We eat Mexican food in one form or another at least once a week, usually much more often. I love it and it’s a good thing David does, too, or that might have been a deal breaker early on.
I am a big fan of the Pioneer Woman’s salsa recipe and it’s great when fresh tomatoes aren’t available. However, since tomatoes are SO good and so cheap in the summer, I’ve really wanted to make a recipe using all fresh ingredients instead of canned for my version.
And so I did.
Usually fresh salsa end up soupy, inconsistent and just not right. How does one fix this? The secret is in the tomato prep.
[Tweet “Do you know the secret to fresh summer salsa that isn’t soupy?”]
Rinse and dry 10 fresh Roma tomatoes from the farmers market, then slice the ends off and cut in half.
Then, juice the tomato. Yes, just like it sounds.
Rotate it around in your hand a gently squeeze out the juice and seeds. No need to stress if some seeds remain, but you want to get most of them out.
Repeat until all the tomatoes are a little sad looking (no worries, they’ll be happy again soon!) and you have a bowl of tomato juice (unfortunately not fit for bloody marys).
From there, it’s easy. Toss the tomatoes in a large food processor.
Pulse 4-6 times until the tomatoes reach a thick and chunky consistency. Don’t go overboard; you want some chunks.
Let that it while you prep the rest of your ingredients.
Put all remaining ingredients in to the food processor with the tomatoes.
Pulse 3-5 times until well combined, but still chunky.
You can eat it right away, or store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Perfect Garden Fresh Salsa
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizers
- Cuisine: Appetizers
Description
Fresh, homemade salsa that comes together in less than 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 10 fresh Roma tomatoes
- 2/3 cup onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- the juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, seeds removed, diced
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the tomatoes. Slice the ends off and cut in half.
- Squeeze the tomato in your hands to remove juice and seeds.
- Put tomatoes in a large food processor.
- Pulse 4-6 times until the tomatoes reach a thick and chunky consistency.
- Put all remaining ingredients in to the food processor with the tomatoes.
- Pulse 3-5 times until well combined, but still chunky.
- Eat right away or store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
You may want to add another jalapeno if you like your salsa spicier!
I love this recipe because it is hearty and made from all fresh ingredients. We’ve all devoured it this week, including Hailey. If I wasn’t planning on sharing with her, I would have added another jalapeno to kick up the spice factor, which you may want to consider doing.
[Tweet “This summer salsa is delicious right away or can hold in the fridge for days!”]
Enjoy!
Christine@ Apple of My Eye says
That looks so good! I’ve heard that the Pioneer Woman’s salsa is out of this world. She’s my favorite celebrity chef by far!
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
How delicious! I used to make PW’s recipe all the time, but then I decided I should stop eating so much chips & salsa! this is so tempting though!
Brittany Dixon says
Why would you decide to stop such a wonderful thing?! 😉
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
I truly LOVE salsa, but have never made my own. You definitely make it sound SUPER easy, though, so I should probably just give it a try! The next time that I make it to my local Farmer’s Market, I will have to pick up the ingredients that I need :).
Kathy says
Who doesn’t love Mexican and homemade salsa! LOVE IT! Yours looks delish–I’ll be right over. LOL! 🙂
Jen says
Omg juice the tomato! Of course! You are a genius for thinking of this. We always do homemade salsa and it is way too soupy!
Greg says
Jen,
Try sliceing tomatoes and layering them in a colinder with salt between each layer. Let sit over night in a cool place (not in the frig.) covered with a cloth. Try an outside sink so the juice gets away from the tomatoes, then proceed with yoiur favoriate recipe.
Karen says
My Husband made salsa a month ago and it was so good!! I’ll have to try this recipe.
Michelle says
Ooooh this looks delish! Plus I’m a sucker for any recipe utilizing farmer’s market ingredients.
Random question -Do you use photoshop for graphics on your photos?
Brittany Dixon says
I use the free version of picmonkey (www.picmonkey.com). If I had more photoshop skill, I’d love to go that route, but I can’t do much more than ‘auto correct’ at the moment 😉
Michelle says
Thank you!! That’s super cool – I’ve never heard of it before. I’m with you about photoshop…someday I’ll learn it I hope!
BTW – there’s a cool app called A Beautiful Mess that lets you edit photos by adding text, doodles, borders, etc. easily from your phone. It kind of reminds me of picmonkey.
Beth Sheridan @sugarcoatedsheridans says
We make homemade salsa every year from my parent’s garden and it’s amazing!! I think the store-bought stuff tastes like crap now 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Do you have any tips on how to make it extra delicious?! I’d love some variations!
Verna says
I am so trying this! Thanks!
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
Yummm. I absolutely love Mexican food of all kinds and especially salsa!
Danica @ It's Progression says
LOVE salsa…this looks fantastic and makes me excited to get supplies at the Farmer’s Market this weekend! 🙂
Mandy @ The Running Herbivore says
Chips and Salsa are part of what makes my life worth living. I’m an addict and I’m not afraid to admit it.
I will trying this recipe soon!
Chantal says
I JUST made this and it is FANTASTIC. Thank you!!
