The best tomato salsa is made with fresh tomatoes, peppers, onion and plenty of spice! A little spicy, slightly sweet, and perfect with salty chips. Great for Cinco de Mayo, potlucks, enchiladas and more!
Recipes like my Baked Mexican Rice and Salsa Verde are great for when you want restaurant quality food, made easily at home. We love hearty Mexican-inspired meals, and this is one of my Mexican recipes you’ll definitely want in your dinner rotation!
SALSA RECIPE
Have you ever googled “salsa”? There are SO many different types! Fruit salsas, corn salsas, traditional, roasted, and one of my favorites, fresh tomato salsa.
This recipe is a bit similar to my 5 minute salsa, which you all have loved so much over the years. Readers are always asking for a fresh tomato version, so I did some tinkering around in the kitchen.
I think this salsa is bright, fresh, with a little kick… just like the best salsas are! You can easily whip up this salsa recipe in your blender or food processor, and it stores great.
HOW TO MAKE FRESH TOMATO SALSA
- Chop and prep veggies. Roughly chop tomatoes, jalapenos, onion and garlic.
- Add to blender. Add all ingredients to blender (or food processor).
- Blend and taste. Blend until desired consistency, then taste to see if any additional salt is needed.
ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS
- TOMATOES – this salsa will work with most garden tomatoes, just shoot for around 2 lbs.
- CHILL – while you can certainly enjoy this salsa straight out of the blender, I prefer the taste after it’s had a chance to chill and for the flavors to really meld together.
- BASE RECIPE – I wrote this recipe the way we love this salsa, but feel free to use the ingredient amounts as a guideline and go by what your tastes are. It’s your salsa afterall!
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- SPICY – to increase the heat, try adding an additional jalapeno, add a serrano pepper, or add some cayenne pepper.
- MILD – to make this salsa more mild, you can omit the jalapeno, or at the very least, make sure you remove the ribs and seeds from the pepper.
- TEXTURE – I prefer a semi-smooth salsa, but you can make this salsa any consistency you like best.
- CANNED – if you don’t have fresh tomatoes, you can use a 28 oz can of whole plum tomatoes. You might want to add a pinch of granulated sugar to balance out the acidity that’s in canned tomatoes.
- SMOKY – for a smoky flavor, try adding a chipotle in adobo, or some of the sauce that’s in the can with the peppers. This will add a bit of heat as well.
MAKING SALSA AHEAD OF TIME
While this salsa tastes incredible right away, I think it gets even better when made ahead of time! All the flavors have time to really meld together. So I like to make this salsa a day or so ahead of time.
Plus I like cold salsa, so it gives the salsa plenty of time to chill.
STORAGE
This salsa will last about a week or so in the refrigerator.
FREEZING
Fresh tomato salsa can also be frozen, for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Food Processor – I love this model for it’s large capacity.
- Blender – I’ve used this blender for years, and it still works like a charm.
BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OTHER READERS’ COMMENTS FOR TIPS AND REVIEWS.
AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING LETTING ME KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT!
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Ingredients
- 8 medium roma tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1/2 medium red onion roughly chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 3-4 green onions chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded if desired
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp Tajin seasoning
- 1-2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and blend until smooth, or until desired consistency is reached.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Sue Mcglothlan says
Is the nutritional info for 4 cups not a serving?
The Chunky Chef says
The nutrition specified is for 1/4th of this recipe.
Suzy says
Needed some way to use up all of my fresh garden tomatoes and this was just the way! Perfect!
Kevin says
You had me at fresh salsa! I am getting everything to make this!
Toni Dash says
This is amazing! Such a great way to enjoy fresh tomatoes!
Vikki says
This sauce is so tasty and it’s the perfect balance between sweet and spicy that I love! Served with nachos and the family ate it up
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
The tomato salsa is seriously making me hungry!
Beth says
Salsa is a must here! I can’t wait to try this! It looks so delicious and better than store bought! I love making homemade anything! Thank you!
Rohtak says
Fantastic and delicious