From taco carts to fine dining restaurants, salsa verde is a staple at restaurants in Mexico City. This Spicy Salsa Verde is fresh and hot, making it the perfect topping for any Mexican dish, especially tacos. Salsa verde translates to “green” sauce because of its bright green color. It’s packed with greens including tomatillos, Serrano peppers, cilantro, avocado, and more.
This Spicy Salsa Verde recipe is inspired by the salsa verde at Mexico City hotspot Contramar. Gabriela Cámara, the head chef at Contramar, adds a little gem lettuce head to keep the salsa fresh and bright green. If you can’t find little gem lettuce (or you already have romaine lettuce in the fridge) you can use the inner part of the heart of romaine.
This recipe yields about two cups of salsa (sometimes more depending on the size of your tomatillos). Two cups is more than enough salsa to serve with chips or for a taco night spread. The salsa will last in the fridge for up to two weeks but will lose its bright green color over time.
Spicy Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 12 medium tomatillos dehusked
- 1 Serrano pepper destemmed
- 1/2 small avocado
- 1/4 small white onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cilantro bunch including stems
- 1 little gem lettuce head or center of romaine heart
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Add 12 medium tomatillos (dehusked), 1 Serrano pepper (destemmed), 1/2 small avocado, 1/4 small white onion, 1 garlic clove, 1/4 cilantro bunch, 1 little gem lettuce head or center of romaine heart, and 1/2 tsp salt to a blender.
- Blend until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Taste for seasoning and add more salt to taste if need be.
- Pour into a bowl and serve with chips or as a topping for tacos.
Tomatillo-based taste
Tomatillos are tomato-like fruits used in Mexican cooking. They look like small green tomatoes wrapped in a husk. You need to remove the husk from your tomatillos before adding them to your blender to make salsa verde. Tomatillos have a natural stickiness on their skin beneath the husk that is totally normal. Tomatillos add a green color to salsas and a tangy citrusy and slightly sweet flavor.
Adjusting the heat
In the United States, green salsa is usually the mild option at Mexican restaurants, but in Mexico, it’s spicier. That’s because in Mexico they use Serrano peppers instead of jalapeños.
To bring down the heat of this Spicy Salsa Verde, only use half a Serrano pepper or opt for a jalapeño instead. If you’re looking for a milder salsa, make this red restaurant-style style salsa.
Playing with the consistency
Drizzle this Spicy Salsa Verde on your tacos or scoop it up with chips. The ideal consistency is thicker than a hot sauce but not as chunky as a jarred salsa with tomatoes. If you want to give your salsa verde a thicker, scoop-able consistency, add extra avocado. The extra avocado will make it thicker and more similar to a spicy guacamole. Be mindful that your salsa will go bad sooner if you add more avocado.
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