Break out the chips; we're making salsa! Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa, to be exact. You'll love the creamy texture of this Salsa Verde recipe because I snuck in some avocados, which is a game-changer. Serve this salsa with pulled pork enchiladas, Mexican rice bowls, and California burritos.
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Fans of Chipotle's tomatillo green-chili salsa will want to give this super-easy recipe a try! It's light, creamy, and bursting with flavor!
This tomatillo salsa verde goes great with chilaquiles, blackened fish tacos, carne asada quesadillas, as well as burrito bowls.
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This green salsa is vegan and gluten-free!
- This recipe requires only a few ingredients, most of which you probably have at home already.
- You can freeze or can this salsa to enjoy on a later occasion! Check out this guide for how to can salsa if you're new to canning.
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Serranos: You can also use jalapeño or green chili peppers.
- Garlic: I recommend fresh garlic, but minced or garlic powder will do in a pinch.
- Olive oil: Or your preferred oil.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is the way to go.
- Onion: I recommend using a white onion.
- Avocado: This is what makes it so creamy and delicious!
- Lime: Freshly squeezed lime juice is ideal, but lemon juice can work as well.
- Feel free to play around with spice! I only added salt, but you may want to try adding black pepper or cumin.
🫑 How to Make Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa
Step 1: Turn the oven broiler to high while you prepare the tomatillos. Peel and wash tomatillos, then slice them in half. Line a pan with foil, then add tomatillos, sliced side down. Add unpeeled garlic cloves and whole Serranos.
Step 2: Sprinkle with one tablespoon of olive oil, and place under the broiler until charred (approximately five minutes).
Step 3: Meanwhile, place peeled and quartered onion, cilantro, avocado, lime juice, and salt in a blender.
Step 4: Carefully transfer the peeled garlic, tomatillos, Serranos, and the rendered juices into the blender or food processor. If your blender is not large enough, you can do this in batches.
Step 5: Pulse until you reach the desired texture. Add a little water to thin out, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips or as a side to any Mexican meal.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Serve this tomatillo green chili salsa with carne asada quesadillas, pollo asada, or blackened swordfish. It's also fantastic with fish burritos and adobada tacos. Lastly, try stirring some in crock pot chili verde towards the end of cooking to brighten the flavor!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Tomatillos and tomatoes are not the same fruit. Tomatillos are also known as husk tomatoes, Mexican ground cherries, and Mexican green tomatoes. As those names suggest, tomatillos are native to Mexico and Central America. Tomatillos have a protective husk that needs to be stripped away before they can be eaten.
Tomatillos are more sour in flavor than tomatoes, but sweeten on the vine if not picked too early.
Although you can eat tomatillos raw, they are more commonly cooked in dishes like Chili Verde or roasted as they are in this tomatillo salsa.
You can make the salsa with raw tomatillos, but I prefer the bold flavor that charring the tomatillos adds. The same goes for the garlic and Serranos.
The most obvious way to serve this roasted tomatillo salsa is with corn chips. But let's not stop there; there are many other possibilities.
Some of these possibilities include fajitas and Mexican breakfast burritos. You can also mix this salsa with scrambled eggs or use it as a base for cooking chili verde.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- You can adjust the spiciness of the recipe based on your taste. I use three Serranos, which are almost not spicy enough for us.
- Your family may prefer one or two peppers, so adjust accordingly. Feel free to substitute jalapeños for the Serranos.
- Most tomatillo salsa recipes don't call for avocados, but I find that adding avocados makes the salsa much silkier in texture, and even tastier!
- If the salsa is too thick, you can add water to thin it out while blending. Stir in ¼ cup of cold water at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
- You can store this salsa in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
If you grow purple tomatillos, try this spicy purple tomatillo jam!
🥣 More Salsa Recipes
If you enjoy this tomatillo green chile salsa, check out these other yummy salsas!
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📖 Recipe
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Turn oven broiler to high while you prepare the tomatillos. Peel and wash tomatillos, then slice in half. Line a pan with foil, then add tomatillos, sliced side down. Add unpeeled garlic cloves, and whole Serranos.
- Sprinkle with one tablespoon olive oil, and place under the broiler until charred (approximately five minutes).
- Meanwhile, place peeled and quartered onion, cilantro, avocado, lime juice, and salt in a blender.
- Carefully transfer the peeled garlic, tomatillos, Serranos, and the rendered juices into the blender or food processor. If your blender is not large enough, you can do this in batches.
- Pulse until you reach the desired texture. Add a little water to thin out, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips, or as a side to any Mexican meal.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
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- You can adjust the spiciness of the recipe based on your taste. I use three Serranos, which are not spicy enough for us.
-
- Your family may prefer one or two peppers, so adjust accordingly. Feel free to substitute jalapeños for the Serranos.
-
- Most tomatillo salsa recipes don't call for avocados, but I find that adding avocados makes the salsa much silkier in texture, and even tastier!
-
- If the salsa is too thick, you can add water to thin it out while blending. Stir in ¼ cup of cold water at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
-
- You can store this salsa in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Reyna Stoken says
I love how the avocado gives this a creaminess, it was a little spicy for me but my son and husband really loved it!
Hilda Sterner says
So happy to hear the guys loved it. I guess you'll have to tame it down a bit, which is easy! 🥵