As much as our vegetable garden appears to be a fun family project, there’s no denying that it’s really my husband’s domain. He’s really the one who takes care of ours- constantly checking and pruning and feeding and harvesting. And me? I do it for Garden Fresh Salsa. This recipe is totally customizable according to your preferences. I use fresh tomatoes (sometimes supplemented with canned tomatoes), onions, peppers, cilantro, and a touch of chipotle chili powder. Salsa is delicious on so much more than tortilla chips, too. We serve it on salads, baked potatoes, over grilled chicken, you name it. It’s a wonderful, wonderful thing my friends.
Ingredient Notes
- Tomatoes – Salsa is a fantastic way to use up those garden tomatoes! Store bought will of course work, too. If you find you are short on the tomatoes, use 2 less, omit the tomato juice, and add one can diced tomatoes instead. The flavor and texture of canned tomatoes actually works really well in fresh salsa, I do it all the time.
- Peppers –You’ll notice the recipe calls for a few varieties of peppers. I use different peppers depending on what I have or what the store has. I like poblanos and Anaheims (neither are spicy) and you can find those in most grocery stores. I call for one of each in the recipe, but you can use 2 of either one or the other. If you don’t want to use those, or can’t find them, you could use a plain ol’ green pepper. But c’mon, you’re making salsa, be adventurous! Here’s what they look like if you’re not sure.
- Jalapeño – The jalapeño is optional here. If you prefer, you can leave it out.
- Tomato Juice – You can find these little 5.3 ounce cans in the juice section of the grocery store, and they usually come in a 6-pack. They are great to have on hand for soups and stews too.
How to Make Garden Fresh Salsa
- The first thing you want to do is roast your chili peppers (not your jalapeño, if using). Note that roasting isn’t necessary if you are just using a green bell pepper. Slice the tops off your peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Slice the peppers and place skin-side-up on a cookie sheet. You’ll pop them under the broiler until the skin is blackened and bubbly, then remove then from the oven and transfer them immediately to a zip top bag and seal. This will steam the skins for easy removal. This is just one method for roasting peppers, you can see other methods (like the grill pictured below) here: How to Roast Peppers.
- While the peppers are cooking or steaming, combine tomatoes, onions, green onions, garlic, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Oh, and the jalapeño if you’re using it. Stir to combine.
- My little secret ingredient (k, not so secret anymore) is a wee bit of chipotle chili powder.
People who love my salsa are always saying, “it just has that….flavor. What is that??” I think it’s probably the chipotle pepper coming through. It adds mostly smokiness- which really compliments the roasted peppers- and a little bit of heat. I add 1/4 teaspoon, but that might be too much flavor for some people. Start with a bit less and go from there if you’d rather. And you could certainly add canned chipotle chilis if you’ve got some left over from this Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad or these Baked Chipotle Beef Taquitos– but I always just add the powder since it’s so little. - Next, pull those peppers out of the bag, remove and discard the charred skin, then dice and stir into the salsa mixture.
- Once that’s all stirred up, add tomato juice until it’s the consistency you like. I add the whole little can.
- Process in a food processor (or carefully in a blender in really small batches) until it’s the consistency you prefer. I like mine on the chunky side.
- Then don’t you DARE bust out the tortilla chips yet! Put that stuff in a container in the fridge and leave it alone for several hours. It’s going to taste totally different when it comes out. Salsa has to sit around to reach perfection. Let it do its thing before you devour it and it will be a million times better.*I need to add that this recipe is not for canning. If you want to preserve salsa you should use a recipe specified for that purpose. Canned salsa needs to have a certain acidity in order to avoid bacterial contamination. Check with your local extension office for details.
Okay, now you can devour it!
Serving Suggestions
We love eating salsa on pretty much everything at our house! From tacos to fajitas, salads to baked potatoes, and spooned over nearly any meat from the grill.
If you’ve got tons of tomatoes you need to use up, my #1 favorite thing to do is make Oven Roasted Tomatoes. You can make TONS with any variety. They’re to die for.
If you’re looking for ways to use up other garden produce, consider these:
Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
FAQs
- Can this Garden Fresh Salsa be canned? Nope. This recipe has not been written or tested for safe canning. Besides, it’s FRESH salsa and the beauty in that is the bright, fresh flavors of eating it as is!
- How long does this last in the fridge? This salsa is best when eaten within about 3 days.
Did You Make This?
I’d love to hear from you! Snap a picture and tag me on Instagram, and then come back and give this recipe a rating!
Garden Fresh Salsa
This fresh, homemade salsa is packed with fresh tomatoes, onions, and peppers. It’s texture and heat are completely flexible according to your preferences. Serve with tortilla chips, on baked potatoes, with any Latin-inspired dishes, or over grilled meats.
Ingredients
- 4 –5 cups diced tomatoes any variety (about 5–6 med/lg tomatoes, see notes)
- 1 cup diced onion red or white
- 1 poblano pepper see notes
- 1 Anaheim pepper see notes
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions
- 1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup chopped cilantro slice it up stems and all
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice about 2 limes
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/8 –1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- optional: 1 jalapeño seeded and diced
- 1 5.3- ounce can tomato juice that’s the little tiny can, half the size of a pop can
Instructions
- The first thing I do is roast my chili peppers. This can be done a day or two before if you’d like. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove seeds and membranes. slice into strips and place skin side up on a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the oven with your broiler set to high and stay close by to keep an eye on them. When the skins are blackened and bubbly, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and use tongs to immediately transfer the peppers to a gallon-size zip-top bag. Seal the bag and let them hang out while you get everything else ready. For alternate methods and further explanation, you can read all about How To Roast Peppers here.
