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!
Make the Recipe of the Month with us
This easy, delicious salsa is August’s Recipe of the Month! Make it any time this month and share it on social or the blog for a chance to win an amazing prize. Get all of the deets here!
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.
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
- Combine the ingredients. Add all of your ingredients to a blender or food processor.
- Blend it up. Pulse or blend all of the ingredients until they reach the consistency you’d like.
- Taste & adjust. From here you’ll want to taste the salsa and add more salt if you’d like.
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.
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!
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!
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:
- Add it to your favorite tacos like these chicken tacos and these sweet potato & black bean tacos
- Put some on top of your bowl of chili
- Add it to your favorite burrito bowl or my new sazon skillet chicken
- Use it as a dip for savory burritos, breakfast burritos and amazing breakfast quesadillas
- Top these grilled chicken thighs for the perfect summer dinner
- Of course, add a scoop as a side to your scrambled eggs and crispy breakfast potatoes
The options are truly endless!
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
- Avocado Peach Salsa
- Fresh Mango Salsa Recipe
- Avocado Strawberry Mango Salsa
- Spicy Green Cashew Dip
- Fresh & Healthy 7-Layer Dip
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!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Tony's Ridiculously Easy Homemade Salsa
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
Nutrition
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.
I use this recipe every time when I grow my garden fresh tomatoes, fresh jalapeños, cilantro, everything grown for my garden and it turns out amazing!
Highly recommend a
Love that!! All of those fresh ingredients sound delicious 🙂
So yummy and so FRESH! The colors in this delicious salsa are amazing! The only thing I did differently was chopp by hand – I know, labor intensive – and add a diced, fresh peach for a little sweet to go with the heat, And because, well, it’s peach season! This will be made again and again and again, and my family will devour it again and again and again. Thank you!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
Has anyone cooked this recipe so it can be canned?
I’m not familiar with canning, so I can’t provide safe instructions here. Sorry!
This is the best salsa i’ve ever had. I only used 1 jalapeño and it was perfectly spicy.
So happy to hear that!
It’s basically ground up pico de gallo as stated in recipe. Flavorless. I had to add a bunch of salt, pepper and garlic powder to make it edible.
Hi! I do mention to add salt to taste, as everyone’s salt preferences are very different.
This recipe is amazing. Could you water bath can for later?
So glad you love it! I’m not very familiar with canning, so I’m not 100% sure how to do it for this recipe!
I had an abundance of small tomatoes and was struggling to use them up. I used sun sugar (small orange) and sweet millions (small red) with a couple of larger low-acid orange tomatos that I am unsure the variety. I lightly processed the tomatoes first and strained them. Then added all ingredients and lightly processed again. I substituted yellow for red onion. I left out the dash of sugar because I was using sweet tomatos. The taste is really nice and fresh. I plan on using it with black bean burritos and with corn chips. This is a very good, quick and easy recipe.
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
I’m planning to make your tomato salsa. But, I really want to make a big batch for Xmas gifts, which means I have to can it. Have you tried this? If so, what additional instructions do I need to make sure it’s safe?
I made this for the #AKRecipeoftheMonth. It was a perfect way to use up lots of produce from my CSA! Two tips that make this blender salsa really great – scooping out the tomato seeds to reduce wateriness, and refrigerating the salsa for a couple hours before eating. Thanks!
So glad you love this one!!
#AKRecipeoftheMonth This recipe is delicious and so easy! I have been scooping the leftover salsa into my scrambled eggs all week.
LOVE this with eggs in the morning! So glad you enjoyed!
This salsa had a wonderful fresh taste! I added a serrano and habanero to make it extra spicy! It was SO good! We served it over nachos, and it was fantastic! The leftover salsa did get watery after it sat for a couple of days, but I drained some of the juice (and drank it – yum), and it was as good as new!
