Fresh Blender Salsa made with tomatoes, cilantro, onion and lime juice made super fast in a blender! Better than restaurant homemade salsa recipe with amazing fresh flavor everyone loves.
I began making blender salsa years ago and WOW- I had no idea it was so easy. When I heard of blender salsa I envisioned salsa puree- but that’s not actually the case! I have a high powdered blender and it takes just a minute or two to get the perfect salsa consistency. And the flavor! Incredible. This time of year is perfect too because many of us have fresh tomatoes from the garden.
Fresh Salsa Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this salsa:
- 5-6 fresh tomatoes: Garden tomatoes are the BEST! If you have to buy them, aim for a Farmer’s Market or the vine-on variety at the grocery store. They taste so much better ! (You can use canned tomatoes too- aim for about 20 oz of tomatoes with the liquid drained)
- fresh cilantro: no substitutions!
- red onion and/or sweet onion: I personally think salsa tastes the best if you use half sweet onion, half red onion. Try it!
- minced garlic: fresh or jarred is fine. I once used homemade roasted garlic and it was AMAZING!
- lime juice: fresh or bottled is fine
- salt
- pinch of sugar: sounds odd, but don’t leave it out! Just a tiny bit of sugar cuts down on the acidity of tomatoes and makes a big difference in flavor.
Can you use any tomatoes for salsa?
The best kinds of tomatoes you can use for salsa are the ones you have on hand! Ha! I use any kind of tomato. My favorite store-bought tomatoes are the red on the vine tomatoes because I think they have great flavor. Roma tomatoes have fewer seeds, so they’re also popular because you use more of each tomato.
Can you use dried cilantro in salsa?
Dried cilantro, also called coriander is not a good option for salsa because it just doesn’t have enough flavor. You’ll want to use fresh cilantro for this salsa recipe!
How to Make Blender Salsa with Fresh Tomatoes
This homemade salsa takes only about 10 minutes to make, start to finish. Here’s what you need to do:
Prepare the tomatoes
Wash tomatoes and cut out the core. Slice each tomato in fourths. Using a spoon or your hands, gently remove the seeds from each tomato. Make sure you feel around each section and get all the watery seed membrane out. The tomato pieces will look empty and that’s ok!
Roughly chop onion & cilantro
Slice onion into 1″ chunks. My favorite salsa has half red onion and half sweet onion. If you opt for both, you’ll just need about 4-5 one inch chunks of each.
Cut 1/3 of one bunch of cilantro. Take that bunch and cut it in half or thirds, depending on the size.
Blend it!
Add tomatoes to your blender. Top with cilantro, onion, garlic, lime juice, sugar and salt. Place the lid on your blender and pulse 5-10 times. I like to aim for a consistency thinner than chunky salsa, but definitely not pureed.
Store it!
Transfer salsa to a jar. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving. Salsa stays fresh refrigerated in an air tight container for 1 week- 10 days.
How to make spicy salsa
My family isn’t a fan of spicy salsa, but if you want to add some heat, I recommend adding 1/4 tsp Chipotle Chili Pepper seasoning. It adds a wonderful smoky flavor and just enough heat to make it interesting. You can also add about 1/3 of a fresh jalapeno pepper with the seeds removed.
Do I have to let this Salsa sit before eating?
Ideally, this salsa will sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours prior to being served. You can eat it right away, however the salsa is a bit frothy from the blender, so it is best if it sits a couple hours. I aim to make this salsa the night before I want to serve it so that it chills in the fridge overnight. The flavors meld better and it’s AMAZING the next day!
Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 5-6 fresh tomatoes
- 1/3 bunch fresh cilantro about 1/3 cup loosely packed
- 1/4 cup red onion and/or sweet onion
- 1 TBSP minced garlic
- 1 TBSP lime juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch granulated sugar
Instructions
- Wash tomatoes and cut out the core. Slice each tomato in fourths. Using a spoon or your hands, gently remove the seeds from each tomato. Make sure you feel around each section and get all the watery seed membrane out. The tomato pieces will look empty and that's ok!
- Slice onion into 1" chunks. My favorite salsa has half red onion and half sweet onion. If you opt for both, you'll just need about 4-5 one inch chunks of each.
- Cut 1/3 of one bunch of cilantro. Take that bunch and cut it in half or thirds, depending on the size.
- Add tomatoes to your blender. Top with cilantro, onion, garlic, lime juice, sugar and salt. Place the lid on your blender and pulse 5-10 times. I like to aim for a consistency thinner than chunky salsa, but definitely not pureed.
- Transfer salsa to a jar. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving. Salsa stays fresh refrigerated in an air tight container for 1 week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩
I consent to receiving emails from this site.
Can I freeze this fresh tomato salsa recipe?
You can freeze salsa! Just store it in an airtight container. You can freeze it for up to 2 months. Just thaw, stir and enjoy!
