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Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa
This Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa tastes like it came straight from your favorite Mexican restaurant, and it’s ready in 10 minutes!
The first time I ate at as authentic Mexican restaurant, I was blown away when the customary bowl of chips and salsa arrived at the table. The salsa was so… different. Different from all of the jarred salsas that I had ever known. The chunks weren’t as big, it had more heat, and you could clearly taste the tomatoes, lime, and cilantro. To say that I loved it would be a massive understatement; I could have easily made a meal of just fresh tortilla chips and that salsa.
It took me awhile, but I eventually found the absolute best recipe for restaurant style salsa so that I could make it at home. I’ve been making this recipe for well over five years now, and it is by far my favorite salsa, ever.
(And speaking of making a meal out of chips and salsa… my husband and I totally did that for lunch on Saturday!)
MY OTHER RECIPES
Not only is this salsa bursting with tons of fresh flavors, but it couldn’t be easier or quicker to make. Just put all of the ingredients into a food processor (I think a blender would work too), and then pulse to your desired consistency. BOOM! Done!
I keep cans of whole tomatoes and Rotel in pantry just in case an emergency batch of salsa needs to be made!
Sit down with an entire bag of tortilla chips, a bowl of this salsa, and watch them both disappear. Or make one of my favorite quick snacks – my mom used to make this a lot when we were watching TV in the evening: spread a little bit of cream cheese on a plate, top with shredded cheddar and microwave until the cheese is melted. Top with salsa and dig in!
You know how after you make spaghetti sauce your fingers smell like garlic? Well, when I was done making this, my fingers smelled like jalapeño, lime and cilantro. Major success!
This recipe makes a huge amount, so it’s perfect to have on hand for a party, for a game day, or just to keep in the refrigerator for snacking.
One year ago: Top 10 List: Favorite Main Dishes
Five years ago: Crunchy Good-For-You Granola Bars
Six years ago: Raisin Bran Muffins
Eight years ago: Cheesecake Truffles
Did you make this recipe?
This Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa tastes like it came straight from your favorite Mexican restaurant, and it's ready in 10 minutes!
Add all ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until it reaches your desired consistency (less for a chunkier salsa, more for a thinner one - my salsa pictured above was 8 to 10 pulses). Refrigerate for at least one hour, then serve with your favorite tortilla chips. This salsa can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
*Note: This makes a large quantity, so if you are using a food processor with less than an 11-cup capacity, work in batches.
Nutritional values are based on one cup of salsa
Calories: 46kcal
Sodium: 296mg
Potassium: 446mg
Carbohydrates: 10g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 1g
Vitamin A: 7.6%
Vitamin C: 32.2%
Calcium: 7.2%
Iron: 12.5%
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on May 3, 2011.
This salsa sounds wonderful! I can’t wait to try :)
If you have too much feel free to send me a jar! I will supply my own chips! LOL! Looks so good!
I love homemade salsas, and am on a search for the perfect recipe. I will definitely have to try this one soon. How long can you store it and how? I know it’ll take us a WHILE to get through 6 cups worth! Can you freeze it or will that ruin the texture?
Buy some half pint mason jars and can them. You can store them up to a year if you do that
OR….Better yet just make 1/2 a batch. 1 – 14 oz can tomatoes, 1 can rotel…etc. I do it ALL the time.
Can you tell me how to go about canning this hot sauce? Is it different than canning fresh tomatoes? Do you have to boil it. If so, how long? Thanks for the info.
Yes! I’ve been successfully freezing this for over a year with fantastic results. It’s a little more watery than when it’s freshly made, but still waaaay better than jarred salsa! And, it’s surprising how much of this you can eat over the course of a week. ?
Nothing is better than a bowl of fresh salsa! Yum :)
Wow, that looks fantastic! I want to dive into a bowl of it right now–and I haven’t even had breakfast yet! ;)
This looks delish! I’m thinking of using this as the base for my next Mexican style chicken paella dish—perhaps minus the lime. ;-) I think it will give it an interesting, fresh twist.
mmm, sounds like a salsa i just made over the weekend. but i used fire roasted tomatoes, i’d love to try your version too!
I spend a lot of time in Mexico, I saw them fire roast tomatoes, I cannot find the plate the used on the stove to roast tomatoes, I make my own special salsa I learned when I was in Mexico, I need help please.
The plate you are referring to is called a “comal”. You can find it at most mexican supermarkets. You can also just use a plain old fashioned cast iron pan, I do that all the time.
I’m having a big group of hungry boys as house guests this weekend and was planning to make lots of Mexican fare. Looks like I will have to make this instead of the jar of salsa I was planning to buy…
Couldn’t even wait until the weekend, made it today. FANTASTIC! I hope it lasts until the weekend!
Looks fresh and so tasty!
Mmm the chips and salsa brought to the table immediately upon arriving at a Mexican restaurant is one of my favorite things about going there. I sometimes only eat half my meal cause I eat too much of it! And now I can have it at home? I will never cook again O:-)
Homemade Salsa freezes well too. Thanks for providing an exact measurement of ingredients. I usually wander out to the garden to harvest most of these ingredients and just toss them together randomly. The result is still tasty but, I like the road map that you have provided. Also, I encourage everyone to grow their own food, especially the cilantro. Fresh cilantro from home makes the difference.
I absolutely LOVE this recipe and so does everyone else I share it with. The HUGE batch doesn’t seem to last very long. I just wanted to give you (or anyone else reading this) a little tip. I tried using Trader Joe’s can of tomatoes & green chiles since they don’t sell the Rotel brand. Sounds silly, but it really did make all the difference.
I’ve been making this since I first saw it on The Pioneer Woman and it is always a huge hit, so delicious. It is hands down the best salsa recipe ever. I’m glad you commented about the food processor size, the first time I made it I started dumping everything in and I had quite a mess so I learned the hard way to make it in two batches :)
This is similar to the salsa I make – you should try throwing a peach in there, or even a mango or pineapple. It adds a nice little kick! And I’d go for red onion over yellow, it gives it a better bite.
And now I want salsa.
I just made PW’s pico de gallo. She’s a magician! Great pictures!!
I love how easy this recipe is. Going to try it for Cinco.
I must confess that while I always make my own guacamole and other sauces, I hardly ever make salsa. This recipe should change that, though! I’ve bookmarked it!
Oh homemade salsa (and restaurant salsa) is my weakness. I think I had my husband go out to our local mexican restaurant once a week while I was pregnant.
You are talkin’ to a salsa fanatic!! If my mother in law didn’t make salsa (and would get VERY offended if I ate anyone else’s salsa but her’s…) I would definitely try this!
Sneak around, unless she lives with you.
mmmm. Sounds sooo good!!! I have never made homemade salsa because it always seemed so complicated and time consuming, but this recipe sounds so quick and easy PLUS the bonus of tasting like restaruant salsa, GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!! Am so going to make this tonight and present my sons teacher with a jar of it tomorrow for her teacher appreciation gift, much better than the store bought jar i was gonna buy her, plus i can prettify it!!! :)