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Tomatillo Salsa

Published: May 24, 2020 | Last Updated: March 21, 2022 | Lisa 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links.

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Last Updated March 21st, 2022 at 10:38 am by Lisa

Someone scooping a tortilla chip into a wooden bowl of homemade tomatillo salsa.

Tomatillo Salsa is made in 20 minutes. Homemade salsa is so good, and has 6 ingredients; chiles, onion, tomatillos, tomato, salt, and garlic.

You can use Anaheim, Hatch, or Poblanos peppers with a Jalapeno in this recipe.

Homemade salsa has a fresh taste you will never get out of a jar or from any store.  The fire-grilled flavor and medium heat in this homemade salsa will have people loving each and every bite.

Grab a bowl, and a bag of tortilla chips...and make this easy appetizer anytime.  Expect lots of compliments, crunching, and munching,  as people dip chips into your salsa recipe...                   

You Will Need...

How To Make Tomatillo Salsa

  1. Clean and rinse all the vegetables in cool water. For the tomatillos, just peel off the thin papery husk and stem. Wash in cool water, and dry.
  2. Set the chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, and garlic either directly on the grill grate or a stainless grill tray over a hot grill. Keep turning all the vegetables to get grill marks on all sides. Allow the vegetables to blacken in spots before turning, and remove off heat to a platter once they begin to soften.
  3. Once cool, peel the garlic and chop the onion into large chunks.
  4. Remove skins, stems, and seeds from chiles, don’t rinse.
  5. Cut chiles, tomatoes, and tomatillos into big pieces.
  6. Add all the ingredients with salt in a Cuisinart or chop finely on a cutting board, or grind in a molcajete. Pulse until chunky. 
  7. Serve with tortilla chips, on tacos, carnitas, or with grilled chicken.

What To Serve With Tomatillo Salsa?

Easy chicken enchiladas, tacos, tamales, taquitos, or on a taco salad!

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How To Choose Fresh Chiles?

  • Choose bright green glossy peppers
  • Chiles should be firm with medium to thick flesh
  • Avoid soft spots or cuts

How To Store Fresh Chiles

  • Refrigerate, unwashed in a plastic bag for up to 5 days.

Let's Talk About Tomatillos

Tomatillos are sometimes called Mexican green tomatoes or jam berries and have a tart, fruity flavor. They are easier to find nowadays in local markets and can be found year-round most often in Latin American grocery stores.

Overall, the tomatillo flavor is bright, and the interior texture is denser and less watery than tomatoes. Cooking helps soften the thick skin and brings out even more flavor, grilling is even better and the way I like to use them.

The green "papery" husk on tomatillos comes right off very easily, and when you rinse them under cool water, it helps to remove the slight "stickiness" of the tomatillos.

A wood bowl filled with ripe green tomatillos with their husks on.

What Are Tomatillos?


Tomatillos are small tart, round, green fruit that grows on a thin stemmed plant and is covered with a green husk. They look like green tomatoes but come from a totally different plant, and if allowed to ripen they will turn from bright green to yellow.


Are Tomatillos Just Like Tomatoes?


While both are members of the nightshade family, tomatillos are not tomatoes, but the fruit of a different plant, and they are covered with papery husks.

Green tomatoes are hard, unripe tomatoes that can come from any variety of tomato, and although they look like a tomatillo, they are a totally different fruit variety, and yes they are actually a fruit!


How Do I Clean And Prepare Tomatillos?


1. Peel the husk off
2. Remove the stem
3. Wash under cool water
4. Dry, that is it!


How Do I Use Tomatillos In Recipes?


Now you are ready to cook with them. Think of tomatillos as tomatoes, and you can easily substitute tomatillos for tomatoes in your recipes, and they make great salsas, enchilada sauces, huevos rancheros, soup, dips, and even bloody mary cocktails.

How To Roast Hatch Chiles

If you are using Hatch chiles in this recipe, you can roast them right on your grill.

Or you can use either Anaheim or Poblano chiles instead, with a Jalapeno if you want your salsa to have some heat.

