This easy Hatch chile salsa verde with tomatillos is a delicious way to use roasted hatch chiles. It’s perfect for snacking on with chips or for topping your favorite Mexican dish. (vegan, gluten-free)
It's Hatch chile season! One of my favorite times of year is late July/August, when the local supermarkets here in west Texas bring out the giant drum roasters and start turning fresh green chiles from nearby Hatch, New Mexico. For a whole month, the air smells like roasted peppers within a mile radius of the grocery store, and all the food has a Hatch chile twist. It's glorious.
I'm kicking off a week-long Hatch chile celebration here on Lively Table with a simple and delicious recipe for Hatch chile salsa verde! I absolutely love green salsa, and the addition of freshly fire-roasted hatch chiles takes it up a notch for a beautiful, spicy, show-stopping salsa.
The Ingredients
This salsa verde has all the usual suspects for salsa - garlic, onion, cilantro, lime - and then some ingredients that make it extra fun (and green!):
- Tomatillos - Many salsa verde recipes use roasted tomatillos (which are also great!), but I like to leave them raw in this recipe for one less step, and to make this salsa more fresh tasting and a vibrant green color.
- Roasted Hatch chiles - I use the roasted Hatch chiles that I pick up from the grocery store for this salsa verde. That way it's both low-effort and still smoky and spicy. The spice level of the salsa will depend on the heat in the chiles, so if you want a more mild salsa, buy mild chiles and make sure to remove the seeds. If you like more spice, choose hot chiles and leave some or all of the seeds for even more heat. If you are roasting your own chiles, feel free to throw in the tomatillos as well. You can also use a small can of green chiles in place of Hatch chiles.
- Jalapeño - Because two kinds of peppers are better than one! You can also use serrano peppers instead.
- Green onion, cumin, and white vinegar - For balance and extra pops of flavor
How To Make Hatch Chile Salsa Verde
This couldn't be simpler to make. Roughly chop your large vegetables, remove the stems and seeds from the peppers, and blend them up in a food processor or blender (I love my Vitamix!). That's it!
Can I use canned green chiles?
Don't worry if Hatch chiles aren't available to you, say, in February. You can still use the canned kind, it just won't be quite as amazing. But you still need salsa verde in February, so by all means, still make it with canned chiles!
Can I can this salsa recipe?
Because this recipe has not been safety tested for canning, I would not recommend canning it. Canning foods requires proper research to determine acidity of the food and proper canning procedures (water bath vs pressure, time and temperature) to ensure it is safe. If you'd like to preserve extra salsa, you can store it in the freezer in a freezer-safe container.
What To Eat With Green Chile Salsa Verde
Not that you really need anything besides hot tortilla chips....
- Healthy Slow Cooker Carnitas
- Charred Zucchini and Black Bean Tacos
- Carne Asada
- Instant Pot Barbacoa Beef
- Healthy Huevos Rancheros Tostadas
- Green Chile Mexican Breakfast Casserole
If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating in the comments!
PrintEasy Hatch Chile Salsa Verde
This easy Hatch chile salsa verde with tomatillos is a delicious way to use roasted hatch chiles. It's perfect for snacking on with chips or for topping your favorite Mexican dish. (vegan, gluten-free)
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: about 3.5 cups 1x
- Category: sauce
- Method: no cook
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ white onion
- 1 green onion
- ½ cup cilantro leaves
- 1 jalapeno
- 4-5 tomatillos
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3 roasted Hatch chiles (or 1 small can)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Remove stems and seeds from jalapeños and Hatch chiles. Roughly chop onions, pepper, and tomatillos.
- Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth-ish (you still want a little bit of texture).
- Serve with fresh tortilla chips or with your favorite Mexican food.
Notes
- The spice level of your salsa will depend on the heat of your Hatch chiles.
- For more spice, you can leave the seeds in the peppers, or add more.
- Store leftover salsa in the refrigerator in a sealed container up to one week.
Keywords: hatch chile salsa verde, green chile salsa verde, Mexican salsa verde
Charli says
Just made this recipe. I didn’t have tomatillos, but still turned out great! Thx
★★★★★
Dani says
Really freaking good
★★★★★
Kaleigh says
So glad you love the recipe!
Deborah says
Why do you disrespect the very place your beloved chiles come from? They are grown in the Hatch valley of New Mexico. Always capitalize place names. Eat our chiles, respect our state!
Stephen K Knisely says
I agree 100% I came here 15 years ago and fell in love, imbraced the culture and have been happy since. Green Chile is Green Chile. No additives!
Donita says
Can frozen chili’s be used in this recipe? We bought a box of hatch chili’s as we were going thru New Mexico. I used my pressure sealer to freeze the ones we wouldn’t eat immediately. And how long does the salsa last once made?
Kaleigh says
Hi Donita,
Yes, you can certainly use frozen chilies! Have they been roasted already? A word of caution - they tend to get more spicy after they have been frozen, which you may love! But if you don't want extra heat, you may consider using less or adding another tomatillo. The salsa should last about a week in the fridge.
Donita says
Hi.
Thanks for responding. I’m so glad you told me about the peppers getting hotter. I would have never thought of that.
No the chilies aren’t roasted. I just washed, dried, and froze them whole
Kaleigh says
Hopefully the roasting process and removing the seeds/skins will help.
amethystnutritionandwellness says
I just made this and it was delicious! And I love the simple and fresh ingredients 🙂
Kaleigh says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Joan Allen Sandlin says
What tortilla companies have ruined the corn tortillas (ugh). I want the originals of the 1950s when I was in high school in Raton, N.M.and ever since. I bought some very thin corn tortillas and they just fell apart and again the flavor was not good. Where can the flavorful old "fashion" tortillas be purchased.?
Even the flour tortillas are not good.Ha! guess I'll have to learn the make these my self. Any good suggestions?
I'm 87 and still cooking.
Joan
Kaleigh says
You could try getting them from your favorite Mexican restaurant. I bet they would sell you some!
Sheri Rogers says
I live in El Paso TX and they sell them fresh hand made at most of our grocery stores. Also, when we lived in San Antonio HEB sold fresh made corn and flour tortillas. Hope this helps🧡😊
LZ says
Can you can this recipe?
Kaleigh says
I think you probably could, but you'd probably have to pressure can it to be safe since I don't think it's acidic enough to just use a water bath.
Jen says
I grew up in Southern CA and I must admit I was pretty spoiled growing up eating good salsas, and this recipe is VERY good. Thanks for posting!
Kaleigh says
Hi Jen, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe!