Easy Homemade Salsa
This homemade salsa recipe is the best! It comes together in just 10 minutes and tastes like it came straight from your favorite Mexican restaurant. Use it to top beef enchiladas, or tacos, or just grab a bag of chips and dig in! The fresh flavors of tomato, lime, and cilantro will require multiple chip refills and with no leftovers!
The first time I ate at an 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 nearly 10 years now, and it is by far my favorite salsa, ever.
What Makes This Salsa the Best
There are approximately 378573627364 salsa recipes out there, but this is why you’re going to love, love, LOVE this one.
- A simple ingredient list.
- Big, bright, and fresh flavors.
- A medium heat level that you can ramp up or down.
- Low maintenance prep (no finely chopping!).
- Ready in just 10 minutes.
- Makes a HUGE batch, perfect for parties.
If you’ve tried countless jars of store-bought salsa but just can’t find your salsa soulmate, pretty please give this recipe a try.
Ingredients in Homemade Salsa
The best salsa recipe has a simple list of ingredients that allow the flavors to shine bright.
- Canned Whole Tomatoes: The first building block in any salsa recipe.
- Rotel: The canned combination of diced tomatoes with green chiles give the salsa a little kick (you can buy it in varying heat levels to suit your taste.)
- Onion + Garlic: Classic flavors that contribute to that classic salsa flavor.
- Jalapeño: More flavor and another kick of heat (be sure to remove the seeds and membranes if you prefer a mild flavor; leave them in if you want it hot hot HOT!).
- Cilantro: A cornerstone of Mexican recipes, cilantro is loaded with aroma and flavor, similar to a mixture of parsley and citrus, which means it always pairs well with our next ingredient…
- Lime Juice: A freshly squeezed lime balances out the heavier ingredients and brightens up the flavor of the salsa.
- Salt + Sugar + Cumin: The final seasoning comes from salt and sugar, which help to draw out the other flavors, and cumin, which adds a touch of smoky flavor.
You might want to adjust a few of these depending on your heat tolerance or personal preference, but after trying dozens of homemade salsa recipes, I’m convinced that this combination of ingredients makes the absolute BEST salsa!
How to Make This Homemade Salsa
Okay, are you ready? Pay close attention.
- Add ingredients to the blender. All of them, throw ’em in!
- Pulse to your desired consistency – less for chunkier salsa, more for a finer consistency.
- BOOM! You’re done!
Seriously, that’s it. So, so easy. I do prefer to pop it in the refrigerator for about an hour so all of the flavors can meld together, but it’s not absolutely necessary if you want to serve it right away.
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 (one of my mom’s late-night specialties): 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!
More Favorite Mexican Dips for Your Next Party!
- The Best Homemade Guacamole Recipe
- Black Bean Salsa
- Seven Layer Dip
- Salsa Verde with Hatch Chiles
- Taco Dip
- Slow Cooker Spicy Beef Queso Dip
- Queso Fundido
- Mango-Pineapple Salsa
- Warm Black Bean Dip
Seven years ago: Salted Mexican Chocolate-Chile Caramels
Easy Homemade Salsa
Ingredients
- 28 ounce (793.79 g) can whole tomatoes, drained
- 2 10-ounce (566.99 g) cans Rotel
- ½ (0.5) small onion, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 jalepeño, seeds removed and thinly sliced
- ½ cup (8 g) cilantro, loosely packed
- ½ lime, juiced
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) ground cumin
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
- Rotel is a common canned product found in the U.S. – it is a mixture of diced tomatoes and green chiles. If you cannot find it, feel free to substitute an equal amount of canned diced tomatoes and green chiles.
- This makes a large quantity, so if you are using a food processor with less than an 11-cup capacity, work in batches.
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 in May 2011.
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
Oh man, I’ve been looking for a great salsa recipe and seems like this is it….but i can’t get Rotel here in Singapore, so can i just substitute it with diced tomatoes in a can??
You can definitely sub canned diced tomatoes. The green chiles add a little heat so if you like your salsa spicy, feel free to add another jalapeno!
Love, love, love this recipe! I couldn’t find the tomatoes with chiles here in Canada so I used diced tomatoes with red pepper and it turned out great. I may never buy jarred salsa again! Thanks for another great recipe!
P.S. I used this salsa on my tacos that I made with your taco mix recipe… yummy!
This sounds totally yummy! My hubby is allergic to cilantro, is there something I could substitute, like parsley? I still would like to make it.
Hi Ileana, cilantro is a pretty distinct flavor in Mexican cooking; if your husband is allergic I would probably just omit it. Parsley would give it a totally different flavor.
The Salsa is just wonderful. My daughter from Dallas and I made it the other day. But.. we used 3/4 cups chopped onions, juice for the whole lime, 5 cloves of garlis (mine seemed really small) and 4 jalepenos. We really like the bite. Keep thoes great recipes comming. Thanks a million
This is pretty much almost exactly like how I make my salsa. Great minds think alike! Thanks for sharing!
