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Home » Recipes » Tomatillo Sauce

Tomatillo Sauce

by Mike Hultquist · Jun 2, 2023 · 33 Comments

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Creamy Tomatillo Sauce Recipe (Creamy Verde)

This tomatillo sauce recipe is similar to your favorite salsa verde, using the same ingredients but emulsifies it with vegetable oil for a creamy consistency. Serve it as a sauce or a salsa!

Creamy Tomatillo Sauce Recipe (Creamy Verde)

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?

Ingredients for making tomatillo sauce

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.

Roasted ingredients added to the food processor

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.

Tomatillo sauce, emulsified with oil in a food processor

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.

Mike taking a scoop of Creamy Tomatillo Sauce from the bowl

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.
Creamy Tomatillo Sauce in a bowl with a spoon

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.

That's it, my friends! I hope you enjoy my crazy tomatillo sauce! I love it. Such a great recipe. And so versatile! Let me know how you wind up serving it. Curious minds want to know!

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
Creamy Tomatillo Sauce in a bowl

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

Creamy Tomatillo Sauce Recipe (Creamy Verde)
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Tomatillo Sauce Recipe

This tomatillo sauce recipe is similar to your favorite salsa verde, using the same ingredients but emulsifies it with vegetable oil for a creamy consistency.
Save Recipe Saved!
Course: hot sauce, Main Course, sauce
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: green tomatoes, recipe, sauce, spicy, tomatillos
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Calories: 54kcal
Author: Mike Hultquist
Servings: 16 quarter cup portions
Tap or hover to scale
5 from 8 votes
Leave a Review

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds tomatillos husks peeled, 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 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)

Instructions

  • Set your oven to broil.
  • Slice the tomatillos and peppers in half, then set them onto a roasting pan.
  • Slice the onion into thick strips and set them onto the roasting pan, along with the garlic.
  • Roast the ingredients for 10 - 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. It should take about 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken up slightly.
  • Serve as desired!

Video

Notes

Makes about 4 cups.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 54kcal   Carbohydrates: 4g   Protein: 1g   Fat: 4g   Saturated Fat: 1g   Sodium: 2mg   Potassium: 174mg   Fiber: 1g   Sugar: 3g   Vitamin A: 103IU   Vitamin C: 11mg   Calcium: 7mg   Iron: 1mg
Creamy Tomatillo Sauce Recipe (Creamy Verde)
Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

NOTE: This recipe was updated on 6/2/23 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 10/9/19.

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Courtney McGrale says

    April 17, 2025 at 8:39 pm

    5 stars
    We used this recipe to make some stone crab enchiladas tonight. Perfection. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      April 17, 2025 at 9:25 pm

      Great!! Thanks, Courtney! I like the pairing.

      Reply
  2. Victoria Fitton says

    October 04, 2024 at 4:38 pm

    5 stars
    We love this recipe with our Enchiladas but today I have substituted green tomatoes from the garden with the tomatillos. Absolutely delicious!

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      October 05, 2024 at 7:54 am

      Boom! Very nice, Victoria!

      Reply
  3. Bhadra says

    October 05, 2023 at 8:06 pm

    How long can you save the sauce?

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      October 06, 2023 at 4:31 am

      Bhadra, this will last a week or longer in the fridge, though you can freeze it. It doesn't last as long because of the oil content.

      Reply
  4. Debra says

    September 12, 2023 at 6:22 am

    Can this recipe be used for canning?

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      September 12, 2023 at 6:29 am

      Debra, there is a lot of oil in this, and the USDA does not recommend canning foods with oil. You can make a version without the oil for canning.

      Reply
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