This Easy Restaurant Style Salsa recipe is a fresh homemade blender salsa that’s perfect for serving with all your favourite Mexican foods! It’s so easy to make – just throw the ingredients in the blender and serve!
Mexican restaurant-style salsa holds a special place in our hearts and there’s nothing quite like dipping a crunchy tortilla chip into a bowl of restaurant-style salsa or drizzling it over a soft taco. It’s basically magic in a bowl!
And the best part is, with the convenience of modern kitchen appliances, making authentic Mexican restaurant-style salsa at home has never been easier. All you need is a trusty blender or food processor, and you can recreate the flavours you love, right in your own kitchen.
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What sets Mexican restaurant style salsa apart from other salsas?
- Freshness: Unlike canned salsa, which may sometimes lack that vibrant punch, this salsa bursts with the freshness of garden-picked ingredients. The stars of the show are plump and juicy tomatoes, finely chopped onions, fragrant cilantro, zesty lime juice, and the perfect hint of jalapenos for that subtle heat.
- Smooth and Luscious Texture: One of the defining features of restaurant-style salsa is its smooth, velvety texture. Unlike chunkier versions like fresh pico de gallo or other canned salsas, the ingredients in restaurant style salsa are thoroughly blended or processed in a food processor, creating a silky, more liquid consistency that coats every chip with perfection.
Restaurant style salsa is best served with a big bowl of tortilla chips for dipping. We also love serving it alongside our favourite homemade guacamole.
It’s also delicious served with these Easy Oven-Baked Chicken Fajitas that usually make their way onto our weekly meal plan, and even for breakfast on eggs or in breakfast burritos. Trust me, if you want an easy peasy salsa recipe that’s ready in minutes, this is the one for you!
Here’s a list of ingredients you’ll need to make this restaurant style salsa at home:
- canned plum tomatoes
- green bell pepper
- yellow onion
- garlic
- fresh lime
- jalapeno pepper
- fresh cilantro
- cumin
- salt
- granulated sugar
To make this recipe, you’ll need these kitchen items (paid links):
Time needed: 15 minutes
Follow these steps for the perfect homemade salsa recipe!
- Add the ingredients to your blender.
Add the tomatoes, chopped bell pepper, chopped onion, minced garlic, lime zest and juice, diced jalapeno, cilantro leaves, cumin, salt and sugar to your blender (or food processor).
- Don’t skip the sugar.
Sugar is an unlikely ingredient in salsa, but adding just a pinch or two adds hardly any calories but has a massive impact on the flavour. Sugar cuts down the acidic taste of the tomatoes giving the salsa a smooth flavour.
- Pulse on low speed.
Pulse on low speed just until the salsa reaches the desired consistency. Don’t blend more than you need to, or your salsa might lighten in colour as you blend more air into it.
- Serve.
Pour into a bowl and serve with tortilla chips for dipping or with your favourite Mexican foods.
What is the difference between salsa and restaurant style salsa?
Restaurant style salsa is unique because it’s often roughly blended, giving it a smoother and more liquid texture than traditional salsa.
Why is Mexican restaurant salsa so good?
Mexican restaurant salsa is so delicious because it’s made with flavourful ingredients like tomatoes, lime, salt, garlic, onion and jalapeno.
Is restaurant salsa healthy?
Yes, restaurant style salsa is typically healthy since it’s made naturally low fat with plant-based ingredients.
How to store restaurant style salsa?
Homemade restaurant style salsa can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about one week.
Why is salsa pink?
If your homemade restaurant style salsa looks pink it’s probably because you’ve blended too much air into it. When blending your salsa it’s best to pulse it on low speed just until the correct consistency is reached.
I hope you like this homemade salsa recipe! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite way to enjoy fresh homemade salsa?
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Easy Restaurant Style Salsa
Recipe: Ingredients
- 800 grams canned plum tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- zest and juice of one lime
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper diced (seeds removed)
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- a pinch or two of white sugar
Recipe: Instructions
- Add the tomatoes, chopped bell pepper, chopped onion, minced garlic, lime zest and juice, diced jalapeno, cilantro leaves, cumin, salt and sugar to your blender (or food processor).
- Pulse on low speed just until the salsa reaches the desired consistency.
- Pour into a bowl and serve with tortilla chips for dipping or with your favourite Mexican foods.
Recipe: Notes
Storage Instructions
This salsa keeps in the fridge for up to 7 days.Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
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Let us do the work for you with 7 days of deliciously easy family dinners, grocery lists, meal prep guides and MORE!
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Buy 3, save 30%!
Buy 4 or more, save 40%!
Sounds simple and delicious. Can’t wait to try it. But after all the raving about your mom’s salsa….you MUST share that recipe!
Thanks! I will definitely try to share my mom’s recipe soon!!
Can fresh fresh plum tomatoes be used in place of canned?
Thanks.
Sure. Happy cooking!
I’ve been looking for a good salsa recipe ever since I moved to Germany about 5 years ago. All of the store salsas seem to be more like a smokey bbq and vinegar flavor rather than fresh and bright. Of course, fresh cilantro (coriander) is still a bit of a challenge to find and is usually only available in dried form or paste (the paste seems to be better than the dried variety). Thanks for sharing, because I’ve really missed some of the simple things from home that we take for granted will be similar when traveling or living abroad.
I understand that feeling very well. This easy salsa is my go to whenever I want salsa that actually tastes like salsa, as here, in Europe, the store bought ones don’t always have the right flavour. Enjoy! ☺️