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This is such an EASY homemade salsa recipe. It tastes just like restaurant salsa and goes perfectly with tortilla chips, tacos, and more!

No Mexican entree is complete without a complementary salsa or dip, but we of course love to serve it with fresh Homemade Tortilla Chips, Tacos and Burritos.

Homemade salsa recipe in a small, red bowl with tortilla chips.
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Who Doesn’t Love Salsa?!

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

Here’s why we love this specific homemade salsa recipe:

  • Easy. Quick prep time, made in minutes and very simple (just dump and blend).
  • Versatile. It goes with EVERYTHING (Quesadillas, Chimichangas, etc)!
  • Flavor. It tastes like it came straight from an authentic restaurant – SO tasty!
Salsa ingredients on a cutting board.

Ingredients

  • canned tomatoes (diced)
  • can of Ro-Tel Substitute it with ½ can of diced tomatoes, plus a 4-ounce can of green chiles.
  • fresh tomatoes (Roma) Or add another can of Rotel (drained).
  • onion powder Or use ½ small onion, roughly chopped.
  • fresh cilantro
  • can diced green chilies
  • diced jalapeño – For less spice remove the seeds and the white pith from inside the jalapeno.
  • minced garlic
  • sugar Or use 1 teaspoon of honey.
  • garlic salt with parsley flakes – and pepper, if desired
  • ground cumin
  • lime juice Bottled or fresh lime juice, or lemon juice.
Fresh tomatoes and cilantro in a blender.

How to Make Salsa

  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.

Thicken Your Salsa

To thicken thin or watery salsa, let it sit in a bowl and allow the liquid to build then drain it through a mesh sieve.

Salsa ingredients blended together.

Store + Freeze

  • STORE – 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.
  • FREEZE. 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. Pureed salsa freezes best.

Serving Suggestions

This Mexican salsa recipe isn’t just good for chips, try:

Easy homemade salsa recipe in small bowl on plate with tortilla chips.

For More Salsa:

5 from 113 votes

Salsa Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
This is such an EASY salsa recipe. It tastes just like restaurant salsa and goes perfectly with tortilla chips, tacos, and more!
Servings: 12
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes

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.

Video

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.

Homemade Salsa Gift

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

To Save & Print Salsa Tags

To save, CLICK on the tag you like. Then, RIGHT-CLICK and SAVE. Open it in a program like WORD, RE-SIZE, PRINT, cut out, and attach.

download Your Salsa Tags Printable Now

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

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

So Easy & So Yummy

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5 from 113 votes (33 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




142 Comments

  1. Sheila says:

    5 stars
    I pulse a little for chunky. Thank you for this recipe

  2. Peggy says:

    5 stars
    Delicious! Always a hit!

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Thank you! So glad to hear that!

  3. Carole says:

    Where does the outrageous, killer amount of sodium come from??

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      You can certainly adjust the amount of sodium by using no salt added canned tomatoes and no salt added Rotel. You can also use garlic powder, rather than garlic salt. Then add as much salt as you prefer… that way you can control the amount of salt in the salsa. We love it as is, but there are options if you want lower sodium. 🙂

  4. Dianne Akin says:

    5 stars
    Do you have a recipe for canning this?

  5. Carrie Bradford says:

    What type of jalapeños did you use? Fresh? Canned? Pickled?

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      I like to use fresh!! You can leave the seeds in for more kick or deseed them for less heat.

  6. Amy M says:

    5 stars
    The best I have ever had. My family loves it.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Oh yay!! I’m so so happy to hear that you all enjoy the salsa! Thanks for sharing!

  7. Matt says:

    5 stars
    This is such a yummy homemade salsa recipe! I will be honest, I leave the jalapenos out, haha, or just use a little bit, I am a bit of wimp when it comes to spicy food.

  8. Erin says:

    5 stars
    So good and so easy! I love the idea of giving this recipe as gifts. Thanks for that idea!

  9. Eden says:

    5 stars
    This salsa was perfect! we loved it and the flavor was so good!

  10. Diane says:

    5 stars
    Delicious! I have made this for 40 years. I used to bring some to work and share with my coworkers. When they knew I was bringing it, they would bring containers! Lol
    Tip: I drain the tomatoes, and or Rotel first. When the salsa is just about finished, I add the tomato juice until I reach the thickness desired.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      That’s so awesome! And thanks for sharing the tip!