How to make Italian Salsa Verde in just 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 just 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 my fav) it's just so delicious and better yet takes no time at all to make!
And although this is my 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 super 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 soups, steak 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 just adds seasoning. If you'd rather skip them make sure to taste the sauce for additional salt and add as needed.
- Red pepper flakes - this ingredient is optional, I just 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.
Absolutely, this sauce freezes really 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 & Delicious
If you’ve tried this Italian Salsa Verde or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
📖 Full Recipe
Italian Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh basil (15g)
- 1 cup fresh parsley (15g)
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 4 mini gherkins (around 2 tablespoon chopped)
- 3 anchovies
- â…“ cup extra virgin olive oil (80ml)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes chilli flakes optional
- Zest and juice of half a lemon
Instructions
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.
Notes
- Ways to use this sauce - serve this sauce with cooked vegetables, with eggs, on top of hearty soups, steak 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 just adds seasoning. If you'd rather skip them make sure to taste the sauce for additional salt and add as needed.
- Red pepper flakes - this ingredient is optional, I just 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.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Ann
This stuff is the bomb! I made a double batch so I'd have lots to freeze for later. Double the recipe filled a bit more than eight 2 oz. Solo cups - each enough to drizzle on two portions of grilled steak or roasted vegetables. Any leftover bits are great in salad dressing, stirred into mayonnaise.... endless uses. I appreciate the quantities given by weight as I find it easier to just weigh everything rather than have to wash a bunch of measuring cups and spoons. For the record, a tablespoon of capers weighs 10 grams, as do 4 mini gherkins. 1/3 cup of olive oil is about 70 grams.