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Homemade Salsa for Any Season

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This homemade salsa recipe has ALL of the restaurant salsa goodness in only 5 minutes! You can use canned tomatoes during any season (or fresh tomatoes when in season), fresh cilantro, Serrano, and lime. This style of homemade salsa needs NO cooking and can be eaten immediately.

white bowl of salsa on platter with tortilla chips on blue background

Homemade Salsa Recipe

My favorite thing about any Mexican restaurant is the salsa and ALL the fresh-made tortilla chips to scoop it up! That is exactly why I created this super easy recipe.

I wanted a restaurant-style salsa that involved NO cooking and used only a blender. Before I started making homemade salsa, I thought it would be complicated and time-consuming.

Au contraire! It’s SO easy, simply delicious, and crazy affordable!

I do love a fresh pico de gallo with garden tomatoes, but when it’s not tomato season, canned tomatoes are a brilliant solution for a salsa recipe!

Just be sure to grab the no-salt-added tomatoes, then YOU control the salt in the recipe.

How to make salsa (no matter what season it is)

Step 1: Open a can of diced tomatoes and pour into a food processor or blender (with juice).

* Note: If you want to make this salsa recipe with fresh tomatoes, simply substitute 2-3 fresh Roma tomatoes, cored and diced, for the canned tomatoes in this recipe.

Step 2: Loosely chop the red onion, garlic, cilantro, and Serrano pepper and add to blender. The chopping isn’t required, but it helps the blender create a uniform salsa in a shorter time span.

This means you’ll get less friction from the blades and you won’t “cook” your salsa.

Step 3: Pulse the food processor or blender until ingredients are well-combined. Season with Kosher salt and black pepper.

Step 4: Refrigerate 3-5 days in an airtight container; serve chilled.

* See full recipe below

homemade salsa ingredients in bowl of a food processor

What I love about this homemade salsa recipe:

~ It doesn’t have to be tomato season to enjoy homemade salsa!

~ It’s healthier and cheaper than restaurant salsa.

~ Takes 5 minutes to make…a couple of easy steps will get everything into a blender, pulse, and you’re done!

~ Can be eaten immediately. I dare you to NOT eat it straight from the blender. Good luck with that!

~ Fulfills the deepest salsa cravings.

~ Save money! Store-bought salsa is expensive if you have a habit as we do here at TKG HQ.

~ YOU control the salt and sugar. Packaged salsa is usually too salty and too sweet for my taste.

~ Vegan, gluten-free, and paleo! For the win!

Salsa Recipe FAQ and Tips

How long does homemade salsa last?

Anywhere from 3-5 days. It really depends on how airtight your storage container is and how often it’s opened and closed. That means less air exposure is better to keep the salsa fresh.

How to make salsa spicier

You can make it spicier by adding more fresh Serrano pepper to the recipe at the beginning.

Keep in mind that no two peppers have identical heat, so you’ll have to experiment…carefully.

If you have already blended your salsa and want it spicier, you can add more Serrano pepper in small amounts.

Just chop into smaller pieces before adding it to the food processor to make sure it blends more uniformly.

homemade salsa in bowl of a food processor

How to make salsa less spicy

You can make it less spicy by using jalapeno pepper in place of Serrano for the entire recipe. Fresh jalapenos are typically not as hot, yet delivers a nice pepper flavor.

If you want Serrano, but not so much heat, reduce the amount of Serrano at the start of the recipe and experiment from there.

But again, no two peppers have identical heat, so you’ll have to find what works for your taste buds.

Can you freeze homemade salsa?

I would have no problem freezing salsa made with canned tomatoes.

If it’s made with fresh tomatoes, I’d say no, unless you plan to cook them before using them in salsa.

3 up image of homemade salsa before, during, and after being blended a food processor

Homemade Salsa Ingredients

  • no salt added diced tomatoes (canned)
  • fresh cilantro
  • red onion
  • fresh lime
  • Serrano pepper
  • fresh garlic
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • ground cumin

Tools I use for this recipe:

More Mexican recipes for your party

Fresh Peach Salsa Recipe

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Copycat Chipotle Rice – Cilantro Lime Rice

(top image) homemade salsa ingredients in bowl of a food processor (bottom image) white bowl of salsa on platter with tortilla chips with title text in center
Print REcipe
5 from 18 votes

Easy Homemade Salsa Recipe (for any season)

This homemade salsa recipe has ALL of the restaurant salsa goodness…in 5 minutes! You can use canned tomatoes year round (or fresh tomatoes when in season), fresh cilantro, Serrano, and lime. This style of homemade salsa needs NO cooking and can be eaten immediately.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 8 1/4-cup servings
Calories 7kcal
Author Traci Antonovich

TOOLS NEEDED

Ingredients

  • 1 14.5 oz can No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes reserve juice
  • 1/4 cup Cilantro
  • 1/2 small Red Onion 1/3 cup chopped
  • 1 Lime juiced (with pulp)
  • 1 Serrano Pepper seeded and chopped
  • 1 clove Garlic peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1/8 tsp Black Pepper

Instructions

  • Place TOMATOES (drained), CILANTRO, ONION, LIME, SERRANO PEPPER, GARLIC, and CUMIN in a food processor fitted with the chopping/mixing dough blade, or place in a conventional blender.

* If you want to make salsa with fresh tomatoes, simply substitute 2 to 3 fresh Roma tomatoes, cored and chopped, for the canned tomatoes in this recipe

  • Blend on medium to high speed until well-combined; add SALT and PEPPER to taste.
  • Add the reserved tomato juice in small amounts to adjust consistency, if needed.
  • Cover and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days; serve chilled.

RECIPE NOTES

Yield: 2 cups
Serving size: 1/4 cup
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are estimates based on unbranded ingredients acquired from a nutrition database. For accurate calculations, please refer to brand packaging information and consult your nutritionist.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Easy Homemade Salsa Recipe (for any season)
Amount Per Serving (0.25 cup)
Calories 7 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 74mg3%
Potassium 19mg1%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 40IU1%
Vitamin C 3.5mg4%
Calcium 4mg0%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe? Tag me!Mention @thekitchengirl or tag #thekitchengirl
Traci Antonovich
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Traci Antonovich

Recipe author and food photographer at The Kitchen Girl
I'm on a mission to help you eat healthy AND save money through simple, everyday recipes, product reviews, and budget-friendly kitchen tips.
Traci Antonovich
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Comments

  1. Noel Lizotte says

    08/19/2019 at 5:13 pm

    5 stars
    Salsa and chips at the restaurant … isn’t that why we go out for Mexican? I mean, the entree is good, but there’s nothing like the salsa!

    Now I can make it at home!!
    All my recipes are super chunky, this looks like it’s right off the table at El Campesino!

    Reply

  3. Danielle says

    08/16/2019 at 4:06 pm

    5 stars
    I wish I had this salsa in front of me right at this second. I have a few delicious appetizers but I still need to whip a quick sauce for them. I wish it was this salsa….

    Reply

  4. Irina says

    08/16/2019 at 3:32 pm

    5 stars
    Made it! What a wonderful one bowl recipe! Just mix and serve. DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  5. Lauren Vavala says

    08/16/2019 at 3:31 pm

    5 stars
    I haven’t made homemade salsa in so long! This is a great recipe! In addition to being able to control how salty or sweet it is, I also like that I can puree it a bit to make it less chunky – so good!

    Reply

  7. Sharon says

    09/21/2018 at 10:48 am

    Love homemade salsa! Right now I have tons of garden tomatoes to use and would like to make a huge batch and freeze it. Do you know if this freezes ok?

    Reply

  8. DG says

    06/05/2018 at 9:47 am

    Thanks, Traci–I love all your recipes! Do you have one for homemade tortilla chips? Buying them in putting me in the poorhouse. Thanks again!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      06/07/2018 at 5:47 am

      Hey thanks DG…love hearing it! I haven’t published a recipe for tortilla chips yet. I do like to bake mine instead of frying though. How do you prefer yours?

    • Traci Antonovich says

      04/07/2018 at 10:29 pm

      Hi Walt, to be honest, I haven’t tried blending this salsa using fresh tomatoes…only canned. If I were to use fresh tomatoes for it, I would use the same amount of tomatoes, but I would probably skip the blending part and just chop everything into a yummy pico de gallo. Hope that answers your question 🙂

  10. Tina says

    03/30/2018 at 6:08 am

    5 stars
    Love this quick salsa recipe! The addition of the Serrano pepper is a great idea, and will add a nice dimension to this!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      03/30/2018 at 5:56 am

      Omgosh Karen, yes! You must get on board…it is SO easy and wayyy more affordable and comparable in flavor to the store bought. Thanks for the kind words 🙂

  15. Veena Azmanov says

    03/30/2018 at 1:05 am

    5 stars
    Wow this recipe looks very tasty! I like that it can be cooked quickly and easily. I’m delighted with the ingredients. I definitely want to try this! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      03/30/2018 at 5:46 am

      Thanks Veena, I’m soooo happy to share this one! It’s probably the easiest recipe in my collection! I do hope you’ll try it and I hope you love it like I do!

  20. Jill says

    01/28/2018 at 8:27 am

    5 stars
    I’m not sure why I’ve never made a blender salsa – I’m sure it’s infinitely better than store-bought. Gotta try this!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      01/28/2018 at 11:08 pm

      Yay thanks Jill…you may come to love blender salsa (and probably never go back). I’ve made this one many times…and it never disappoints 🙂

  21. Jacque Hastert says

    01/17/2018 at 9:43 am

    5 stars
    This salsa is so easy to make. I have been missing out on so much thinking it was to difficult to make at home.

    Reply

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