Brittany Dixon says
AWESOME!! So glad you like it 🙂
Matt @ The Athlete's Plate says
I <3 Mexican food 🙂
Danielle @ Long May You Run says
We make salsa using our charcoal grill- just put the tomatoes, green peppers, onions, whatever you want, directly onto the hot coals. After about an hour, take them off and let them cool, then rub off the charred skin (leave some on for more smokey flavor!), put them in a food processor with some seasonings and voila! We usually roast a head (?) of garlic at the same time and throw half of it in the salsa.
Brittany Dixon says
I’ve heard about roasting and even simmering on the stove to make it extra delish! I’d love to try it out, but I took the lazier route 😉
Liz @ iheartvegetables says
AH! Juicing the tomatoes! That totally makes sense. Why have I not done that? I LOVE mexican food (We eat it at least once a week, too) so I’m definitely making this soon!
char eats greens says
i JUST bought roma’s so this is kinda perfect!!! I just need more cilantro, which my home is rarely without, but I used it all for Mexican the other night!!
Neil Butterfield says
mmm yumbo! We absolutely love Mexican food and especially salsa. Your pics look amazing.
Kelly@bestfoodprocessorreviewsguide.com says
I already made a salsa this week but will definitely try this recipe next week,thanks.
Brenda says
Do you not need to take the skins off the tomatoes? Do other types of tomatoes work also. I have fresh beef steak, early girl and lemon boy in my garden.
Mary says
I think it’ll be perfect for my garden fresh romas. I never seed my peppers. I don’t get that. But, I like spice. 🙂
Stephanie says
How would you go about canning this recipe? We love it.
Brittany Dixon says
I have not canned it so I’m afraid I’m not much help on this question! I’ve heard great things about the Ball Canning book though, so hopefully it could help!
growyourown says
Ball Canning is a good place to start, but I doubt you’ll enjoy the excessively pickled flavor. But you have to learn to walk before you can run. Buy a pressure canner. It’s the only way to make home canned salsa using lower amounts of lime juice as a preservative. Research: Annie’s Salsa for some direction.
Some day, I’ll have to write a post about this.
As someone said earlier – juicing the tomatoes… why didn’t I realize this before! Will have to try the layers of slices with slat between Greg suggested. Makes tons of sense.
Monica says
I’ve made this recipe twice. The first time I doubled it and it disappeared within 2 days! We love it! Thanks.
Heidi says
Great recipe! I’ve never made my own salsa before now but I had a ton of Roma’s from our garden that needed to get used. I just made this recipe and it turned out so YUMMY! It’s so easy, the food processor did most of the work for me and it went really quick. Definitely making this again, maybe very soon with the tomato explosion we’re experiencing 😉 and next time I will add the second jalapeno to make it a little more spicy.
Teddi says
Really good! I’ve tried and tried to make salsa never with any success. When you said to seed it I thought why not peel it as well! So I dumped all my various heirlooms that I hadn’t eaten yet into boiling water for 30 seconds or so and peeled and seeded them. I also used what peppers I had on hand: a mira pepper (like a small sweeter bell) a banana pepper, and a hot purple pepper. made a mild/medium spiciness. I agree with others, double the batch! I might leave out the sugar next time to see how it tastes.
Kala says
Could you freeze this salsa ?
Wendell says
Awesome recipe! I did kind of “make it my own” though — I added double the garlic, 1/2 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper and a cup of tomato sauce, plus I replaced the poblano with an Anaheim chile.
Hollye says
Have you ever tried to can this salsa to have throughout the year?
Brittany Dixon says
I have not so I can’t speak to how it would work.
Kat says
I have made and canned salsa many, many times. I have always peeled the tomatoes first (boiled water dip for 30 seconds and peels slide off). I’d love to skip this step, though! Do you notice the peels in the finished product? This recipe looks delish and is like to try it!
Thanks!
Brittany Dixon says
I think it’s mostly a matter of taste! I don’t mind the peels being in the final product, but I know others prefer it to be smoother. I’m also one that makes hummus without taking the outer coating off the chickpea, so take my opinion for what it’s worth! 🙂
Lisa Z. Hughes says
Squeeze the tomatoes!!!! Genius! Everything came from the garden and I’m so excited for the Southwestern Bubbha Bowls tonight! No more runny homemade salsa!
Jeanne says
Made this recipe and it is delicious. My go to salsa recipe for my fresh homegrown tomatoes.
Brittany Dixon says
Thank you for the review; I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Jonathan Scott says
Didn’t like it very much, still a bit soupy. Thanks for the recipe though.
Cindy Jones says
Do I put in the skins of the tomatoes after I have squeezed out the juice and seeds? Thanks!
Brittany Dixon says
You can remove them for a smoother texture, but I blend them right in with success!
Kimberly Porter Hinchman says
Can this be canned? If so any suggestions to have the best results?
Brittany Dixon says
You will need to add vinegar to up the acidity level. Here is a resource with more information:
https://www.virginialeenlaw.com/help/faq-how-to-can-fresh-salsa-without-cooking.html
Peg Manrose says
Could you freeze this?
Brittany Dixon says
You can, if you cook it and let it completely cool it first. Then portion and freeze!
Esther says
What would need added to can this? vinegar?
Brittany Dixon says
I have not canned it so I can’t say, but yes, I know you are on the right track with something acidic. Wish I could help more!
Jason Lauze says
Love the recipe, but for a great short cut blend tomatoes without squeezing the juice out and strain to the desired consistency. Then add other ingredients.