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Home / Recipes
25 minutes
4.47 from 77 votes
42 Comments

Homemade Salsa

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  • 1361
by: Joanna Cismaru
06.17.20

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Homemade Salsa with fresh ingredients and full of flavor, just like the one you’re served at your favorite restaurant! This restaurant style salsa is made with roasted tomatoes and onions which enhances all the flavors. Delicious and simple!

Homemade Salsa in a bowl surrounds by tortilla chips

You know that salsa you get at Mexican restaurants the minute you walk in with lots of chips? Well, that’s my favorite part and I’ve never been able to get flavor that out of a jar! But this recipe is simple enough that you can make yourself at home with a handful of fresh ingredients.

I really believe that salsa is best when only a few key ingredients are involved. While there are so many recipes for this dip, literally millions and some with dozens of ingredients, I still believe in my mantra: simple is always best. This recipe is the perfect accompaniment for quesadillas, fajitas, taquitos, or served beside some homemade guac. You name it!

roasted tomatoes and onions on a baking sheet for salsa

How to Make Salsa

The first step for this recipe is to halve the tomatoes, quarter the onions, and throw them all on a sheet pan with the garlic. Toss the pan in a nice and hot oven, and let everything roast. I believe that roasting your tomatoes and onions gives the salsa so much complexity of flavor. I prefer to roast my own tomatoes rather than buy canned roasted tomatoes. It literally only takes minutes! I like to roast the tomatoes just until they start to slightly char.

Now the hard part is done! Phew. All that’s left to do is dump the rest of your ingredients into a food processor or blender, and pulse until you have the perfect consistency.

Homemade Salsa in a bowl surrounded with tortilla chips

What Ingredients Are in This Salsa Recipe?

For my salsa recipe I like to stick with the key ingredients. In my books those would be tomatoes, garlic, onions, cilantro, chiles or jalapeños and a little bit of lime juice. The beautiful thing about salsa is that you can really get creative with it and make any changes you want to create your perfect version.

I did choose canned diced chilies in this recipe only because I wanted a milder salsa with a hint of smokiness, but if you want a spicier salsa, leave out the diced chiles and roast a couple of jalapeños along with the tomatoes. Or you can even use both. Totally up to you! Want to give it a nice kick? Use a habanero, scotch bonnet, or ghost pepper to really crank up the heat.

I added a bit of lime juice, which is totally optional if you don’t like a tangy salsa. Last but not least, don’t forget to season well with plenty of salt and pepper.

Looking for More Great Dip Recipes? Try These:

  • Easy Hummus
  • Crockpot Bacon Queso Blanco Dip
  • Red Lentil Hummus
  • Spicy Cheesy Corn and Tomato Dip
  • Baba Ganoush

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side view shot of a hand scooping up some salsa on a tortilla chip

Homemade Salsa

4.47 from 77 votes
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 25 mins
Author: Joanna Cismaru
Serves: 6
Print Pin Rate
Homemade Salsa with fresh ingredients and full of flavor, just like the one you're served at your favorite restaurant! This restaurant style salsa is made with roasted tomatoes and onions which enhances all the flavors. Delicious and simple!

Ingredients

  • 8 medium tomatoes halved, (I used Roma tomatoes)
  • 2 medium onions quartered
  • 6 cloves garlic peeled
  • 4.5 ounce mild diced green chiles (1 can)
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoon lime juice freshly squeezed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. 
  • Place the tomatoes, onions and garlic on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes or just until the onions and tomatoes start to get a little char on them. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the tomatoes cool for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes, onions, garlic, green chiles, cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper to a food processor and pulse a few times until you get the desired consistency.
  • Pour in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (or an airtight container) and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours before serving. 

Video

Recipe Notes

To add more spiciness to the salsa, add 1 or 2 jalapeños (or other favorite hot peppers) to the baking sheet and roast along with the tomatoes. 
To get a tangier salsa, add more freshly squeezed lime juice.
This salsa will last for 5-7 days in the fridge, or 3-4 months in the freezer.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 33kcal (2%)Carbohydrates: 7g (2%)Protein: 1g (2%)Sodium: 282mg (12%)Potassium: 194mg (6%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 460IU (9%)Vitamin C: 18.5mg (22%)Calcium: 26mg (3%)Iron: 0.5mg (3%)
Course:Appetizer
Cuisine:Mexican
Keyword:30 minute meals, homemade salsa, salsa
Tried this recipe? Rate it belowtag @jocooks on instagram and hashtag it #jocooks!
  • 1361

Meet Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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Comments

  1. Jo Mack says

    August 23, 2021 at 11:00 am

    4 stars
    I made this, but added a 1/2 tsp of cumin and it tasted like restaurant style. Yummy!

    Reply
  2. Hanna says

    July 28, 2020 at 10:05 am

    Just made this and could spoon it all into my mouth immediately while it’s still a bit warm, but will restrain myself and serve later with chicken fajitas.

    Reply
  3. Gabriel says

    July 21, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    5 stars
    This is really good! I don’t like anything too hot but this was perfect.. just enough heat. The honey doesn’t make it overly sweet. I think I put more cilantro then was called for but I love cilantro. Really can’t go wrong with this recipe!

    Reply
  4. Jen says

    April 21, 2020 at 6:20 pm

    Should the oven temperature rather be 450 ?
    At 350, my tray is just drying out and breaking down, not getting any char whatsoever.
    I just looked at other recipes for roasting tomatoes and they have 450 listed.

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      April 22, 2020 at 10:02 am

      You can definitely increase the heat! We were just looking for a very slight char on the onion but even more will still be great. You can use your grill as well, if you have one.

      Reply
  5. Tammy Blair says

    September 18, 2019 at 10:20 am

    Can you can this recipe?

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      September 18, 2019 at 1:39 pm

      For sure! Make sure to search up proper canning techniques to make sure it’s done properly and safely.

      Reply
  6. Lauren Lynch says

    August 31, 2019 at 3:18 pm

    Do you peel the tomatoes first before putting them in the food processor?

    Reply
    • jo says

      September 1, 2019 at 1:35 pm

      I did not, you can see in the video, they’ve got their skin on. Let me know how it turns out if you make it!

      Reply
  7. lee levin says

    May 5, 2019 at 7:53 am

    I’m not seeing a video link.

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      May 5, 2019 at 9:04 am

      If you have ad blocker turned on you won’t be seeing the video, you have to disable that in order to see it.

      Reply
  8. Judy says

    March 27, 2019 at 5:42 pm

    What is the serving size? Looks delicious 😋

    Reply
    • Nicole Beaulieu says

      March 28, 2019 at 10:13 am

      About 1/2 cup. It’s so delicious!

      Reply
  9. Vera G says

    February 1, 2019 at 7:37 pm

    Thank you! Looks DELISH! Love home made tomatoes and now is the time to make it hem and enjoy before season is over.

    Reply
  10. Sadie says

    August 25, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for the roasting tip! I looked up a lot of salsa recipes and yours won me over! Turned out great!

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      August 26, 2018 at 5:27 pm

      Glad you liked it!

      Reply
Older Comments

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