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This easy Salsa Recipe is so fresh and easy to make! It’s a restaurant-style salsa made in a blender or food processor in about ten minutes. Canned tomatoes are blended together with onions, garlic, cilantro, jalapeños and a few spices. Buying salsa from the store is good but homemade is so much better! No matter the time of year, you can make amazing salsa at home. Delicious for Taco Tuesday served over Carnitas with Fresh Mango Salsa and Guacamole.
Make My BEST Salsa Recipe at Home!
The best part about eating at a Mexican restaurant is the endless chips and salsa! It’s always so good and always addicting, which is exactly why I made my own version at home so I can enjoy it without having to go to any restaurant.
The beauty of this recipe is how easily adaptable it is. Don’t like cumin? Leave it out! Love spicy food? Add in extra jalapeños. Truly, the sky is the limit.
Main Ingredients Needed
While I know lots of people prefer a fresher salsa (like a pico de gallo), this can be made in a pinch with canned tomatoes that are elevated with lots of fresh and flavorful ingredients that make them taste addictingly good. Here’s what you will need:
canned tomatoes– I use the petite diced tomatoes, but regular ones are just fine since they’ll get blended anyways.
cilantro– wash this well! Some cilantro is really clean, while other cilantro can hold a lot of dirt and sand. Don’t love
jalapeno– adds spice! Add as much or as little you’d like.
garlic + red onion– really good flavor!
lime juice– fresh lime juice adds acidity and really helps brighten up the canned tomatoes.
cumin– I only use 1/4 teaspoon, so it adds just a hint of flavor but it makes a difference.
sugar, salt, pepper– sugar helps counter that canned tomato flavor, and salt and pepper are general seasonings that bring out the other flavors in the salsa.
How to Make This Easy Salsa Recipe
Have 10 minutes and a blender? Then you can make this homemade salsa recipe in a flash. It’s so so simple you guys. Here’s how to do it.
Pour cans of diced tomatoes into the bottom of a blender. Add in cilantro, jalapenos, garlic, red onion, and lime juice.
Add in the cumin, sugar, salt and pepper.
Blitz the salsa in the blender until the desired consistency is reached.
Pour this into a bowl and serve.
Be the Master of Your Salsa Domain
So, while this salsa recipe is a great starting point and great as is, feel free to add more or less of certain ingredients to make this your own recipe. Don’t be afraid to make this how you like it! Don’t like cilantro? Leave it out. Want it spicy? Add more jalapeños. Don’t like it too sweet? Reduce the sugar by half. Want it even more sweet? Try adding a little pineapple! Honestly, the sky is the limit. You want to enjoy your food, so jazz up this easy salsa recipe and make it amazing!
Making Ahead + Storing Homemade Salsa
This salsa recipe can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to three weeks, only getting better and tastier by the day. I’d highly recommend making this a day or two in advance if possible to let those flavors really marinate with each other to get the best-finished product. I like adding extra garlic and cumin 🙂
Can I Freeze Salsa?
Yes, you can definitely freeze this salsa recipe.
Divide salsa into freezer safe, airtight containers. Freeze on a flat surface until solid and then move to where you want to store it for up to 3 months. To defrost, simply transfer to the refrigerator for 24-36 hours.
I don’t recommend freezing this if you’ve used fresh tomatoes (see note below about using fresh tomatoes).
Can I Use Fresh Tomatoes Instead of Canned Tomatoes?
Yes, you absolutely can use fresh tomatoes in place of a canned tomato for a fresher salsa recipe! You will need about 6 cups of washed and roughly chopped fresh roma tomatoes, or any other kind of tomato you’d like to use.
I’ve also known some friends who have charred their tomatoes and jalapeños whole before blending their salsa and man, its so so good. It’s an extra step that has proven delicious.
More Dip Recipes to Try!
Looking for more dip recipes? Look no further!
