I’ve rounded up my 21 best tomatillo recipes, all of which are pretty easy, super delicious, and cover everything from my favorite tomatillo salsa verde recipe to a modern twist on Huevos Divorciados. Keep reading to find your new favorite!
If there’s one thing I know for sure, the best way to jazz up any meal takes one simple ingredient—tomatillos!
They brighten our favorite Mexican salsa, go amazing with spicy chiles, peppers, and avocado, and even take well to the cooling effects of sour cream.
Keep reading to find your new favorite tomatillo recipe!
what are tomatillos?
If you have a weakness for enchiladas verdes, you may be a tomatillo lover and not even know it.
Tomatillos are essential to many Mexican food recipes and were first cultivated by the Aztecs centuries ago.
The name might not be familiar but I’m sure you have seen them, they are the green (or sometimes purple) tomato-looking fruit that are wrapped in a crinkly paper husk.
Tomatillos, also known as Mexican husk tomatoes are in the same nightshade family as tomatoes but bear little resemblance as far as flavor goes.
Fresh tomatillo recipes provide an addictive bright contrast to many Mexican dishes like green salsas and more!
how to buy tomatillos
When buying tomatillos, look for firm-fleshed fruit with no bruises or browned spots.
The best tomatillos are on the smaller side, about the size of a ping pong ball, the bigger they are the more bitter they tend to be.
If you have a Latin market in your town, they tend to have the freshest tomatillos at the best price.
That being said, tomatillos have become so popular, most grocery stores now have a beautiful selection as well as cilantro, jalapeños, and everything else you need to make many of these recipes using tomatillos.
Even better, plant a tomatillo plant in your garden. They rarely suffer from disease or insect problems and you’ll be promised ripe tomatillos all summer long!
how to prep tomatillos
To cook with tomatillos, remove the papery husk and give them a rinse under cold water.
They don’t need to be peeled or seeded and can be eaten raw or cooked.
One of my favorite ways to prep them is to char them over medium high heat for about 15 minutes or until their skin gets blackened.
After they are charred their tart flavor can be used to bring a tangy zing to everything from salsas and dips to chicken enchiladas and Chile Verde.
I’m just in love with tomatillos and have tons of tomatillo recipes to share. Here are my best tomatillo recipes ever.
20 insanely delicious tomatillo recipes
tomatillo sauce recipes:
avocado salsa verde
This creamy, tart salsa is the one we always, always have in our fridge. It is simple (and simply addictive) tomatillo avocado salsa with raw tomatillos, avocados, and chiles, and blended until smooth and creamy, ready in 10 minutes!
super simple salsa verde
Homemade Salsa Verde is about the easiest thing in the world to make. Blended tomatillos, onion, jalapeños, and cilantro is all it takes to make a swoon-worthy salsa your friends will die for.
tomatillo pineapple pickle relish
Homemade tomatillo-pineapple pickle relish is a must have for summer. Super delicious, tart and sweet. Great for grilled sausages and hot dogs.
charred tomatillo salsa
A roasted tomatillo salsa that requires a simple spin in the blender or food processor. This Mexican green sauce is made with charred tomatillos, onions, chiles, salt and pepper is not just for chips! Use over fried eggs, enchiladas, or anywhere you want zip!
chunky avocado tomatillo salsa
If you’ve been hunting for an easy Avocado Salsa recipe, look no further! Ripe avocado, tomatillos, fresh cilantro, and lots of spicy jalapeños.
roasted tomatillo and avocado hummus
This Roasted Tomatillo and Avocado Hummus is a fluffy, airy dip rich with ripe avocado instead of loads of olive oil, charred tomatillos, and serrano chiles.
tomatillo pico de gallo
A great recipe that shows off fresh, raw tomatillos in all their glory. This fresh, raw Tomatillo Pico de Gallo is a zesty salsa that captures the essence of tart tomatillos, chiles, and onions. Perfect for chips or tacos.
fiery habanero tomatillo salsa
If you like spicy, this salsa is for you. This habanero salsa is not for wimps made with charred habanero chiles, onions, a little orange juice, and tomatillos it will warm you from the inside out.
