Tomatillo Sauce Recipe (2024)

Creamy Tomatillo Sauce Recipe

We make a lot of salsa verde in the Madness kitchen. It's one of Patty's very favorite salsas, so versatile, so perfect on so many dishes. I wanted something different, however, for another dish I was making. I wanted salsa verde, but NOT quite salsa verde. I needed another component.

Call it an experiment, but I decided to combine my favorite salsa verde recipe with another sauce recipe that I love, a creamy jalapeno sauce, which is a classic Mexican and Tex-Mex recipe.

The experiment was a BIG SUCCESS. I'm not getting creative here, and I'm just calling it Tomatillo Sauce, though it's very much a tomatillo salsa as well, and I think it'll be one you'll want to add to your recipe collection.

Let's talk about how to make tomatillo sauce, shall we?

Tomatillo Sauce Ingredients

Gather up the following to make your tomatillo sauce:

• 2 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 3 jalapeno peppers
• 2-3 serrano peppers (or use 6 jalapenos total to tame the heat)
• 1 medium red onion
• 4-6 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup neutral oil, like corn oil, avocado oil, or neutral vegetable oil (or more to taste - olive oil is OK to use, if desired, though it has a stronger flavor)

TOMATILLO NOTE: Be sure to use actual tomatillos for this recipe, and not green tomatoes. Green tomatoes will work, but they do not have the same flavor. Tomatillos are a completely different ingredient.

If you want to use up your green tomatoes, try this green tomato chutney recipe instead.

How to Make Tomatillo Sauce - the Recipe Steps

First, set your oven to broil.

Slice the tomatillos and peppers in half, then set them onto a roasting pan or baking sheet.

Slice the onion into thick strips and set them onto the roasting pan, along with the garlic.

Roast the tomatillos and other ingredients for 20 minutes, or until the skins char and puff up. Remove from heat and cool slightly.Peel off the skins and discard.

Squeeze the roasted garlic from the skins.

Add the tomatillos, peppers, onion and garlic to a food processor or blender along with the cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, cumin and salt.

Process until smooth.

With the blender or food processor running, slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture to let it emulsify to your desired consistency. Beautiful green salsa!

It should take about 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken up slightly.

Notice the color difference. The color lightens up quite a bit, and the sauce becomes much more creamy from the emulsification process.

Serve as desired!

Looks wonderful, doesn't it? You'll never want store bought again.

The Secret is in the Oil - Emulsification

You might think to use a dairy product or perhaps an avocado to achieve creaminess in this sauce, but the real secret is oil.

When you process with the oil drizzling into the salsa verde, you are essentially emulsifying the mixture until it becomes very creamy. Emulsification is essentially the mixture of 2 or more liquids that normally don't mix, like oil and vinegar.

They don't mix easily, but with enough whisking force, the mixture forms and becomes creamy, like a balsamic vinaigrette.

Like Salsa Verde - But Not Quite Salsa Verde

This recipe uses all of the same ingredients as a salsa verde, and basically follows all of the same cooking directions. The only difference is that we're drizzling in oil to form an emulsion.

In that way, it really is much like a salsa verde or tomatillo salsa, and you'll have a similar flavor profile here, however, you'll notice how different it is in creaminess and texture, as well as mouth feel and some flavor differences because of the oil.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Roasted or Not Roasted. I roasted all of the ingredients because I love the roasted flavor and also because it is an easy way to cook everything together. If you love the flavor of raw tomatillos - I sure do - try a variation of this recipe with half roasted and half raw tomatillos.
• Choices of Oils. A neutral oil is best for this recipe because the oil flavor won't interfere with the flavor of the tomatillos and peppers. You can make this with olive oil, but olive oil has a much stronger flavor and you'll notice it in the final recipe. It's still good, though.
• Heat Factor. I've used a couple jalapeno peppers for this recipe, and they're only a touch spicy. If you're looking for a hotter version of this recipe, use serrano peppers. If you're looking for a milder version, core out the jalapeno peppers or use poblano peppers instead.

What Should I Serve This Tomatillo Sauce With?

Tomatillo sauce is very versatile and can be used in a number of ways. Here are a few ways you can enjoy your freshly made tomatillo sauce:

• Pasta Sauce. Toss some cooked noodles and enjoy a verde pasta, like my green spaghetti recipe (spaghetti verde).
• Dipping Sauce. Serve it alongside pita chips or bread sticks for a party dipping sauce.
• Salsa. Serve it up with tortilla chips for a different spin on salsa verde. Your guests will be like, "Whoa! What?"
• Top Your Tacos. This sauce will make your tacos explode with flavor.
• Grilled Meats. Spoon it over grilled chicken breasts or your favorite grilled flank steak. Carne Asada, anyone?
• Spruce Up Boring Veggies. Give those blah veggies a flavor kick by tossing them with this sauce.
• Replace Your Condiments. Try this sauce instead of reaching for your old ketchup bottle.

Try Some of My Other Popular Sauce Recipes

• Roasted Jalapeno Pepper Sauce
• Roasted Red Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce
• Pineapple-Jalapeno Hot Sauce
• Jalapeno-Honey-Bourbon BBQ Sauce
• Spicy Basil Cream Sauce
• Creamy Sriracha Mayo