Appetizers, Easy Recipes, Sauces, Vegetarian + Vegan

Restaurant Style Salsa

Restaurant Style Salsa is so easy to make and ready in 5 minutes! This homemade salsa tastes better than salsa from a Mexican Restaurant!

Restaurant Style Salsa
Salsa is one of my favorite toppings, I just love it! However, I am very picky about my salsa. It has to have the right flavor and texture. I have tried many store-bought salsas and they are not very good. This homemade restaurant-style salsa is awesome! It is similar to the salsa that is served in many Mexican restaurants but tastes better in my opinion. I will never buy premade salsa again!

Personally, I like my salsa spicy, but you can easily make this a mild salsa by reducing or omitting the cayenne pepper. You can also add some extra cayenne pepper and extra chipotle powder to make it spicier. Using ground cayenne and chipotle chili powder, instead of actual peppers, makes it really easy to adjust the level of spiciness to your personal preference. However, feel free to toss in some jalapenos or other chilies if you would like.

Did I mention how quick and easy it is to make this salsa? It really does only take 5 minutes! I used a food processor to make my salsa but you can also use a blender. This salsa is perfect to serve with tortilla chips, along with some  Creamy Avocado Dip. It is also a wonderful topping for tacos, fajitas, burritos, quesadillasnachos, enchiladas and more. I hope that you enjoy the salsa!
Restaurant Style Salsa
Note: The printable recipe is located at the end of this post. Please visit The Scoop for my latest posts or you can search or browse my Recipe Index.

Salsa Ingredients

Salsa ingredients are pretty simple and can easily be adjusted to suit your personal preferences.

  • tomatoes – I used a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes for extra flavor, but you can also use regular diced tomatoes.
  • onion – I used chopped red onion.
  • fresh cilantro 
  • garlic – fresh minced cloves of garlic or jarred minced garlic. 
  • lime juice – or lemon juice as a substitute.
  • ground cayenne pepper – you can adjust the heat depending on whether you like hot, medium, or mild salsa.
  • chipotle chili powder
  • ground cumin
  • kosher salt

Salsa

How to make Restaurant Style Salsa

Making this Restaurant Style Salsa is seriously so quick and easy! Just add all of your ingredients to the food processor or blender and pulse, in 5-second intervals, until you reach your desired consistency.
Spicy SalsaNote: I recommend starting with 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of the chipotle chili powder, then do a taste test before you add more. Everyone has a different tolerance for spice. You can always add more spice but you can’t take it out once it’s in there.

Restaurant Style Spicy Salsa
Transfer the salsa to a bowl and serve fresh or store it in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve for up to 5 days.
Restaurant Style Salsa

Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Restaurant Style Salsa

Restaurant Style Salsa is so easy to make and ready in 5 minutes! This homemade salsa tastes better than salsa from a Mexican Restaurant!
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Healthy, Mexican
Keyword: Salsa
Servings: 6 people
Author: Christi

Ingredients

  • 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes I use fire-roasted tomatoes.
  • 1/4 cup red onion chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice or lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic 2 cloves minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder *see notes
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper *see notes

Instructions

  • Add all of the ingredients to the food processor or blender and pulse, in 5-second intervals, until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Transfer the salsa to a bowl and serve fresh or store it in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve for up to 5 days.

Notes

I recommend starting with 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of the chipotle chili powder, then do a taste test before you add more. I actually use 1/2 teaspoon of each, but everyone has a different tolerance for spice. You can always add more spice but you can't take it out once it's in there.

Did you make this recipe?
Tag @thesumofyum on Instagram

If you make this Restaurant Style Salsa, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you and I truly appreciate your feedback! I will always do my best to respond to every comment ASAP. Thank you and happy cooking!

Need some more yummy ideas for your Mexican fiesta?

Easy Mexican Recipes

10 thoughts on “Restaurant Style Salsa”

  1. 5 stars
    This is the best salsa recipe I have tried! I’ve made it two different times and everyone loves it. Thank you for sharing!

  2. I’ve recently had a kidney transplant, and the medications I take make my mouth extremely sensitive, especially to spicy things. I’m talking, even table pepper can bring tears to my eyes. I have tried every single name brand and store brand mild salsa and my mouth can’t take it! I want to try this one with none of the pepper. It sounds like it would be great. Any thoughts or suggestions before I start it this way? Thank you so much for your great site!

    1. Hi Jeremy,
      First, I am so sorry to hear that you needed a kidney transplant and I hope that your recovery goes well.
      Regarding the salsa, I think the salsa would be very mild without the cayenne. You might also want to go easy on the onion if your mouth is super sensitive. However, I am not a doctor so I cannot advise. I would consult your doctor regarding any possible interactions with your medication.
      I wish you the best and keep me posted.

  3. Christi, this salsa looks amazing! Exactly how I like it! I’m sure I’ll never buy jarred salsa again!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating