This authentic Mexican Salsa recipe or salsa roja is unbelievably delicious, easy to make and seriously the BEST homemade salsa recipe you’ll ever taste. Made with fresh tomatoes, onions, jalapeño chiles, salt and lime juice, this salsa roja recipe is better than any restaurant-style or store-bought salsa!
We love Mexican food around here and this fresh salsa, as well as my authentic Pico de Gallo and my favorite homemade guacamole are perfect served with crispy homemade tortilla chips!
Best Authentic Mexican Salsa Recipe
Living in California for so many years meant, among other things, having the best authentic Mexican food available. We often ate at Mexican restaurants and food trucks and have tried many different types of salsas but, when it came to salsa recipes our homemade fresh Mexican salsa recipe beat any restaurant-style or store bought salsa by far!
Why This Recipe Works
- Fresh, Healthy and Delicious: This authentic Mexican salsa is made with a handful of fresh ingredients like whole tomatoes and jalapeño peppers. It’s healthy, low carb, gluten-free and unlike store-bought salsa, this recipe is made without any additives or preservatives. This delicious salsa roja is truly the best salsa ever!
- Quick and Easy Dip: This simple recipe is easy to throw together and you can make a batch in very little time.
- Customizable: Making it mild or extra spicy is up to you!
- Versatile: Salsa can be used as a party dip or appetizer, as a condiment or topping piled up on tacos, burritos and many other dishes.
Mexican Salsa Recipe Ingredients
- Tomatoes: Fresh ripe tomatoes are a must. Pick tomatoes that are not too soft. Plum tomatoes (Roma tomatoes) are commonly used although any ripe tomato works.
- Jalapeño: Jalapeño peppers add freshness and a vivid pop of heat to this flavorful salsa.You can adjust the heat level by using different kinds of chiles. Serrano peppers have a little extra heat if you like spicy flavors. For a spicier salsa, keep the chile’s veins intact.
- Onions: I use brown, yellow or white onion. Any sweet onion will work.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is a key ingredient in Mexican salsa.
- Lime: Nothing compares to the flavor of fresh lime juice.
Best Tomatoes for Mexican Salsa
To make the best and tastiest salsa, choose a “meaty” tomato variety such as plum, roma, vine-ripe tomatoes and beefsteak. Stay away from cherry, grape or heirloom tomatoes.
Although I prefer making this recipe with fresh tomatoes, If you need to use canned tomatoes, I suggest canned fire-roasted tomatoes.
Ingredient Tips for this Authentic Salsa Recipe
- To remove any strong bitter taste from raw onions, chop them, put them in a sieve and sprinkle them with salt. After a couple of minutes, rinse them under cold running water.
- The seeds do not make a chile hot! The heat is in the spongy white veins or ribs. When the chile is cut, then the heat spills all over the seeds. If you want to remove the heat, remove the veins not just the seeds.
How to Make Mexican Salsa
Charring fresh vegetables is a technique widely used in Mexican cooking. Charring concentrates and deepens the flavor of the ingredients and in the case of this salsa de mesa or blended salsa, it’s the secret for attaining the best flavor.
In this easy recipe we char the tomatoes and chiles in a dry pan (I love using a cast iron skillet for this). Charring can be done on an open flame or under the broiler. This is just an additional, super quick and easy step that makes all the difference and adds extra flavor.
- Char Tomatoes and Chiles: Heat a large cast iron skillet or a heavy-bottomed skillet and add the tomatoes and the chiles. Char on all sides, rotating as needed until blackened. Transfer the chiles to a cutting board and allow them to cool.
- Blend Tomatoes: Place the tomatoes, including any charred skin that has completely fallen off, in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse a couple of times for about 10 seconds or until the tomatoes are blended but with a few small chunks for texture. Transfer the blended tomatoes to a bowl.
- Chop Roasted Chiles: Cut the charred chiles in half lengthwise, remove the stems and seeds. You can remove the ribs if you don’t like your roasted salsa too spicy. Chop the chiles into small dice.
- Mix and Season: Mix the chiles, onions and cilantro with the tomatoes until combined. Stir in the lime juice and salt. Taste and season with additional lime juice and salt, if needed. Cover and refrigerate until cooled. Serve with chips
Alternatively, you can broil the tomatoes in the oven. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and place it 6-inches beneath the broiler. Broil, rotating every few minutes, until the skins are charred.
Do’s and Don’ts for the Best Homemade Salsa
- Do: Choose ripe tomatoes that are not too soft.
- Do: Char the tomatoes until they are almost blackened!
- Do: Allow the salsa to sit for about an hour before serving. The flavors need a bit of time to develop (plus the salsa needs to chill).
