Get the recipes
You may have seen small green tomato-like veggies covered in a paper-thin husk at your supermarket and wondered what on earth they are. While they may look like underripe tomatoes, this mystery ingredient is actually a tomatillo. Technically a fruit, tomatillos are native to Central America and are the base for many regional dishes, particularly those with verde in their names (meaning green in Spanish), like salsa verde and pozole verde.
Tomatillos are typically in season in the late summer and early fall months, which is a great time to enjoy them with September marking the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. But how do you use this versatile ingredient in your everyday cooking? We’ll break down everything you need to know about tomatillos and highlight some of our favorite tomatillo recipes to get you started cooking with these seasonal stars.
What Are Tomatillos?
Both tomatoes and tomatillos are in the nightshade family, which includes potatoes, eggplants, and peppers. And while the two are distantly related, we wouldn’t recommend swapping in one for the other, because they have a distinctly different flavor and texture.
The tomatillo plant grows like a vine and is often trellised or caged to help it grow upright for easier harvesting. Once the tomatillo flowers are pollinated, the petals wither away, and the leafy base becomes the husk surrounding the growing fruit—tomatillos. When ripe, they burst through the bottom of the husk and are harvested. The husk may change from bright green to tan and the fruit itself is most commonly seen as green in the U.S., but yellow and purple tomatillos exist too.
Once you remove the inedible husk, the tomatillos are ready to use after a quick rinse. If you can’t find fresh tomatillos, don’t worry! Canned tomatillos are also available in some supermarkets.
What Does a Tomatillo Taste Like?
These small green wonders are citrusy, tart, and slightly sweet with an earthy fruitiness. They aren’t quite as sweet as tomatoes and have a natural acidity that is perfect for adding freshness to sauces. The flesh is firm and dense even when ripe and the skin is slightly tacky before its washed. You can eat tomatillos raw, but they’re most often cooked. Cooking tomatillos helps lower some of the natural acidity and brings out even more delicious flavor.
How to Use Tomatillos
After buying tomatillos, store them in a paper bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. When you’re ready to enjoy them, remove the outer husk and give your tomatillos a quick rinse to remove any stickiness. The skin should be smooth, firm, and bright. You can slice away any dark or soft spots.
To enjoy them raw, try slicing them like crudité to serve with your favorite dips, or chop them and add to salads for a bust of tartness, or blend them into fresh salsas.
If you want to cook tomatillos, there are so many delicious options. You can roast tomatillos in the oven to bring out their sweetness and caramelize the sugars, char them on the grill for a deep smoky flavor, sauté them in a skillet, or even boil them for a milder flavor.
Tomatillo Recipes
If you want a good starting point, here are some of our favorite tomatillo recipes.
Fire-Roasted Green Salsa
Let’s jump right in with a classic roasted salsa verde. This easy recipe uses only five ingredients, most of which you might already have in your pantry. Broil everything until it’s beautifully charred, then blend it until it’s almost completely smooth. Try it on enchiladas, nachos, or tacos to change up your routine from jarred salsas.
Shrimp with Tomatillos and Rice
We’re combining two of our favorite things—tomatillos and one-pot dinners! This hearty recipe combines sautéd and boiled tomatillos for the perfect bright base for shrimp and rice. Add some hot sauce for a little kick of spice, and this easy dinner is about to be a staple on your weeknight rotation.
Avocado Salsa Verde with Chips
If you love guacamole but wish it had a little more zing, this recipe is for you. Creamy avocado adds that perfect creamy texture to a classic salsa verde, creating a more decadent and hearty sauce. Serve it with chips, slather it on a sandwich, top tacos with it, or fry a few eggs in it for a brunch that you’ll never forget.
Instant Pot® Chicken Verde Tamales
Tomatillos reach a whole new level with this recipe. Raw tomatillos are blended into a quick salsa then mixed with rotisserie chicken for a super quick tamale filling. The Instant Pot® keeps cooking time short while still bringing out maximum flavor. Finally, load up your cooked tamales with one of our salsa verde recipes or your other favorite toppings before digging in.
Mexican Shrimp Pozole Verde
This hearty stew is a classic use for tomatillos, poblano peppers, and canned hominy (an ancient Central and North American way of processing corn to make it more nutritious). We’ve swapped in shrimp for the classic chicken, but either way pozole makes a satisfying family meal. Try it with plenty of toppings for a dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes.
