Homemade Salsa Verde has a smooth smoky flavor from easy-to-make air-fried roasted tomatillos and tomatoes that are done in 10 minutes or less.
Restaurant quality dips take on a new meaning when you take the time to bring bold flavors to fresh vegetables.
Also known as a “green salsa” this cousin of the regular red Salsa blend will have you biting chip after chip. Roasted Salsa Verde is also widely used as a topping for enchiladas and Carne Asada as well and brings bright bold flavors to any Mexican night in your house – the easy way.
Ingredients
This lime and tomatillo green salsa have bold flavors with Air Fried fresh vegetables! Bring a real tomatillo salsa verde homemade taste together with from-scratch salsa that will tantalize the taste buds and seriously complement air-fried tortilla chips.
This is a wow appetizer salsa dip that is worth the make and so much better than over-salted and preserved jarred salsas.
- 3 tomatillos – smaller tomatillos are less bitter than larger ones
- onion
- jalapeno pepper
- serrano pepper
- Roma tomato
- cooking spray
- minced garlic
- salt
- lime juice
- sugar
- large bunch of cilantro
- tortilla chips for serving
Air Fryer is Perfect for Roasted Salsa
To make green salsa right, it must start with a fresh selection of perfectly roasted vegetables. It may seem complicated to take the time to roast tomatillos and tomatoes, but if you have an air fryer, it’s SUPER easy.
There is very little prep involved and the roasted flavor makes the salsa even better than using raw. Plus, raw tomatillos can be bitter tasting.
The air fryer used below is the Ninja Foodi All In One, 6.5 quart Air Crisp Basket, however, this recipe can be duplicated in nearly any air fryer brand you have to make the best Salsa Verde.
Serve dip with Air Fried Tortilla Chips or pan-fried Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips on the stove.
How to make Tomatillo Verde
It’s easy to roast fresh tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers, and onions in the air fryer. That being said, if you do not have one, vegetables can also be roasted under a broiler, pan-fried, or even oven-baked.
The instructions for this Tomatillo salsa (Verde salsa) below are for the Air Fryer (the quick and easiest way).
- Spray sides and bottom of air fryer basket with cooking spray.
- Add tomatillos, quartered white onion, halved jalapeno pepper (seeds removed), serrano pepper and Roma tomato in a single layer inside the Air Crisp basket and place into the inner ceramic pot.
- Spray top of raw fresh vegetables with cooking spray.
- Set Ninja Foodi at bake/roast setting 400 degrees for 10 minutes. If using a regular Air Fryer, set at 350 for 10 minutes.
- When cooking cycle is complete, open lid and let roasted vegetables stand to cool for about 5 minutes. Vegetables should be warm but not hot before moving onto the next step.
- Place freshly roasted vegetables into a food processor.
- Process all vegetables for 10 seconds until blended down.
- Add minced garlic, salt, fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro (no need to remove stems) and process salsa again until all roasted ingredients are blended but not pureed (you do not want it to be blended like soup).
- Remove Salsa Verde and serve immediately with tortilla chips.
- To store, cover and refrigerate roasted salsa until ready to serve.
- Garnish fresh salsa with tomatoes and fresh cilantro if preferred (for presentation).
- Makes 2 cups of salsa.
Alternative Ways to Roast Salsa Verde Taqueria
- AIR FRYER SETTING: 350 degrees at 10 min (400 degrees at 7 minutes also works pretty well but you have to watch to make sure there isn’t too much char on the peppers)
- NINJA FOODI Bake/Roast Setting: 400 degrees at 10 minutes
- BROILER: Broil on high for 4-5 minutes, rotating half way (do not put too close to broiler)
FAQ’s
Salsa Verde uses fresh tomatillos and regular salsa only uses fresh tomatoes.
Don’t have an Air Fryer or a Ninja Foodi? No Problem! While Salsa Verde can be made simply from raw vegetables, it’s super easy to oven roast as well. Simply prep and place vegetables on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Broil vegetables for about 4-5 minutes to get a nice char level, rotating as needed. As always, when using a broiler, monitor so you do not end up with a pile of burned mush.
Salsa is such a personal thing and if you prefer yours to be a little thinner, simply add up to 3 tablespoons of water into the food processor. Salsa tends to thicken a bit in the fridge so it’s also a way to bring it back to life should that happen to you.
Tomatillos are savory fruit that is grown wrapped in a husk and are found most predominantly in Mexico for their heartiness. While most US grocery stores have husks stripped already if you get one with a husk simply peel and proceed.
Salsa Verde has quite a bit of acid in it and the sugar helps cut through that. The salsa will not taste like sugar! And of course, this ingredient can be omitted if you prefer.
Related Mexican Recipes
This roasted Salsa Verde is great to serve up white chicken enchiladas, sheet pan quesadillas, or alongside other amazing dips like TikTok Queso and easy crockpot Velveeta Cheese Dip.
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Tomatillo Verde
Ingredients
- 3 tomatillos
- 1 onion quartered
- 1 jalapeno pepper cut in half and seeds removed
- 1 serrano pepper chili
- 1 Roma tomato
- cooking spray
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt more to taste
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 of a large bunch of cilantro with stems
- tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- Prep raw vegetables by quartering an onion into 4 parts, slicing a jalapeno pepper and removing seeds.
- Spray air fryer basket (On Ninja Foodi Air Crisp Basket) with cooking spray.
- Add tomatillos, quartered onion, sliced jalapeno pepper, serrano pepper and Roma tomato in a single layer on the bottom of air fryer basket.
- Spray raw vegetables with cooking spray.
- Set Ninja Foodi setting to "bake/roast" at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. If using any other way to roast vegetables, please see NOTES for cooking time variations. When cooking cycle is complete, open lid and let stand to cool for about 5 minutes. Vegetables will be warm but not hot.
- Place roasted vegetables into a large food processor and process for 10 seconds until completely blended but not pureed.
- Add garlic, salt, sugar, lime juice and fresh cilantro and process until mixed well.
- Remove Tomatillo Salsa Verde and serve immediately with tortilla chips, smother on tacos, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Cooking Settings to Roast Vegetables
- AIR FRYER SETTING: 350 degrees at 10 min
- NINJA FOODI Bake/Roast Setting: 400 degrees at 10 minutes
- BROILER: Broil on high for 4-5 minutes, rotating half way (do not put too close to broiler)
Alternative Ingredients to add to Salsa
- Vinegar or water to thin it out
- Additional Jalapenos or Serrano Peppers for more Heat
- Half an Avocado for Avocado Salsa Verde
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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