Making your own Homemade Salsa could not be easier. Made with fresh ingredients, this easy homemade salsa recipe is one of the best ways to use summer tomatoes and is the perfect salsa for any occasion.
My Fresh Garden Salsa Recipe is one of my favorite ways to use fresh summer tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, and cilantro. This incredibly easy recipe, as written, is made as a blender salsa that is similar to a restaurant-style salsa that you can’t get stop eating – bottomless chips and salsa are one of my favorite snacks – but I also have some tips below to make it in the style of a pico de gallo.
You won’t believe how easy it is to make your own salsa using fresh produce, and your family will be asking for this flavorful snack after school every day.
This delicious salsa is also Paleo, Whole30 compatible, Gluten-Free, and has no added sugar or artificial flavors.
Best Tomatoes for Salsa
What kind of tomatoes can you use for salsa?
This salsa recipe works best with fresh tomatoes, and I love to use homegrown tomatoes during summertime, aka tomato season. I would recommend using fresh Roma tomatoes or plum tomatoes – flavorful tomatoes that are sold as sauce tomatoes. (You can use other kinds of tomatoes as well, but the consistency and flavor will be a little different – large tomatoes like beefsteak tomatoes that have a lot of flesh will also work, but you should remove the seeds and excess liquid.)
You can also use canned tomatoes if tomatoes are not in season – either diced or whole tomatoes, but drain the juices. I recommend saving the tomato juice for making your favorite Mexican recipes. (I have a separate salsa recipe using cherry tomatoes.)
Table of Contents
- Best Tomatoes for Salsa
- 🥘 Garden Fresh Salsa Ingredients
- 🍽 Equipment Needed
- 🥣 How to Make Fresh Garden Salsa
- Heat Level Tip
- Recipe Tip
- 🌮 How to Serve Homemade Salsa
- 🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
- ✏️ Helpful Tips
- 🥫How to Store Fresh Garden Salsa
- 🍴Recipe Variations
- 🥭 More Delicious Salsa Recipes
- 🥫Other Great Seasonings and Sauces
- Fresh Garden Salsa Recipe
🥘 Garden Fresh Salsa Ingredients
- Fresh Tomatoes – Roma tomatoes or Plum tomatoes work best for this recipe. (Look for tomatoes at the farmers market or grocery store that are labeled “sauce tomatoes.”) I have a separate cherry tomato salsa recipe that you can use if your cherry tomato plants are growing out of control!
- Fresh Cilantro – I use the leaves and stems.
- A Jalapeño Peppers
- A Small Yellow Onion, Spanish Onion, or a Red Onion
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Cumin
🍽 Equipment Needed
- A small Food Processor, Food Chopper, or Blender
- A very Sharp Knife or a Serrated Knife and a Cutting Board
- A Rubber Spatula
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
🥣 How to Make Fresh Garden Salsa
This fresh salsa recipe is so easy to make and comes together so quickly.
- Roughly chop up the onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, & cilantro.
Heat Level Tip
To reduce the heat of the pepper, you can remove the seeds and membrane if you don’t want the salsa to be too spicy.
Recipe Tip
If the tomatoes seem pretty watery, you can cut them up, lightly salt them, and let them sit on a towel or wire rack for 15-30 minutes. Pat them dry, then use them for your salsa. The salt will draw out the excess liquid in the tomatoes and will keep your salsa from getting too watered down. (If you use this method, use less salt in your salsa.)
- Next, add the tomatoes, jalapeños, most of the cilantro, and the onion to your blender. Give it a good, rough blend.
- Stir everything together and scrape down the sides of the blender or food processor, then add the rest of the cilantro, the salt, and the cumin. (If you salted the tomatoes, use less salt now.)
- Blend to your desired consistency and serve immediately.
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Share with friends🌮 How to Serve Homemade Salsa
Serve this delicious salsa recipe with your favorite tortilla chips, quesadillas, with a side of queso, or use my homemade taco seasoning to make taco salads or taco pizza for taco night!
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
No, you do not need to peel tomatoes when making salsa as long as you are not canning it. (And this recipe is not tested for canning.) I actually like to leave the skin on for texture and nutrients.
