Easy Restaurant-Style Salsa Recipe (Fresh, Fast, and Flavorful)
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Skip the store-bought jar—this restaurant-style salsa is bursting with fresh flavor and comes together in just 10 minutes. It’s quick, easy, and tastes just like your favorite Mexican restaurant version—perfect for dipping or topping everything!
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Why You Should Make Restaurant-Style Salsa at Home
- Better than store-bought. Say goodbye to store-bought jarred salsa! With a few pantry staples, garlic, cilantro and fresh lime juice, homemade salsa never tasted so fresh and so good.
- Comes together lightning fast. With 10 minutes (from start to finish) and the help of a food processor or blender, you can sit back, relax and let the blender do all the heavy lifting for you. You’ll have restaurant quality salsa on your dinner table before you know it with minimal hands-on time. Perfect for tortilla chips, burrito bowls, tacos, enchiladas, scrambled eggs and so much more.
- Great make-ahead recipe. This salsa tastes better as it sits overnight, letting the flavors meld even further, making it the perfect opportunity to prep this ahead of time and storing it in the refrigerator the night before.
- Flexible recipe. The beauty of making salsa at home is that you have full control over the consistency and heat. Pulse in the food processor as long as needed – some like it chunky while others want it velvety smooth. Some like it super spicy (with extra jalapeno peppers), some like it tame and mild (sans jalapenos). There’s no wrong way to have salsa here!
Ingredients for Restaurant-Style Salsa
Roma Tomatoes (For Rich Salsa Base)
Look for firm, smooth-skinned tomatoes. Avoid ones with blemishes and dark spots. If Roma tomatoes are not available, opt for plum tomatoes like San Marzano.
White or Yellow Onion (Adds Sharpness)
White onion is traditionally used but yellow, sweet or red onion will work just fine in this recipe.
Jalapeño Pepper (For Heat and Flavor)
Omit completely for mild flavors, remove the rib and/or seeds for tamed-down spiciness, or add an additional jalapeno pepper for even more heat.
Canned Tomatoes (Adds Depth & Volume)
Yes, we’re using 2 types of tomatoes here – fresh and canned! Canned tomatoes are a pantry staple – convenient and cost-effective – yielding that favorited salsa-smooth consistency and texture with more concentrated tomato flavors.
Fresh Garlic (For Bold Aroma)
1 clove of garlic is used here (no need to dice, chop, mince – it’ll get added right in the blender) but this can be increased as needed for all you garlic-lovers out there!
Cilantro (Essential Fresh Flavor)
A key ingredient for homemade salsa! The stems can also be used, adding more intense cilantro flavors with a subtle crunch. Be sure to trim any discolored stems and leaves prior to using.
Fresh Lime Juice (For Bright Acidity)
Lime juice will help brighten and balance out the flavors. Freshly squeezed is always ideal!
Ground Cumin (Adds Smoky Warmth)
A little bit of ground cumin goes a long way, adding an earthy, warm, nutty flavor to the salsa.
Pinch of Sugar (Balances Acidity)
An optional ingredient, the sugar will help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
Season to taste and serve with all the tortilla chips.
How to Make Restaurant-Style Salsa in Just 10 Minutes
- Char the tomatoes, onions and jalapeno in a cast iron skillet
- Add the charred vegetables and the rest of the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend, baby, blend (or pulse, pulse, pulse)
- Season with salt and pepper
- Serve with tortilla chips (or store in the fridge)
Tips for Perfecting Homemade Restaurant-Style Salsa
- Add some char. For smoky, charred flavors, cook the tomatoes, onions and jalapeno pepper until charred prior to blending.
- Use freshly squeezed lime juice. While bottled lime juice can work in a pinch, freshly squeezed is ideal here for its vibrant, stronger flavors.
- Add some sugar. The sugar will help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes, creating more rounded out flavors. Prefer a sweeter salsa? Add more sugar to taste!
- Make it chunky, make it smooth. Pulse or blend as long as needed until the desired consistency is reached.
- Let it chill. The longer it sits, the better the salsa!
- Mix it up. Add an additional jalapeno pepper for extra heat, omit the jalapeno as needed, stir in some black beans and corn, or add a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce for some extra smoky goodness.