- While the peppers are cooking or steaming in the bag, combine tomatoes, onions, green onions, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, salt and chipotle powder, and the jalapeño if you’re using it. Stir to combine.
- Remove peppers from zip-top bag, peel off and discard charred skins (they will come off easily), and chop. Add to salsa mixture and stir to combine.
- Once that’s all stirred up, add tomato juice until it’s the consistency you like.
- Process in a food processor (or carefully in a blender in really small batches) until it’s the consistency you prefer. I like mine on the chunky side.
- Put salsa in a container in the fridge and leave it alone for several hours. It’s going to taste totally different when it comes out. Salsa has to sit around to reach perfection. Let it do its thing before you devour it and it will be a million times better.
Notes
- If you don’t have that many tomatoes: use 2 less, omit the tomato juice, and add one can diced tomatoes instead. The flavor and texture of canned tomatoes actually works really well in fresh salsa, I do it all the time.
- You can also substitute 1 green bell pepper for the poblano and Anaheim. No roasting is necessary with the bell pepper.
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
I also used tomato sauce instead of tomato juice (because that’s what I had on hand) and it worked great!
I made this today… so so yummy. And I was naughty and ate it right after I blended it. I thought it was delicious! Thank you!
My siblings, their families, and myself all gathered with my parents this year for Christmas for a few weeks. It was joyous and wonderful. We love, love, love salsa! This was the best EVER salsa I have ever made and the only salsa I will ever make again. It was actually voted a keeper with everyone. I made six batches over the hoidays, well actually you could say nine since I doubled the last three. I actually fire-roasted 4 jalapenos per batch which gave just the right heat I was looking for. We had it on everything from savory pancakes and eggs,used it as juevos rancheros sauce, to the Christmas tamales and the New Year’s ham. You were so completely right on two things, it is good right after it’s made, but you must wait that hour and oh my heavens and stars, it’s out of this world after and the chipotle powder definately gives it that “it kind of tastes like something I’ve had before” vibe. It is wonderful and thank you so incredibly much for providing this scrumptious recipe!
I forgot one thing, I have actually frozen this salsa in freezer bags and it has come out great when defrosted. There is some residual “water” from the veggies, but I skim the top of it out and yeah I have great salsa without having to make it from scratch everytime.
It’s been a over a year since I first made this salsa and it is now a Christmas tradition in our house now. I have made it at least twice a month since january 2012 and will continue to make it. Every tongue who has come in contact with this salsa falls in love with it. I have found when I freeze the salsa and then defrost and skim off water from the veggies, I add a little bit more tomoato juice just to thicken it a little, sometimes I even add more chipotle powder to the mix. Thanks again ladies for this wonderful family tradition!
I helped my daughter make this salsa back in Sept. It was to die for…yummmy. I have one question…can I roast the peppers on the stove? I have a gas stove and I have seen it done on the cooking shows. We always have Mexican food for Christmas and I’m going to make this salsa, but will probably have to double it.
I love all of the recipes of yours that I have tried. Keep up the good work!!!!!
About how many cans of tomatoes would this be in lieu of the fresh tomatoes? I have 2 little ones and I work full time, so the easier the better for me 😉
Couldn’t it be canned if you use a pressure canner, which is used for low acid things?
You probably could, I just haven’t tested it so I can’t recommend it!
I am going to make this salsa and never tell a soul about the "secret" ingredient. lol. We love salsa and we are always experimenting with different ingredients.
So glad I found your site! I absolutely love it!
vertigoxcured- Ya, that should work just fine!
quick question. i dont bust out my grill very often. so i was thinking of grilling like 4 or 5 of each pepper so that next time i make some salsa i have some on hand. my question is…do you think thats a good idea? like after i grill them and take the skin off should i just throw em in some freezer bags and just pull them out as i need them?
SUCCESS! Sara, thanks for another great recipe. I made the salsa on Monday and two days later it is almost gone. My husband can't get enough of it and I am awfully pleased too. Now I just hope my tomato plants will survive a couple more weeks.
I LOVE this salsa recipe! I have made it three times in the last 2 weeks. Thanks for giving me a tasty way to use up my tomatoes!
That salsa looks great, the tomato juice is a great tip.
Ellen you don't have to add any juice at all. When I use a can of tomatoes instead the little juice in there is plenty for me. It's all about preference. If you like it really thick, then ya- totally squeeze out some of the tomato guts first!
Ok — it seems my salsa is always way too thin anyway without ever adding anything to make it runnier, do you try to squeeze out the seeds to get rid of a little of the moisture? I imagine if I then added tomato juice to the mix I most certainly would have soup! Give me some tips here….:)
I'll definitely be trying this–I love fresh salsa!
That looks so good. I finally had a nice little garden going and then we moved and it was too late to start over 🙁 But I think this salsa will give me the movitvation I need to start again next year.
Yum! We love homemade fresh salsa, but my husband especially does so he will be so excited when I make this.
YUM!! Such a fresh yummy recipe!