tomatillo recipes: not salsa
in soup
tangy green tomato (or tomatillo) chili
This Green Tomato Chili makes use of all those green tomatoes that never ripened making for the perfect fall chili. However, swapping out the green tomatoes for tomatillos means we can make it all year long.
caldo de res {Mexican Vegetable Beef Soup}
Tomatillos aren’t traditional but I love adding them for a bright spin on this simple and tasty recipe. It is pure comfort food with tender beef, carrots, potato, and squash all simmered in a rich broth.
green chile vegan pozole
A spicy Pozole Verde that just so happens to be vegan. Made with green chiles, tomatillos, jalapeños, pinto beans and hominy. One of my favorite Mexican dinner ideas!
instant pot pork chili verde
We’re taking your favorite Instant Pot Pork Chili Verde recipe up a notch with handfuls of melty mozzarella cheese in each bowl for supreme chili status.
for breakfast
green chilaquiles with fried eggs
This recipes takes green salsa soaked tortilla chips and tops them with Cotija cheese, sour cream, jalapeños, sliced radishes, scallions, and a fried egg. In other words, chips coated in green chile sauce is my favorite way to start the day!
tomatillo recipes for dinner
slow cooker carne adobada
This just might be your new favorite way to cook a roast. Covered in adobo sauce and slowly simmered until tender, it’s just delicious! Instead of lime juice, this recipe has a few tomatillos added for a tangy twist.
chile verde chicken tamales
These Chile Verde Chicken Tamales are like fluffy masa present waiting to be unwrapped; stuffed with tender poached chicken and mild green tomatillo salsa.
peach mole with grilled chicken and chayotes
Grilling season should always include a few tomatillos, therefore, try them in this mole sauce made with tomatillos and fresh peaches. Peach mole is a summertime sensation with fresh yellow chiles, tomatillos, and sesame seeds. Serve with grilled chicken and zucchini-like chayotes.
shrimp and melon ceviche tostadas
Jump into spring with this shrimp and melon ceviche! Pile this bright and citrusy salad on top of crunchy tostadas for a light meal or an easy appetizer at your next backyard party.
chicken mole verde
This chicken mole verde is a fresh springtime mole with tender pieces of braised chicken are cooked in a mixture of tomatillos, jalapeños, cilantro, basil, and thickened with pumpkin and sesame seeds.
turkey tinga sopes
Here’s an updated version of Tinga that’s just perfect for your Thanksgiving leftovers. In this recipe, we use leftover Thanksgiving turkey and simmer it in a spicy sauce of chipotles, tomatillos, orange juice, and garlic.
pork tamales with salsa verde
Pork Tamales with Salsa Verde- authentic Mexican Tamales filled with tender pork shoulder and tangy tomatillo salsa, make for the holidays!
and just one more recipe: a new take on huevos divorciados
Many Mexican food recipes rely heavily on tomatillos. Huevos Divorciados or Divorced Eggs is surely one of them.
The two eggs are usually separated by a sea of red and green salsa but I’m tapping into my love affair with beets by making a roasted beet relish instead.
It’s still green and red. The huevos have in no way gotten back together, and in the end, we all get to pack a few more veggies into breakfast—Yay for us!!
This tomatillo salsa is a bit different from the other versions mentioned above.
The addition of Greek yogurt takes it to a completely different place, it adds a creaminess that is such a perfect counterpoint to the tart nature of tomatillos that I can’t believe I’ve never made tomatillos salsa like this before.
I piled the whole thing on a plate of fried tahini breakfast potatoes which are a creation of my friend Susana.
A spoonful of tahini melts into the potatoes as they fry which coats them in a glorious sesame bath. As a result, the extra oil from the tahini makes them super crispy and golden.
so, which recipe will you make first?
Whether it’s the salsa verde recipe or my new take on Huevos Divorciados, I’d love to hear how you liked these tomatillo recipes! Share a photo and tag me on Instagram using @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so that I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) ! Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!
