Slightly sweet and with a hint of smoke, this charred tomatillo salsa verde is rich and flavorful. Customize your version to your own liking, because this recipe is quite forgiving!
Tomatillos. Weird green tomato-like fruits with husk… I have to admit I never intentionally bought a bag of tomatillos before.
It all started with me receiving bunch of tomatillos in my food co-op package. I had no idea what to do with them, but single google search revealed that salsa verde is one of the most popular things I could make. Worth a try I thought…
And as I always do, I opened many different recipes online tab after tab and started my research. After rough understanding of the basics, I adjusted it to what I had on hand and to my taste. And I loved it! I absolutely loved it!
I loved it so much so I had to put tomatillos on my shopping list.
Charring the tomatillos and peppers softens them and adds so much more flavor and richness. Slightly sweet and smoky tomatillos and peppers meet fresh and aromatic cilantro and red onion!
If you like your dip on a spicy side, feel free to leave some of the seeds of pepper. Speaking of peppers, I’ve made my salsa verde with combination of Anaheim and Poblano peppers, Serrano and jalapeños, as well as just Anaheim peppers and jalapeños. Both versions are equally delicious, but Poblano and Serrano peppers add more spiciness, despite scraping all the seeds out. So suit to your taste, when choosing peppers. You can even use less peppers if you want to, or more tomatillos, it’s totally up to you.
If you can, plan on making it a day in advance, because this salsa gets better with time.
Serve the dip with a bag of your favorite chips. My favorite pairing is this Thin Wheat Toasted Chips. Amazing combo!!
Oh, you can also mix this salsa verde with equal amount of cream cheese for a creamy twist! To die for!!
And one more thing, if you wanna use it for enchilada or something, add a little water to bring it to your desired consistency. Did I mention it’s super versatile??
Now tell me your favorite tomatillo recipe in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by!

Charred Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb 500gr tomatillos, washed and husks removed
- 4-5 Anaheim peppers or Poblano peppers, or combination of both, cut length-wise and seeded
- 3 medium or 2 large jalapeños, cut length-wise and seeded
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup cilantro
- ¼ red onion
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler. Set the top rack to the second from the top position.
- Line a baking sheet with a foil.
- Place the tomatillos, peppers, jalapeno and cloves in one layer on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle olive oil.
- Broil for 5 minutes, or until charred. Using a tong, turn everything and broil for another 4-5 minutes, until charred.
- In a food processor, place cilantro and onion and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped.
- Add the charred vegetables, lime juice, cumin, and salt. Process until smooth.
Misha Hunter says
i need to try this! I have not worked with tomatillos before but really like tomatillo salsa. And I love the variety of peppers for flavor.
Shinee says
So much flavor from peppers, Misha. Definitely give it a try. My only regret was I didn’t use tomatillos before, because they’re so easy to work with. 🙂
Medha says
I love green tomatillo salsa and i love how you used the broiler to char them! Delicious and spicy 🙂
Shinee says
Medha, I’m obsessed with it. 😉 Thanks for stopping by!