- Do: When using the blender or food processor, use the pulse function. Processing too much results in watery salsa.
- Don’t: process the onions and cilantro. Chopped onions and cilantro add a bit of texture to the salsa. The cilantro flavor will be a lot fresher too.
- Don’t: De-seeding the tomatoes is not necessary for this cooked salsa recipe. Roast the tomatoes whole and then place them in the food processor or blender.
- Don’t: Rush the process. Char the tomatoes and chiles. That dark char really adds lots of complex flavor. Don’t serve the salsa as soon as it’s mixed together. Allow the flavors to meld. 30 minutes is good, 1 hour is better, overnight is best!
Storing Mexican Salsa Roja
How Long Will Salsa Last?
This salsa will last for about a week when stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
What’s The Difference Between Salsa and Pico De Gallo?
Pico de gallo is always made with raw chopped tomatoes, onions and chiles while restaurant-style homemade salsa is made with ingredients that are first roasted and then blended.
There are many variations in the ingredients used to make Mexican roasted salsa; however, when it comes to Pico de gallo, the recipe always includes the same ingredients – fresh ripe tomatoes, onions, chiles, cilantro, lime juice and salt.
Is Salsa Roja Spicy?
One of the best things about making homemade Mexican salsa is that you can make it mild or as spicy as you want. For a mild, non-spicy salsa, devein the chiles and remove the seeds (the heat is actually in the veins but the seeds sometimes have traces of the vein membranes)
Should You Cook Tomatoes Before Making Salsa?
For this authentic Mexican Salsa recipe, we charred the tomatoes in a dry skillet before blending it with the rest of the ingredients. Charring can also be done on an open flame, a comal (a cast iron skillet or griddle) or under the oven’s broiler. Charring is a technique widely used in traditional Mexican cuisine. Charring concentrates and deepens the flavor of the ingredients bringing out their flavor. I see it as turning the volume up on the ingredients. When charring tomatoes, they become tastier, sweeter and juicier which makes for a much better salsa especially if compared with canned tomatoes or jarred store bought salsa.
Do You Peel Tomatoes For Salsa
No, we use tomatoes with the skin on to make salsa. In this authentic Mexican salsa recipe the tomatoes get charred which darkens the tomato’s skin to almost black. Some of the skin may get stuck on the pan or skillet, although I usually scrape the skillet to get the almost burnt looking pieces into the salsa. They add flavor and a very nice rustic look.
Do You Put Vinegar In Salsa?
No, vinegar is not an ingredient used to make authentic Mexican salsa or salsa roja. Tomatoes are already acidic and vinegar is a strong sour ingredient that would only make the salsa more acidic and not in a good way. A little bit of lime juice however, adds a hint of fresh citrus flavor without overpowering it or making the salsa astringent. If lime juice is not available, use fresh lemon juice.
Tips for the Best Homemade Salsa
- Choose ripe but firm tomatoes.
- When blending the salsa, make sure to leave a bit of texture.
- Allow the fresh salsa to sit in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving. This allows the flavors to meld together and also chills the salsa.
- I don’t make homemade salsa with canned tomatoes; however, if you decide to use canned tomatoes, I recommend using roasted canned tomatoes.
- You can use a blender or food processor to make homemade salsa.
Take A Look At these Other Amazing Mexican Recipes:
Authentic Mexican Salsa Roja
Ingredients
- 6 ripe medium tomatoes stem removed
- 2 – 4 jalapeno or serrano chiles or more for additional heat
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon of lime juice or more to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add the tomatoes and the chiles to the pan and char on all sides, rotating the vegetables occasionally until blackened. This can take about 6 minutes for the chiles and 10 to 15 minutes for the tomatoes. The tomato skins should begin to pull away from the flesh and the chiles will look blistered.
- Transfer the chiles to a cutting board and allow them to cool. Place the tomatoes, including any charred skin that has completely fallen off, in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse a couple of times for about 10 seconds or until the tomatoes are blended but with a few small chunks for texture.
- Transfer the blended tomatoes to a bowl. Cut the charred chiles in half lengthwise and remove the stems and seeds. You can remove the ribs if you don’t like the salsa too spicy. Chop the chiles into small dice.
- Mix the chiles, onions and cilantro with the tomatoes until combined. Stir in the lime juice and salt. Taste and season with additional lime juice and salt, if needed. Cover and refrigerate until cooled. Serve with chips.
Recipe Notes
- Choose ripe but firm tomatoes.
- When blending the salsa, make sure to leave a bit of texture.
- Allow the fresh salsa to sit in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving. This allows the flavors to meld together and also chills the salsa.
- I don’t make homemade salsa with canned tomatoes; however, if you decide to use canned tomatoes, I recommend using roasted canned tomatoes.
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