Huevos Divorciados with Creamy Tomatillo Salsa & Roasted Beet Relish
Huevos Divorciados: 2 eggs smothered in creamy tomatillo salsa & roasted beet relish on fried tahini breakfast potatoes.
Ingredients
For the Tomatillo Salsa:
- 2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
- 1 small white onion, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2-3 jalapeños], stemmed and cut in half (add as many or as few [jalapeños as you like depending on how spicy you want the salsa to be)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
For the Beet Relish:
- 4-6 small beets, trimmed and washed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 jalapeno, stemmed and minced (seeds removed if you'd like it less spicy)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced cilantro
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the Tahini Potatoes:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 4 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tahini paste
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
For the Eggs:
- 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-4 large eggs
- Crumbled queso fresco, optional
Instructions
To Make the Tomatillo Salsa:
Heat oven: Heat oven to 425°F and arrange rack in the upper third of the oven.
Season vegetables: Combine tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeños on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Toss to coat.
Roast vegetables: Roast veggies until softened and brown, about 20 minutes.
Blend with remaining ingredients: Transfer veggies to a blender (removing the skin from the garlic first), add cilantro and yogurt and season with salt (I used 2 teaspoons) and blend until smooth. You might need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your blender.
This will make a lot more salsa than you'll need but extra salsa is never a bad problem to have.
Keep oven on to roast the beets.
For the Beet Relish:
Roast beets: Place beets in a baking dish and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season with salt and cover with foil. Roast beets until they can be easily pierced with a knife, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool.
Peel beets. Peel beets by rubbing the skin off with a paper towel or a pairing knife then cut into small dice.
Mix with remaining ingredients. Combine beets with remaining relish ingredients and toss to combine. Season with salt to taste.
For the Potatoes:
Fry potatoes. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet or nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and potatoes and season with salt.
Add tahini. Cook, undisturbed a few minutes then add remaining potato ingredients and stir until tahini has coated the potatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let cook, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and keep covered.
For the Eggs:
Fry eggs. I like to fry my eggs one at a time. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil per egg in a medium nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering crack the egg into the middle of the oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Turn off heat and let cook, undisturbed 1-2 minutes. Flip if you want an over easy egg and finish cooking to your liking. Repeat with remaining eggs.
To Serve:
Divide potatoes between 2-4 plates, depending on how many you are serving. Place 2 eggs on each plate and top each egg with the different salsas. Sprinkle a little queso fresco over the top if you want, serve immediately.
Notes
To make both salsas at the same time, roast the tomatillo salsa vegetables on one rack and the beets on another rack in the oven simultaneously.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
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Tomatillos are not self-pollinating. You must plant at least 2 seedlings if you hope to harvest. I learned the hard way, but this year I have a bumper crop with three plants.
That is so interesting, I had no idea! Thanks so much for sharing. Now I know why they never work for me. 🙂
Too much motormouthing before getting to the recipe. You should do what forward-thinking sites are doing, putting a button at the top that says “Jump to Recipe/Not interested in the motormouthing.”
Hi Stevan, you’ll find the “Jump to Recipe” button directly under the first photograph. All my best!
I haven’t tried any recipe yet, but they look tasty.
The negative ratings based on silly things is not okay. I almost did not click on it because of the 1 star rating.
Thanks to Kate for putting this together for this tomatillo fan. I plant them and want to do more than salsa and verde sauce.
Aww, thanks so much Carrie! Let me know when you give a recipe a try. Excited to hear what you think.
Just have to say, that I’ve made the Divorced Eggs recipe twice now and both times, it’s been AMAZING. Cannot overstate what a HUGE hit it is in my house. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much Alex! I’m so thrilled you loved it.
I just found this wonderful website. Thank you for these scrumptious looking recipes! I also grow tomatillos – they just come up every year and produce tons of fruit. I make tomatillo salsas and use them in omelets, but always look for other ways to use them.
Btw, I enjoy your posts – it’s not “motormouthing” to me. It reads as if someone is standing next to me in the kitchen, very friendly and readable. Can’t wait to try many of your recipes!
Thank you Marcia! I wish I had your luck growing tomatillos—mine always die before they even become seedlings. I could use some pointers LOL.