Learn how to make the Best Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe that is oil-free. Made with roasted tomatillos, onion and garlic and is the perfect appetizer, perfect with chips or over a Mexican bowl!
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BEST ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA VERDE
Growing up here in Texas, we know our salsa. And at Mexican restaurants, there is typically served both red salsa and green salsa. As much as I love traditional red salsa, I equally loved the salsa verde. Both are so so good, yet with completely different flavors. Some restaurants even serve the creamy version of the salsa verde and oh my, totally delicious. I would borderline drink that stuff. And as far as I’m concerned, chips and salsa are the perfect appetizer. I served this salsa with my homemade oil-free tortilla chips.
WHAT IS SALSA VERDE?
Simply, it is a green sauce that has different ingredients and herbs based on the country. In Argentina, it is called Chimichurri. For Mexican Salsa Verde, it is made with tomatillos. A Mexican Salsa Verde is pretty standard in it’s ingredients and easy to change up based on tastes. To give mine an extra dose of flavor and smokiness, I added just a small amount of cumin. Let me tell you, a little goes a long way here and it was a delicious addition.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA VERDE
For this Roasted Mexican Tomatillo Salsa Verde recipe, you will need just 7 ingredients:
- jalapeno pepper
- red onion
- lime juice
First, you will add the tomatillos, jalapeno and garlic to a sheet pan. Roast until charred. This gives a ton of flavor to the salsa verde instead of just using raw ingredients. (see recipe below for exact details) To a separate pan, add the diced red onion. These cook faster than the other veggies, so they will be added in the last 10 minutes of baking.
After roasting the vegetables, they should be well charred and soft and juicy. And your house will be smelling amazing!
Add all of the roasted ingredients, with the lime juice, ground cumin and salt and process until smooth and the consistency similar to applesauce.
Now, depending on the heat level of your jalapenos (they can GREATLY vary), you may need all of the jalapeno, half or 2 of them! I added 2 whole jalapenos because my jalapenos were total wimpy ones and it still wasn’t that spicy, so add as much or as little to your liking.
It is of course great for just dipping chips in. That qualifies as a meal, right? But I chose to serve it over a Mexican bowl of sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, fluffy white rice, black beans, cilantro and fresh jalapenos. SO good!
You could also add this Best Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde to burrito bowl, these Vegan Breakfast Burritos or an extra topping to this Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake! Please make them and come back and rate it! Share your pics with me on Facebook or Instagram @thevegan8 and use my tag #thevegan8!
Other Vegan Appetizers to try:
Best Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Learn how to make the Best Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe that is also oil-free. Made with roasted tomatillos, onion and garlic and is the perfect appetizer, perfect with chips or over a Mexican bowl!
- 1 lb (453g) fresh tomatillos
- 2-3 fresh raw large jalapenos (refer to step 7)
- 5 large (14g) cloves of garlic with skins still on
- 1/2 cup (70g) diced red onion
- 1 tablespoon (15g) lime juice
- 3 tablespoons (6g) finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- I use this food processor.
Preheat the oven to 425F and line 2 pans with parchment paper.
Remove the husks and twist off the stems of the tomatillos and weigh them to be 1 lb (453g). Rinse any sticky residue off and pat dry.
Place them on a pan and add the jalapenos. Place the garlic cloves (with skins still on) in a piece of foil wrapped up and place this on the same pan.
On the 2nd pan, add the diced red onion and spread out. You will not be baking the onions until the last 10 minutes of the roasting of the first pan of veggies.
Place the pan with the tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic in the oven and roast for 15 minutes and if the tomatillos are not sitting flat on their bottoms, but rolled on the side, flip them over so they char evenly. YOU WILL REMOVE THE jalapeno at this time as well, as it should be nice and charred. Roast the tomatillos and garlic another 5-10 minutes until the tomatillos are well charred and juicy. This is also when you will add the 2nd pan to the oven.
Now add the 2nd pan (of the onions) to the rack beneath the other veggies. Roast for the last 10 minutes for both pans. The onions should be tender and starting to brown.
Peel the skins off the garlic and remove the stems and seeds from the jalapenos and place in the food processor, starting with just 1 of the jalapenos. Keep in mind that heat levels vary greatly with jalapenos. Some are very mild and some are hot, so you may need just 1 or all 3. Add all of the roasted veggies. Add the lime juice, cilantro, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Blend until very smooth and similar to the consistency of applesauce. Taste and add more salt if desired. If you weighed everything accurately, the lime juice should be perfect and noticeable and helps decrease the need for excess salt. Feel free to adjust for more lime if desired. I am watching my salt intake so I only used 1/4 teaspoon salt and found it to be just perfect, but you may want up to 1/2 teaspoon.
Serve with chips or bowl as noted above. Also good on tacos and burritos!