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16 Year Salsa Verde Recipe (Tomatillo Salsa)

Growing up in Chicago, my husband frequented all of the Mexican restaurants that you could find on practically every corner. Each establishment had its own version of salsa verde, all of them with their own top-secret ingredients giving their salsa verde a distinct flavor. When I moved to the Chicago area, I also fell in love with Mexican food, especially the salsa verde and have been on a quest ever since to make my own homemade version. Unfortunately, it has taken me about 16 years to figure this out.

Salsa Verde

This Salsa Verde recipe is one of my favorite recipes, of all time. That is mainly because I have been working on perfecting it for years and at times have given up on it completely. I have attempted to make a tomatillo salsa more times than I could count, only to end up throwing away all of the ingredients when the finished product came out tasting a bit off.

Salsa Verde

When we would eat at the local Mexican restaurants in Chicago, I would even ask the people working if they could tell me what was in the salsa verde, knowing that they may not want to give me all of the ingredients but maybe just a little info to get me started. It usually ended with a lot of confusion, a language barrier was most often the issue and eventually, I stopped asking.

I even toyed with the idea of learning Spanish so I could generally get to the bottom of things but it never really panned out. Thankfully there is no need to learn Spanish now because I have figured out how to make the salsa verde recipe and it’s so easy that I feel silly that it has taken me sixteen years to perfect but I am so happy to share it with you.

Salsa Verde

It’s hard to say what part really tripped me up the most when trying to make my own salsa verde in the past but I think it may be trying to use limes and cilantro, it turns out neither of those ingredients are required to make the best salsa verde. If you love those flavors you are more than welcome to add them in, like every good Mexican restaurant in Chicago, each salsa verde is a little bit different, feel free to change it up a bit.

Salsa Verde

The base of this or any good salsa verde recipe is a bunch of bright green tomatillos.

Salsa Verde

Another important part of this salsa verde recipe is using the correct pepper, and knowing how much to put in as well. I have tried making salsa verde with a bunch of different peppers from jalapeno to habanero, and even a mixture of some but I have recently come to the conclusion that the best salsa verde recipe uses serrano peppers, for sure.

How many peppers you use completely depends upon how much spice you like and keep in mind that these peppers vary in size so you may want to check the weight rather than the number of peppers one you find out the perfect heat level that you enjoy.

Salsa Verde

Remove skins from the tomatillos, roughly chop your onion into pieces small enough to fit in a blender, and prepare garlic cloves. Pop all of these ingredients into a pot filled with water and boil until completely cooked. You can tell when they are done by the changing of colors and the softened skins on the vegetables. This can take anywhere from five to ten minutes.

Salsa Verde

Drain the water then pour the contents of the pot into a blender. Pulse until the ingredients become salsa, leave it chunky if you prefer it that way but I like to add some salsa to a bottle for squirting on tacos and burritos so I even add a little bit of water to make mine thinner, it’s your salsa do what you like best. Add in extra peppers if you like it really spicy and a dash of salt to suit your tastebuds.

That’s it, so simple, I can’t believe it has taken me sixteen years to figure out the perfect salsa verde recipe!

Salsa Verde

16 Year Salsa Verde Recipe (Tomatillo Salsa)

Ingredients

  • 6-8 medium to large sized Tomatillos
  • 6 small to medium sized Serrano Peppers
  • 1 Onion
  • 1 Garlic
  • Dash of Salt

Instructions

  1. Peel tomatillos, peel an chop and onion into about 4 chunks, remove stems from peppers and peel garlic.
  2. Place all of the ingredients in a pot of water.
  3. Boil for about 5-10 minutes or until everything is soft.
  4. Drain the water and pour ingredients into a blender.
  5. Blend everything together and add salt to taste.
  6. Chill for at least 2-3 hours and serve once the salsa is completely cool.
  7. Add in more peppers to make this salsa verde more spicy or add in less to make it more mild.

 

About Thirty Something Super Mom

Melissa Dixon Thirty Something Super Mom
Thirty Something Super Mom | Website

My journey started after a Crohn's disease diagnosis, inspiring a commitment to well-being. This site shares my distinctive approach to healthy living with my collection of nutritious recipes that boast authentic flavors, mimicking the indulgence of traditional dishes. I love sharing guilt free recipes for low carb, keto, gluten-free, paleo, and the specific carbohydrate diet. I also share tips on natural living, including homemade cleaners and cleaning hacks. I also share my experience as a veterinary technician and pet groomer, to integrate pet health tips, homemade dog food recipes, and grooming insights to ensure your pets thrive.

Jona Shares

Wednesday 27th of March 2019

I'll try this out over the weekend. I guess I will be making two for me and my hubby. He prefers a lot more spicier than me. Haha!

TravelTasTily

Tuesday 26th of March 2019

I can literally eat Salsa Verde on everything (it's that good). This recipe looks so delicious, so I'll definitely be making it over the weekend!

Kim

Tuesday 26th of March 2019

Okay, now I'm on a search to find green tomatoes. At first, I didn't know what they were by just looking at the photo. Can you tell I've never had one!!!

Pedro De Pacas

Tuesday 26th of March 2019

¡Sí!

Margarita L Ibbott @DownshiftingPRO

Monday 25th of March 2019

THAT is dedication! 16 years to figure out a recipe. KUDOS. I am pretty surprised that you made it with so few ingredients but sometimes those are the best recipes. I'll be trying it out this weekend. I still think you should learn how to speak Spanish. LOL

Melissa

Thursday 28th of March 2019

I like to keep all of my recipes as simple as possible, just the basics that are necessary. I'm learning Italian anf may take on Spanish someday still because my husband and daughter are learning Spanish. It would be nice to talk to them but I have always wanted to learn Italian so I am enjoying learning it now. Maybe someday. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you love this Salsa Verde as much as we do!

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