Restaurant Style Salsa is inexpensive and a cinch to make at home. Learn the ingredient I use to make it taste just like a restaurant's!
“This salsa is AMAZING!! It is so simple to make and is so much better than store bought. Everyone that has tried it requests the recipe!”
I’m about to share with you one of the greatest restaurant hacks of all time: making homemade, restaurant-style salsa is not only easy and inexpensive, but it’s BEST made with canned tomatoes.
While fresh tomatoes make great pico de gallo, you gotta go with canned tomatoes if you want that true restaurant salsa flavor.
You heard it here first, folks!
Watch How to Make It
Homemade Restaurant-Style Salsa
I’ve been making this homemade salsa recipe since college, which is when I found out that canned tomatoes are the secret to the addictive-deliciousness of restaurant style salsa (ie, I begged the waiter at Carlos O’Kelly’s to tell me how they make their salsa. SO GOOD!)
Of course I occasionally slack and buy salsa at the store, but this recipe gives you the restaurant experience at home, and takes just a few minutes to make.
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- Inexpensive: the recipe for Restaurant Style Salsa makes 4 cups of salsa for under $5. That said, its very economical and great for serving at parties and get togethers.
- Long-lasting: homemade salsa will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge. While I don’t have experience canning, I know enough to confidently say this recipe would can well.
- Quick & easy: I use my 14 cup food processor to whip this salsa up in just a few minutes, though a blender would most likely work well too.
- Customize the spice: as written, my recipe is mild on the spice scale, but feel free to leave the seeds in the jalapeno to increase the spice level, and/or experiment with adding different kinds of chili peppers.
How to Make Restaurant Style Salsa
There’s just one step involved in this recipe – throw a bunch of ingredients into the bowl of a food processor then pulse – woo!
We’ve got canned whole peeled tomatoes, red onion (white onion works great too), fresh cilantro, fresh garlic, jalapeno, salt, sugar, and fresh lime juice.
NOTE: if your canned tomatoes contain sugar in the ingredient list then omit the sugar in the recipe.
Pulse the ingredients until you reach your desired consistency then taste and add more salt and/or lime juice if necessary.
That said, this salsa is best eaten 24 hours or more after making, so the flavors have time to meld, and so I like to adjust the seasonings just before serving the day after making.
Scoop the salsa into a 4 cup mason jar or bowl with a tight fitting lid then refrigerate for 24 hours to let the flavors really meld before digging in. The salsa will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks, though mine never ever sticks around that long.
I hope you love this EASY restaurant style salsa at home! Enjoy!
Serve Restaurant Style Salsa with these Recipes:
- Beef Enchiladas
- Cheese Enchiladas with Red Sauce
- Homemade Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper
- Easy Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken Fajitas
- Creamy Pinto Beans
- Cheesy Chicken Burrito Skillet
- Restaurant-Style Ground Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
- 1/2 red or white onion, roughly chopped
- 1 handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped (leave in seeds for a spicier salsa)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon sugar*
Directions
- Add ingredients — whole tomatoes through salt — to a food processor. Add the juice of half a lime, plus the sugar if your canned tomatoes do not contain sugar. If sugar is listed as an ingredient on your canned tomatoes, omit the sugar.
- Pulse ingredients until desired consistency is reached then taste and add more lime juice and/or salt if necessary. Refrigerate overnight for best results then serve.
Notes
- This salsa is mild as written with 1 seeded jalapeno.
- This recipe makes ~4 cups of salsa.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I make this using fresh tomatoes sold at Safeway, lots more cilantro and roast the jalapeno over fire. Then add a touch of cumin and southwest seasoning. Perfect! Thank you!
I was wondering if I am able to can this salsa and whether canning changes the flavor?
Just made this salsa, and holy cow is it delicious!!! I used one jalapeño like the recipe called for, it must have been a potent one, and it was spicy! But I love spicy so I’m totally OK with it. I love a good thin, runny salsa and this hot the spot!!
Yum! Just made this, SO good!!!
This is awesome! My husband said it tastes just like our favorite Mexican restaurant, and I agree! I can’t believe it took me this many years to make this!!!
Being from Bama we take salsa serious for tailgating. Gonna make this wknd with mater’s and peppers straight from the garden.
Wonderful! Fresh and delicious!!
From now on, this is my go to salsa in the house! I’ve made it a few times now and I love it. I’ve made it for friends and passed an extra bottle over to neighbors and it’s great on everything!
This is so good! Exactly what I was hoping. After wasting money on store salsa, trying to find an authentic, restaurant style salsa, without that southwest flavor (cumin?) I tried this and it’s perfect!
Ahh, so glad to hear that, Jason! Thanks so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Absolutely delicious! This is the best salsa I have ever made! It will definitely be my go-to recipe! I did still omit the sugar, even though my canned tomatoes did not have any. It was perfect!!!
I’ve tried many many salsa recipes. This one I’ve done a few times now and it’s my new go to! I usually have everything already in my pantry or fridge and just need to grab the fresh cilantro. Fool proof and I love it!! Thanks so much!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! This is the only salsa my family wants.
I loved this salsa, and my husband really liked it as well! Couldn’t believe it tasted so good since it’s so EASY! Doesn’t replace my personal favorite salsa (Clint’s!), but a close 2nd. Love being able to control the heat level – we like it hot!
Ooo, I’ve never tried Clint’s. What part of the country are you in?
Clint’s is a Texas made salsa, but you can get it on Amazon or Walmart online. It’s very good and yours is very close to Clint’s