Restaurant Style Salsa

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This quick and easy blender salsa is the simplest appetizer you’ll ever make and pairs well with any of your favorite Mexican dishes. The healthiest way to add lots of flavor to any dish is THIS homemade salsa!

What is blender salsa?

Blender salsa is just like the smooth, slightly spicy salsa you’ll find at your favorite Mexican restaurant. It’s loaded with fresh flavors of garlic, onion, jalapeno and cilantro. But it’s made with the convenience of canned San Marzano tomatoes. Which means you can enjoy it all year round!

Why you’re going to love this salsa:

• Did you see that ingredient list!? 8 ingredients that you might already have in your kitchen is all it takes to make this restaurant style salsa. No fancy, exotic peppers or spices. Just simple, straight forward, common ingredients!
• The flavors are AMAZING. Dare I say the flavors are actually better than restaurant salsa?! I think it might have something to do with how FRESH the salsa tastes, but this is hands down the best salsa I have ever had. Period.
• It’s easy to adjust this salsa to suit your personal taste! Like it spicy? Add a little more cayenne or leave the ribs and seeds in the jalapenos. Do you like a strong acid flavor in your salsa? Add an extra squeeze of fresh lime juice. A 1/2 teaspoon of chiles in adobo added to this salsa will give you a great smoky heat too! This recipe is really easy to make your own!

How to make restaurant style salsa:

As the name suggests, you’re going to blend all the classic salsa ingredients together giving you the smoothest, slightly spicy fresh salsa you’ve ever had.

You’ll add a big can of ripe, juicy San Marzano tomatoes to your blender along with chopped red onion, smashed garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, cumin, cayenne and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my ninja blender and use it regularly for soups and smoothies but it’s PERFECT for this salsa!

Blend for about a minute or so and voila! Fresh salsa that tastes just like (if not better than) the stuff from your favorite Mexican restaurant.

Tips for making the best restaurant style salsa:

• If you can’t find fire roasted San Marzano tomatoes, regular diced tomatoes will work just fine! I’m a huge San Marzano fan and would highly recommend spending the extra moolah on them. But if you can’t find them or are trying to stick to a budget, diced tomatoes will work great too!
• You don’t necessarily need a high speed blender for this salsa. If you’re using just a regular blender, you might need to blend for longer than a minute. Use your judgement – when the salsa ingredients are well minced and combined, the salsa is done. You could also use a food processor to make this salsa! Again, just use your judgement
• If you like a chunkier salsa, don’t blend it for quite as long. I’m a HUGE fan of the smooth consistency of restaurant style salsa, but if you like chunks of tomato and onion, scale back the blending time. Give it a few quick pulses until it reaches your desired consistency.
• The longer this salsa sits the more the flavors will blossom. If you’re having friends over, feel free to make this salsa a day or two in advance (and then hide it in the back of your fridge so your kids and husband don’t eat it all)! 24 hours in the fridge will make this salsa the best of the best. ALSO – Add more salt to taste just before serving if it’s been in the fridge for a couple days.

Using fresh tomatoes instead of canned:

This easy salsa is one of my favorite ways to use up all the fresh roma tomatoes that my in-laws give us from their garden! I usually sub about 4 cups of fresh chopped tomatoes in place of the 28 oz. can of San Marzanos.

Serve this salsa with:

• Baked Chicken & Black Bean Taquitos
• Ground Beef Flautas
• Shredded Chicken Tostadas
• Beer Braised Pork Carnitas
• Baked Fish Tacos
• Sheet Pan Quesadillas

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This post was originally published in August of 2017. It was updated in April of 2019 to include process shots and tips for making the best restaurant style salsa every single time!