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!
Totally and absolutely delicious. No changes of any sort needed here! YUMMY!!!!!!
Thanks Kathy — we’re glad you enjoyed this! :)
This looks amazing – I am making this with your slow cooker chicken recipe for pulled chicken tonight. Yum! I have never thought to make my own salsa and it looks so easy.
Your photos are so good too btw, great quality and shots! :)
Thanks for your sweet words Ashlea, and we hope you enjoy both the chicken and the salsa! :)
Could you please give me the procedure needed to can this salsa? WE LOVE IT!
Wish I could! Unfortunately I don’t know much about canning, but I’ve been told that this recipe works well for canning. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
My boyfriend is a bit of a salsa addict, so I’ve been looking for a good recipe so I won’t have to keep buying expensive (usually disappointing) jars of salsa every week. I have to say this salsa turned out fresh and delicious. We like a little more spice in our salsa, so I used serrano peppers rather than jalapeños, but I know it would turn out perfect either way. Thank you!
We’re glad to hear that Jennifer, thanks for sharing!
This is the best recipe ever, I don’t make any other salsa recipe now – this is the holy grail of salsa
That’s so sweet of you to say Holly! We’re happy you enjoy it so much! :)
Do you always use canned tomato’s? I’d like to use fresh tomato’s from my garden.
It depends, fresh in the summer when we can! :)
Terrific salsa, thank you! And so much easier than my usual recipe made with fresh tomatoes. Because I’m not a fan of smoky salsas, I flipped things around using plain diced tomatoes and fire-roasted chiles. A few pulses in the food processor gave me just the right texture. I also want to thank you for getting the salt just right. I always add salt after letting it chill for an hour and usually find that tasting it with the chips I’m serving it with means I only need to add about half the salt specified. Your recipe is spot-on for salt. I did add about a teaspoon of lime juice to give it a little more bite. Salsa perfection!
Some of it is in my slow cooker right now with a chicken breast for your 2-Ingredient Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken. It’s already begun to scent my kitchen in a most delicious way. I can hardly wait for dinner time!
Thank you, we’re happy you liked it! We hope you enjoyed the slow cooker salsa chicken as well! : )
We have a similar recipe in Pakistan and make this concoction fresh in summer to eat with white rice; lentils and yogurt. Will try your recipe today
Very cool Ishrat, what is it called? We hope you enjoy the recipe!
How many fresh tomatoes would I use as a substitute for the canned?
Hi Stephanie! We’d recommend using about 2 lbs of fresh tomatoes. We hope you enjoy!
best salsa recipe ever ……..its my go to …….no other salsa will do now !! Delicious , thank you so much for blogging it :)
Thanks Holly, that’s so sweet of you – we’re glad you love the recipe so much!