I made this salsa and took it to my son’s house for a cookout. My daughter-in-law said it was the the best she had ever tasted. What more could a MIL want? And yes, I agreed with her.
Earlier in the week I was invited to a dinner get together, and the hostess not knowing I love to bake assigned me to bring chips and salsa. I felt I couldn’t show up without something homemade, and so stumbled upon your recipe.
Let’s just say the salsa was the HIT of the evening! Good thing I saved some back at home because my container was empty at the end of tonight with several requests for the recipe! Thanks!
Everybody eats too many chips and salsa when they are in a restaurant. It is impossible not to.
This recipe looks excellent. I love a good salsa, the spicier the better IMHO. Thanks for the recipe.
Wow.! its look delicious i believe that food kind of dish will became popular.
I love this recipe! My husband said after his first chip “I’d buy that at the store!”
Thanks so much!
I made this for last weekend when my sister and cousin were over with wholemade corn chips.. it was AMAZING but a tad on the spicy side!!! I think next time I’ll leave the jalapeno out!
xo – Marie
Chocolate & Wine
Made the salsa and it was perfect!! His teacher LOVED it and so did the class and other parents at the party!!! :D My hubby thought it was a little spicy so i halved the recipe and made a half batch and mixed the remaining in with it and he is happy! :) Thanks So Much Michelle!!!!
Salsa is one of my favorite foods. Especially with lots of cilantro. The best salsa I ever had was when every ingredient came out of my friend’s garden last summer. This recipe looks scrumptious even with store-bought tomatoes, etc. Yum.
My boys thought that this was the BEST!!! We ate the entire batch in less than 24 hrs! Thank goodness I had a house full of HS seniors or I would REALLY be feeling “pigish”! Now I have to go try Mexico City on Wood Street. I’m not a big fan of El Camps. Our favorite is Compadres up in Meadville (they also have a location right by the Grove City Outlets). Their salsa tastes JUST like YOURS!
I have been making this version for about a year now. When I make it I put it in a 2 quart pitcher – makes for easier serving. I do have to report my family likes additional heat so I use the whole jalepeno (or 2) including the seeds and sometimes a few drops of Dave’s Insanity Sauce, but than I have a husband with an iron stomach and a 17 year old son who prides himself on being on the wall of fame at the local BBQ joint for eating a ghost pepper. Said son also does not eat much in the way of vegetables, so I am very happy to make this often as a way of getting some form of vegetable into him.
My mouth literally watered looking at this! yum I am craving salsa and chips now!
Oh, I just LOVE the salsa at *good* Mexican restaurants. You’re right, it blows jarred salsa from the store completely out of the water. I’ve never actually made it myself, but I’ve got to give this a try. Yum!
I love how easy this sounds! I made salsa once last year to can it, but I’ve never made it “just because.” I need to try this!
I made this today for a friend who judges Mexican restaurants by her salsa. She said that she would come back to this restaurant, so the salsa is a WIN! I’ll be posting this on http://www.dishingthedivine.com soon (with, of course, credit to you, Michelle!)
OMG!! This was SO easy and it is absolutely delicious!!! I love the tanginess of the lime juice. I made it without the jalapeño, because I didn’t have one, but it was spicy enough with the Rotel. Thank you for this recipe. My husband it going to love it! Oh, I also left out the cilantro, because I am not a fan. I have tried to like it, but it just doesn’t agree with my taste buds. Oh well! This salsa is still delicious! Thank you again!
Hmmm salsa. that looks great.
Minus the cilantro, I’m digging it. Or maybe I could just do a little less cilantro ’cause my hubby & daughter don’t hate it like I do. Wouldn’t mind my fingers smelling like lime and cumin.
PERFECT for Cinco de Mayo! And I love that you included cumin! :D
I love chips and salsa too. It is my favorite snack and I am notorious for eating the whole basket of chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants only to have two bites of my actual meal. This is a great recipe. Have you ever tried the pure green salsas that have strong flavor of cilantro?
Hi Emily, I have never had (or even seen!) this very green type of salsa. I like cilantro, but I’m not sure I love it enough for that ;-)
The green coloring is from the use of tomatillos instead of tomatoes, not from an overwhelming amount of cilantro ;) For an amazing take on green salsa, try this recipe:
http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2007/01/salsa-salvation-ninfas-green-sauce.html
Actually, try any of her salsa/pico/Tex-Mex recipes, they’re all pretty amazing!
These are the same ingredients I use to make salsa…SO yummy!!!!
Mmmm, chips and salsa, my favorite part of a meal. If only I could find rotel cans here in Holland.
When I worked for a caterer, we made a very similar recipe… that stuff gets gobbled up around here in Southern California like there’s no tomorrow. Looks perfect.
How perfect is this recipe for summer! Love fresh, homemade salsa :)
One of my favorite snacks!
This is my favorite kind of salsa – ground fine and full of cilantro and heat. Love it, Michelle.