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salsa verde // tomatillo salsa

Recipe: Canning Salsa Verde, Made With Tomatillos

A recipe for canned salsa verde, made from charred tomatillos, peppers, onions, and cilantro. Making this green salsa will be one of the best things you did all summer!
Author: Amanda Paa
Yield: 5 half pints
Prep Time :25 minutes
Cook Time :40 minutes
Total Time :1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds tomatillos, husks removed and halved or quartered
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped onions
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped peppers (I use a mix of green bell, jalapenos, and thai chilies to add heat)
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/3 cup minced cilantro
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup bottled lime juice

Instructions 

  • Before you start, here's a video tutorial that shows the process of making this recipe.
  • Have jars ready for canning, sterilized and hot.
  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place 3/4 of the chopped tomatillos on a baking sheet, reserve remaining 1/4. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or until they are slightly charred and their juices are seeping out.
  • While they are roasting, put the onions, peppers, and garlic into a food processor, pulsing until finely chopped. Empty this mixture into the sauce pot you will be using to cook the salsa.
  • Then remove tomatillos from oven, let cool a few minutes, and add to food processor. Put in the raw tomatillos you reserved. Pulse until finely chopped. Add all tomatillos and juices to the sauce pot that has the onions/peppers/garlic, along with the cumin, paprika, salt, and lime juice. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to a simmer for 15 minutes. During the last minute of cooking add the minced cilantro. * (see note.)
  • Ladle hot salsa into hot sterilized jars, and leave 1/2 inch head space. Place sterilized rings and lids on top, then return to boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove and let completely cool on a flat towel; listen for the pop so you know that it is properly sealed! See notes below about tasting the salsa.
    *Now that you've made the salsa, here are 17 delicious recipes that use salsa verde!

Notes

*RESIST tasting the salsa before it is processed in the hot water bath and for at least 2 days after you have canned it. The hot water bath and settling time will balance the acidity. Also, if you have never eaten tomatillos before, know that they are tart, bright, and citrusy so that will be reflected in the salsa. If you do taste it early, don't freak out if you can taste some lime juice, that will subside as the flavors settle in the jar and balance.
*This recipe was updated in 2023, after doing more testing with only lime juice instead of a lime juice and vinegar combination. So if you see comments with reference to vinegar that is why. I had feedback that the vinegar was a bit too sharp, that's why the recipe now reflects it using only lime juice for the acidity component.
*If you made this in past years and loved it (I do!), the recipe is exactly the same except it used to call for 1/2 cup white vinegar and 2 tablespoons lime juice rather than the 1/2 cup lime juice you see now. 
*Store jars in a cool, dark space. Eat within 18 months of canning date.