Homemade Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa

We’re all very familiar with that moment at a Mexican restaurant when the chips hit the table and the salsa shows up right after? I always tell myself I'll have just a few chips. Then suddenly the basket is empty and I'm pretending I don't know how that happened. Here’s how to recreate that experience at home.

What Makes A Salsa Mexican Restaurant Style?

Mexican restaurant style salsa is usually a blended salsa made with tomatoes, onion, jalapeno or serrano peppers, garlic, cilantro, and salt. The texture is thinner than chunky salsa because it's blended quickly. Many salsas Mexican restaurants serve use canned tomatoes so the flavor stays consistent year round. Seasonings may vary from restaurant to restaurant and with regional differences.

Restaurant Salsa vs. Jarred Salsa

Restaurant salsas simply taste better than jarred. The main reason is the ingredients are all fresh, made fresh daily, allowed to rest a bit to meld flavors, and are not cooked like jarred salsas. Which makes them very different from pasteurized and and preservative laden jarred salsas. Restaurant salsa is is made using pulse blending for a thinner texture.

The 5 Main Ingredients Most Mexican Restaurant Use

• Tomatoes: Usually canned. Sometimes fire roasted. Fresh tomatoes most certainly work, but canned tomatoes are reliable and available year round. Reliable because the’ll produce the same flavor every time.
• Onion: White onion is used in traditional Mexican food due to its sharp bright flavor.
• Chile peppers: Jalapeños or serranos. Serranos bring a little more heat, so when you order “hot” rather than mild salsa, it’s more than likely due to serrano peppers.
• Garlic: Just a clove or two. Enough to give depth.
• Cilantro and salt: Fresh cilantro for that unmistakable flavor. Salt pulls everything together.

Other adds ins include spices chosen by the restaurant, an acid that usually is a combination of lime juice and vinegar.

Restaurant Salsa Ratio

Just like making a good vinaigrette (1 part acid, 3 parts oil) , restaurants can also follow a basic ratio before adding their own signature spices. A basic rule to follow is:

• 28 ounce can tomatoes
• ¼ cup onion
• 1-2 jalapeños
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1-1½ teaspoons salt

From there make it yours and add your own signature seasoning ingredients.

I was lucky to have an Executive Chef of a popular local Mexican restaurant share her combination of ingredients. I happen to think it’s the best restaurant salsa around. Let’s take a look:

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Vegetables: Canned Tomatoes, Jalapeno Pepper, Onion
• Tomato Juice: You may be wondering why drain the tomatoes and then add tomato juice. Tomato juice is a smooth product made by pureeing tomatoes and then straining. The juice in a can of tomatoes is a watery product produced by processing and canning tomatoes.
• Seasonings: Cilantro, garlic, cumin, salt, red chile powder, Mexican oregano, sugar, cumin
• Acid: Adding acid brightens flavors. For this recipe we’re using lime juice and apple cider vinegar.

Mexican Oregano is preferred for this recipe. It's peppery, grassy, earthy flavor is a good compliment for Mexican Food. If you don't have Mexican Oregano, substitute Marjoram. Known for its aroma and delicate flavor, its related to oregano and will bring a sweet undertone to any recipe.

How To Make Table Salsa, Mexican Restaurant Style

Mexican restaurants make huge batches of their salsas daily in large commercial blender machines. It’s basically a blender salsa that creates that smoother scoopable texture. The chef relayed the recipe to me in gallons, pints and cups, and did so by memory. It took me making many batches of this salsa to scale it down for the home cook.

I have a 14-Cup Cuisinart Food Processor that easily holds all of the ingredients for this salsa. Just a rough chop for the vegetables and add the rest of the ingredients, all you need is about twelve good pulses and you’re done.

If you have a smaller food processor you might need to make this in two batches. This can also a blender salsa recipe.

1. Step 1: Rough chop the onion, drain the tomatoes and, if you’re wanting a milder salsa, remove the seeds and veins from the jalapeno.
2. Step 2: Place all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender.

Pro Tip: How to remove seeds and veins from a jalapeno pepper: Cut off the top of the jalapeno pepper, use the handle of a spoon or fork to easily scrape out the seeds and veins.

3. Step 3: About a dozen pulses will blend the salsa into restaurant quality texture.
4. Step 4: Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator. I like to use a Mason-style jar for storage.

How To Adjust Heat Levels

Mild, medium or hot, what do you order at your favorite Mexican Restaurant? Here are tips to make the adjustments.

• Mild: Remove the seeds from the jalapeño.
• Medium: Use one or two jalapeños.
• Hot: Add serranos. Or toss in a chile de árbol if you're feeling brave.

Storage:

• This homemade Mexican restaurant style salsa will keep nicely in the fridge for a couple of weeks, if it lasts that long. It makes about three cups. I like to store it in a Mason style jar.

Mexican Restaurant Salsa Recipe

When I was in culinary school, we spent a lot of time talking about technique. Fancy sauces, reductions, all that stuff. But one of the things that stuck with me most was how simple great food can be. Restaurant salsa is a perfect example. Tomatoes, chiles, onion, garlic. Blend it. Season it, taste it. Done.

This recipe is my go-to salsa Mexican restaurant style version. Fast. Bright. And a little addictive.

This restaurant salsa recipe is a must have, and a must make.

Explore More Mexican Salsa Recipes

If you love making Mexican sauces and salsas at home, try exploring other classics like Red Chile Sauce, a must have for any serious cook looking to improve their Southwestern cooking skills and elevate the flavor of Mexican main courses. And if you’re looking for a queso recipe for those chips, don’t miss my Mexican Queso Blanco Recipe. It’s so easy.

And don’t miss my Mexican Food Category. Lots of classic recipes to bring a fiesta to your family. This recipe for Red Chile Guajillo Sauce is great to make Pork Tenderloin Tacos.