Best Homemade Salsa Recipe
How To Make Salsa – We’re sharing our secrets for making The Best Homemade Salsa Recipe we have ever tried. It’s healthy, fresh, and easy to adjust!
Fresh Tomatoes and Salsa Recipes
There is a tomato overload in my backyard right now. Every year I plant way more tomato seeds than any family needs, in the hope that a few plants will survive and thrive. I am not known for being the best gardener, yet I do get lucky now and again.
This year, my tomato plants took off, providing us with a seemingly endless supply of seven varieties of garden tomatoes. I have been eating them in salads and sauces for the last month. Yet I always say, when life gives you tomatoes… Make salsa!
Homemade Salsa
There are hundreds thousands of tomato salsa recipes online. Why should you make this one?
Well, we think this is The Best Homemade Salsa Recipe around because it is healthy, quick to make, offers a fine chunky texture, and is brimming with absurd amounts of flavor.
Want to know the secret to perfectly delicious salsa?
Get the Complete (Printable) Best Homemade Salsa Recipe + Video at the End of this Post!
The Secret To The Best Salsa Recipe
Sometimes fresh tomato salsa recipes, made with just fresh ingredients, can come off with a shallow acidic flavor… Lacking depth. Whereas, salsa made with canned ingredients alone can taste store-bought.
I believe you need both fresh and canned ingredients to make the best homemade salsa recipe.
Here is everything you need to make the most delicious homemade salsa:
- Ripe tomatoes – cored and quartered, no peeling necessary! (romas or plum tomatoes are a good choice)
- Red onion – peeled and quartered (or yellow onion)
- Garlic cloves – peeled
- Jalapeños – stemmed and seeded
- Cilantro
- Fresh lime juice
- Ground cumin
- Sugar – optional. Sometimes the tomatoes need a little boost to balance the acidity.
- Salt
- Canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes – or fire-roasted tomatoes
- Diced green chiles – your choice of mild, medium, or hot
You will taste bright tangy notes from garden-fresh tomatoes, sharp notes from the onion and garlic, herbs and spice, and complexity from the “secret ingredient” canned items, all in one!
How To Make Salsa
- Prepare the veggies and add them to your food processor (or blender) along with lime juice and seasonings. Chop to a fine grade.
- Next, add the canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes and green chiles. Puree again until almost smooth to create an even yet chunky consistency. The canned tomatoes provide a rustic essence and sweetness that accentuates the fresh produce, while the canned green chiles deliver a smoky quality that fresh peppers lack.
- Add more cumin and salt to taste, and refrigerate until chilled and ready to enjoy.
Homemade Salsa Serving Suggestions
Spoon this flavorful salsa over eggs, on your favorite Mexican dishes like quesadillas, chicken enchiladas, tacos al pastor, chicken tacos, breakfast tostadas, and burrito bowls. Use it in 5 Layer Bean Dip, Slow Cooker Taco Tater Tots, or our Baked Tacos Recipe. Or scoop it up with tortilla chips or fresh veggies!
You are going to love this recipe for game day, potlucks, parties, or just keeping it in the fridge for any time you need a zesty snack!
Salsa FAQ
Selecting a favorite tomato for salsa is tricky because there are so many wonderful varieties! However, we recommend Roma tomatoes or Plum tomatoes in this recipe because they are easy to find and offer a tangy-sweet flavor. If you have an abundance of tomatoes available to you, look for tomatoes that fit this criteria…
Still a little firm when ripe
Bright red in color
Strong sweet tomato flavor
Yes, this recipe has zing, but if you are sensitive to spicy heat, you can adjust our Best Homemade Salsa Recipe by adding fewer jalapeño chilis and being sure to purchase the mild canned green chiles.
Or if you prefer to take the heat up a notch, try throwing in a habanero, serrano chiles, or chipotle peppers in adobo sauce!
This salsa will keep well for 10-12 days if kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Be sure not to let it sit for too long (over a couple of hours) at room temperature.
You can also freeze this homemade salsa for up to 4 months by putting it in a freezer-safe container and then wrapping it with foil. This will change the texture a bit after thawing.
Looking for More Delicious Salsa Recipes?
- Grilled Chipotle Peach Salsa
- Tomatillo Avocado Salsa Verde Recipe (Video)
- Candied Bacon Corn Salsa
- Strawberry Habanero Salsa
- Homemade Salsa Al Pastor
Best Homemade Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
- 1 red onion, peeled and quartered
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded (you can substitute 1-2 habanero or serrano peppers.)
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2-3 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2-3 teaspoons sugar (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 15 ounces crushed San Marzano tomatoes (1 can)
- 4.5 ounces diced green chiles, mild, medium, or hot (1 can)
Instructions
- Place the fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppers, cilantro, lime juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons sugar (if using), and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the contents are fine and well blended.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes and green chiles. Puree until mostly smooth. Taste, then add more cumin and sugar if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Never going back to store bought salsa again!!!!! Never realized how EASY it was to make “my own”. Received many compliments and this is now a constant in my kitchen. Goes well with Margaritas, just saying :)
Can you can this salsa recipe? It sounds like the one i am looking for but i want to can it. Thanks
I’ve been looking for a salsa recipe this good for 30 years!!!! Thank you! Fully satisfied
I loved the recipe. It was super easy to make but since I had no canned crushed tomatoes I used a bit of vegetable oil. Thank you for your recipe.
I’m getting ready to make this for our vacation, I’m thinking of using more hatch peppers with a jalapeño? Any thoughts???
Better salsa than Any restaurant salsa……it does make a large amount but I froze half
For use at a later time. I substituted 3 serrano peppers instead of using japelenos
And everyone raved about the salsa……it is excellent with sea salt tortillas chips!
Nothing better!
your point about using sugar to offset any any bitter taste from tomatoes? Try a tiny pinch – and I mean tiny! – of baking soda. It is alkaline and will take the edge off a too acidic or bitter taste. Again, a little goes a long way. so only after you’ve let your ingredients sit and meld a bit. This works in any tomato based sauce.
This is such a great recipe! I find that reducing it on the stove top for 10min or so really enhances all of the flavors (I only use raw tomatoes which is probably why). Thank you!!
This recipe is the best and seriously restaurant quality. I do add serrano peppers to spice it up a little more. love it, love it, love it!
Just made some but mine didn’t come out as red it was more green.it’s chilling now can’t wait to taste it.it smells good.I put 4 jalapeños cuz I like mine spicy.
No need for cumin
This is the best salsa recipe! I made it for a family cookout. Everyone loved it!
Great easy salsa recipe! I love that I have extra to freeze for later.
Awesome recipe followed as written. The canned San Marzano tomatoes were perfect for adding depth of flavour and a savoury, rich highlight. I did not seed the jalapeños and found the heat was still not overpowering. Thank you for sharing my new favourite fresh salsa recipe.
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Just made this for the first time and it’ll be an easy staple this summer! One issue on our end, it initially was wayyyy overpowered by onion. Red onions vary so much in size and I think I used a larger one. Next time I’ll find a small onion or half a larger one. I was able to correct it with a bit more tomato and lime. So fresh and yummy! Thank you!
If you soak the onions for 5 minutes and drain to add, it will mellow the flavor of the onion so it has less bite.
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Delicious and fresh! I have a small food processer so I made it in little batches with only 2 jalapenos and 2 large tomatoes. It was wonderful!