Roasted Tomato Salsa

Homemade Roasted Tomato Salsa is the best quick and easy way to recreate the restaurant-style version in your kitchen. Simply roast vine-ripened or Roma tomatoes in the oven with jalapeños, onion, and garlic, then mix with cilantro and spices to create a healthy and spicy dip. Enjoy this recipe with tortilla chips or as a topping for the perfect addition to any Mexican dish.

When I decided to create my own salsa recipe, I knew there had to be a few elements to give it the most flavor.

Roasting the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers would bring out the sweet, natural flavors and add a slightly smoky flavor.

I wanted it to be restaurant-quality and be able to serve the salsa warm or cold.

Luckily after only a few recipe test batches – tweaking the amount of tomatoes, the types of tomatoes, how much lime juice, and finally the cilantro and spices, I soon created a roasted salsa recipe that was delicious, healthy, and had the PERFECT texture.

Once I had the final roasted salsa recipe down, I shared the finished product with our neighbors and a few friends. All quickly raving that this was, indeed, the best salsa they’ve had! – even better than their favorite restaurants!

So if you have some salsa connoisseurs in your life, you better believe that even THEY will be ranting and raving about your roasted-salsa-making-ways with this recipe!

Ingredients

One of the best things about this recipe is how simple and pure the ingredients are.  We’re talking only real food, no canned or artificial ingredients kind of foods.  In fact, if you happen to be growing a summer garden you may already have a bunch of these available to you.

The roasted tomato salsa ingredients include:

• Tomatoes. Since the tomatoes make up a large majority of the salsa, the type you use totally matters! (Read more below about the best types of tomatoes for this recipe.)
• Onion. Either a sweet or white onion can be used. A sweet onion will impart a subtle sweetness to the salsa that helps to balance out the spicy flavors, while a white onion is the more authentic type to use.
• Peppers. Jalapeño peppers will give the salsa a slightly milder flavor while serrano peppers will make it spicier.  You can either use one pepper for a mild salsa or two peppers for a medium-heat salsa.
• Garlic. Roasted fresh garlic cloves are key to giving the salsa a robust and nutty taste. You can substitute with garlic powder but it won’t deliver the same punch of flavor as fresh.
• Cilantro. No true salsa recipe would be complete without a good bit of cilantro. Make sure you remove the leaves from the stems to get the most flavor. Also, pack the cilantro down when measuring it out. (You should end up using close to ½ of a bunch.)
• Lime Juice. Freshly squeezed lime juice is essential. Not only does it add a zesty bit of citrus but it also helps to preserve the dip and keep it from turning colors.
• Spices. Just a touch of paprika and cumin helps to mellow out the acidity of the tomatoes and delivers an earthier tone to the dip. Add a little smokiness by using half smoked paprika and half regular, if you’d like.

Best Tomatoes for Salsa

Roma tomatoes and vine-ripened tomatoes both work exceptionally well when making homemade salsa. They have plenty of meat on them without being too watery, while also packing a good bit of flavor.

If you have the option, choose organic over conventional for more nutritional benefits.  Also, homegrown tomatoes are the most flavorful whereas most store-bought tomatoes have little to no flavor.

You can also change it up and try using beefsteak, heirloom, or even Campari tomatoes.  If using smaller cherry or grape tomatoes, you will need to adjust the roasting time so the tomatoes do not burn.

How to Make Roasted Salsa

Here are the steps to make roasted salsa at home:

Prepare the Ingredients

First, you will need to get the tomatoes, jalapeños, onion, and garlic ready.

Slice the stem and root end off the onion, then cut it in half. Remove the outer, flaky layer. Finally, quarter the onion.

Separate 4 to 6 garlic cloves from the head. Leave the peel on.

Once you have your tomatoes selected, make sure you remove the stems, rinse them thoroughly, and then slice them in half lengthwise. 

Cutting the tomatoes in two ensures they roast up at a similar rate as the onions and the jalapeños.

Jalapeño seeds contain A LOT of spice.  In order to get the pepper flavor without all of the heat, it’s best if you remove the seeds before roasting.

Trim the stem end from the peppers. Cut them in half lengthwise. Finally, scoop out all of the seeds with a spoon. Be careful not to use your fingers or touch your face during the process.

Roast in the Oven

Once you have all of your vegetables prepped and ready for the oven, it’s time to get to roasting and salsa making!

Roasting tomatoes brings out their naturally occurring sugars and results in a subtly sweet flavor in the salsa.

Place the tomato halves and jalapeño peppers skin-side up onto a large baking sheet along with the quartered onion and garlic cloves.  It’s important that they face skin-side up so the skin has a chance to brown and caramelize.

Drizzle oil over all of the vegetables and rub it into their skin.  Make sure you lift up the tomatoes and vegetables slightly so a little bit also gets on their under-side.

Roast the vegetables in a 450°F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the tomato skins begin to brown.  Pull the garlic cloves out after 15-20 minutes to prevent burning.

Pulse in Processor

Add the roasted tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, garlic cloves, and any oil on the baking sheet to a large food processor along with the remaining ingredients. 

Make sure you peel the garlic cloves before adding them into the processor!

Pulse ingredients 10-20 times and then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue pulsing until the salsa reaches your desired consistency. (About 40-50 times.) 

It’s important that you pulse and don’t puree. This helps you better control the final consistency of the salsa and gives you time to adjust the seasonings to your taste preference.

Meal Prep and Storage

• To Prep Ahead:  Homemade salsa gets better after it sits for a few hours, so prep it ahead of time and pull it out just before serving.
• To Store:  Salsa will keep well for up to 4-6 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• To Freeze:  Frozen salsa will end up with a layer of water on the top once thawed. To prevent this, add salsa that you’d like to freeze to a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook it down for 30-45 minutes.  Doing this will remove most of the extra moisture and result in a better frozen salsa.
• To Reheat: Roasted salsa tastes delicious when served warm or cold. If you’d like to serve it warm simply warm it up in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes just before serving.

FAQs

Expert Tips and Tricks

• Personalize it. Use 1 pepper for a mild salsa, 2 peppers for medium. You can choose to use either jalapeño or serrano peppers.
• Don’t overdo it. Make sure you measure out the tomatoes to get exactly 1.75 pounds. Too many and the salsa will taste tomato-ey.
• Take the garlic out early. Garlic cooks up pretty quickly and will burn if it is left in with the other vegetables while roasting.
• Pick right. Roma and vine-ripened tomatoes are the best to use when making salsa. You can also choose beefsteak or plum tomatoes if that’s what you have available.
• Make it sweet. Sweet onion will give the salsa a subtle sweetness.  White onions will also work well.  Avoid using yellow or red onions since they will give the salsa a pungent flavor.
• Pulse and don’t puree. This helps you better control the final consistency of the salsa and gives you time to adjust the seasonings to your taste preference.
• Give it a rest. Wait a few hours before serving. The salsa develops an even deeper, richer flavor as it sits in the refrigerator, so it’s best if you prep it in advance!

Ways to Use Homemade Salsa

If you aren’t going to devour it with some baked tortilla chips, here are a few other recipes that use salsa:

• Instant Pot Shredded Salsa Chicken
• Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Easy Instant Pot Mexican Rice Recipe
• Easy Mexican Breakfast Casserole
• Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
• Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• Easy Migas Recipe
• Barbacoa Tacos
• Cilantro Lime Chicken

More Salsa Recipes

Once you see how easy it is to make salsa at home, try one of these recipes next:

• Mango Avocado Salsa
• Tomatillo Salsa
• Fresh Salsa
• Mango Salsa
• Pico de Gallo