What Makes Fresh Avocado Salsa So Good
Ninfas green sauce, a creamy and tangy mix of avocados, cilantro, green tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic, and sour cream, is simply magical. The creamy avocados and the sour cream are the perfect complements to the tangy tomatillos.
The cilantro helps give this guacamole salsa recipe its distinctive flavor. The sauce is not too spicy, but you can add more jalapenos if you crave more heat.
You can scoop up this salsa with tortilla chips, but it also goes well with enchiladas, carnitas, chicken, and fish.
This is a perfect guacamole salsa recipe to wow your guests. Use it as a sauce or dunk tortilla chips in it to your hearts content.
Authentic Salsa Verde Recipe
Nothing will transform your kitchen more than having go-to recipes for the two pillars of Mexican cuisine: red sauce and green sauce.
Today its the Green Sauce on center stage. Otherwise known as Tomatillo-Serrano sauce, or Salsa Verde, or Mexicos #2 salsa.
A homemade green sauce can transform eggs, slow cooker carnitas, and enchiladas into something otherworldly so getting good at whipping up this beauty opens up loads of instant possibilities.
What Is This Taco Truck Green Sauce
Have you ever bought food from a taco truck? After you got your order, did you make your way to the array of condiments they have for you to top your tacos or burritos with? Among the selection of delicious salsas and toppings, did you notice the green stuff and took a chance, then fell in love with the sauce? If you silently said yes in your head, then you have tried the mysterious Taco Truck Green Sauce, my friend!
You may also know it as Jalapeno Salsa or the Green Salsa. It tastes absolutely delicious and adds a good kick to your meal!
While there is not a one-size-fits-all recipe for the Taco Truck Green Sauce, there are a few basic ingredients that almost all of them include. So make this basic Taco Truck Green Sauce recipe, taste it, then adjust it to your taste preferences as needed!
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Can I Use Canned Tomatillos In Salsa Verde
If you ask Google, the answer is prompt and clear: No! You cant. The purists of the Internet agree that canned tomatillos make for an inferior Salsa Verde And, uhh
As a purist, I am, of course, inclined to agree. But heres the thing, friends, as I have already mentioned, I live in a country where the growing season for tomatoes and similar vegetables is a whopping, notorious five minutes long , which means that in certain years sun-ripened tomatoes is a privilege we simply do not get to enjoy and the same goes, of course, for more exotic species such as tomatillos!
So, what can we do? Well, according to the Internet, we simply cant make Salsa Verde. But for once, Internet, I beg to disagree! You see, if given the choice, Ill take having to stomach canned tomatillos over not having the luxury of homemade Salsa Verde any day. I will argue, even, that despite a less than pretty appearance and a very light canned taste, canned tomatillos can make a pretty decent Salsa Verde. Unlike canned Salsa Verdes which are usually full of preservatives, flavor enhancers and other chemical magic, canned tomatillos are pretty much just heat treated tomatillos with a bit of citric acid thrown in.
If only we play our cards right and use top quality ingredients, the canned taste will drown beautifully in the zesty sea of flavors our Salsa Verde will provide.
Why Mince The Onion And Garlic First
Youll notice in the recipe that its listed to mince the onion, garlic and cilantro first. Thats for a few reasons:
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What Is A Tomatillo
Tomatillos look a bit like green tomatoes, but they come with a husk and a tart taste all their own. Although they come from the same family as regular tomatoes, theyre not exactly little tomatoes, as their name would suggest.
When allowed to fully mature, tomatillos can turn shades of red, purple, or yellow. However, they are generally harvested and eaten while still underripe and green and still have their signature acidic edge.
This tangy green fruit is a staple in Mexican cuisine.
Tips On How To Make The Best Mexican Green Salsa
When it comes down to making this homemade salsa, there are a few things you can do to make sure you make the best tasting batch every single time:
- Just remember to buy the freshest produce to make your meals. Old tomatillos will render a bitter taste and really just ruin your salsa.
- Choose the tomatillos that have loose husks. This helps remove the husks easier and lets you know they are ready to be used.
- Make it as spicy as you like. Depending on how you like your salsa, whether it’s mild or spicy, you can reduce or increase the number of serrano peppers to your liking.
