Easy Fresh Garden Salsa Recipe

bowl of fresh homemade salsa with chips, lime, knife on a tea towel

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Fresh Garden Salsa made with fresh homegrown tomatoes is one of summer’s best gifts. Locally grown farmer’s market produce or homegrown ripe tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, garlic, fresh cilantro, and onion make this homemade salsa delicious. Add a spicy blend of Mexican seasonings and a squeeze of lime for the final touch to make this salsa perfect. 

Overhead picture of homemade salsa in a white bowl on a cutting board and dish towel.

This family favorite fresh tomato salsa recipe is easy, and super-fast to put together in a food processor or blender. I don’t know about you but the last thing I want to do is deal with a hot oven in the middle of summer! This homemade tomato salsa is a perfect, 5-minute, no-bake partner for almost any dish.

Why You’ll Love This Fresh Salsa Recipe

Easy to Make: Homemade salsa is about the easiest dish a cook can make. Chop and process, that’s it! The hardest part is either picking your garden produce or making a trip to the farmer’s market. 

Delicious and Nutritious: All the ingredients are fresh vegetables or herbs, so this recipe is packed with vitamins and nutrients. On most diets, salsa is considered a vegetable so it’s low-calorie, fat free, sugar-free, and gluten-free.

Adaptable to Personal Preference: You can make this recipe chunky like Pico de Gallo by chopping everything instead of processing. Add more seasonings or less to suit your spicy taste. Eliminate the cilantro and replace it with fresh parsley or leave herbs out of the recipe. 

Ingredients You’ll Need for This Easy Recipe

closeup up of homemade salsa on a chip.
  • Fresh tomatoes – make sure they’re ripe. If you’re not sure of the ripeness then set them in a window for a day otwo.
  • Fresh Jalapeno Pepper – any fresh hot pepper will do but be aware of the heat level. Note: I would not use green bell pepper or cayenne peppers.
  • Garlic Cloves – Garlic is easy to grow. I’ve grown fresh garlic in my garden for years but have never blogged about it. Click on this link for a great article on growing this easy vegetable Growing Garlic: How to Plant, Grow, Harvest, and Store (morningchores.com)
  • Fresh Cilantro – Cilantro is super easy to grow…but it’s a cool-weather herb in my area. I usually buy cilantro in the grocery store because it’s long gone by the time my tomatoes are ripe.
  • Fresh yellow onion – Onions are easy to grow, but I usually pick them up at the local farmers market or the grocery store.
  • A Big Squeeze of Lime!

Fresh garden salsa ingredients and spices.

Seasoning is Key!

How to Make the Best Homemade Salsa Recipe

  • STEP 1: Cut out the stem area of the tomatoes. Quarter the tomatoes or if they are large, cut in eighths. Drain the cut tomatoes in a colander letting the extra liquid run out. De-seed peppers if you prefer milder salsa. Rough chop peppers, onions, garlic, and cilantro.
  • STEP 2: Place the cut veggies in the food processor or blender.

2 picture collage of rough chopped vegetables. Vegetables and spices in a food processor.
  • STEP 3: Mix the seasonings together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on top of the veggies in the processor.
  • STEP 4: Pulse process at first then blend until you reach your desired consistency. Transfer to a large bowl.
2 collage picture of spices in a white bowl and blended up salsa in a food processor with spices.
  • STEP 5: For the best flavor, cover and place the salsa in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. This allows all the tasty flavors to meld. 

How to Serve Homemade Salsa

Serve this salsa with your favorite chips, homemade tortilla chips, or yummy Fritos.

Top a taco salad with this salsa as a low-calorie dressing. 

Blend it with this Homemade Ranch Dressing for a delicious, lower-calorie chip dip. 

Spicy, flavor-packed, smooth Salsa is the perfect companion to these quick Air Fryer Burritos or as a companion dip for the best sausage queso dip you’ve ever had. But the best thing about this easy salsa recipe is that it’s deliciously addictive like…eat the whole basket…of your favorite tortilla chips. Yes, it’s that good!

Close up of fresh sliced homegrown tomatoes.

Frequently Asked Questions, FAQ’s

Q: What are the best tomatoes for garden fresh salsa?

A: Beefsteak tomatoes or any variety of juicy heirloom tomatoes have the best flavor and make the best salsa. Fresh Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are not juicy enough and the skin is thicker. If you have an abundance of these tomatoes the best way to use them in salsa is to add them as fillers.

Q: What peppers are best and how many should be used to make salsa?

