How to Use Tomatillo – Sharon Palmer, The Plant Powered Dietitian

Learn more about how to use tomatillo in the kitchen, growing tomatillo, and cooking tomatillo with this easy tomatillo guide and recipe tips.

Have you ever spotted little papery tomatillos in a market and wondered what to do with them? Well, these small green veggies are part of traditional diets in the Americas, and they are packed with both flavor and nutrition. Look for tomatillo in your farmers market, well-stocked grocery store, Latin supermarket, or even learn about growing tomatillo yourself in your home garden. Tomatillo are delicious in so many recipes, offering a lemony flavor that highlights cooking. So, get to know them better, with my step by step guide on How to Use Tomatillo in the kitchen.

What Is a Tomatillo?

Otherwise known as “tomate verde”, tomatillos are very familiar in Mexican cuisine. The vegetable looks like a small green tomato partially covered with a papery husk, but the flesh is denser and meatier than a tomato. They taste nothing like a tomato though; instead tomatillos offer a tart, citrusy flavor perfectly suited for traditional Mexican dishes. At only 11 calories per tomatillo, these little veggies are a nutrition bargain, providing 7% DV of vitamin C, 3% DV fiber, and a variety of phytochemicals, such as lutein and zeaxanthin.

Growing Tomatillo

You can easily grow tomatillo in your summer garden. The tomatillo plant is a relative to tomatoes, so they grow similarly and benefit from growing in pairs for pollination. Plant your tomatillo after frost and use a trellis or stake to support the plant as it grows. Harvest the tomatillos when they are green and fill out the husk.

Tomatillos for sale at the Ojai farmers market

How To Prepare Tomatillo?

To prepare tomatillo, remove the husk, rinse well, and slice or chop them. You do not need to peel the outer skin. You can roast tomatillo in the oven with a flavorful sauce, or serve as an interesting alternative to baked tomatoes. You can also chop or blend them into salsas.

To prepare tomatillos, remove the papery husk, wash, and chop as desired.

Just peel back the husk and use as desired.

Slice tomatillos to roast in your favorite recipes.

Roast them in the oven to use in recipes, like Tomatillo Salsa.

How to Cook with Tomatillos?

You can use tomatillos raw in Mexican salsas and sauces, or roast them until they blacken to add to Latin dishes and sauces, such as enchiladas verde or an earthy bean and rice stew. Try the following 5 tips for cooking tomatillo.

Tomatillo for sale at the Pasadena farmers market

5 Tips for Cooking Tomatillo

Tomatillo Salsa Verde from *California Vegan*

1. Salsa

Include tomatillo in a flavorful salsa, such as the recipe below. Then serve the tomatillo salsa with chips, tacos, burritos, scrambles and more.

Add chopped tomatillo to salads, such as this recipe for Grilled Corn and Potato Salad with Crispy Sage.

2. Salads

You can include raw tomatillo in salads, too. Just slice or chop them and blend with other ingredients, such as leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados and a flavorful vinaigrette.