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 easy restaurant-style blender salsa is so refreshing, flavorful, and tastes similar to the ones you would find at a Mexican restaurant!
Plus it only takes 10 minutes and 8 ingredients. It's one of my very favorite recipes that I make often.
I love having a batch in the fridge for quick snacks and appetizers throughout the week. Plus with canned tomatoes, it's wonderful all year round!
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.
- 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. (But roasted garlic could be a tasty addition too!)
- 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.
Customizing
Make it spicy: This is a mild salsa as written. For a spicy kick, add jalapeño peppers, chipotle in adobo sauce, serrano peppers, medium green chiles (instead of mild), or cayenne pepper to taste.
Texture: Adjust the salsa to your desired consistency. Pulse less for a chunky salsa, or blend more for a smoother salsa. (I use a 9-cup food processor.)
Have fresh tomatoes? Try this Fresh Garden Salsa as well!
Storing
This recipe yields about 4 cups of fresh salsa. I find it keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Store in an airtight container with a tight fitting lid.
Chilling: You can serve it right away, but I find it tastes best after it chills in your sealed container in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight) to let the flavors blend.
How To Enjoy
This recipe is a fresh, tasty condiment with your favorite Mexican food! Try it:
- As a chip dip with tortilla chips
- On tacos (like these Chickpea-Walnut Tacos)
- 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
- 4 oz. can diced green chiles, mild (or fresh jalapeño)
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup yellow onion
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro*
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1/2 tsp. agave
- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. salt
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)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
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Rebecca says
This is THE BEST easy salsa recipe I’ve ever made! Not only that! This recipe is so delicious ! It’s now my go-to quick salsa recipe to use!
Kaitlin says
Hi Rebecca! Yay! Absolutely thrilled to hear this, and I appreciate you coming back to let me know. Thanks for your very kind feedback and hope you continue to enjoy it! 🙂
Katherine says
Could you can this salsa?
Kaitlin says
Hello Katherine! I don't have any experience canning salsa, so unfortunately I'm not sure if it would work.
Rebecca says
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 says
Fantastic to hear that, Rebecca! Thanks so much for sharing!
Larry Vaught says
I loved this recipe!! Very quick and easy. Thanks so much!! Definitely a keeper.
Kaitlin says
Thanks for your feedback!
Jess says
Really good & easy!
Kaitlin says
Great to hear - thank you!
Jennifer says
Very easy, good flavor and fresh tasting. Thanks for the recipe!
Kaitlin McGinn says
Great to hear, Jennifer!
Teri says
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 says
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 says
Thanks, Kaitlin!
Kaitlin McGinn says
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 says
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 says
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 says
This was easy and fantastic!
Kaitlin McGinn says
Great to hear, Sarah!