Homemade Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa
Mexican Restaurant-Style Salsa is a cinch to make. In less than fifteen minutes you'll be dipping those happy chips into a fresh tasting, flavorful bowl of tomato salsa that tastes just like it came from your favorite Mexican Restaurant.
Servings 3 cups
Calories 44kcal
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce Can diced tomatoes drained
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves or more to taste
- 1 medium onion rough chopped
- 2 clove garlic rough chpped, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 whole jalapeno Top cut off and rough sliced. Make this with 2 jalepeno peppers, depending on heat tolerance.
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon New Mexico Red Chile Powder or Ancho will work well
- ¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano
- ½ to 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a 14-cup food processor, If you have a smaller food processor, you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.
- Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like. I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.
- Refrigerate the salsa for at least an hour before serving.
Notes
Tips For Success:
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Heat Factor: The fresh heat flavor comes from a fresh jalapeno pepper or serrano peppers. When I make this salsa, I use jalapeno and remove the seeds and the veins for a milder heat. If you're one of those who loves a burn baby burn salsa, add more jalapeno, leave the seeds and veins in or use serrano peppers.
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Chile Powder (not chili seasoning): Use a single ground chile New Mexico Chile Powder for this recipe. Ancho Chile Powder will work. I prefer the warm heat from New Mexico Red Chile Powders. Avoid a Chili Seasoning blend used for chili soup recipes. These blends already contain other seasonings which would dramatically change the flavor of this salsa.
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Cilantro: Always use cilantro. It's part of the restaurant salsa experience.
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Texture Is Everything: Restaurant salsa is much thinner than pico de gallo. It should almost pour without being watery. And just loose enough that a chip easily dips. The blender or food processor does most of the work here.
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Seasoning Balance: Don't be afraid of salt here. Restaurants aren't. Restaurant salsa usually has more salt than home cooks expect. Without it, once you dip a chip, it will taste flat. I always add a pinch of sugar, not enough to make it sweet, but to balance the acidity in the tomatoes, lime and vinegar.
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Let It Rest: You can serve this salsa immediately, but if you give it 30 minutes in the refrigerator the ingredient flavors will marry.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.04g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 786mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 302IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