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Salsa Verde: The Perfect Recipe
Note how just above I stated that a Salsa Verde is ground? Thats right, I didnt use the word blended. Thats because traditionally, Salsa Verde were made using a molcajete, a traditional Mexican pestle and mortar. Dont worry, though, we can get by with less specialized equipment like, say, a food processor or a blender As long as we are careful and dont blend too aggressively or too long. Traditional Salsa Verde contains a lot of cilantro and a lot of onion, sometimes even a bit of garlic, neither of whom particularly enjoy being blended to a pulp. Given too rough of a treatment, cilantro will turn icky and grassy whereas onion will turn aggressively pungent. So, as with so many other labors of love, be gentle!
My suggestion? Use a food processor rather than a high-powered blender and heed the instructions below carefully. It might yield a slightly chunky Salsa Verde, but theres nothing particularly wrong with a chunky dip now, is there?
Tips Before You Get Started
Make sure you read through the full recipe before you get started. After, gather all the ingredients and equipment needed before you start. The tips below will help you make the best green enchilada sauce from scratch!
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Try These Recipes Using Salsa Verde
- Its so simple to make these Easy Chicken Enchiladas with salsa verde, chicken, sour cream, cheese and cilantro. The perfect quick and easy dinner.
- Use this salsa to make our Crave-worthy Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken. The chicken stays juicy, tender and tastes incredible.
- We spoon this salsa over these Epic Breakfast Tacos with Potatoes and Peppers.
- These Loaded Chicken Nachos are made extra flavorful with salsa verde.
Recipe updated, originally posted September 2009. Since posting this in 2009, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. Adam and Joanne
This Authentic Mexican Salsa Verde Recipe Is Better Than Anything That You Will Find In Your Favorite Mexican Restaurant And It Goes Well With Everything
Para Ver Esta Receta de Salsa Verde en Español, Haz Click Aquí.
Im sure you have experienced going to a Mexican restaurant, and the first thing they do is bring out chips and salsa. Am I right? Well now, you can skip the restaurant and make this delicious authentic salsa verde from the comfort of your home, and spoiler alert it will be even better than what you would get at the restaurant!
This authentic Mexican salsa verde will always add something special to your recipes. It goes great with so many recipes, including the following:
Without a doubt, this is a salsa that, once youve tried it, you wont want to live without it. It is also delicious with some homemade tortilla chips.
In Mexico, you will literally see different types of salsas with every meal. Also, the typical Mexican home will always have tortillas and salsas on the table to accompany every meal.
Salsa verde can be prepared in many different ways. It can be made with roasted or raw tomatoes, and it can be combined with many different types of herbs. It can also be very thin or a little bit thicker. Whatever method of preparation you choose, tomatillos or green tomatoes are the star.
Another reason that I love this salsa verde recipe, is because I learned how to make it alongside my sister. She is an excellent cook, and I love that most of the memories I have of growing up with her are somehow related to the kitchen.
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How To Make Easy Salsa Verde
When it comes to salsa, my favorite one has to be Salsa Verde. Salsa Verde, also known as Mexican Green Sauce, is made with Tomatillo which is a green husked tomato typically grown in Mexico. You can use it in / on your favorite Vegan burritos, enchiladas, tamales, and I even love to use it as a salad dressing. If you make this recipe, what is your favorite way to enjoy Salsa Verde?
If you have recipe you would like to see me make, let me know in the comments below. Love this recipe? Tell me about it via or
Variety Is The Spice Of Life: Types Of Salsa Verde
While the ingredient list of Salsa Verde is simpler than most other Mexican sauces, save maybe Guacamole, weve still got some important choices to make as far as preparation goes. Like our hot cousin Salsa Roja from Part 1 of the Beginners Guide to Mexican Food, Salsa Verde comes in a variety of forms, each sporting their own unique flavor profile:
- Raw sauce: in which the ingredients, quiet obviously, are left raw and merely ground together to taste.
- Cooked sauce: in which the ingredients are boiled to take the raw edge off them before being blended to smooth, velvety perfection.
- Roasted sauce: in which the main ingredients are roasted in a cast iron skillet before being ground into a slightly roasty, very lightly smoky sauce.
Which variety should you pick? Its entirely up to you, of course, but I personally prefer the raw variety simply because it offers the clearest, crispest flavors coupled with a wildly tangy lash from the tomatillos, a herbaceous kick from the cilantro, a bite of fresh onion coupled with an underlying grassiness and a hint of sweetness and heat. So that is the version well be rolling with for this recipe.
A cooked sauce will offer a more mellow, wholesome flavor profile that is rounder but less intense and this is the preferred version by many. To me, though, an uncooked Salsa Verde provides the freshness and crisp bite needed to counterbalance many a deep, complex and flavorful Mexican dish be it tacos, enchiladas or even Huevos Rancheros .