What to Serve with Restaurant-Style Salsa (Dippers & Pairings)
Restaurant-Style Salsa FAQ – Answers to Your Top Questions
Restaurant-style salsa is usually mild to moderately spicy, but the heat level depends on the type and amount of peppers used (like jalapeños or serranos). You can easily adjust the spice to your preference—remove the seeds and membranes from the peppers for a milder salsa, or add extra jalapeños, serranos, or even a pinch of cayenne for more heat.
Do I need to cook restaurant-style salsa, or is it served fresh?
The Roma tomatoes, onions and jalapeno pepper are cooked in a hot cast iron skillet for just a few minutes for those favorited smoky, charred flavors. From there, everything else gets added to a blender or food processor.
A countertop blender (such as a Vitamix or Blendtec) should do the trick!
What’s the best way to store leftover restaurant-style salsa?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Recipe Card – How to Make Restaurant-Style Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 medium Roma tomatoes, halved
- 2 small white onions, cut into wedges
- 1 jalapeno pepper, halved and seeded
- 1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained
- 1 clove garlic
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon sugar, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add tomatoes, onions and jalapeno until charred on all sides, about 5 minutes.
- Combine charred tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, canned whole tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, cumin and sugar (if using) in the bowl of a food processor until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve with tortilla chips.
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Totally right about better than store-bought. My kids loved it and suggested that we always make this kind from now on. Quick and easy.
Can’t wait to make this salsa. Looks easy. In your directions, you say to combine ingredients in a food processor bowl for 5-10 minutes. I’m assuming you meant 5-10 seconds, right! 🙂
Did you use Rotel tomatoes?
So easy, so tasty
Thanks so much for this recipe.
I’ve decided to try this recipe but I’m not sure if I need to drain the tomatoes?
The tomatoes do not have to be drained.
Found this recipe on Pinterest and gave it a try today. It turned out perfect and so delicious! I left out the jalapeño to cut back on the spice and it’s just right for me!
Just made it! It’s awesome! I left the sugar out because we’ve cut out all processed sugars but it still tastes wonderful. Thanks for all of the wonderful recipes.
The salsa looks fantastic! Quick question for you, should I drain the diced tomatoes first? Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!
Kristie, there’s actually no need to drain prior to using.
SO tempted to make this with a habanero instead of a jalapeno…
This looks so good! I make a mean blended salsa often myself, but I’ve never tried adding sugar & rarely use cilantro. Oh, and I live in a house full of garlic fiends, so I usually use quite a bit more. I’ll have to try it with these ingredients next time. Thanks!
Looks awesome! Do you know if it is acidic enough to can in a water bath canner? I would love to put some up!
Thanks!
I’ve never tried canning this but I would advise against it. This salsa would only keep for several days once it’s been made.
I’m not sure if my onion was a “large” small onion, but the onion taste was so overpowering my husband and I couldn’t even eat this!:( I usually love onion too and never shy away it, but to me it seems like there should only be half an onion or so in this.
Yes, as indicated in the ingredients, a small onion should be used. You can always reduce the amount of onion as needed to cater to your taste buds.
Does it really taste fresh using canned tomatoes? I am just curious. It looks like fresh.
Yes, it really does taste fresh. I actually prefer using canned tomatoes versus fresh for a salsa like this because the former has so much more juice to bring to the dish.
Hi there!
Can you freeze the salsa ?
Unfortunately, I can’t really answer this question as I have never tried freezing this myself. We cleaned up the salsa the same day!
Hey there!!!
I made your salsa today and couldn’t help but notice that it was missing something( for me and my husband that is).
Just thought you might want to know that I added cumin and that made a world of difference. (again, for me it tasted much better)
I will also add I did use serrano pepper instead of the jalepeno because we wanted the salsa to be spicer.
Let me know what you think
I’m not the biggest fan of cumin but thanks so much for the suggestion!
I agree. Cumin was needed. I added it too.
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Instead of using can diced tomatoes, I chopped some of my own and when I added all the ingredients to my blender, the color of the salsa was turning a poopy brown color? Then I added more tomatoes and the salsa turned out really delicious but it was lacking the beautiful red color that you have on your blog. I wondered what I did wrong.
By substituting fresh tomatoes, you did not provide enough tomato juice/liquid to obtain that vibrant red color. For optimal results, I advise to use the ingredients listed out without any substitutions.
How spicy would you say this is? Mild, Medium?
I would say about medium. You can always omit the jalapeno for a milder taste.
I have a ninja and I just made this – the salsa is awesome! so easy too!
Looks great. About how long will it hold up in the fridge?
I’d say about 2-3 days to be safe.