I love tomato girl summer, I LIVE for tomato girl summer. But it simply would not BE tomato girl summer if we didn’t include the tomatillo in the equation! And that’s how these Tomatillo Beans, in all their perfect simplicity, came to be.
Now, these beans were inspired by a ceviche, but instead of raw shrimp (which is only really good when at peak freshness), I opted for our favorite sustainable, sustaining, vegetarian protein. Enter: the humble bean.
This recipe takes a charred tomatillo sauce and combines it with beans and a simple cilantro salad to make a meal-prep-worthy dish that I like to prep at the beginning of the week and then take with me for lunches or sides as I need it. It’s also a wonderful weeknight meal for the final days of summer’s heat.
Plus, if you serve it with avocado and chips? It’s basically like eating salsa for dinner. YOU’RE WELCOME.
Table of contents
What are tomatillos?
Now the tomatillo, also known as the “husk” tomato, is a nightshade-family vegetable native to Mexico that can range from green to purple. It’s firm, with a different interior than a tomato, BUT it does carry that same sharp, citrusy, herbaceous energy you’d expect from a green tomato. Flavor-wise, it leans more savory than sweet—less “sun-ripened summer fruit,” more “bright, green spark that wakes everything up.” So that’s why I say tomatillo/tomato? Nearly sisters.
And when cooked, tomatillos soften and mellow into something almost jammy, but never lose that tangy edge that makes them so good in salsas, sauces, and anything that needs a little lift.
Ingredients you will need for these tomatillo beans
For the tomatillo sauce
- 8 small (8 oz) tomatillos
- 1 (0.75 oz) serrano pepper or jalapeño pepper
- 1 large (4 oz) Anaheim pepper
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup (0.75 oz) fresh cilantro, loosely packed
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons tamari
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For the cilantro salad
- 1/4 medium (2 oz) red onion
- 1/2 small (2 oz) cucumber
- 1 medium (2 oz) tomatillo
- 3/4 cup (0.5 oz) fresh cilantro, loosely packed
- 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For serving
- 2 (14 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving
- Flaky salt, for serving
- 1 medium avocado
How to make this recipe
Step 1 – Prepare the tomatillo sauce
The first step is a super simple sauce – don’t let the charring of the tomatillos deceive you!
- Peel the husk off of the tomatillos and wash them well.
- Set a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatillos and Serrano pepper and let them cook, shaking every now and then, for 4-6 minutes or until the tomatillos and pepper are blackened on all sides (see photo above!).
- Remove the tomatillos and pepper from the pan (keep the pan out), and add them to a heat-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate and let them “steam” for a few minutes to help loosen their skins.
- While the tomatillos are in the bowl, roughly chop the Anaheim pepper and add it to the food processor. Add the garlic and cilantro as well.
- When the tomatillos are cool enough to handle, gently pull the blackened skins away and add the interior to the food processor. Do the same with the Serrano, but also remove the seeds (this will keep it from being too spicy).
- Add the honey, lime juice, olive oil, tamari and salt and process the ingredients into a sauce. Taste and season with more salt as desired, then set aside.
Tamari may sound like a “weird” addition, but I saw a chef do it in Mexico, and trust me, it helps a TON!
Step 2 – Quickly chop your salad
Next up is chopping the veggies for the salad topping. This is cucumber, tomatillo and red onion with cilantro here, but really any crunchy, vibrant vegetables that you like will work well!
Think: radishes, jicama, truly whatever! Mango or pineapple would also be WILD.
Step 3 – Combine the beans with the tomatillo sauce
Now I always suggest heating up your beans in a little bit of olive oil to remove any tinned bean taste, but you don’t have to! You can just rinse them and pop them in the sauce if you are feeling lazy. And then dinner is done!
Of course, if you are using homemade beans for this, feel free to just scoop those directly in. Any of that cooking liquid that comes along with them is completely fine and delicious.
Step 4 – Serve!
Now I love serving this with avocado, a bit of olive oil, and flaky salt. If you have chips on the side, it makes it feel like dinner is one really good salsa. And I love when a dip can be dinner.
Of course, that’s up to you – even a bowl on its own is a stellar meal!
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Looking for more bean recipes?