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How To Get A Hold Of Tomatillos
If you happen to live in a warm climate within a town with a sizable Hispanic population, youre probably in luck. Hit up your local Mexican Market and you should be covered on your tomatillo needs. If not, just ask around, they may be able to procure some from within the community and hook you up. If a local Mexican Market is a luxury, you can only dream about, then cross your fingers try your closest ethnic market, green grocer or Farmers Market, in that particular order and simply pray for the best. Again, ask around, they may be able to hook you up. Tomatillos are not the easiest fruits to find, but they do have their devoted fans who will go to great lengths to source them for you.
If all else fails. In the end, you may have to turn to our trusty old friend, the Great World Wide Web for help. You can find tomatillos online, easily. Just bear in mind that, eventually, this may include having to settle for canned tomatillos! *insert gasping sound here*
The Salsa Making Secret
The next thing you are going to do is fry the salsa. This is the magic step that is used in making almost all cooked salsas in Mexico. Do not skip this step. It gives a superior result.
Heat two tablespoons of oil on high.
Slowly pour the blended salsa into the pan. This develops a deeper richer tasting salsa. This step is called seasoning.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.
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How To Make Espagueti Verde
The star of the show is the roasted poblano peppers. These are mostly mild pepper.
Occasionally youll get a spicy one, but combined with the dairy products they are as mild as green bell peppers.
If youd like to add some heat, you can also use a serrano or jalapeño pepper.
Place chiles on foil lined cookie sheet
There are many ways you can roast peppers. The most common would be on the stove or under the broiler, but you could also fire roast them on the grill.
- Gas stove: they can be roasted directly over the open flame. Place the peppers on the grates. Use tongs to turn peppers until they are charred all over.
- Electric stove: broil them in the oven. Place on a cookie sheet, line with aluminum foil, and broil at high heat, turning with tongs every so often until charred and blistered all over.
Broil, turn and roast until charred
After the chiles have been roasted, place in a zip-lock bag or in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so they can steam for about 5-10 minutes.
Steam chiles in a bag
After steaming they will be easy to peel. Then, remove the blackened skin, stems and seeds.
Peel skin off chiles
What Is Ninfas Green Sauce
This sauce is a famous green salsa sauce that has ensured Mama Ninfa will never be forgotten in Texas. Ninfa Laurenzo, the late owner of the Houston chain Ninfas, is credited with inventing this green sauce.
At Ninfas restaurant, you get this green sauce along with the usual bowl of red salsa with chips before your meal.
Its a guacamole salsa that is delightfully creamy with just the right touch of heat. Dont miss out on trying Ninfas Green Sauce.
This creamy avocado salsa is low-carb friendly and is super easy to make. Its a lot like the commercially available Herdez Guacamole Salsa.
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Whats In Avocado Salsa Verde
Salsas are like sandwiches and come in all sorts of different flavor profiles. Some are spicy. Some are sweet. This green salsa gets its unique, creamy taste thanks to avocado, and it skips the typical spicy Mexican chili flavors and theres no garlic in sight.
Instead, we go ultra simple with the zip of fresh tomatillos, lime juice and cilantro with that unique green bell pepper bite. Some white onion, salt, and pepper round out this Mexican green sauce for a truly spectacular flavor.
The Ultimate Taco Truck Green Sauce Recipe
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This Taco Truck Green Sauce recipe is the ultimate sauce recipe you never knew you needed. Use it on nachos, tacos, burritos it tastes so good on everything! Now you might as well start your own taco truck right in your backyard!
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Different Types Of Salsa Verde
Types of salsas with tomatillos are:
- Roasted salsa verde – where all or some of the ingredients are roasted.
- Raw green salsa – everything goes fresh into the blender or molcajete.
- Fried tomatillo salsa – all the ingredients are fry or first, you boil the tomatillos with the peppers and then fry.
- Boiled salsa verde – the most popular ways to serve this table salsa.
I almost forgot the mention the creamy green sauce, the one made with avocado!
Fun fact: Salsa verde is also known as tomatillo salsa outside of Mexico. So you might hear it both ways!
Can I Use This Sauce For Dipping
This Verde Tamale Sauce is seasoned with salt and spices for spreading out around 40-50 tamales. Youll see that there is a lot of seasoning.
If you would like to adapt this recipe to dipping or enchiladas or anything you would need a sauce, reduce the amount of salt and seasoning. You may also want to squeeze in a lime.
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