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Salsa verde is a rather recent love of mine. I have always loved red salsa and I think that’s why I never really branched out to salsa verde. I swear that all it took was one taste, and I knew that I liked salsa verde better than tomato salsa. Not only do I love to it eat on it’s own, but I love to cook with it. The problem with that is that salsa verde isn’t as popular as it’s red competitor. It’s a little more difficult to find a store-bought version. It was that reason that I wanted to come up with a homemade recipe that I loved. And that’s exactly what I came up with when I created this Roasted Salsa Verde.

Let’s talk tomatillos.

If you’re unaware, salsa verde gets it’s green color from tomatillos. That’s the base of salsa verde. Tomatillos are sometimes called “husk tomatoes“ because they are pretty similar to tomatoes, but are covered in a papery husk. They can be a little smaller and a little more tart than regular tomatoes as well.

Depending on where you’re located, tomatillos can be slightly difficult to find. The last time that I bought them (which was just recently for this post), I had to go to 3 different places. In one of the groceries, I decided to ask for help and the produce person didn’t know what tomatillos were. 😂🤦🏻‍♀️ I would be willing to bet that any Mexican grocery or Whole Foods-type of grocery would have them. Maybe that’s what makes them so good- is that you have to work to find them. They are usually somewhere near the tomatoes or avocados.

Homemade vs. Jarred:

I started making salsa verde at home because the store-bought versions were disappointing. They are nowhere near the quality of a good Mexican restaurant. Also, salsa verde is actually incredibly easy to make and the end result is insanely delicious. So if you’re thinking about making it vs. buying it, I’d really recommend making it at least once.

Let me show you how I made this Roasted Salsa Verde 👇🏻

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Start by preheating your oven to 450 degrees and lining a sheetpan with foil. Remove the husks from about 24oz worth of tomatillos. Give them a good wash, and then dry them off with a towel. Halve the larger tomatillos and add them all to the sheetpan. Also add 1 white onion cut into wedges, 3 large, peeled garlic cloves, and 2 halved (de-stemmed and de-seeded) jalapeños.

A note about the jalapeños: I halve them, de-stem, and de-seed them. For a more mild salsa, use 2 jalapeños. For a spicier salsa, use 3. If you really want a spicy salsa, you can leave some of the seeds in the jalapeños.

Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil over the veggies and a tsp of salt. Use your hands and toss the veggies in the oil until they are all coated. Then spread them out as much as you can into an even layer.

Roast the veggies for 20-25 minutes until they are soft and have a slight char to them. They’ll look like this…

Keep them on the sheetpan for now and let them cool.

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How to Char Poblano Skins: Two Ways.

While the veggies are roasting in the oven, char the skins of the poblanos. If you have never done this before, there are 2 ways to do it. First, let me make a public service announcement and tell you to make sure that your kitchen is well-ventilated anytime you char the skins of peppers.

First Way:

The first way to char the skins is to literally put the poblano on the burner of your gas stove and carefully char all sides of the pepper until it is black.

When all (or most) of the pepper is charred, place it in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Then do the exact same with the rest of the poblanos.

Second Way:

If you do not have a gas stove or prefer to do it a different way, you could also broil the poblano in the oven. Line a small sheetpan with foil and turn your broiler to high. Broil the pepper until the skin is charred and turn it with tongs until all sides are charred. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

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Once the poblano skins are charred, let them sit and steam in the bowl for 10 minutes. This will make peeling the charred outer layer of the poblano much easier. I’d recommend putting on gloves for the next part.

Using your hands (you can also use a paper towel to help you), peel off as much of that charred outer layer as you can. It’s okay if you can’t get all of the charred skin off- the black flecks will look nice in the salsa. Then de-stem, de-seed and dice them up.

Add the diced poblano peppers to a food processor along with the cooled sheetpan veggies. Pulse the veggies on high until they are smooth. Then add the juice of 1 lime, a teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup of roughly chopped cilantro. Pulse until smooth and combined.

Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice if necessary.

And there you have it! Homemade Roasted Salsa Verde! You can simply grab a bag of tortilla chips and chow down or make some of my favorites like Chili Verde, Salsa Verde Enchiladas. Or add them to tacos. The possibilities are endless.

Store the Roasted Salsa Verde in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It will thicken up when cold, so let it come to room temperature before eating or using it. You can also add more lime juice to thin it out or pop it in the microwave (on half-power) for 30 seconds.

Enjoy!

Have you made this recipe? Thinking about it? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave me your thoughts below in the comment section.

Have some leftover Roasted Salsa Verde? Check out these recipes to use it up! 👇🏻