Italian Salsa Verde, Green Sauce
- Makes 4 servings
- Prep 5 minutes
- Total 5 minutes
How to make Italian Salsa Verde in 5 minutes! This tangy, fresh and vibrant green sauce is packed with flavour and is so easy to make. Serve it with steak, vegetables, soups or on a pulled pork sandwich!
Salsa Verde (aka green sauce) is one of those punchy and bold sauces like basil pesto that add a huge amount of flavour to any dish!
Whether you use it to dress salads, drizzle on top of soups, steak or on sandwiches (Italian pork and salsa verde is our fav) it's so good and better yet takes no time at all to make!
And although this is our favourite way to make it, the recipe varies all over Italy. In Liguria, it's often made with hard-boiled eggs and sometimes potatoes.
In other parts, you'll see red wine vinegar added instead of lemon and a variant in quantities of anchovies and capers.
No matter how it varies it always has a beautiful mix of salty, zingy, sharp and fresh flavours. Follow our step by step recipe and video below to learn how to make it and what to serve it with!
Ingredients you need
The ingredients to make salsa verde are simple, all you need is fresh basil and parsley, garlic, anchovies, gherkins, capers, lemon, olive oil and chilli flakes (optional). See the photo below that shows you all the ingredients you need!
How to make Italian Salsa Verde – step by step
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blitz to smooth but chunky texture (photo 1 & 2).
Pour into a ramekin or mason jar and store for later or serve immediately.
Top tips and recipe FAQs
- Ways to use this sauce – serve this sauce with cooked vegetables, with eggs, on top of hearty soupssteak or on sandwiches such as our slow cooker Italian pulled pork and focaccia sandwich!
- Anchovies – If you're not a fan of anchovies don't worry this sauce does not have a fishy taste it adds seasoning. If you'd rather skip them taste the sauce for additional salt and add as needed.
- Red pepper flakes – this ingredient is optional, we add a small pinch so it adds flavour without too much heat.
Salsa verde will keep well covered in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Can you freeze salsa verde?Absolutely, this sauce freezes well. You can store it in an ice cube tray for small portions or in freezer bags. Thaw completely before using.
More Italian sauces you might like
- How To Make Basil Pesto
- Parsley Pesto Recipe – Fresh And Easy
- Walnut Sauce – Salsa di Noci
- Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce – Quick, Easy & good
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
- 1 cup fresh basil ((15g))
- 1 cup fresh parsley ((15g))
- 1 clove garlic (peeled)
- 1 tbsp capers
- 4 mini gherkins ((around 2 tbsp chopped))
- 3 anchovies
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil ((80ml))
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (chilli flakes optional)
- Zest and juice of half a lemon
Method
Food processor method
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blitz to a smooth but rough texture.
Pour into a ramekin or small mason jar for later or serve immediately.
By hand
Place all ingredients except the olive oil and lemon juice on a cutting board in a small pile. Finely chop everything together until it's finely chopped and combined.
Add the chopped mixture to a small bowl and add the olive oil and lemon juice, stir to combine and serve.
Kitchen notes
- Ways to use this sauce serve this sauce with cooked vegetables, with eggs, on top of hearty soupssteak or on sandwiches such as our slow cooker Italian pulled pork and focaccia sandwich!
- Anchovies - If you're not a fan of anchovies don't worry this sauce does not have a fishy taste it adds seasoning. If you'd rather skip them taste the sauce for additional salt and add as needed.
- Red pepper flakes - this ingredient is optional, we add a small pinch so it adds flavour without too much heat.
- Leftovers and freezing leftovers will store well in the fridge (covered) for 3-5 days or can be frozen. Thaw completely before using.
