Roasted Tomato Salsa
by Sommer Collier — last updated on May 6, 2025 
Our homemade salsa recipe shows you step-by-step how to roast and blend a handful of wholesome, fresh ingredients to make a refreshing and flavorful dip. This Easy Roasted Tomato Salsa is simple but brimming with lots of bold, spicy, and smoky flavors!
Why We Love This Roasted Salsa Recipe
We love our fresh restaurant style tomato salsa, but if you want a salsa recipe with a deeper richer flavor, you need to roast the tomatoes!
This Easy Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe combines roasted fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapeños with fresh cilantro and spices. Roasting the vegetables with just a little bit of oil creates a super luxurious, thick salsa texture, plus a sweet, deep taste.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
The flavor of the salsa can easily be adjusted at the end, based on the acidity of the tomatoes… Super ripe sweet tomatoes may create a salsa with the perfect spicy-sweet balance. However, if you find your salsa is too acidic, add just a tiny bit of sugar to the recipe. If the salsa seems too sweet, add a little lime juice at the end.
You can also make this salsa recipe as spicy as you like. For a lightly spicy salsa, add only one jalapeño pepper; however, you can add as many as you want for some serious heat.
No matter how mild or hot you prepare your roasted tomato salsa, it’ll be just right to enjoy with crunchy tortilla chips or paired with any of your favorite Tex-Mex dishes!
Ingredients You Need
- Tomatoes – on-the-vine, roma tomatoes, or other large and ripe tomatoes, cut in half
- Onion – we prefer red onions for the balance of sharp and sweet
- Garlic – a whole head (so you know this salsa is going to be good!)
- Jalapeños – your choice of sliced and seeded, or leave the seeds in for a spicier salsa
- Olive oil – or other high-heat and neutral-tasting oil, like avocado oil
- Cilantro – fresh and chopped
- Spices – cumin, salt and pepper
Optional for balance – 1 tablespoon lime juice and/or 1-3 teaspoons of sugar
How to Make Roasted Tomato Salsa
Find the full Roasted Tomato Salsa recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and cooking tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Pro Tip: I usually use 6 to 10 garlic cloves, but you could use only a couple, or you could use the entire head.
Recipe Variations
- Tomatoes – Swap red tomatoes with green tomatillos for a roasted salsa verde!
- Onion – We like the balance of sweet and spicy flavors in red onions. But you can swap these for sweet yellow onions or white onions that have a sharper bite.
- Cilantro – Feel free to omit the cilantro to make a roasted tomato salsa without cilantro. Or add parsley instead!
- Spicy – In this recipe, we remove the seeds from the jalapeños after roasting. However, you can leave the seeds in for a spicier salsa with lots of heat!
- Mild – Can’t stand the heat? Keep jalapeños out of the kitchen – and this salsa! Leave out the jalapeños for a flavorful, mild salsa recipe.
- Chunkiness – We puree the tomatoes and onion to make a very smooth salsa. Back off the food processor a bit if you want to have a more chunky version.
- Quantity – As-is, this easy tomato salsa recipe makes 6 cups, roughly 24 servings. Reduce the ingredients by half, or even quarter the amounts for fewer servings.
Serving Suggestions
No classic Mexican restaurant-style snack is better than chips and salsa. Serve a bowl of chilled tomato salsa with a basketful of crunchy tortilla chips, corn chips (like Fritos), or crackers.
You can also serve a cup of fresh roasted salsa alongside your favorite Mexican food dishes for a POP of bold and refreshing flavor! Here are a few top Tex-Mex recipes that are perfect to pair with this salsa:
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchilada Skillet
- Homemade Chipotle Burrito Bowls
- Easy Baked Tacos
- Bubbly Taco Salad
- Vegan Tofu Tacos
- Salsa Burgers with Fontina Cheese
You can also use the salsa to make other dishes! Try it with our Shredded Chicken Tacos or easy Spanish Rice recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the tomato salsa in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Yes, you can! Transfer the salsa to an airtight and freezer-safe container, and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, then stir and serve!
Looking for More Easy Dip Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 ½ pounds ripe tomatoes cut in half
- 1 large red onion peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 whole head of garlic
- 1-3 jalapenos
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and pepper
- Optional for Balance: 1 tablespoon lime juice and/or 1-3 teaspoons of sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set out a large rimmed baking sheet.
- Cut the tomatoes in half and lay them on the baking sheet. Peel the onion and cut it into large wedges. Chop the top ¾ inch off an entire head of garlic exposing the top of the garlic cloves. Place the onion wedges, whole head of garlic, and jalapeños on the baking sheet. Drizzle all the fresh produce with olive oil. Then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
- Roast the vegetables for 35 to 40 minutes. Allow the veggies to cool on the baking sheet until easy to handle. Then remove the stems from the jalapeños and shake out the seeds.
- Set out a large food processor. Place the tomatoes, onions, and seeded jalapeños in the food processor. Squeeze the garlic head and drop as many garlic cloves as you like into the food processor. I usually use 6 to 10 garlic cloves, but you could use only a couple, or you could use the entire head.
- Pour the remaining oil and pan juices into the food processor. Add the cilantro, and ground cumin. Purée the salsa to your desired consistency. Taste, then add salt and pepper as needed.
- Taste again, if the salsa seems too sweet add 1 tablespoon of fresh squeeze lime juice. If the salsa seems too acidic, add 1-3 teaspoons of sugar to the salsa.
So yummy! This turned out great!