Love that! Yes, the tomatoes, etc. will break down a bit over time, but it will still be delicious 🙂
This salsa was so easy to put together and very flavorful and fresh. The description reads “bursting with flavor” which is so true. I will use this salsa on anything and everything! I did notice the color of the salsa ended up turning brown from the green jalepeno and red tomatoes but it was still so tasty! #AKRecipeOfTheMonth
Absolutely! Glad you loved it!
I have made this salsa a few times this month already! So fresh, easy and tasty! Goes with everything and the family loves it.
#AKRecipeoftheMonth
So happy to hear that!
#AKRecipeoftheMonth
So fresh tasting, and easy to make.
So glad you loved it!
This salsa was so easy and good. I put it on top of black bean burgers and it was the perfect topping! #AKRecipeoftheMonth
Ooo great idea!!
My mom had a whole bunch of extra tomatoes so the timing on this recipe worked great! It was easy to put together i love the little heat with the jalepenos and extra flavor with the cilantro. I was worried I’d make it and then we wouldn’t eat it all as my husband isn’t a big fan of tomatoes when its not ketchup… next thing I know, i look over and he’s devoured the 3/4 cup container. Just *poof* gone, and says ‘I think i liked the salsa.’ haha. Great recipe, Thanks!
#AKRecipeoftheMonth
Amazing! So glad it was a hit!!
Very flavorful and easy to make, with just the right amount of spice! Will definitely be making this one again!
So glad you enjoyed!
#AKRecipeoftheMonth
Zippy, tangy…a keeper.
Glad you liked it!!
#AKRecipeoftheMonth
This was really fresh tasting and so easy to make.
So glad you enjoyed!
Very fresh tasting and so easy to make. I did forget to put the green onion in, which I’m bummed about, but it tasted delicious regardless.
The heat comes from the ribs that the seeds are attached to and not the seeds themselves.
Removing the seeds also removes the ribs, which is why I specify to remove the seeds for ease 🙂
I’m about to try this recipe with Brad’s Automic Grape Tomatoes they are small like Rima tomatoes but Slightly sweet. If it’s awesome I’ll post to Instagram
Amazing! Hope you loved it!
Made this this morning and it’s chilling in the fridge to enjoy later on this 4th of July!! It is absolutely delicious, it was SO easy to throw together, really appreciate that! Thank you and Happy 4th of July!
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂 Hope you had a lovely 4th of July!
Thank you so much for this recipe. Am making it right now and am sure it is delicious.
Of course! I hope you loved this recipe 🙂
How much salt do YOU use? “Salt to taste” doesn’t help.
It is based on your preference. I honestly add until I like the taste. I don’t measure it.
Tony’s homemade salsa recipe sounds delicious! Fresh tomatoes combined with the heat of a jalapeño is a classic combination for a flavorful salsa. The convenience of blending everything in a blender or food processor makes preparation easier. Play Geometry Dash World to immerse yourself in a colorful world of music.
Amazing post thank you so much
Made this to go to an outdoor concert with friends last night, everyone loved it!! Dpboss
I made the salsa exactly as written and it was perfect! (Next time I might throw in a peach).
YUM! So glad you are loving this salsa and it turned out great for you!
This is the one.made it twice super good and easy.
YUM! So glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you!
I honestly have never made fresh salsa before but had a bunch of homegrown tomatoes, onions and peppers to use. This recipe is very simple so that’s why I used it. It’s truly the best salsa I’ve had. I wish this salsa was served in Mexican restaurants. I changed it a little bit. I don’t like sugar in salsa or spaghetti sauce so I didn’t use it and I don’t like the taste of cumin so I left that out as well. I bought some fresh tomatilloes and roasted them and used them in this recipe. As I said, it’s the best salsa I’ve had. I highly recommend it.
Perfection 😍 Glad you found this recipe, adapted it to your preference and it still turned out great for you!
This is great I love it but you do need to let it sit overnight
Wondering if made in large quantity, how to save. Canning? I know the heat would change the taste 😞
Can this salsa be canned? I have more tomatoes than I know what to do with and thought I’d make this and can it.
I love this recipe also and came to the comments to see about canning.