Homemade Salsa Recipe
Published April 25, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious fresh, ingredient restaurant-style salsa recipe is easy-to-make and is impossible to stop eating with tortilla chips. I bet you’ll go through this very quickly once you make it.
Salsas are like sauces and have the incredible opportunity to enhance whatever you’re serving it with. If you agree, try my Pico de Gallo or Mango Salsa.
Salsa
Salsa, in Spanish, simply means sauce and combines fresh tomatoes, spice chiles, onions, and cilantro. It’s addicting, and it’s very easy to make. I believe roasting some of these ingredients intensifies the flavor, making it much more delicious.
You can alter this recipe with other ingredients to make it work for you and your family. This is also an excellent recipe for tacos, quesadillas, or burritos.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes – Use fresh in-season tomatoes.
- Onions – You can use a yellow, white, red, or sweet onion in this recipe. Garlic is also used.
- Peppers – I prefer to use jalapeño peppers. However, you can use serrano peppers.
- Cilantro – These will add some lemon-lime flavors to the pico de gallo.
- Cumin – This is optional, but a little bit of ground cumin will enhance the flavor of this recipe.
How to Make Homemade Salsa from Scratch
Core the tomatoes and slice them in half width-wise.
Add the tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic to a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and roast at 400° for 30 to 35 minutes or until browned.
Cool the vegetables completely.
Transfer the vegetables to a blender and pulse on high speed 15 to 20 times or until it is smooth but still has plenty of chunks.
Add in the cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper to the blender and pulse again until combined.
Serve the salsa or store until ready to serve.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this homemade salsa up to 3 days ahead of time.
How to Store: Place covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This recipe will not freeze well.
Chef Notes + Tips
- Feel free to use any breed of fresh tomatoes like Roma, heirloom, or even cherry tomatoes.
- If you want more spice in this recipe, try using a habanero pepper.
- This salsa will taste even better the next time as it allows time for the flavors to infuse.
- You can substitute with 2 15-ounce cans of fire-roasted tomatoes.
Homemade Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 cored vine ripe tomatoes cut in half
- 2 peeled yellow onions cut into large chunks
- 2 seeded small diced jalapeño pepper
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3/4 cup finely minced fresh cilantro
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- coarse salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Core the tomatoes and slice them in half width wise.
- Add the tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic to a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and roast at 400° for 30 to 35 minutes or until browned.
- Cool the vegetables completely.
- Transfer the vegetables to a blender and pulse on high speed 15 to 20 times or until it is smooth but still has plenty of chunks.
- Add in the cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper to the blender and pulse again until combined.
- Serve the salsa or store until ready to serve.
Very fresh. Vibrant. Awesome. I will add a second jalapeño but that is just my heat preference.
thank you!
Can you add lime juice?
yes
This recipe looks really good. I see it says it does not freeze well, but what about canning it?
without testing it, I don’t know.
Really simple and very tasty! Just good basic ingredients in the right amounts. Thanks, Chef! 😊
thank you so kindly!!
Great color good smell good texture and excellent taste this is one salsa recipe I’ll keep at all times thank you
Perfect!
Made this Salsa today. As you would say “ dang delicious”. Can hardly wait to taste it tomorrow. Pretty simple to make Also.
Haha, awesome!
delish!!!!!
Excellent!
This was so good.Loved the dollop of sour cream on top with lime tortilla strips on top.
Awesome!
I strongly apologize! I’ve been making salsa for 60 years and this is basically what I do. Delicious!!!!!
Great!
Fantastic salsa and one of my favorite things!
Awesome!
The picture shows garlic on the roasting pan, but no mention of it in the recipe.
Sure there is, says 5 cloves in the recipe card.
It says 5 garlic cloves in the recipe