Homemade Salsa Recipe {Restaurant Style} (2024)

This restaurant-style, homemade salsa recipe is easy, quick, and delicious! You need just 10 minutes to prepare this delicious dip to go along with your favorite chips or use it in any recipe that calls for salsa!

Since I posted Instant Pot refried beans last week, I thought of sharing some other quintessential Mexican side dishes with you guys! These sides are pretty quick to whip up and compliment all of your Mexican and Tex-Mex meals really well.

One of my favorite thing about eating out at Mexican restaurants are the complimentary chips and salsa. That basket piled with warm tortilla chips and salsa is truly so irresistible and addictive. Club that with some margs and I’m in appetizer heaven! Haha 😀

I came across the Pioneer Woman restaurant-style salsa recipe online and thought of giving it a go. I thought it was actually better than any of the salsas I’ve had at the restaurants.

It is packed with a tongue-tickling, zesty flavor! The ingredients meld and mingle, complementing each other perfectly in this recipe. It is seriously the best salsa I’ve ever made!

Ingredients needed

• Tomatoes: This recipe for homemade salsa calls for canned whole peeled plum tomatoes and a can of Rotel. You can substitute the whole plum tomatoes with other canned tomato products like diced tomatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, or crushed tomatoes. You can also use fresh tomatoes. More on that in the FAQs.
• Roughly chopped onion: I prefer to use yellow onions for this recipe. I suggest you stick to this or consider using Vidalia or shallots. White onions have a sharper, more pungent flavor, whereas red onions can be too astringent and may end up overpowering the flavor of tomatoes in the salsa. In small quantities, they shouldn’t affect as much. You can find more tips on onions in ‘customize this salsa’ section below.
• Garlic:I’ve added one clove, you can add as much as you like. If you have time to spare, you can probably roast the garlic and add that instead.
• Fresh chile peppers: I’ve used one jalapeño pepper.
• Fresh cilantro/coriander leaves along with tender stems
• Salsa seasoning mix, which consists of ground cumin, sugar, and salt.
• Fresh lime juice: You could also use lemon juice.

Reasons you will like this salsa

How to make homemade salsa recipe – Step by step instructions

Step 1: Add all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor

Add 1-(14.5 oz) can of whole peeled plum tomatoes, 1-(10 oz) can of Rotel with green chilies, 1/4 cup roughly diced onion, 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced, 1 garlic clove, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves along with tender stems (wash the cilantro well and pat dry), 1/2 tablespoon lime or lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 of teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon sugar into a blender or food processor.

Step 2: Process

Pulse in short bursts until the salsa has reached your desired consistency.

Taste-test! Check for seasoning using a tortilla chip, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon or more of lime juice if needed. Add more salt or sugarto balance the flavors, if required.

Transfer the salsa to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour before serving, so that the flavors have a chance to meld and develop. Salsa tastes better as it sits, it is even better on the second day, only if it lasts that long 😀

Ways to use this salsa

This salsa is not only great along with your favorite Mexican meals like fajitas, quesadillas, tacos, etc but it is also fantastic in recipes that call for salsa.

I love topping baked potatoes or scrambled eggs with salsa. Sometimes, I use it instead of tomato sauce to make Mexican rice. I also love using this salsa to make Instant Pot salsa chicken (so great for meal-prep) and burrito bowls.

It is also awesome as a light salad dressing!

Storage and freezing instructions

This fresh homemade salsa will keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I personally don’t like to freeze salsa, as I feel it is best consumed within a week. And you hardly need 5-10 minutes to put this salsa together.

You can freeze it if you want to though! Transfer the salsa into freezer-safe containers or resealable freezer bags in the required portion sizes. Label them and stack them flat, freeze up to 2 months.

To thaw the salsa, defrost it in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a bowl, mix it up with a spoon, taste and adjust with fresh cilantro, and other seasonings if required.

Customize this easy homemade salsa recipe

There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to making salsa. This easy homemade salsa recipe is so good, you may not need to modify much. But there is always room to experiment with recipes like these!

Heat: This salsa recipe is medium-spicy because it uses a can of diced tomatoes and chillies (Rotel) along with jalapeño. I remove the seeds of the pepper and set them aside. If needed it’s easy to increase the heat by adding some of the seeds to the salsa.

The jalapeño doesn’t add as much heat as much as Rotel does. You can also experiment with other peppers, jalapeño or serrano, habanero, or a ghost pepper if you really like to switch up the heat.

Roasting the pepper is another alternative to add some smoky depth of flavor to your salsa.

You can also experiment with dried Mexican chile peppers such as Anaheim, arbol, ancho, guajillo, cascabel, pasilla, Morita, etc. Roast the peppers on a skillet for 2-3 minutes. Do not roast them too much, as they will lend a bitter taste to the final dish. Using gloves, discard the stems, seeds, and membranes. Rehydrate the peppers in boiling water until soft, and use them in the salsa.

You can also use bell peppers in this recipe, though I prefer to leave them out.

The flavor of the salsa will vary depending on the kind of pepper you use, as each of them has its own unique flavor profile.

Smooth or chunky consistency: The consistency of salsa comes down to personal preference. We like ours smooth just like it’s served at the Mexican restaurants. You can tailor it to make it chunky or smooth.

If you want a really thick salsa, drain the can of plum tomatoes and Rotel. Also, remember to pulse the ingredients in short bursts.

