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August 6, 2023

Tony’s Ridiculously Easy Homemade Salsa

Tony’s ridiculously easy homemade salsa recipe with fresh tomatoes and a kick of heat from jalapeño. This homemade salsa is bursting with flavor and comes together right in your blender or food processor! Make it chunky or smooth and serve it with chips, on nachos, in burritos and more.

Prep Time
1 hour 15 mins
Cook Time
0 mins
Total Time
1 hour 15 mins

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dipping a chip into homemade tomato salsa

One of the reasons I love summer is because Tony is quite the grill master. I get to put my feet up while he whips up amazing burgers (these are our favs), grilled chicken, and his famous grilled brussels sprouts.

We love pairing grilled main dishes with plenty of apps and sides, and Tony’s famous homemade salsa is our go-to all summer long. He started perfecting this recipe a few years back and we seriously can’t get enough! It’s made with all fresh produce like tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño, and you can literally pair it with anything your heart desires. Tony makes a big batch and we, of course, gobble it up with tortilla chips, but love it with nachos, grain bowls and even scrambled eggs in the morning. THE BEST.

While I’m a big fan of fruit salsas like my famous avocado peach salsa, there’s something about a fresh tomato salsa that’s just so addicting.

Whip up a batch, double or triple it for a crowd, and enjoy all summer long!

Welcome to the AK Summer Series

For the rest of the summer, we’ll be dedicating each week to select summer produce! Week 5 is HERE and we’re celebrating gorgeous tomatoes starting with the best homemade salsa recipe. Stay tuned on the blog and on Instagram for each week’s produce highlight, fun videos, and more.

homemade salsa in a bowl surrounded by tortilla chips

Everything you’ll need to make this homemade salsa

The key to the best homemade salsa recipe? Super fresh ingredients! We’re using fresh produce and a few special seasonings to make this tomato salsa extra delicious. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

  • Produce: you’ll need fresh tomatoes, yellow and green onion, and jalapeño, plus lime juice, cilantro and garlic for flavor.
  • Seasonings: we like to add a little cumin and plenty of salt to bring all the flavors together.
  • Sweetener: because the tomatoes are acidic, you’ll also want to add a bit of sugar to balance everything.

ingredients for easy homemade salsa on a board

What tomatoes are best for salsa?

I think that Roma tomatoes give homemade salsa the best texture and flavor, but you can also use vine-ripe or heirloom tomatoes if you’d like.

Some people use a mix of canned tomatoes and fresh ones, but I find the salsa perfectly flavorful with ripe, fresh tomatoes.

Easy homemade salsa in 3 simple steps

  1. Combine the ingredients. Add all of your ingredients to a blender or food processor.
  2. Blend it up. Pulse or blend all of the ingredients until they reach the consistency you’d like.
  3. Taste & adjust. From here you’ll want to taste the salsa and add more salt if you’d like.

chopped ingredients on a cutting board to make tomato salsa

What’s the difference between this salsa and pico de gallo?

While the ingredients in this homemade salsa recipe are very similar to those in traditional pico de gallo, the method is what differentiates the two. Pico de gallo typically uses all diced ingredients so that everything is chunky and less watery. Because we’re blending the ingredients in this salsa recipe you’ll get a salsa that is a little smoother than pico de gallo.

ingredients to make easy homemade salsa in a food processor

Patience is key

One of the key steps for making incredible tomato salsa is to let it chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or overnight so that the flavors come together. I know diving right in is tempting, but trust me on this one!

homemade salsa with fresh tomatoes in a food processor

Our best tips for making homemade salsa with fresh tomatoes

  • Core & seed your tomatoes. To make sure your salsa isn’t too watery, I recommend coring and removing the seeds from your tomatoes before adding them to your food processor.
  • Don’t over-blend. Even if you like a smoother, more blended salsa, be sure not to completely purée it as it will become soupy instead of scoop-able.
  • Start low on the salt. Remember that you can always add salt but can’t take any out, so start low and add as needed. If you’re serving the salsa with super salty chips or a saltier meal, you may only want to add a little salt to your salsa.
  • Choose your spice. If you like a lot of spice like I do, feel free to keep the jalapeño seeds in! If not, simply de-seed your jalapeños and feel free to reduce down to one.

What if my salsa is too watery?

If you end up with slightly watery salsa from extra juicy tomatoes, feel free to strain some of the liquid out with a fine mesh strainer. Easy!

tomato salsa in a bowl surrounded by tortilla chips

Delicious ways to enjoy it

Besides the obvious: scooping mounds of this delicious salsa onto your fav tortilla chips, here are some other amazing ways to use it:

The options are truly endless!

dipping a chip into homemade salsa

How to store fresh salsa

Store this homemade salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

More dips & salsas you’ll love

Get all of our dips & salsas here, and our fresh tomato recipes here!

I hope you love this homemade salsa recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!

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Tony's Ridiculously Easy Homemade Salsa

4.97 from 27 votes
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dipping a chip into homemade tomato salsa
Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves6 servings
Tony's ridiculously easy homemade salsa recipe with fresh tomatoes and a kick of heat from jalapeño. This homemade salsa is bursting with flavor and comes together right in your blender or food processor! Make it chunky or smooth and serve it with chips, on nachos, in burritos and more.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes (vine-ripe, roma or heirloom), cored and quartered -- I like Roma best for texture
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 green onion, ends trimmed
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 jalapeños (with seeds If you like heat!), diced
  • 1 heaping handful of cilantro (about 1/2 cup)
  • Half a lime, juiced
  • Pinch of cumin
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulse until it gets to the desired consistency; you can make it chunky or smooth! I like a little bit of texture so I go with slightly chunky. Add salt to taste. Chill salsa for 1-2 hours or overnight to let flavors come together. Serve with chips, on nachos, on chili, or anything you like!

Recipe Notes

To store: store this homemade salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (based on 6)Calories: 31calCarbohydrates: 6.7gProtein: 1.2gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gFiber: 1.7gSugar: 0.9g

Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eat

This post was originally published on August 8th, 2021, republished on August 13th, 2022, and republished on August 6th, 2023.

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dipping a chip into homemade tomato salsa

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