A: I prefer jalapeño peppers because they have a medium heat level. One or two jalapeno plants provide us with spicy goodness all summer. The number of jalapenos you use depends entirely on your taste buds and heat tolerance. If you want it “warmer” try different varieties of peppers like a Serrano pepper or a finely chopped cayenne pepper. Warning: the salsa will get hotter when it sets for a while. Be careful!

Q: How do I make this salsa thicker but still smooth?

A: If you prefer a thicker salsa, add a cup or can of store-bought stewed tomatoes to the fresh tomato salsa.

Easy Additions and Substitutions 

Add a few black beans, canned corn, chopped avocado, or fresh pineapple! 

Tomatoes – Canned tomatoes can be substituted for fresh.

Jalapeños – Store-bought peppers such as green chiles, Anaheim, or canned jalapenos can be substituted for fresh jalapenos. 

Garlic – If you don’t want to peel garlic, buy bulk already peeled cloves. Garlic powder or garlic paste can be used but fresh is always best in this salsa. 

Cilantro – Fresh cilantro is readily available in most grocery stores all year round. If you’re not a cilantro fan, then, by all means, omit it. Use fresh parsley instead.

Onion – Onions are not hard to find, any grocery store will have them. You can substitute a chopped red onion, green onions, or a fresh white onion for the yellow.


How to Store Leftovers

Garden fresh salsa will stay fresh in the fridge for at least a week in an airtight container or mason jar. Fresh salsa can also be frozen for later use in a freezer-safe container. It’s delicious as a tomato base for this easy Chicken Tortilla Soup.

fresh garden salsa on a chip over a white bowl full of salsa

More Summer Recipes You’ll Love

Cilantro Dill Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Dijon Italian Salad Dressing

Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

Garden Fresh Tomato Bruschetta

bowl of salsa

Easy Fresh Garden Salsa Recipe

Elise
This garden-fresh homemade salsa is a welcome summer snack especially when you have an abundance of homegrown tomatoes, jalapenos, and garlic. Easy and super fast to put together with just five summer fresh ingredients..
No ratings yet
Prep Time 10 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American, Mexican
Servings 10
Calories 25 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups fresh tomatoes rough chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onion rough chopped
  • 1.5 medium jalapeno rough chopped
  • handful of cilantro
  • 3-4 garlic cloves peeled and rough chopped
  • 1.5 tbsp chili powder or more to taste
  • 2 tsp cumin or more to taste
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp salt or more to taste prefer sea salt but regular is good

Instructions
 

  • STEP 1: Cut out the stem area of the tomatoes. Quarter to tomatoes or eighths, depending on how large the tomatoes are. Drain the cut tomatoes in a colander letting the extra liquid run out. Deseed peppers if you prefer milder salsa. Rough chop peppers, onions, garlic, and cilantro.
    3 cups fresh tomatoes, 1/2 yellow onion, 1.5 medium jalapeno, handful of cilantro, 3-4 garlic cloves
  • STEP 2: Place the cut veggies in the food processor or blender.
  • STEP 3: Mix the seasonings together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on top of the veggies in the processor.
    1.5 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tbsp salt or more to taste
  • STEP 4: Pulse process at first then blend until you reach your desired consistency. Transfer to a large bowl.
  • STEP 5: For the best flavor let salsa set in the refrigerator covered for a couple of hours. This allows all the tasty flavors to meld. 

Notes

  • It doesn’t matter what kind of tomatoes you use. A lot of recipes call for Roma tomatoes…well you don’t get a lot of juice with those and salsa needs good, fresh tomato juice.
  • The amount of salt and all other spices depends on the number of tomatoes you use. The juice just sucks up the salt and the spices… taste teste often!
  • If you want a more chunky salsa bypass the food processor and cut up all the veggies to the desired size and place in a bowl.
  • The amount of jalapenos, garlic, and cilantro is entirely up to your taste buds. I was making this salsa recipe for guests so I went mild on the spice/ heat level. Set out some extra Tobasco sauce for the fire lovers!
  • For hotter and spicier salsa use 2 jalapenos with seeds, a little more chili powder, and 1 or 2 extra teaspoons salt.
  • Refrigerate this for at least an hour…24 hours is optimal for ultimate flavor melding!

Nutrition

Calories: 25kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 0.4gFat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.04gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 21mgPotassium: 48mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.4gVitamin A: 361IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg
Keyword appetizer, chips, dip, hot sauce, salsa
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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