To make this salsa spicier, add some of the membrane and seeds from your jalapeño. Do this gradually – once it is too spicy, it is very hard to cool back down. (You can also add more than one jalapeño pepper or use spicier chili peppers.)
To cool down salsa, you need to balance the heat with salt, acid, and sweet. If your salsa is too spicy, you can add more salt, more lime juice, and a little bit of sugar. If that doesn’t help, add more tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
✏️ Helpful Tips
- If your tomatoes are watery, you can cut them up, lightly salt them, and set them on a towel for 15-30 minutes. Pat them dry; then, you can use them for your salsa. The salt will draw out excess water from the tomatoes and will keep your salsa from being watery. (If you use this method, use less salt in your salsa!)
- If you don’t like spicy salsa, remove the seeds and membrane from your jalapeño before dicing.
🥫How to Store Fresh Garden Salsa
Serve this salsa immediately, or let it sit for a few hours for the flavors to develop more. (We usually eat it right away, and it’s always delicious!) Store leftover salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
🍴Recipe Variations
- If you don’t have fresh garden tomatoes, you can use canned tomatoes in your salsa. Be sure to drain off the juice before using the canned tomatoes.
- To make Pico de Gallo – Don’t use a blender. By hand, chop the tomatoes, onion, and pepper into small pieces. Roughly chop the cilantro leaves. Toss everything together, then squeeze lime over the top. Sprinkle with salt and cumin and mix together. Gently toss and serve. If you want a chunkier salsa, keep the pieces larger. (If I am making a pico de gallo style salsa, I like to use a red onion instead of a white onion.)
- You can add a clove of minced garlic or green onions to give your salsa a little more bite.
- If you don’t have a lime, you can replace it with a small amount of lemon juice.
🥭 More Delicious Salsa Recipes
🥫Other Great Seasonings and Sauces
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Fresh Garden Salsa
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh tomatoes , diced. Campari, Roma, or Plum tomatoes. Or canned tomatoes without their juice.
- ½ onion ,diced. Use between ¼ and ½ of a cup. If you like a lot of onion, use more.
- 1 jalapeño , diced
- 1 cup cilantro You can use a mix of leaves and stems.
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ lime , juiced
Instructions
- First, roughly chop up the onion, tomatoes, jalapeño (remove the seeds and membrane if you don't want it to be too spicy), and cilantro.2 cups fresh tomatoes, ½ onion, 1 jalapeño, 1 cup cilantro
- If your tomatoes seem pretty watery, you can cut them up, lightly salt them, and let them sit on a towel for 15 – 30 minutes. Pat them dry, then use for your salsa. The salt will draw out the excess water in the tomatoes and will keep your salsa from getting too watered down. (If you use this method, use less salt in your salsa!)
- Next, add your tomatoes, jalapeño, most of your cilantro, and your onion to your blender or food processor. Give it a good, rough blend.
- Stir everything together and scrape down the sides of the blender, then add the rest of the cilantro, the salt, the lime, and the cumin. (If you salted the tomatoes, use less salt now.)⅛ teaspoon cumin, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ lime
- Blend to your desired consistency and serve immediately with tortillas chips.
Notes
- If your tomatoes are watery, you can cut them up, lightly salt them, and set them on a towel for 15 – 30 minutes. Pat them dry, then you can use them for your salsa. The salt will draw out excess water from the tomatoes and will keep your salsa from being watery. (If you use this method, use less salt in your salsa!)
- You can use canned tomatoes in your salsa but drain off the juice before using the tomatoes.
- If you don’t have a lime, you can replace it with a small amount of lemon juice.
- If you don’t like spicy salsa, remove the seeds and membrane from your jalapeño before dicing.
- You can add a minced clove of garlic to your salsa – it adds a little bit of bite.
- To make this salsa spicier, add some of the membrane and seeds from your jalapeño. Do this gradually – once it is too spicy, it is very hard to cool back down.
- If your salsa is too spicy, you need to balance the heat with salt, acid, and sweet. To cool it down, you can add more salt, more lime juice, and a little bit of sugar. If that doesn’t help, add more tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
