Perfect Homemade Salsa Recipe for Chips & Tacos
There are many different types of salsa and ways to make them. Some salsas are fresh, simply diced produce mixed together to create delicious flavor. Other salsas are cooked, which changes their flavor profile. Our perfect homemade salsa recipe is cooked, adding depth.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Go-to Party Dip – Having a salsa recipe you can make for parties and events is always a good idea.
- Healthy Snack – Making your own salsa reduces added sugars, making it a healthy snack.
- Make-Ahead Recipe – This recipe can be canned, jarred, and frozen to use whenever you need.
Perfect Homemade Salsa Recipe for Chips and Tacos
This easy homemade salsa recipe is fresh, flavorful, and super easy to make! It’s perfect for chips, tacos, or topping your favorite food! There are different schools of thought on whether salsa should be served fresh or cooked.
Fresh salsa offers fresh flavors with that satisfying snap you can only get from fresh produce. Fresh salsa is usually called “pico de gallo.” Pico de gallo can be used as a topping or a dip, though cooked salsa can as well.
Cooked salsa removes the freshness from the produce it contains. However, it replaces it with a deeper, more robust flavor. You can taste each ingredient in pico de gallo, but when cooked, the ingredients come together to create a single overall flavor in salsa.
Ingredients for Homemade Salsa
- Diced Fire-Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chilis – This homemade salsa recipe is super easy, thanks to some of the ingredients coming from a can. Bonus points for those who fire-roast their own tomatoes.
- Heirloom Tomatoes – We still want to add a bit of freshness to the recipe. We use organic, large heirloom tomatoes.
- Jalapenos – Fresh jalapenos are cheap, pack flavor, and are easy to dice for your salsa. Keeping the seeds will make things spicier, so remove them if you want to lower the heat level.
- Green Pepper – This green pepper will add some sweetness to the salsa, though the seeds should be removed to avoid bitterness.
- Garlic – Is there a recipe out there, besides pastry, that doesn’t have garlic?
- Cumin – Here is where things differ in cooked salsa. Cooked salsa can easily absorb seasonings without becoming grainy.
- Chili Powder – Chili powder will add some spice to the salsa, not much, so try it, and if you don’t like the heat level, remove the chili powder the next time.
- Lime Juice – We are really looking for the citric acid here. It will help amplify the tomato flavor and complement the spices well.
- White Vinegar – Vinegar is specifically added to help the salsa last longer in the fridge. There is some flavor balancing here as well, but we’re looking for longevity.
How to Make Homemade Salsa
- Place all Ingredients in a crockpot, except the lime and cilantro.
- Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours on high until tender.
- Spoon or pour Ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until the desired consistency.
- Add lime and cilantro and stir.
- The salsa can be served with chips or canned for future use.
How to Store Homemade Salsa
This homemade salsa recipe uses vinegar, which means it is perfectly suitable for canning or even jarred with proper practices. Of course, not everyone has a canning machine, so the next best thing is an airtight container.
You can store the salsa in the fridge for up to a week before it starts to turn. You could also choose a freezer, which will keep the salsa for up to 2 months.
Perfect Homemade Salsa Recipe for Chips & Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 14.5oz Can of Diced Fire-Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chilis
- 5 Medium Heirloom Tomatoes Loosely Chopped
- 2 Fresh Jalapenos Loosely Chopped, Seeds Optional
- 1 Organic Green Pepper Seeds Removed, Loosely Chopped
- 1 Garlic Clove Minced
- 1/4 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 2 Tbsp White Vinegar
- Salt and Pepper To Taste
Instructions
- Place all Ingredients in a crockpot, except the lime and cilantro.
- Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours on high until tender.
- Spoon or pour Ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until the desired consistency.
- Add lime and cilantro and stir.
- The salsa can be served with chips after refrigerating to bring it down to room temp or canned for future use.
More Easy Recipes
Crockpot Black Bean Dip Recipe | Parties without dip aren’t really parties at all; they are crowds.
Black Bean Salsa with Avocado Recipe | Another salsa recipe you can try is our black bean salsa, which adds protein.
Low Carb Mini Bell Pepper Nachos Recipe | This recipe isn’t quite a dip, but it also could be a dip of sorts.
Simply Healthy Cowboy Caviar Recipe | This dip isn’t quite a salsa or a pico de gallo; it is a combination of both.
Wasa Crispbread Recipes | This appetizer recipe is perfect for those who want to avoid double-dipping at all costs.
