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!
