A delicious twist on your homemade salsa verde, this AH-MAZING Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Salsa will have you stocking up on tortilla chips. Blistered tomatillos, garlic and jalapeños with buttery avocado, vibrant cilantro and tangy lime make this avocado tomato salsa a winner.
Can’t decide if you want salsa or guacamole? As the girl in the Old El Paso commercial would say, “porque no los dos?” This creamy avocado tomatillo salsa embodies the best of both worlds and its a true friend and companion to every margarita, mojito or icy summer cocktail that you’ve ever met. I’m sure people have been making this type of salsa for centuries — which is why it boggles my mind that I’m just now experiencing it… Here’s the back story…
Earlier this June, Scott and I were celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary in New Orleans. We walked, ate and drank our way around the Quarter, Frenchman’s Street, several cemeteries, museums and bars… and took the long walk down Magazine Street. Not a purposeful stride, but a leisurely, soul infusing meander that had us poking into Greek revival designed buildings to discover everything from placemats made of cork to second hand Mardi Gras costumes that would require several shots of courage to actually wear.
And it was on Magazine Street, when we ducked into a little Mexican cafe to avoid a sudden downpour, that we discovered this tasty avocado tomatillo salsa. I know — Mexican food in New Orleans — what were we thinking???
But we ordered some cocktails and a trio of chips and salsas (photos above) while we waited out the storm and determined a clear winner on the condiment front…. avocado tomatillo salsa.
It’s kind of like a cross between homemade salsa verde and a the best guacamole recipe. I shouldn’t have to buy a plane ticket every time I had a craving for this tasty dip, so I decided to make it myself… and here are the delicious results. This salsa took about 15 minutes to make and it was as easy as charring the tomatillos, garlic and jalapeño in a skillet and then blitzing everything together in a food processor.
I have no idea if this is how they made their avocado tomatillo salsa. In fact, I suspect it isn’t because their’s was a little looser than mine. No matter. It was the flavor that I was going for. Greater than a typical salsa verde because of the creamy avocado. Smokier than a guacamole because we blistered the tomatillos, jalapeño and garlic in a fiery hot skillet. This tomatillo salsa is a hand to mouth symphony of flavor and texture.
Enjoy avocado tomatillo salsa immediately after blitzing it in the food processor, or transfer it to an airtight container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the salsa. This will prevent the avocado from oxidizing and give your salsa a fresh look and taste for up to one to two days.
Make sure you have plenty of tortilla chips on hand to scoop up this tasty dip and have your bar ready with icy cocktails to wash it all down with. Scott and I went through half a bag of chips and about half of this salsa last weekend while we floated around the pool… The remainder of the salsa was scooped into our shrimp tacos later that evening. It’s times like these that remind us how good life can be.
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Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
Ingredients
- 4 medium tomatillos
- 1 clove garlic (skin on)
- 1 medium jalapeno
- 1 haas avocado
- 1/4 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Line a heavy skillet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable spray. Set aside.
- Remove the husk from the tomatillos and rinse them. Slice the tomatillos crosswise. Set aside.
- slice the jalapeño in half, vertically and remove the seeds and white membrane.
- Heat the skillet over medium high heat and place the tomatillos, jalapeños and the unpeeled clove of garlic in the pan. Cook the vegetables for about 5-6 minutes or until they start to blister and become fragrant. Use a pair of tongs and flip the vegetables over. Continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes and remove from heat.
- Remove the skin from the blistered garlic and discard. Transfer the tomatillos, jalapeño and garlic to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until fairly smooth.
- Peel and seed the avocado and place it in the bowl of the food processor. Add the lime zest, juice, cilantro and salt. Pulse until the salsa is smooth and creamy.
- You can serve this immediately, or if you're saving it for later, transfer the dip to a airtight container. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the container and lightly press the plastic into the surface of the salsa. This will prevent it from discoloring over the course of a few hours. Can be made 4-5 hours ahead of serving.
- Serve salsa with tortilla chips and a good margarita or cerveza.
Nutrition
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More Savory Summery Dips:
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- Chunky Salmon Cucumber Dip
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- Black Bean Dip
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- Smoked Fish Dip
Love that “por que no los dos”. I’m going to have to start using that when I can’t decide on things. These have to be two of my favorites. Guacamole and tomatillos in one recipe. I’m in!! What a great idea.
Ah! This is so much fun, Lisa! First of all, I’ve never worked with tomatillos so I’ve never seen the inside of them and that is NOT what I was expecting. I was expecting it to look like the inside of a green tomato. I’d love to try this out! I pretty disappointed with myself in how I haven’t made any fresh guac or salsa yet this summer. (And it’s August. Shame.) This post is the kick in the butt that I needed 😉
Happy Anniversary — although I’m a little late. But OMG that salsa/guacamole looks ahhhhhmazing. My mouth is watering just looking at it and we are really big in the appetizer department. I can’t wait to make this for the family — they’ll love it.
Thanks, Marisa! I hope your family enjoys it!
I love that commercial. Why not both indeed! I’m always experimenting with guac so I’m excited go give this version a go – it looks SO much creamier than the ones I’ve tried in the past and I love how you combined them! Someone needs to put you in that commercial haha
Let me know how you like it, Carmen!
Avocado Tomatillo Salsa is so good! I too first had it in a restaurant, and I couldn’t keep my chips out of it. I’ll have to look for this Mexican cafe when I visit New Orleans. Always love the little places you can stumble upon when you least expect it.
I know, it’s addictive!
What a fabulous trip it sounds like you had. Someday I want to eat my way through New Orleans too! This salsa looks ultra creamy and absolutely perfect for snackin’ in my opinion, you can never have too many dips in hand and this one looks like a winner.
This looks delicious! I love that it’s a thick and creamy salsa. It’s pretty amazing that you had this once and were able to come home and whip it up. I guess if it’s that good, you can’t forget it!
14 years! Congrats! What a lovely way to celebrate. And I absolutely LOVE this recipe – because porque no los dos? Haha! I have a friend who says that all of the time! I can’t wait to try this!!
I have been on the lookout for tomatillos for ages. I saw them only a couple of times in the grocery store….and did not buy them. I am kicking myself. This recipe sounds so delicious. It would be perfect as a starter for a BBQ party. I really need to hunt some down.
Wow, this looks so amazingly fresh and healthy! I love the vibrant green color!
Thanks, Danielle. The flavor is out of this world!
Happy belated 14th wedding anniversary! I gotta admit, I haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying tomatillo and avocado like this ever before and that so needs to change! I’m gonna have to arm myself with a bag of chips and whip this up to enjoy this weekend!
You won’t be sorry, Shashi!
Tomatillos and avocado are a marriage made in heaven. I make mine with all the seeds on the peppers because I like it spicy. Now I want some tacos.
I can attest that its awesome on tacos!!!
I love both tomatillo sauce and guacamole and your salsa looks so delicious! It’s the perfect marriage between the flavors! I can’t wait to try it!
What a great combination of flavors. Never thought to make tomatillo salsa with Avocado but this sounds wonderful! Will definitely be trying this soon and don’t think I’ll have to worry about storing leftovers.
This is salsa at it’s finest! Tomatillos are so delicious and tangy and who doesn’t love avocado? New Orleans is one of my favorite cities ever, but I would not have associated it with mexican food!