppers
- Chicharron In Red Salsa
I hope you make this recipe for Mexican green sauce! If this recipe was of any help to you, come back to let me know your experience. Please leave us a comment done below and tell us all about it!
¡Buen provecho!
Mely
📖 Recipe
Spicy Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 6 tomatillos husked and washed. About 2 cups.
- 3 tablespoon of chopped onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 or 3 serranos peppers if using Jalapeño peppers use 1
- Salt to taste
- About 3 cups of water to cook the tomatoes and peppers.
- 4 tablespoon Chopped Chilantro Optional
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the pepper and tomatillos, simmer, uncovered, for 12-15 minutes.
- Drain, reserving ¼ cup water of the liquid.
- In a blender, puree the peppers, tomatillos, garlic and chopped onion, the cilantro if using, then add the reserved liquid if needed to get a saucier texture.
- Transfer to a bowl and add salt to taste.
This sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and can also be frozen.
Notes
- This recipe makes 2 cups of salsa verde
- In some places, fresh tomatillos are not available. You can buy canned Tomatillos as an option.
- Chopped cilantro is an excellent addition to this sauce; it could be added to the final process in the blender, or at serving time.
Rob Pecchenino
Again do you have to ferment this sauce if bottled and left out ? Please reply by my e-mail.
Thank, you
Rob De La Vega Pecchenino
Mark Leyba
Just made a quick batch of this for some street tacos for dinner. The taste and smell is heavenly!! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Anna Savoie
I was dubious. My tomatillos were a little soft definitely not fresh as can be and the recipe was so simple... But oh. my. god. This is soooooo good! I'm trying to think of all the things I can put it on... Need to make tacos or realy just get a spoon and eat this out of the container. Wow! Thanks for the recipe.
Lisa Rios
I've made this before but making it for my daughter's wedding for 75-100 people! Along with rice, guacamole, and salsa verse! She only wanted me to cook those things because my husband is Mexican and I lived in Mexico! No pressure and you've always been a big help to me! I love to cook and youre the best!
Diane N
Would really like to have an authentic salsa recipes that are suitable for canning. Can you help me or link me to a source for same. Ty
mmartinez
Hello Diane,
Please check this recipe: Homemade Salsa Roja
Mercedes
Love this recipe!
Phyllis
Hello José, I moved from Texas to Tokyo, Japan and four years later back to Texas. I love and cook both Japanese and San Antonio TexMex dishes. I am thrilled to find this wonderful, authentic Mexican food site by a woman who is also familiar with TexMex and our beloved breakfast tacos. I made Huevito en Salsa with homemade corn tortillas this morning. I will use the recipes from this site a lot. They are what I know from Mexico (where I have traveled) and Texas. Thank you Mely!!!
mmartinez
Hello Phyllis,
Thank you for visiting, enjoy the recipes and happy cooking!
Denise
Very good