Restaurant Style Salsa
This Restaurant Style Salsa is a great snack for any occasion…especially occasions that involve tortilla chips and a warm summer afternoon!
Chips and salsa is one of my favorite snacks in the world. I love salsa. I seriously think I could just eat it with a spoon. Don’t get me wrong. I still love tortilla chips, but they definitely take the backseat to a delicious salsa. Especially when it’s homemade salsa. But all salsas aren’t created equal. Some are quite hot. Some are heavy on a specific flavor like cilantro or garlic. Heck, some even use fruit as the main ingredient. But my absolute favorite salsa is the kind that you find in Mexican restaurants. You know the kind I’m talking about. It’s typically not very thick, and it’s usually strong on fresh flavors like lime and cilantro. Since Cinco de Mayo is almost here, I’ve really been craving a batch of homemade salsa. So I hit the kitchen, and about 10 minutes later I had a big jar of this Restaurant Style Salsa. Just thinking about it is making me hungry. And now I wish I had a bag of tortilla chips here at my desk!
If you’ve never made homemade salsa before, then you’ll be amazed at how easy and inexpensive it is. There is no cooking involved. Seriously. A bit of chopping and then a few blitzes in the food processor, and you’ve got yourself one delicious dip! And the best part is you can adjust it to your own tastes. Like lime? Add more lime juice! Prefer it spicy? Leave the seeds in the jalapeno! (Or if you’re crazy like my brother-in-law, just add a ghost pepper or two. I truly don’t understand how that guy has any taste buds left.)
The best part about this salsa? Aside from being easy and delicious, it also tastes better the next day. So here’s to many summer afternoons of chips and salsa on the back porch! Feel free to join me…but I can’t promise there will be any salsa left.
Note: This salsa tastes much better the day after you make it! The raw garlic and onion flavors meld a bit, so I often make a batch of this salsa and stick it in the fridge until the next day.
Restaurant Style Salsa
Ingredients
- 28 oz. canned whole tomatoes, drained
- 1 jalapeno thinly sliced (leave seeds in for a hotter salsa)
- ⅓ cup onion coarsely chopped
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp sugar
- juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large food processor. Pulse several times until salsa reaches desired consistency.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. (Tip: this salsa tastes even better the next day!)
I love homemade salsa, it is the best thing ever, and chips are totally optional!
I totally agree about the chips being optional, Tanya!! I’m pretty sure I could eat fresh salsa with a spoon!
Fact: Tortilla chips are merely a means of transportation to move delicious restaurant style salsa into my face 😉
I just did a quick fact check, and you are indeed correct, Becca! It actually said you are 110% correct!
Homemade salsa rocks!! I love the natural fresh flavors over anything store bought. I’m seeing myself sitting on the deck with a cold beverage and this yummy salsa. Now I just need some sunshine 😀
You’re telling me, Cindy!! This salsa makes regular appearances in the summer next to some cold drinks in our house. Heck, it could be thunderstorming outside and I’d still be down for a bowl of fresh salsa!!
Love salsa…. totally one of those people that fills up on the free salsa and chips at a Mexican restaurant.. and my meal comes and I’m like oh yeah… I have to eat this 🙂 This version looks yummy… now for a warm afternoon so I can enjoy it outside 🙂
Same here, Laura! I always fill up on the delicious chips & salsa first…oops. Haha!
I am such a sucker for salsa. Love the stuff. Your’s looks totally amazing! And I don’t know how your bro-in-law does it either. I have a friend that can eat habaneros straight up and not feel a thing. Like, he has no taste buds for spicy or something. Craziness.
I still can’t decide if people that eat habaneros straight-up are brave or just plain crazy. Haha!
I love homemade salsa – nothing quite like it! Added bonus to homemade salsa is that you can put it in a shot glass and shoot it straight up – no chips needed and no one looks at you funny! Oh yeah! 🙂
Shashi you crack me up! But now I have a strange desire to go shoot a shot of salsa…haha!!