Name: How to make the best homemade salsa
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 28 oz can whole tomatoes (or 2 lbs fresh tomatoes); 1/2 cup onion (diced); 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped); 1 garlic clove; 1 jalapeno (chopped and de-seeded); 2 tbsp lime juice; 1/2 tsp cumin; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp pepper

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Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, the perfect salsa. In this post, you will learn how to be a pro and make the best homemade salsa.

I think I could eat fresh salsa and chips everyday for the rest of my life. Who’s with me? And now that it’s springtime I’m really thinking about them more often. The perfect snack on the back patio or just standing in my kitchen snacking.

I have my brands I love but nothing beats the homemade version especially using fresh tomatoes and onions from our garden and herbs from my deck. If you don’t have a garden, no worries you can still make homemade salsa that taste just as good as the local authentic Mexican restaurants.

Ingredients for Salsa

Tomatoes
Cilantro
Onion
Lime juice
Garlic
Jalapeno pepper
Cumin
Pepper
Salt

How to Make

Place ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse to combine.

Food Processor or Blender

You can use either. I prefer my food processor but a high powered blender such as a Vitamix works great too.

Do I need to peel from scratch tomatoes?

No, you do not if you are purchasing or using whole canned tomatoes that have already been peeled.

If you are using garden tomatoes, it is totally up to you if you want to leave the skin on or peel.

What type of canned tomatoes can I use?

I suggest using whole canned tomatoes verses diced. To me they are juicier and really add to the bold flavors of the salsa.

How do I avoid the salsa being too watery?

You can drain off some of the juice from the canned tomatoes if you feel they will be too watery. If you find that you want it more watery, you can add water back in.

Adjusting spice level

If you are wanting spicy, add the seeds from the jalapenos. You can also add in extra cumin.
If you are wanting to tone the spiciness down, omit the jalapeno pepper and substitute our for a green pepper.

Difference between pico de gallo and salsa

Pico de gallo is typically made with all fresh ingredients finely chopped up and mixed together. It is less watery. In salsa, everything is combined and blended together creating a more watery mixture. If you are looking for an awesome pico de gallo recipe, click here.

Storage:

Refrigerate- salsa is best refrigerated for up to 5 days in an airtight sealed container to maintain freshness.

Other great recipes to try: