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Who doesn’t love salsa? We love them all – red, Salsa Verde, Strawberry Salsa, or Peach Salsa, to name a few!

Today’s recipe is one we tested dozens and dozens of times, until what you see here today. It’s flavorful, simple, and has all the right flavors of spice making it THE salsa recipe we make every week (no joke!)

It’s great for Chips and salsa or as a side to some of our favs, including: Cheese Crisps, Chicken Tacos, Tostadas, Fry Bread, Flautas and more.

It’s definitely the recipe everyone will be asking for!

Why we think you’ll love it

  • Easy. Quick prep time, made in minutes and very simple (just dump and blend).
  • Versatile. It goes with EVERYTHING and easy to change up with the flavors you love most.
  • Flavor. It tastes like it came straight from an authentic restaurant – SO tasty!
Salsa ingredients on a cutting board.
  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (diced) – Drained
  • 1 10 oz can of Ro-Tel (diced tomatoes sand green chilies) Drained. Substitute it with ½ can of canned tomatoes, plus a 4-ounce can of green chiles.
  • 2 – 3 fresh tomatoes (Roma), quartered Or add another can of Rotel (drained). **Be sure to seed your tomatoes before chopping.
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder Or use ½ small onion, roughly chopped.
  • 1 medium bunch fresh cilantro
  • 1 4 oz can diced green chilies
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons diced jalapeño – For less spice remove the seeds and the white pith from inside the jalapeño.
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sugar Or use 1 teaspoon of honey.
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt with parsley flakes – and pepper, if desired
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice Bottled or fresh lime juice.
  1. BLEND. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until blended to the desired consistency (large chunks or minimal chunks).
  2. SEASON. Add more salt or lime juice to taste, if needed.
  • SPICE. The family loves salsa more on the mild side, so we typically use MILD Ro-Tel, MILD green chilies, and add fewer jalapeños. If you like more spice, be sure to use REGULAR or even SPICY Ro-Tel and green chilies and bump up the amount of chopped jalapeños.
  • WATERY SALSA. Here are a few tips to prevent it!
    • Tomatoes – Use Roma. They are less watery but still should be seeded before quartering and adding to the processor.
    • Pulse, Don’t Puree – Always PULSE your salsa briefly instead of blending until smooth.
    • Drain and Strain – We recommend always draining your canned ingredients (through a mesh sieve) before adding to the processor.
    • Sit then Drain – Chill your salsa in the refrigerator for 30 minutes in a bowl, then gently pour off any excess liquid before serving.
5 from 114 votes

Homemade Salsa

Our homemade salsa recipe is fresh, flavorful, and easy to make—perfect for chips, tacos, and all your favorite Mexican dishes!
Servings: 12
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes

Video

Ingredients 

  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes drained
  • 1 (10-ounce) can original Rotel drained
  • 2-3 Roma tomatoes seeded, if desired
  • ½ white onion or 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 medium handful fresh cilantro
  • 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles optional
  • 1-2 tablespoons diced jalapeño
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt with parsley flakes
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice

Instructions 

  • Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until blended to the consistency you desire.
  • Add more salt or lime juice to taste, if needed.
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Notes

STORE this restaurant style salsa in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week.
  • If the color starts to darken, a smell starts to omit or fungus forms, then the salsa is no longer good.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 7kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 0.2g, Fat: 0.1g, Saturated Fat: 0.01g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.03g, Sodium: 195mg, Potassium: 41mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 114IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

How to store salsa?

This can be refrigerated for in an airtight container for up to 1 week. If the color starts to darken, a smell starts to omit or fungus forms, then the salsa is no longer good.

How to freeze salsa

This best homemade salsa recipe can be frozen for 2-4 months. Here are a few tips:
>> To prevent discoloration, add a bit of lemon or lime juice to the salsa.
>> Store it in an airtight container in smaller serving sizes.
>> Do not freeze chunky salsa. Pulsed salsa freezes best.

In case you want to give a jar of homemade salsa as a gift, I decided to make some free printable tags. Make it a gift to give at any time of the year, or share at Christmas. There are tags for either occasion:

Simply download the tag you want.

Salsa Gift Tags

Fill out the form and the FREE printable will be sent to your email.

We also made tags for our Salsa Verde so be sure to check that out too!

About Kristyn

Kristyn Merkley is a published cookbook author, wife, mom of six, and major food enthusiast! For the past 15 years, she has been sharing foolproof, family-friendly recipes—each one tested in her kitchen—that anyone can master. As a seasoned recipe creator, she loves making cooking simple, stress-free, and totally doable for everyone!

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5 from 114 votes (33 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




146 Comments

  1. Cassandra says:

    5 stars
    Love this salsa! My daughter will make this, its really easy and taste great!

  2. Jamey Hays says:

    5 stars
    We absolutely LOVE this salsa and it’s always a huge hit everywhere we take it. I give it a 10!!
    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  3. Megan Tulko says:

    5 stars
    Best Salsa ever. I make it for all my parties and everyone loves it! Can’t tell you how many times I’ve given the recipe out! The best part is it’s so simple and I love doing it all together in the food processor. I have a bunch of Roma’s from my garden so I’m going to try and freeze some.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Oh thank you!! I’m so glad you love the recipe and I’m sure it is even that much better using fresh garden tomatoes. YUM!!

  4. Shalyce says:

    5 stars
    We LOVE this recipe – we practically drink it.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Yay! I love that haha! So glad you enjoy the salsa.

  5. ABYoung says:

    Could you pressure can or water bath this salsa?

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      I wouldn’t recommend it with this recipe. This one is best stored in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 2-4 months.

  6. Kimbrough D Jennings says:

    5 stars
    I just made your salsa with a few moderations and wow it is perfect. I do not like green peppers or jalapeno peppers. I have a hot sauce that is made in Asheville, NC called Pure Fire that I used to spice the salsa up a bit. I made it in our new Ninja Pro food processor.

    Thank you

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      I’m so glad to hear you like the salsa. That hot sauce sounds awesome! I like a little kick to my food too. Thanks for sharing!

  7. Melissa says:

    5 stars
    This salsa is so simple to make and so delicious!!

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Yay! So glad you enjoy it!

  8. Cassandra Lee says:

    Can you give me a ball park time frame for how long a jar of salsa will last, refrigerated, I assume. Thanks!

    1. LilLunaTeam says:

      It should last in the fridge for about 1 week. Hope this helps!

  9. Melissa says:

    5 stars
    We absolutely love this salsa at our house. It’s so easy to make and delicious. I think my kids would love to have this in our fridge all of the time but it just disappears so dang fast!

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      Mine too! I am so happy it’s a hit! Thank you!

  10. Lisa says:

    5 stars
    Best salsa ever!!