For my first recipe to the blog, I want to come out strong and share an easy, homemade family salsa recipe. I’m a second generation Mexican-American and this salsa recipe is from my grandparents. It’s spicy, garlicky, and reminds me of a restaurant table salsa from some of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Austin.
Salsa pairing ideas
I use this red salsa on top of everything! Breakfast tacos, shredded chicken tacos, tamales, eggs, and of course as a dip with tortilla chips (recipes to come in the future). Hot tip, I’ll even dip carrots into the salsa to still get that crunch when I want to eat bowls of this without the guilt of finishing a whole tortilla chip bag.
Flexible salsa ingredient swaps
My recipe uses canned tomatoes because it’s always stocked in my pantry. I’ll be adding a post later on what I keep stocked in my pantry for occasions just like this. The canned tomatoes can be swapped out for fresh tomatoes if you have them on hand or prefer them instead.
For spice, the amount of jalapeños can also be adjusted based on your heat tolerance. If you want it more spicy, I recommend adding an extra 1-2 serrano peppers or 3-5 ancho chiles. It’s flexible depending on what you have on hand which is why I love this recipe.
Extra optional step
If you find this recipe just way too easy, you can take it up a level to deepen the flavor. Usually I’m too excited to eat the salsa to do this step but I wanted to include for when you want to overachieve.
Add 1 tablespoon of an oil of your choice to a saucepan. Once heated, add the blended salsa to the pan. Stir for about 5 minutes, you’ll see the red color darken. When cooled, store in the fridge.
Salsa storage
This recipe makes about 4.5 cups. It stores in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you don’t want to challenge yourself to finish it all, it freezes okay. It might need another quick blend once it’s thawed and the texture changes slightly, but does the job in a pinch.
Okay here’s the recipe! It comes together really quickly in the blender. It’s a staple in my recipe book and I hope you find it easy to make.
Easy Homemade Red Salsa
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 28 oz canned tomatoes whole or diced tomatoes
- 1/4 onion yellow or white
- 1/2 cilantro bunch
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 jalapeños
- 1/2 tsp salt more to taste
Instructions
- Add canned tomatoes with juices into the blender
- Quarter an onion and add 1/4 to the blender
- Take a bundle of cilantro and add half to the blender
- Add 3 peeled cloves to the blender
- Cut the stems off 3 jalapeños and add to blender
- Add salt and blend for 5-15 seconds, depending on blender
- Taste with a tortilla chip and add more salt if needed. Store in fridge.
Notes
- If pairing your salsa with tortilla chips, taste the blended salsa with tortilla chips to see if more salt is needed. Sometimes the tortilla chips have a lot or not enough salt already.
