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!
Hello Ali. Thanks for sharing this great recipe. I did 1/2 a lug of tomatoes worth (9 pints), and roasted them along with the jslepenos. Fantastic! To add to your “canning” comment – yes, you can preserve, just be sure to add 1/2 tsp lemon or lime (I used lime for this recipe) to each pint and stir in. This helps to reduce chances of this deliciousness to spoil, and to help maintain color.
Again-great recipe and thanks for sharing!
Hey Crystal! You’re welcome, and thank you for your canning/preserving info – great to know! We are so glad you enjoyed the recipe. :)
Dear Ali,
You could have been describing me!! I adore salsa. Would prob be my last meal!! I made this for our 4th of July celebration yesterday and got tons of compliments on it!!! It shall become my go to recipe for salsa! Thank you so much! I’m fairly new to Pinterest! Love it! I have started following you!! PS I used the fire roasted tomatoes and I cut the recipe in half because i have a small processor.
Meredith
Thanks Meredith, we’re so happy to hear the salsa was a hit the other day! Thanks for following! : )
I loved this recipe! Next time I may pulse my ingredients with half the tomatoes and stir in the other half (just because I like a bit of chunk in my salsa). Overall, it tastes amazing and was a wonderful way to try out my first batch of cilantro and jalapeños from my garden. I’ll be making this again with fresh tomatoes once mine have grown and ripened. Thank you so much! This recipe is bookmarked. :)
Thanks, Amanda, we’re glad you liked it! And that’s so cool that you’re growing your own cilantro, jalapeños and tomatoes!
Outstanding salsa, thank you for the recipe!
Thanks, Richard, so glad you like it!
Made this over the weekend and it was perfection, thank you for sharing! Question, where did you get those chips? I am on the hunt for the perfect tortilla chip and these look SO good!
Definitely adding this to the roster to give a go – there’s nothing better than that real, authentic restaurant style salsa in my opinion.
Josh – The Kentucky Gent
https://thekentuckygent.com
Just made this and it was amazing! So, so easy and delicious. I absolutely love salsa, and have tried countless ‘restaurant-style’ recipes, and by far this is the most successful and yummiest! Thank you!
Thanks Nicole, I’m glad to hear that!
What kind of tomatoes did you use? Diced? Whole peeled? How did you get such a chunky yet lots of liquid dish?
I used fire-roasted diced tomatoes. They come with quite a bit of juice that you can either leave in or drain out.
Just made this – delicious! Love a one-step recipe. Def keeping this one handy for the summer :)
Thanks Charlotte, so glad you liked it!
Oh my gosh, fantastic Salsa. Thank you for sharing!