This refreshing, flavorful restaurant-style salsa recipe is made right at home in the blender! It is easy, adaptable and tastes similar to the ones you find at a Mexican restaurant.
This simple recipe for restaurant-style blender salsa only takes 10 minutes and 8 (or less!) ingredients.
It is wonderful all year round, and we enjoy having a batch ready and waiting in the fridge for quick snacks throughout the week.
It is so refreshing, flavorful, and tastes similar to the ones you would find at a Mexican restaurant.
Ingredients
For this restaurant salsa you will need:
- Canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes: If you can't find fire roasted tomatoes, regular diced tomatoes work well too.
- Canned diced green chiles: I use mild. Or you can substitute fresh jalapeño which is fantastic as well.
- Garlic: A little goes a long way since we are using raw garlic.
- Onion: Any color works, but I prefer yellow or sweet.
- Fresh cilantro: This is key for 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 the flavors.
If you like your salsa spicy, try adding jalapeño, chipotle, or serrano to taste. Roasted garlic would also be a lovely addition!
How to Make Restaurant Salsa
This is truly one of my all-time favorite recipes because it is so tasty and so easy to make. Simply:
- Roughly chop the onion and garlic.
- Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender: I use a 9-cup food processor.
- Pulse a few times until you reach the desired consistency: Pulse less for a chunky salsa, and more for a smoother salsa.
- Taste and adjust any flavors as needed.
You can serve it right away, but I find it tastes best after it chills in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
Ways To Use This Salsa
- As a chip dip with tortilla chips
- For topping tacos (like the Chickpea-Walnut Tacos pictured above)
- In Mexican-Style Stuffed Peppers
- With your favorite Burritos or Fajitas
- Or even on breakfast dishes like Tofu Scramble
For more inspiration, 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, diced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro*
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1/2 teaspoon agave (or sweetener of choice)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon 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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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!