You can hold back on adding the Rotel in the processor. Process all the ingredients, then drain and add it to the mixed ingredients. Doing so will also give you a chunkier salsa.

No Cilantro: I love my homemade salsa with cilantro! However, I know a lot of folks who have a thing against cilantro! You can either hate or love this herb. If you can’t stand it, simply omit it. This salsa won’t quite taste the same, but it will still be delicious. You can substitute cilantro with other fresh herbs like parsley, basil, or mint.

No-onion or garlic: Dislike either one or both? Then simply omit it.

If the pungent flavor of the onion puts you off, I have 3 suggestions.

• Use sweet onions or shallots which are a bit mild.
• Place the diced onion in cold water for 10 minutes, drain, and use it in the recipe. This trick helps cut back on the pungency of the onions.
• Avoid adding the onions in the food processor. Dice them finely and add them to the salsa in the end.

No lime juice: I like the little zing the lime juice gives, it brightens the flavor of the salsa. If you are unsure about using it, you can skip it. I do suggest, starting off with a little lime juice and then increasing gradually if required.

Quick FAQs

Why do I prefer to use canned tomatoes for this recipe?

I usually don’t use canned products in my day-to-day cooking. I use it sparingly in my recipes. But in recipes like these, I think it does make a remarkable difference.

Homemade salsa with canned tomatoes yields consistent results. Canned tomatoes have a better, richer tomato flavor.

When you use fresh tomatoes, the taste differs with every batch, as some tomatoes are tart and sour, while some are sweet or some others acidic and some are simply bland. You can make this delicious salsa all year round using canned tomatoes!

Why is my salsa bitter?

There could be a number of reasons why your salsa could have a bitter bite. It could be the kind of onions that you used, or probably the garlic was old, or it could be the kind of peppers that you used in the salsa. Add some acid, salt, or sugar to balance the bitterness.

Can I make this salsa with fresh tomatoes?

If you have an abundance of garden tomatoes, you can most certainly use that instead to make this red salsa from scratch. I do prefer to makePico de Gallo, which is basically a fresh, chopped tomato salsa, that does not require any blender or food processor.

Unfortunately, you cannot swap the fresh tomatoes for the canned ones directly in this recipe, especially if you use a blender, because the salsa will be;

• Watery
• Foamy and bubbly
• Have a dull red-pink color

Whether you opt to make the salsa with fresh tomatoes in a blender or food processor, I highly suggest following one of the procedures of doing a little prep work for the tomatoes.

First things first, you will need at least 6-8 fresh, ripe, juicy, and plump tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are great for this recipe.

Blanching

• Core the tomatoes and score an ‘x’ on the bottom of the tomatoes. Place them in a pot along with half an onion, fresh peppers, and garlic and enough water to cover the ingredients.
• Bring to a boil and cook until you see the tomato skins separating from the flesh.
• Transfer the ingredients to a bowl with a slotted spoon reserving the water in the pot.
• Once cool enough to handle, peel the skins off the tomatoes, cut into halves, discard the seeds and transfer the tomatoes to the blender or processor along with the remaining ingredients.
• Blend in short pulses to your desired consistency adding the reserved water if required.
• Add about a tablespoon oil in a skillet, transfer the salsa, season with salt and other seasonings like ground cumin, sugar, etc
• Cook for about 10 minutes or until it is reduced and thickens slightly. Stir in some chopped cilantro if you like. Serve warm or chilled.

This is pretty much a traditional recipe for salsa de Mesa or table salsa made with fresh tomatoes.

Roasting

• You can roast the tomatoes on a skillet or directly on the gas flame with the help of tongs or under the broiler or grill it.
• Stovetop: Core the tomatoes and slice lengthwise. Heat oil in a skillet, place tomatoes cut-side down, along with roughly diced onion wedges, unpeeled garlic, and peppers on a cast-iron skillet. Roast for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned and softened. Flip and cook the other side for 2-3 minutes.
• Oven: Place tomatoes cut-side up on a rimmed baking tray, along with the onions, unpeeled garlic, and peppers. Drizzle a little oil all over the veggies. Broil for about 7-10 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to release their juices and the skins begin to char.
• Peel the garlic, discard the stems of the pepper and transfer to a blender or processor, along with the rest of the ingredients. Pulse to your required consistency.
• Follow the same procedure of frying the salsa as mentioned above.

Note: I like to add cilantro in the end in order to preserve the freshness of the herb. You can certainly blend all the seasonings, lime juice, and cilantro along with the rest of the ingredients and then simply fry the salsa.

No-cook salsa with fresh tomatoes

• Dice the tomatoes into halves lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, place them in a colander or a fine-mesh strainer, sprinkle some salt, and mix well.
• The salt will draw out the excess moisture, let the tomatoes drain for at least 30 minutes, and then use them in this recipe. You can then use them in a blender or processor to make the salsa, but always remember to pulse in short bursts instead of making a purée.
• Or go the traditional route, and use a molcajete to grind the ingredients. Salsa made in a molcajete is undoubtedly the best.

Out of all these alternatives, I prefer salsa made with roasted tomatoes. What about you?

You may also enjoythese easy salsa recipes

• Corn salsa
• Mango salsa
• Roasted tomatillo salsa verde

★ If you try this homemade salsa recipe, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Feel free to share your feedback and suggestions at [emailprotected]. Thanks so much 🙂

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