A salsa recipe with flavour you can’t buy in a jar. No need to wait for your next visit to your favourite Mexican restaurant. Just make it at home!
Fat free, full of flavour, and utterly addictive, this is a restaurant style salsa that’s the perfect consistency for scooping up with corn chips. Or go super healthy and serve it with crudités!
Salsa recipe – restaurant style
You’ve seen the jars sold alongside corn chips at the grocery store. You’ve devoured inordinate amounts of it at your favourite Mexican restaurant.
And now it’s time to make it at home.
It’s healthier, it’s cheaper and it tastes SO GOOD! Flavour, flavour, flavour – homemade salsa has flavour you simply cannot buy in a jar!
What goes in salsa
Here are the ingredients in my salsa recipe. The key things that add great flavour to salsa are cumin, cilantro/coriander, garlic, onion and jalapeño. I also like to add canned green chiles which adds terrific smokiness and small touch of heat (not much).
Canned green chiles are a popular Tex-Mex ingredient in America that’s not (yet) available here in Australia. I bring back dozens every time I visit the US, that’s how much I love it! It’s easy to sub the flavour using chargrilled peppers – though they are red, not green, they add the same smokiness that the green chiles add.
Top Tip: Use good quality canned tomato
Given that tomato is the key ingredient in this recipe, your salsa will only be as good as the tomato you use.
Using crushed canned tomato in this recipe isn’t just about convenience. It’s also because we can’t always get really great quality fresh tomatoes, but we can always find great quality canned tomatoes.
If you’re keen to make a recipe using fresh tomatoes, try this one from Jo Cooks. I made it over Christmas and it is terrific!
Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, it’s as simple as plonk and blitz. Make it as chunky or smooth as you like. I like mine more smooth because I find you get better flavour when the onion etc are blitzed up quite finely.
Also, the chunkier the salsa, the more it separates when sitting around. So it holds up better the smoother it is.
How and what to serve with salsa
The obvious way to serve is as a dip for corn chips or anything suitable for dunking, but there’s a whole bunch of other really great ways to use salsa! Here’s a few ideas:
- Topping / dipping for tacos, burritos, fajitas, nachos, quesadillas – basically everything and anything Mexican
- Spoon over crispy pan fried fish, juicy baked chicken breast, plain or marinated pan fried pork chops
- Dollop on this Mexican Chicken Salad
For the healthiest dip platter ever, serve salsa with crudités (that’s a fancy word for veggie sticks), like this one – a photo from my Hummus recipe.
I make this salsa recipe a lot because I’m a self confessed Snack Monster and this is my way of having something nibbly without the guilt. It’s one of those foods I call “incidentally healthy”. Meaning – it’s not a stripped back “diet” version of the way it’s supposed to be.
Snack Monsters unite! Think of all the guilt free snacking possibilities! (Just ignore all the photos of the corn chips all over this post. Think – carrot sticks.😔) – Nagi x
Salsa recipe
Watch how to make it
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Restaurant Style Salsa
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chopped onion (white, brown or yellow)
- 1 tbsp jalapeño pepper , seeds removed, roughly chopped (fresh best, canned ok)
- 400g / 14 oz canned crushed tomato , best quality
- 4 oz / 120g canned diced green chiles (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup (packed) cilantro/coriander , roughly chopped
- 1/2 tbsp+ lime juice
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Place onion and jalapeno in the food processor first, then add remaining ingredients (start with 1/2 tbsp lime juice).
- Blitz to desired consistency - I like mine pretty smooth because you get better flavour out of the onion etc.
- Taste test with corn chip for salt and lime. Adjust if necessary.
- Refrigerate 1 hour before serving with corn chips, or other dippers (see in post for suggestions).
Recipe Notes:
Originally published May 2014, completely updated in January 2019 including a few minor flavour improvements to recipe.
Life of Dozer
The daily post-beach routine: refusing to get out of the car, knowing a good hose down awaits…
Excellent recipe. Have made a few times and have been asked for the recipe. So easy to make and so delicious, certainly a winner. Thanks Nagi.
I’m so glad you love it Jackie, it’s hard to go back to store bought when you know it’s this easy!
This is a great recipe, but may I make a suggestion? Instead of adding the onion directly in the food processor chop it fine brunoise and stir it in later. I also do that with the jalapenos when I want a milder salsa. Pomi is a brand of tomatoes in a carton that works well for this style of salsa.
When I am rushed I buy cheap fresh salsa and doctor it with cumin, cilantro, lime or a little vegetable stock. Nine out of ten times it’s good. Just this morning I made your salsa, spicy and mild version and some pineapple salsa for grilled mahi.
This is the best food blog….ever! Thank you I have made many of your grilled recipes.
You could definitely do that if you prefer, I just like the ease of adding it to a food processor – N x
Hi! I’m from the U.S. and now live in Mexico my guilty pleasure when ever I’m in the states is the jar of queso doo that I cant get here! I love this recipe! I’ve made it multiple times! My only problem is that it seems to turn out grainy… It still taste amazing but do you know why it would be grainy?
Hi Marina, not sure why it would be grainy – possibly the tomatoes that you are using? – N x
I made this recipe for 40 people and it turned out absolutely amazing! I decide on a taco bar for the dinner and made everything ahead then reheated the hot items in the crock-pot. I included the following TinEats Recipe’s: Carnitas, Mexican Red Rice, Restaurant Style Salsa, and Queso Dip. It all was amazing! Thanks Nagi for a great meal!
Super easy and super tasty!
I’m so glad you loved it!
By chargrilled peppers in jars, do you mean chargrilled capsicum here in Australia or chilli peppers? Thanks 🙂
Yes – Capsicum as per the recipe notes 🙂
Delicious and addictive!
Yes totally Trish, but at least it’s healthy!
Omg..Nagi..u really r a genius…just made this salsa..its just like the one I have trying years to replicate..OTB in America..yum..yum..yum..who knew by adding those hatch ch..it wld b sooo good..thanx..my dear. Another winner..
Wahoo, that’s so great to hear Sara!
So good! I came across this recipe when I forgot to buy salsa at the store with my husband’s heart set on tacos that night for dinner. I had everything to make in my pantry so I figured I would give it a try. I am never buying store bought salsa again!!!!!
You won’t look back now!!
This is so good. Just the right amount of heat. I wanted more chunks so I used diced tomatoes in there. Everything else the same though. This is my go to salsa.
Great Anne!
Hey Nagi, noticed that you mentioned about canned green chile not here in OZ, I’ve come across an online Aussie store “Chile Mojo” that sells em and just about every thing else for authentic Mexican cooking. I’m in far north Queensland and they get my orders to me within 2 days…. as always love your recipes keep em coming.
Yes, I’ve heard of them before, they are awesome – N x
I just read your salsa recipe, I like it but you should try placing it in a frying pan after blending it and cook it for a bit, it evaporates some of the water and blends everything together for an amazing taste and intensifies the color, Mexican restaurants in my area do this.
Sounds amazing Steve, I’ll give it a go!
This was absolutely delicious!! I’m an American living in Germany and good, restaurant style salsa is impossible to find here. I’m so glad I can make it at home now!! Thanks so much!
You’re welcome Amanda! — Nx
im doing your mexican shredded chicken for tonight dinner its in the oven now on low the smell is amazing just having a quick cuppa and then ill be onto a couple of your sides caint wait
Great recipe. I had to use diced tomatoes as i couldn’t find crushed ones. It was fine. Would this have made much difference? Thank you.