Salsa Verde (Mexican Green Sauce)

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.

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. The flavors of the roast ingredients give the salsa a smokey flavor taste. 
• Blend - everything goes fresh into the blender or molcajete.
• Fried tomatillo salsa - all the ingredients are fried first, you boil the tomatillos with the peppers and then fry them.
• Boiled your salsa - the most popular way 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 white 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!

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS

How To Make Salsa Verde Mexicana: Step By Step Tutorial

To make things easier for you, I am going to break down the directions to this recipe into sections.

Prep The Tomatillos

• Before you start cooking the tomatillos, make sure to remove the papery 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 pot, reserving ¼ cup of water of the liquid for later.
• In a blender or food processor, add the peppers, tomatillos, garlic, and chopped onion (add the cilantro as well if you are using it).
• Puree everything together.
• Add the reserved liquid if needed to get a saucier texture, a  traditional green sala is usually chunky rather than watery. But you can always add more or less water to the desired consistency. 
• Transfer the salsa 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 tomatillo salsa.

When I have company over, I love to make a batch of this 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 tomatillo salsa, 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 below and tell us all about it!

¡Buen provecho!
Mely

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📖 Recipe

Spicy Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Mely Martínez

Easy Homemade Salsa verde, made with tomatillos, serrano o jalapeño peppers. This authentic Mexican salsa is the way we make it in Mexico. Goes great with carnitas, steak tacos, and grilled chicken. 

4.94 from 95 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salsas

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 16 Servings ( 2 tablespoon each)

Calories 5 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 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

CHECK THE RECIPE VIDEO

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.

Video

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.
• If you are using a food processor, only pulse a few times to avoid making the salsa too watery. 
  
  

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoonCalories: 5kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 30IUVitamin C: 2.1mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.1mg

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