Classic Guacamole Recipe
7 Layer Dip
Cowboy Caviar Recipe
Amazing Pico de Gallo Recipe
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Grilled Corn Salsa Recipe
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5 from 21 votes
Homemade Salsa Recipe
This Salsa Recipe is so fresh and easy to make! You only need a few basic ingredients and 10 minutes. Adapt as you like!
Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times until desired texture is reached. Taste, adjust seasonings, and serve with chips.
Store salsa in airtight containers for up to 3 weeks in refrigerator.
Recipe developers for restaurants have plenty of time to experiment with salsa recipes, testing them and perfecting them before they even reach the menu. Salsa recipes have specific spice and ingredient proportions executed in an almost formulaic manner.
Recipe developers for restaurants have plenty of time to experiment with salsa recipes, testing them and perfecting them before they even reach the menu. Salsa recipes have specific spice and ingredient proportions executed in an almost formulaic manner.
Cook the salsa, and you'll trade bright, fresh flavors for something deeper, sweeter. Roasting the tomatoes, garlic and/or chiles creates rich, smoky flavors. 3. Layer in flavor, color, and texture with bell peppers, jicama, radishes, fresh corn kernels, avocado, or black beans.
In fact, the right vinegar will help you taste all of the other flavors of your salsa, and highlight those that it counters. As cookbook author James Peterson told the Chicago Tribune, "Vinegar brings out the intrinsic nature of whatever you're cooking. ... You'll taste more of the other flavors."
Compared to regular ol' salsa or something like pico de gallo, restaurant-style salsa is usually smoother—just how I like it! It's blended up in a food processor so that all the pieces get minced really finely. This is no place for big chunks of tomatoes, man.
Roma Tomatoes are a popular choice for salsa-making due to their dense and meaty texture, small number of seeds, and full-of-flavor tanginess. Variations of this tomato are sometimes called “plum” or “paste” tomatoes. Red Beefsteak Tomatoes are another favorite for those who favor a juicier tomato in their salsa.
After the salsa sits—more on that in a moment—the tomatoes will break down. If you didn't remove the seeds, they will make the salsa extra watery, with a pool of vaguely tomato-flavored liquid at the bottom of your bowl. Nobody wants to scoop vaguely tomato-flavored liquid onto a chip.
Assuming that is similar to your recipe, if the vinegar was left out we cannot be sure the finished product has a low enough pH to inhibit bacterial growth in the processed jars. I would recommend that you mark the jars without the vinegar, store them in the refrigerator and use them within a month or two.
If the problem is just a little bitterness on the tongue, salt is usually the best foil. If you can find out where the bitterness came from by sampling other pieces of your raw ingredients, you can try upping the ratio of other ingredients to temper it.
Chop tomatoes into 1/4-inch pieces; transfer to a medium bowl. Add onion, chile, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice; season generously with salt. Mix to combine. Let stand 15 minutes to develop flavor.
While some restaurant-style salsas may be prepared in large batches to meet demand, the emphasis on using fresh, high-quality ingredients remains a constant, no matter the quantity. A unique blend of fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and lime juice contributes to the vibrant, lively taste of restaurant-style salsa.
Simmering the salsa allows the excess liquid to cook off so your salsa isn't watery. It also helps develop the flavor. Cooking it also takes the edge off the onion. Raw onions are pungent with a sharp flavor that can easily take over not just the salsa, but the world, too.
One of the problems with store-bought salsas—especially ones that are made in the style of fresh salsas, like salsa verde and pico de gallo—is that the high-heat canning process kills those fresh flavors. Whatever vitality they had before they went into the jar doesn't come out so great on the other side.
Making the salsa from the ingredients the same day you buy them will further ensure restaurant-quality freshness. The same goes for spices and seasonings. Buying whole spices and fresh herbs will result in more vibrant flavors.
According to Ferraro, the bases for sauces are hard-won flavor bombs that take effort and planning to perfect. "Building flavor is an important thing, and it takes time," he said. "You can make a marinara sauce in 30 minutes, or you can make it in six hours." Often, a restaurant will often opt for the latter.
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