  1. Grill "roast" your chiles.
  2. Remove skin for Hatch chiles, all other chiles are fine to eat the skin.
  3. Cut open and remove seeds, especially for hot chiles like jalapenos.
  4. Chop finely, and you can freeze them in ziptop bags or food saver bags.
A four step process shot collage with roasted Hatch Chiles, removing the seeds and packaging them for the freezer.

If you want more Hatch Chile recipes, you will find over  50+ amazing New Mexico Hatch Chile recipes and TONS of PRO TIPS on how to roast, prep, and freeze Hatch Chiles at home plus everything about Hatch Chiles you would ever want to know.

Hatch Chiles ~ 50+ Recipe Ideas!
50+ Amazing New Mexico Hatch Chile Recipes and How To Roast, Prep, and Freeze them at home. Hatch Chile season tips for roasting events near you, and more.
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Showing how to remove seeds from roasted Hatch Chiles to use them in recipes.

More Homemade Salsa

Avocado Salsa (aka Taco Sauce) is great to drizzle on Mexican foods like tacos, burritos, taquitos or served with tortilla chips as a dip.

Avocado Salsa
Avocado Salsa (aka Taco Sauce) can be drizzled on Mexican food tacos, burritos, taquitos, or served with tortilla chips.
GET THE RECIPE PIN IT
A wood bowl with green avocado salsa taco sauce and blue corn tortilla chips on the table.

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A wood bowl with a lady scooping out homemade salsa with a tortilla chip.
Print Pin Recipe

Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillo Salsa is made in 20 minutes. Homemade salsa is so good, and has 6 ingredients; chiles, onion, tomatillos, tomato, salt, and garlic.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 13kcal
Author Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Stainless Steel Grill Tray
Cuisinart Food Processor
Morter and Pestle Set / Molcajete

Ingredients

Hatch Chile Salsa

  • ½ onion peeled root end intact
  • 3 Hatch Chiles or sub Anaheim or Poblano peppers
  • 2 Roma tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic unpeeled
  • 5 medium tomatillos husked, washed and dried
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

clean the veggies

  • Clean and rinse all the vegetables in cool water.
  • For the tomatillos, just peel off the thin papery husk and stem. Wash in cool water, and dry.

grill the veggies

  • Set the Hatch or other chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, and garlic either directly on the grill grate or a stainless grill tray over a hot grill. Keep turning all the vegetables to get grill marks on all sides. Allow the vegetables to blacken in spots before turning, and remove off heat to a platter once they begin to soften.
  • Once cool, peel the garlic and chop the onion into large chunks.
  • Remove skins, stems, and seeds from hatch chiles or the chiles you use, don’t rinse.
  • Cut the chiles, tomatoes, and tomatillos into big pieces.

blend the salsa

  • Add all the ingredients with salt in a Cuisinart or chop finely on a cutting board, or grind in a molcajete. Pulse until chunky. 
  • Serve with tortilla chips, on tacos, carnitas, or with grilled chicken.

Notes

peppers:

This homemade tomatillo salsa uses Hatch chiles, but you can use Anaheim or Poblanos peppers with a Jalapeno pepper in this recipe.

tomatillos:

Tomatillos are really what make this recipe! You could of course use some green tomato, but tomatillos are easier to find in local stores these days. 
How Do I Clean And Prepare Tomatillos?
Peel the husk off.
2. Remove the stem
3. Wash under cool water
4. Dry, that is it!

grilling: 

Grilling the vegetables in this recipe adds a depth of flavor, but you can roast the vegetables on a sheet pan in the oven. Roast about 40 minutes at 450 degrees, check every 10 minutes to see how the veggies are roasting as all ovens differ. 

Nutrition

Calories: 13kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 389mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 19.7mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Tried this recipe?Let's see it on Instagram! Follow us @Delicious.Table and tag us on your recipe photo with #delicioustable
Need ingredients or equipment to make this recipe? Shop Now Every cooking product recommended I own, use, and love how they perform in my kitchen. Happy Cooking! Lisa
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Delicious Table earns advertising fees from qualified purchases linking to Amazon.com
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chelsea E says

    March 09, 2018 at 8:22 pm

    5 stars
    Hatch chiles are the best and this is my favorite salsa. I have made it with both the Hatch and the Anaheims seaparately - I do like my salsa and chips! If you really want to do it up, this goes nicely with the CoronaRitas on this site. Delish!

    Reply

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