This easy restaurant-style salsa recipe is made right at home in the blender! It's so flavorful, adaptable, and tastes similar to the ones you find at a Mexican restaurant. (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.)
This simple recipe for restaurant-style blender salsa only takes 10 minutes and 8 (or less!) ingredients.
It's wonderful all year round. We enjoy having a batch ready in the fridge for a quick snack or appetizer throughout the week.
Plus it's so refreshing, flavorful, and tastes similar to the ones you would find at a Mexican restaurant.
Ingredients for Blender Salsa
For this homemade salsa recipe you will need:
- Canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes: If you can't find fire roasted canned tomatoes, simply use regular diced tomatoes. (I haven't tried this with fresh tomatoes, but I'm guessing those would work too!)
- Canned diced green chiles: I use mild. These typically come in a small 4 oz. can. Or you can substitute fresh jalapeño which is fantastic as well.
- Fresh garlic cloves: A little goes a long way since we are using raw garlic.
- Onion: Any color works. I have used yellow onion, white onion, red onion, and sweet onion.
- Fresh cilantro: This is key for fresh flavor. The more the better in my opinion!
- Fresh lime juice: This helps brighten it up.
- Agave: Or other sweetener of choice, to help balance out the acidity.
- Ground cumin: This isn't totally necessary but I find it is a nice addition.
- Salt: This helps improve and enhance all the flavors.
How to Make
This is truly one of my all-time favorite recipes because it is so tasty and easy to make. Simply:
Chop: Roughly chop the onion and garlic to fit in your blender or food processor.
Combine: Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. (I use a 9-cup food processor.)
Blend: Pulse a few times until you reach your desired consistency. Blend less for a chunky salsa, or more for a smoother salsa.
Taste: Give it a taste and adjust any flavors as needed.
Tip: You can serve it right away, but I find it tastes best after it chills. Store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight) to let the flavors blend.
Customizing
This is a mild salsa as written. If you like yours spicy, give it a kick by adding spices such as:
- Jalapeño peppers
- Chipotle in adobo sauce
- Serrano peppers
- Medium diced green chiles (instead of mild)
Note: Roasted garlic would also be a lovely addition!
Storing
This recipe yields about 4 cups of fresh salsa.
We find it keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Simply store in an airtight container with a tight fitting lid.
How To Use
This recipe is a great condiment with your favorite Mexican food. Try it:
- As a chip dip with tortilla chips
- For topping tacos (such as the Chickpea-Walnut Tacos pictured above)
- In Mexican-Style Stuffed Peppers
- With your favorite Burritos, nachos, Burrito Bowls, or Fajitas
- Or even on breakfast dishes like Tofu Scramble or Southwest Tofu Burritos
For more inspiration, also browse all sauce and seasoning.
Restaurant-Style Blender Salsa
Ingredients
- 28 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (or regular)
- 4 oz. can diced green chiles, mild (or fresh jalapeño)
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup yellow onion (or red or white)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro*
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1/2 tsp. agave (or sweetener of choice)
- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin (more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp. salt (more/less to taste)
Instructions
- Dice onion and mince garlic. (Or simply place in food processor and pulse a few times.)
- Place all ingredients in a large food processor or good blender. (I use my 9 cup food processor.) Blend for about 10 seconds to combine. Blend longer to achieve a smoother consistency, or shorter for chunkier salsa.
- Taste and adjust flavors or add more salt if desired. Can serve right away, but tastes best after it chills for a couple hours or overnight (which also mellows the raw onion & garlic). Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
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Rebecca
What an easy recipe to make and also very delicious! It came out exactly how I like too. Thank you for providing! My new go-to recipe!
Kaitlin
Fantastic to hear that, Rebecca! Thanks so much for sharing!
Larry Vaught
I loved this recipe!! Very quick and easy. Thanks so much!! Definitely a keeper.
Kaitlin
Thanks for your feedback!
Jess
Really good & easy!
Kaitlin
Great to hear - thank you!
Jennifer
Very easy, good flavor and fresh tasting. Thanks for the recipe!
Kaitlin McGinn
Great to hear, Jennifer!
Teri
Have you ever canned this salsa? I haven't made salsa in years, but was planning on doing some salsa this summer now that all my jams are finished. I'm just wondering how the flavor holds up with canning?
Kaitlin McGinn
I haven't canned salsa before, so unfortunately I can't speak on how this one would turn out. (I'll be sure to update the recipe with instructions if I ever test it!) And I love that you can your own jams!
Susi
Thanks, Kaitlin!
Kaitlin McGinn
Absolutely! Sorry I couldn't be more help. I know how important watching sodium can be, so I don't feel comfortable putting any specific numbers out there with so many variables to consider. Thanks for your understanding. Hope you enjoy this if you give it a try! (For this recipe, you could certainly seek out no-salt-added diced tomatoes and omit the 1/2 tsp. salt to help reduce the sodium.)
Susi
Your recipes look delicious, but what’s the sodium content? Many of us really need to watch that, and I’m leery of making any new recipe until I know that.
Kaitlin McGinn
Hi Susi! I totally understand the concern with sodium, which is actually why I purposely omit stating the numbers on my site as I feel it's not nearly a precise enough calculation. Most of my recipes simply say "salt to taste" to let people cater directly to their own needs. Even with recipes that state an amount of salt (like this salsa) I still omit the sodium content as it can vary so significantly with other factors. (For example, differing sodium content between brands, using no-salt vs. salt-added canned tomatoes, etc.) So I always encourage people to calculate their own to achieve a much more precise reading based on their exact ingredients, brands, and amounts. Hope you understand. Take care. -Kaitlin
Sarah
This was easy and fantastic!
Kaitlin McGinn
Great to hear, Sarah!