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This homemade green chili salsa (salsa verde) recipe is deliciously flavorful, easy to make, and compliments all your favorite gluten-free Mexican food.
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What is Salsa Verde?
Salsa verde is a traditional salsa that originated in Mexico. It is a tomatillo-based sauce, unlike classic red salsas, which are tomato-based.
What is in salsa verde?
Salsa verde is really easy to make, and it only uses a few main ingredients.
- tomatillos
- onions
- serrano or jalapeno peppers
- garlic
- lime
- cilantro
- Salt
- pepper
- avocado Oil
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How to pick the best tomatillos
- Press on the tomatillos. They should be firm (but not rock hard) or squishy, which means they are overripe.
- Peel back the husk just slightly to check the color. The tomatillos should have a beautiful green color to their skin.
- Skip the tomatillos that have blemishes or the skins are shriveled.
- Store the tomatillos in the fridge if you are not going to make the salsa verde right away. Unlike regular tomatoes, they hold their shelf life better in the refrigerator.
How do you make salsa verde?
It's really easy. It's so easy; our youngest (she's 9) makes it all the time because she prefers it with her chips over. Granted, she likes me to make sure I do the jalapenos for her since she doesn't want to touch them, haha.
- Clean and chop the tomatillos, onions, garlic, and jalapenos.
- Lightly drizzle them with avocado oil.
- Roast in the oven for about 30-45 minutes until the vegetables start to brown and become soft.
- Transfer everything to a blender or food processor, add the cilantro, and then process until slightly chunky for the best texture.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy it with your favorite chips and veggies, or add it to your favorite recipe to bump up the flavor!
Homemade Salsa Verde is so much better than what you buy in the bottle at the store. The flavors are so much bolder and make everything even more deliciously flavorful!
Do you have to roast the veggies before making them?
Short answer, nope. I find that roasting makes the salsa more flavorful, and it takes the added heat/ bite from the jalapeno and raw onion. If you like the more raw salsa flavor, feel free to skip the roasting and see which version you prefer.
Controlling the heat levels
The jalapeno adds some heat, but if you want to reduce that heat, simply remove the ribs and seeds from the pepper before adding it to the food processor. If you want more, you can always add a few at a time until you are happy with the heat level. If you want more heat, feel free to add an extra jalapeno or add a raw one to the food processor for an extra bite.
My salsa is really thick.
If you want a thinner salsa, simply add a few tbs of water or chicken/ veggie stock to the food processor to thin it out. If you want a thicker salsa, just skip this step.
More #tacotuesday Recipes to enjoy!
Blackeded Mahi-mahi Tacos with Caribbean Slaw
Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Melt in Your Mouth Pork Carnitas
📖 Recipe
Easy Homemade Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs Tomatillos husked
- 1 Jalapeno seeded if you want less heat
- 1 Medium White Onion
- 2-3 Cloves Garlic
- 2 TBS Avocado Oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- 1 Lime juiced
- Water or Broth to thin if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, if you are roasting.
- Clean and chop the tomatillos, onions, garlic, and jalapenos.
- Lightly drizzle them with avocado oil. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until the vegetables start to brown and become soft.
- Transfer everything to a blender or food processor, and add the cilantro then process until slightly chunky for the best texture
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Enjoy it with your favorite chips and veggies, or add it to your favorite recipe to bump up the flavor!
Notes
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag a photo #grainfreetable or @grainfreetable on Instagram. I'd love to see what you come up with!
Originally Posted 03/9/2020
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