Roasted Red Pepper Beans with Goat Cheese and Pepitas
Broccolini Beans
Charred Lemon Marinated Bean & Snap Pea Salad
And that’s everything for these Tomatillo Beans!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Equipment
- 1 5-cup food processor or larger
Ingredients
For the tomatillo sauce
- 8 small (8 oz) tomatillos
- 1 (0.75 oz) serrano pepper or jalapeño pepper
- 1 large (4 oz) Anaheim or poblano pepper
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup (0.75 oz) fresh cilantro, loosely packed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons tamari
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For the cilantro salad
- 1/4 (2 oz) medium red onion
- 1/2 (2 oz) small cucumber
- 1 (2 oz) medium tomatillo
- 3/4 cup (0.5 oz) fresh cilantro, loosely packed
- 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For serving
- 2 (14 oz) cans white beans, drained and rinsed
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving
- Flaky salt, for serving
- 1 medium avocado
Instructions
- Peel the husk off 8 tomatillos and wash them well.
- Set a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatillos and Serrano pepper and let cook, shaking every now and then, for 4-6 minutes, or until the tomatillos and pepper are blackened on all sides.
- Remove the tomatillos and pepper from the pan (keep the pan out), and add them to a heat-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate and let them "steam" for a few minutes to help loosen their skins.
- While the tomatillos are in the bowl, roughly chop the Anaheim pepper and add it to a food processor along with 3 garlic cloves and 1 cup of cilantro.
- When the tomatillos are cool enough to handle, gently pull the blackened skins away and add the interior to the food processor. Do the same with the Serrano, but also remove the seeds (this will keep it from being too spicy).
- To the food processor, add 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of tamari and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Process the ingredients into a sauce. Taste and season with more salt as desired, then set aside.
- Make the simple salad by thinly slicing 1/4 of a red onion, 1/2 of a cucumber and 1 tomatillo and adding it all to a small bowl. Roughly chop 3/4 cup of cilantro and add it in. Give a few tosses and season with 1/2 teaspoon of lime zest, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Set aside.
- Set the same sauté pan from earlier over low heat and add 2 cans of drained and rinsed white beans. Give them a drizzle of olive oil and swirl them in the pan for 1-2 min, just to cook off any tinned-bean-taste.
- Add the beans to the bowl with the tomatillo sauce and give a few mixes.
- To serve, pile the beans into four bowls. Scoop the salad directly on top. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with flaky salt.
- Slice up the avocado and add a quarter to each bowl. Serve immediately!
Comments
I would love to talk about actually making this a ceviche… is there enough acid as is?
I’d add an additional lime’s worth of juice to whatever fish you are using and let it marinate in the lime juice first! Then you can add it to the sauce as-is 🙂
I can’t find tomatillos anywhere – what substitutes do you recommend? Can I use regular tomatoes?
Green tomatoes are your best bet as a sub!
Loved this recipe and was surprised at how filling it was on its own without bread or anything! Such great flavors, Justine Snacks never fails me.
My only two notes-
1. The serving sizes are almost always half of what is listed when I make them (maybe I eat huge servings?) so this was dinner for two and one leftover lunch.
2. For the salad topping, I thought the ratio was a little off, I think an extra tomatillo or two would balance it out a little more
Thank you for killing it over and over!! We love you!
I love you back! I totally feel you on the serving size thing – it’s always a guessing game since my family tends to eat smaller meals and more snacks in between. For me this is a meal-prepable recipe that makes four lunches, but dinners might need a little more volume! And great note on the tomatillo, I prefer more cucumber so that it’s a less sharp salad, but it’s a good comment to have here for future recipe makers!
If meal prepping, do you recommend keeping the salad & sauce separate?
Can’t wait to make this! <3
Absolutely! That will keep everything tasting a bit fresher as you store it. Hope you like it!
DANG, this is one of my favorites of yours (and there are many contenders)! Now I’m sad I made so much tomatillo salsa last week with our garden harvest, I could eat this every day for a while! We added a drizzle of chili oil instead of EVOO and it was delicious!
This was a big hit with my family! Next time I will double it. Ive been following you forever but it’s the first time I’ve actually tried a recipe and I’m not disappointed! I was a little suspicious about peeling the tomatillos, but that was a good move. I pickled the red onions and served them separately. Lastly I used Rancho Gordo beans I had in the freezer. They are begging me to make this again!
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