Wondering what to do with those fresh tomatillos? Why not try making a batch of homemade salsa verde! This is one of my very favorite salsa recipes, because it’s flavorful and so versatile. It’s delicious on tacos, burritos, or just with tortilla chips.

It’s peak garden season! If you planted a garden, you are probably picking lots of tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers. And that means it’s a great time to make cherry tomato salsa, or gluten free zucchini muffins, or this homemade roasted tomatillo salsa.
Green salsa is one of my favorites, and it’s so easy to make! I love the taste of fresh salsa verde so much. And it’s a handy thing to know how to make from scratch!
If you use green salsa in your cooking, you know that allergy friendly salsa can be hard to find! It seems like salsa is one of those things that often has a “may contain” or “made in the same facility as” warning on it.
Depending on your comfort level, those type of warnings may turn you away from store bought salsa. In that case, you should try making your own! It’s not very difficult, and this is a great time of year to find the ingredients at the Farmer’s Market.
This is so delicious on top of taco boats or quesadillas. You could even use it to make my slow cooker pork carnitas.
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Ingredient Notes
- Tomatillos – Fresh tomatillos are the best choice for making this salsa. If you’re not familar with them, tomatillos have a flavor that’s a bit more acidic or sour than red tomatoes. They are also firmer, and not as juicy.
- Shallots – I like the flavor of shallots in this recipe, but you could also use red onion if you prefer.
- Serrano Peppers – Serrano peppers add heat, but not too much heat. This homemade salsa verde is at about a medium spice level. Adjust the amount of peppers to your taste to make it more or less spicy.
- Garlic – Use fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor.
- Cilantro – Cilantro adds freshness to this recipe. You could also use parsley if that’s what you have on hand.
- Lime Juice – Lime juice is a must – it adds a nice, bright citrus flavor.
Preparing the Tomatillos
You need to remove the papery skins from the tomatillos, and then rinse off the slightly sticky coating with some warm water. Trim the tops off the tomatillos, and then roast them until they start to blacken. That’s it!
Step by Step Instructions
- Roast the tomatillos, garlic, and peppers in the oven for about 10 minutes on the low broil setting.
- Remove the seeds and stems from the peppers. Place them in the food processor with all the other ingredients.
- Process on high speed until the salsa is pretty smooth and well blended. Serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions
Try adding this fresh salsa verde to burritos, turkey tacos, or nachos. It’s great to add to white bean chicken chili or chicken enchiladas, too!
Storage/Freezing
Store this salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should say fresh for up to 5 days.
I think you could freeze this sals, although I haven’t tried that. If you do freeze it, it will probably be best for things like chicken chili, or adding to taco meat.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Easy Homemade Salsa Verde.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds tomatillos
- 1 shallot
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 serrano peppers
- ⅓ cup cilantro leaves
- 1 ½ Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the oven on low broil.
- Remove the husks from the tomatillos, and rinse under warm water to remove the sticky coating. Trim off the tops, and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
- Add the whole serrano peppers and the garlic cloves in their skins to the baking sheet.
- Broil for about 10 minutes, until the skins on the tomatillos start to blacken. Stay near the oven, as all ovens are different, and you don't want to burn anything.
- Allow the vegetables to cool on the pan.
- Using gloves, remove the stem and seeds from the peppers. Remove the skins from the garlic as well.
- Place all the roasted vegetables along with the peeled shallot, fresh cilantro leaves, lime juice, and salt in a food processor. Process on high until relatively smooth.
- Add more salt or lime juice if needed.
- Enjoy with chips or on tacos or burritos!
wendy
superb made these last night
Katie
Delicious recipe!
Darryl
This is a great way to use tomatillos!