My Tomatillo Avocado Salsa has just 7 ingredients and SO much flavor! Homemade salsa is just so delicious, it's totally worth the effort.
Salsa is a delicious addition to many meals and is a perfect snack. It’s delightful flavor seems far from healthy, but the truth is…the tasty treat is packed with veggies and loaded with nutritional goodness.
The word salsa, from the Spanish language, literally means “sauce”. In United States culture, salsa describes a sauce of chopped vegetables – typically tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Our version – featured in the August meal plan – is a delicious combination of tomatillos, onion, avocados, and more. The simple step of blending the vegetables fuses the vitamins and minerals of each ingredient into one indulgent dish. A snack filled with chopped veggies that feels indulgent? Yes please!
The star of this green salsa is the tomatillo. No you didn’t read wrong, and it’s not a typo…we meant to say tomatillo. They are the green (and sometimes yellow or even purple!) cousin to tomatoes. Originally from Mexico, the tomatillo was once more popular than its now widespread cousin. While less known in the US, the tomatillo is still prevalent in Latin American dishes. It has a sweet and tart flavor that adds an interesting twist to sauces and marinades and is delicious on its own.
Along with their unique flavor and playful color, tomatillos add an assortment of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to each meal. They are a good source of vitamin C – just half a cup of chopped tomatillos contributes 12% of your daily value of vitamin C. While they contribute few calories, tomatillos contribute fiber, potassium, niacin, and more!
The tomatillo provides a unique sweetness and tartness along with lots of nutritional goodness. Try it today in the homemade gluten-free tomatillo-avocado salsa featured in the August meal plan! By taking a little bit of time at the beginning of the week to prep ahead, you can avoid the added sugars and excess salt often found in store bought salsas.
Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lb tomatillos
- 1 jalapeño
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 2 small (or 1 large) just soft avocados
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Remove tomatillo husks and cut in half.
- Cut jalapeño in half, lengthwise, removing ½ to all seeds (depending on how spicy you prefer your salsa).
- Remove the skin of 2 garlic cloves, leaving whole.
- Separate layers of the yellow onion half.
- Place tomatillo, jalapeño, onion & garlic on a large baking pan. Drizzle w/ 1-2T of olive oil. Roast in oven for ~30 min.
- Place the roasted tomatillo, onion, jalapeño & garlic and 2 handfuls of cilantro into a blender. Blend until just turning smooth.
- Add 1 large or 2 small avocados and blend until just combined.
- Add salt to taste.
- Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Perfect for making ahead on your prep day to have on hand for snacks and meals all week long!
Use the tomatillo-avocado salsa as a snack (I love using jicama or bell pepper slices in lieu of corn chips). This salsa is also perfect at mealtime, the perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish or try it alongside one of the meals from the August plan:
Veggie Tacos
Breakfast Tacos
What is your favorite way to eat salsa? Share your ideas and pictures on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram as @prepdish in all 3 places, or leave a comment below.
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