This homemade salsa recipe only takes about 10 minutes to make, it’s easy to customize (to make it extra spicy, smoky or tangy if you’d like), and it’s SO irresistibly delicious.
Happy Dos De Mayo!
Which also means…happy birthday to me!
My birthday feels a little extra-special this year because it also happens to mark exactly one more month until my wedding. (Can’t wait!) But every year, my birthday also happens to conveniently fall on the week of Cinco De Mayo, which I must say I couldn’t have planned better myself. Mexican food on my birthday for life! (Literally!)
Last year for my birthday, I had all of my friends over for an epic chips-and-salsa-a-thon, which was downright dreamy. Instead of cooking, Barclay and I drove around town all afternoon and picked up a dozen or so different salsas from our favorite Mexican restaurants. And then we whipped up an enormous batch of my classic margaritas, opened up a zillion bags of chips, and had all of our friends over for the most delicious taste test ever. Totally my kind of birthday.
This year’s plans are TBD, thanks to my sweet fiancé who knows how much I love a good surprise. But I did go ahead and whip up a batch of this salsa recipe to have on hand for my bday and Cinco De Mayo this week, which I’ve already been putting to good use. And hey — since I don’t eat many sweets or crave a traditional birthday cake anymore — this seemed like my kind of birthday treat recipe to share on the blog today. ?
Restaurant-Style Salsa Recipe | 1-Minute Video
It’s actually one that I shared on the blog a few years ago. But — like many of the recipes around here lately while I’ve been busy with wedding planning — it’s one that I recently re-photographed and updated to share with those of you who might have missed it the first time around, because I’m convinced that everyone needs this recipe in their lives.
Seriously, it’s been my go-to homemade salsa recipe for years. And for someone who makes homemade salsa nearly once a week, that’s sayin’ something.
But the best part? It’s incredibly quick and easy to make! Also, since it uses canned fire-roasted tomatoes (gotta use the fire-roasted), it’s a really accessible recipe to make year-round, even beyond your regional tomato season.
To make it, simply toss all of your ingredients together in a food processor or blender…
…puree until the salsa reaches your desired texture…
…then taste and season as needed.
If you’d like a smokier salsa, I strongly recommend adding in a chipotle pepper or two in adobo sauce. If you’d like a spicier salsa, you can add in an extra jalapeño (or just add in the seeds from the original one). If you’d like a tangier salsa, you can’t go wrong with extra lime juice in my opinion. And as always, don’t be afraid to add in extra salt to kick up the flavor if needed!
Then, once your salsa is all seasoned and ready to go, partay like it’s yo birthday and DIVE IN.
Seriously, I’ve made this recipe probably hundreds of times, and still never grow tired of it. So if you need some chips and salsa in your life this week — as I believe everyone always does — I can’t recommend it enough.
Enjoy, amigos!
The BEST Salsa Recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 (14-ounce) cans fire-roasted tomatoes, drained
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 bunch (about 2 cups loosely-packed) fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 1 large jalapeño, stemmed and cored
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Purée. Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor or blender until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt, if needed.
- Serve. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Here’s a tip from my Mexican house-keeper — add 1-2 Tablespoons of Chicken Better-Than-Bullion, but salt only after to taste. A Serrano pepper would not hurt here either, especially if you seed the Jalapeño. I don’t think you will find many Texans adding sugar to salsa.
Delicious! Just made it tonight, and it was so good. I’m excited to serve it tomorrow when the flavors have had even more of a chance to marry overnight!
Question – does this salsa freeze well? Not sure I’ll be able to finish it all within 3 days!
Would lemon juice work in the salsa?
This salsa is the best!
This was awesome. I never liked jarred salsa and was so happy to find this recipe! So easy to make which is great. I made it without the jalapeno seeds, but next time I’m going to leave the seeds in. I think I may try a regular yellow or sweet onion rather than white next time as well.
Last time I put in all salsa ingredients and blended— it turned green, guess from cilantro. No one would eat it and we love salsa.
This is FANTASTIC! I’ve tried to perfect my salsa recipe for years which uses fresh tomatoes, but I always get that bitter aftertaste. This was absolute perfection and my new go-to recipe. Thanks again!
Hi! I have an abundance (thankfully) of homegrown tomatoes and want to make this salsa with them. I see you say that canned, fire-roasted is a MUST though… Do you think this recipe lends itself well to fresh, too?? Thank you, and best wishes and blessings to you and Barclay on your baby journey. I have cried and rejoiced with you two. xo
recipe sounds great, but I have a question: you mention adding “extra” lime juice (in the notes), but I didn’t see lime juice in the list of ingredients. Is there lime in the basic recipe?
Can’t wait to try this recipe – looks so delicious :) In fact, I’ve been perusing your site and now have a list of ~50 recipes I need to try ASAP!
Do you happen to know how long I can keep this salsa in the fridge for?
Thanks!
Molly