Why add sugar to this easy salsa recipe?
Just a tiny amount of sugar added to salsa reduces the acidity to make it more palatable. You don’t need much and you can use granulated sugar or brown sugar.
Easy Blender Salsa made with fresh tomatoes, cilantro, onion and lime juice made super fast in a blender! Better than restaurant salsa with amazing fresh flavor everyone loves.
Beth says
I love, love this post! I love, love restaurant style salsa and I love, love how quick and flavorful this recipe is! Can’t wait to give it a try!
Dara Michalski says
Can’t stop thinking about this! Delicious!
dmessmer says
Not good. Taste nothing like salsa just tomatoes. Very disapointed
MeHoff, Jack says
How can you have salsa without peppers?
Jessica says
Right?! You have to try it. IT’S SO GOOD.
Ann says
I’m allergic to citrus so what can I substitute for lime juice?
Jessica says
I’d just leave it out. : (
Margarita Calderon says
Can this recipe be canned??
Jessica says
I’m not sure- I’m a canning drop out. : (
Karen says
Made this for a pool party. Used a food processor instead of blender. Was afraid the tomatoes would purée before the other ingredients chopped fine, so I pulsed the tomatoes first, put them in a bowl, then pulsed the remaining ingredients and added to tomatoes. Delicious! And I even forgot the sugar! I filled a quart size jar and came home with It empty!! Amount of salt and lime juice was perfect. A great recipe for garden-fresh tomatoes. Also, sometimes the skin is tough, so I peeled the tomatoes. Will definitely make this again!
Alison says
I’m so happy this was a hit for you Karen!
Lisalia says
WOW this was amazing. I loved the garden-fresh tomatoes in this. A perfect summer time recipe. And who doesn’t love salsa??
Claudia Lamascolo says
I grew tomatoes and peppers this year and this was the best recipe ever made with all fresh ingredients!
Raider Mom says
Have you ever tried canning this?
Jessica says
I haven’t… we eat it too fast.
Sky says
It says one of the ingredients is a pinch of sugar, but nothing about it is mentioned in the recipe…when do you use it?
Jessica says
Updated it- you just toss it in with the rest of the ingredients!
Penny Kohnert says
Can I use cherry tomatoes instead? We have a bumper crop.
Nellie says
Sounds like a great idea Penny!
Carole Kerper says
This was so good! I just threw everything into the blender and pulsed until combined. Wonderful!
Abby Harshman says
First time I’ve ever attempted making salsa which is surprising considering how much I love mexican food! This was such a hit and so easy to make! I think I blended a little too much, so I added just a few more tomatoes for thickness and flavor from off the vine and tweaked it with some spices for hotness and my family devoured it! SO DELICIOUS!
Kaylie says
Love it! Thank you, Abby!
Bettina says
I loved the recipe. I’ve never heard of taking the seeds and juice out of the tomatoe, why do you do that? Anyways I didn’t measure exact I guesstimate and it’s delicious!!! I’ve never made salsa this good. Thank you very much.
Jessica says
Spoiler alert: I never measure when I’m making salsa either! HA! I de-seed the tomatoes because I like the way it tastes more. It’s less watery. : )
Najia Safi says
Looks so good. Thank you for the recipe! I’m going to make it this weekend 🙂
Alison says
I hope you enjoy it!
Wendy Korpita says
Love your recipe! Wish I could get it right though! Flavor is there but I have tried sooooo many times with many recipes but my salsa always comes out frothy in the blender or with the stick blender. I put it in the fridge but the froth never goes down. Is this a common problem? What am I doing wrong?
Jessica says
It starts out frothy, but after sitting in the fridge, the froth goes away. Maybe try blending it a bit less?
Andrea says
Very easy to make. I used my homegrown jalapeno peppers, and roasted them before taking out the seeds. It was more like a green salsa and after sitting overnight, was amazing on anything I used it on. Family said this is a keeper recipe!
Jessica says
I love your changes Andrea!
Phyllis says
Can you freeze this?
Jessica says
I’ve never tried freezing homemade salsa before…
Jennifer A. says
I’m going to make this with garden produce. I’m making peach pineapple salsa, cause that’s my favorite. Thanks for the recipe
Alison says
It is 10000X better with garden produce! Enjoy!
Amanda says
I make this salsa with peach and I also add a dash of green chilies hot sauce or red hot sauce. I add a few red pepper flakes too w a dash of chili powder. It makes a wonderful sweet and spicy salsa!
Mary P says
Unfortunately we can’t use cilantro. Some of us have the issue of it tasting like soap..which ruins the entire dish.
Perhaps parsley ? It gives a pop of color anyway. Any other suggestions ? TY
Pat says
I don’t always have fresh cilantro. In the produce section they have tubes of cilantro it is almost like fresh and beats the dried.