5 Minute Blender Salsa Recipe
This blender salsa comes together in about five minutes, thanks to fire-roasted canned tomatoes. It’s bright, punchy, and full of fresh flavor. The kind of salsa you’ll find yourself making again and again because it’s just that easy.
Yes, you can make salsa in the blender.
That’s right. Add all your favorites – garlic, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro – along with some canned tomatoes in the blender and let it do the work for you! Because this recipe centers around canned tomatoes, you can enjoy it all year round, no matter the season.
Here’s how it all comes together.
Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor.
Blend for about a minute until everything is well minced and combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Enjoy immediately with crispy tortilla chips or store in the fridge for 24 hours to let the flavors really come together!
Things I learned while testing this recipe.
- If you like a thicker salsa, feel free to drain the juices from the canned tomatoes before blending. I prefer a nice smooth consistency, so I blend the juices along with the tomatoes and other ingredients.
- 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.
- 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 judgment – 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 judgment on 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. This salsa will stay fresh for up to a week in the fridge.
- 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 chilies in adobo added to this salsa will give you a great smoky heat, too! This recipe is really easy to use as a blueprint and make it your own!
The great debate – fresh vs. canned tomatoes
- You can use fresh or canned tomatoes for this recipe.
- I prefer the consistency that canned tomatoes offer.
- But if it’s tomato season, I could be easily persuaded to use fresh, ripe, juicy heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market.
- Keep in mind, though, fresh tomatoes are definitely going to change the overall flavor of the salsa. It will be much brighter, more acidic, and “raw” tasting, and not as sweet or “cooked” tasting.
- If you’ve got fresh tomatoes that maybe weren’t picked at the peak of freshness, try my roasted tomato salsa.
Here’s what I’d serve with this delicious salsa.
- sheet pan shredded chicken nachos
- crispy ground beef flautas
- beer-braised pork carnitas
- easy baked fish tacos
- sheet pan chicken quesadillas
Just in case you have leftovers.
- Store this salsa in the fridge for up to a week.
- Season to taste with salt if it’s been in the fridge for a few days.
More easy appetizer recipes for your eating pleasure.
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Easy Restaurant Style Blender Salsa
This quick and easy blender salsa takes just 5 minutes to throw together thanks to fire-roasted canned tomatoes. It’s loaded with fresh flavors and tastes just like that smooth restaurant-style salsa from your favorite restaurant!
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 (15 oz.) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
- 3–4 cloves smashed garlic
- 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper
- a couple large pinches Kosher salt
- large pinch fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor.
- Blend for about a minute until everything is well minced and combined.
- Serve with your favorite tortilla chips!
Notes
If you like a thicker salsa, feel free to drain the juices from the canned tomatoes before blending. I prefer a nice smooth consistency, so I blend the juices along with the tomatoes and other ingredients.
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.
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 judgment – 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 judgment on 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. This salsa will stay fresh for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: No Cooking Required
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10 of salsa
- Calories: 33
- Sugar: 2.9 g
- Sodium: 211.8 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Fiber: 1.8 g
- Protein: 0.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This recipe was excellent and very easy to make! I liked it so much, that I made 6 jars and canned it!
Wow – you are set on salsa now! So glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Barbara! Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it! 🙂
Can this recipe be canned? I’d love to make this in batches and can to gift during the holidays.
Good question – I am not sure, though 🙁 I have not tried canning it and I do not have enough experience with canning to surmise. I’m sorry that I can’t be of more help!
I am very tardy in writing a review for this recipe. I have made with the canned tomatoes and also, fresh from my garden tomatoes. Delicious, either way. In answer to the comment above, about freezing, the answer is YES! I had an abundance of tomatoes from my garden last summer. I made up a bunch of this salsa and froze it in 1 cup containers. I served the last of it on New Year’s Eve and it tasted like fresh. So good!!!
Wow, that’s awesome! I’m so glad to hear that you’ve had success with both fresh and canned tomatoes AND freezing. Thank you so much – that’s super helpful! Thanks for leaving a review, Molly!
Delish!! Couldn’t find whole fire roasted tomatoes so substituted diced fire roasted tomatoes (Muir Glen organic brand). Consistency turned out perfect. Love the blended flavors and can’t wait to open a bag of chips and serve it! Thank you for sharing a great recipe!
WOOHOO! Muir Glen is my favorite brand too! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for leaving a review!!
Do you know how long it lasts in the refrigerator? Like to make more than one at the time. Thanks
Great question, Jeff! I would recommend storing this salsa in the fridge for up to 5 days but probably not much longer. Since it’s homemade, and there are no preservatives in it, it won’t last quite as long as a typical jar of store-bought salsa. Thanks for asking! I hope you love this one as much as we do!
While we in quarantine, we have been testing out several salsa recipes and we just decided that this was hands down the best one we have tried. My son said we were done testing! He said “one of the best salsas he has ever tasted!”
WOW! That is so great to hear! I’m so glad you and the fam enjoyed this salsa recipe – it’s on our family’s favorites too! Thanks for leaving a review, Ginny!
So stinking good!!
WOOHOO! So glad you enjoyed this one, Sarah. Thanks for leaving a review!
This recipe is fresh, easy, and delicious! I’ll never want to buy salsa in the grocery store ever again.
Yayyyyy!! Could not agree more – this salsa is better than anything you’ll find at the grocery store! Thanks so much for leaving a review, Tami. I really appreciate it 🙂
Fresh is the best!
Could not agree more 🙂 Thanks Debbie!!
The Best Recipe!!! Making again!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Denise! Thanks so much for leaving a review!!
This is my 3rd batch. Love it. Still tweaking a bit. I added some garlic powder and another 1/4 tsp of cumin.
Awesome! So glad you’re liking this one Jo!
I tried this recipe on Pinterest and it was a huge hit for my family! I agree that it thickens overtime so if you find you don’t like it as smooth that’s an easy fix. I absolutely love the red onion flavor and I would definitely make this again! It’ll really impress people at the next family get together and I’m super excited to share this recipe with everyone! Every ingredient was already in my kitchen and you can taste all of the delicious flavors individually and they come together in harmony. Dare I say this recipe is better then some salsas I’ve had at restaurants!
WOOHOO! Best review ever, Erika!! I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe – thanks so much for leaving a review!! 🙂
Was great!! Will make again, soon!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Lisa! This is one of our favorites and so easy to make with canned tomatoes. Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
I only added 1/4 of a jalapeño and no cayenne pepper as I don’t like my salsa too spicy. I added more garlic to my recipe because I love it so much. It turned out great. Super easy and delicious!
I ALWAYS add more garlic in this recipe too 🙂 You can never have enough!! Glad you enjoyed this recipe April – thanks for leaving a review!!
A must try !! So delicious could not stop eating !
Lariza – I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I too cannot stop eating this one I’ve started, so I usually make a double batch 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review; I really appreciate it!