Easy Homemade Salsa Recipe
Updated May 23, 2026
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This easy homemade salsa recipe tastes just like your favorite restaurant-style salsa, but it’s made in 5 minutes in the blender which mean s no chopping or prep work required!
If you’re like me, and can devour an entire bowl of chips and salsa at your favorite Mexican restaurant before the meal is even served, then you’re going to love this homemade salsa recipe
It has the taste and texture of restaurant style salsa, and it’s made in 5 minutes in the blender, which means that there’s no chopping or prep work required! It’s customizable from mild to spicy, and easy to make year-round since it uses canned tomatoes (although you can use fresh tomatoes as well).
We make tacos every week in our house (not exaggerating, they’re so easy), and this salsa is the one recipe I come back to over and over because it’s our favorite!
Why you’ll love this homemade salsa recipe:
- Made in the blender so no chopping
- Tastes like your favorite restaurant salsa
- Uses canned tomatoes so you can make it year-round
- Easy to customize from mild to spicy
- Ready in 5 minutes, so perfect if you run out of salsa or have last minute guests!
Best salsa our family has ever had! Easy to make—we won’t be buying our salsa anymore! So good! Thank you!
– Kristin
Restaurant-Style Salsa Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Canned diced tomatoes. Fire-roasted tomatoes add a great depth of flavor. If using fresh tomatoes, you need 3 cups of fresh tomatoes which is about 2 pounds of whole tomatoes. Remove the seeds/pulp before blending.
- Onion. onion powder works as a substitute, but fresh onion is better.
- Fresh Cilantro. There’s really no substitution fresh cilantro.
- Minced garlic. 1 teaspoon garlic powder is a good substitute.
- Ground Cumin. Ground cumin is an essential spice for homemade salsa! Another pantry staple I recommend always having on hand.
- Granulated Sugar. Sugar is optional but just a small amount really brings out the flavor of the tomatoes. You can substitute brown sugar, coconut sugar, or honey.
- Lime juice. bottled or fresh both work well.
How to Make Spicy Homemade Salsa
If you like a spicier salsa here are some additions to kick up the heat:
- Cayenne or chili pepper
- Hot peppers to taste: jalapeño, habanero, etc.
- 1-2 Tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce
- Hot green chilies
How to Make Blender Salsa
Like I said before, this homemade salsa recipe is so easy to make. I only have a few tips about the method and possible ways to spice it up! But it’s a very straightforward, easy salsa recipe! See below for a quick video, or in the recipe card for my full tutorial with cute little helpers!
Start by adding 1 can of diced tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients into the container of a blender – as always, I recommend using a Vitamix! In this recipe the Vitamix does all the hard work for you…chopping, mincing, etc.
Be sure to save one can of diced tomatoes for later! If using fresh, start by adding 1 ½ cups of tomatoes, blending, then adding the rest.
Blend for 5-10 seconds until the onions are diced (if using onion powder, you don’t have to worry about that).
Then, add the second can of diced tomatoes and pulse to combine. The amount of blending here depends on your personal preferences. If you like a chunky salsa, just pulse once. If you want a smoother homemade salsa, pulse a few times!
Salsa Variations
There are a few ways you can customize this salsa recipe!
- Chunky salsa– pulse the tomatoes 1-2 times instead of blending them.
- Spicy salsa – add hot peppers, jalapeños, chili powder, cayenne pepper, etc.
- Fire-roasted salsa – use fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Green tomato salsa – use green tomatoes.
- Chile salsa – add a can of diced green chiles.
Chill
Transfer the blender salsa to a serving dish or airtight container (if you’re going to store it for later) and place it in the refrigerator. I recommend chilling this homemade salsa for at least 30 minutes, however we have dug right in with no complaints (see the video)! Chilling allows the flavors to blend together, so in my opinion, the longer the better!
More Delicious Salsa Recipes
If you love homemade salsa, you need to try these recipes!
- Mango salsa and Pineapple Salsa are the perfect sweet and savory dips!
- Fresh corn salsa, or add beans and make black bean and corn salsa
- Not technically salsa, but an equally delicious dip, you need to try this homemade queso recipe
- Also the very best homemade guacamole
- Or for a sweet twist try fruit salsa and cinnamon chips.
What to Serve with Homemade Salsa
Serve this easy salsa recipe with your favorite chips. We always enjoy this salsa on our weekly taco nights with some of our favorite Mexican recipes:
- Ground beef tacos and ground chicken tacos.
- These sweet potato tacos are my absolute favorite.
- Eat salsa for breakfast with these breakfast burriots and breakfast tacos!
- This is the best nachos recipe ever – with two layers of cheese!
- Taco night isn’t complete without homemade salsa and homemade guacamole!
- Make these homemade refried black beans to put inside your tacos with this easy salsa!
- Chicken enchiladas and ground beef enchiladas absolutely must be served with homemade salsa!
- These crockpot chicken tacos are easy and delicious!
- Serve it on top of Mexican casserole or taco bowls.
Store
Store any leftover salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Blender Salsa Recipe FAQS
You can use either canned or fresh tomatoes in this recipe. It calls for 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes, you can also use fire roasted canned tomatoes. Or, you can use about 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes with the seeds/pulp removed.
Yes you can use fresh tomatoes – I suggest Roma or heirloom. Remove the seeds/watery pulp from the tomatoes before using in this recipe so the salsa isn’t too thin. Fresh tomatoes will create a chunkier, fresher-tasting salsa, while canned tomatoes give it more of a classic restaurant-style texture.
This blender salsa can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator! I do not recommend freezing this salsa recipe!
Homemade salsa lasts about 5-7 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I personally think the flavor gets even better after it chills for a day because all the flavors have time to blend together.
You can drain the liquid from the tomatoes before blending if you want an extra-thick salsa.
I know some people don’t love cilantro, you can make this recipe without it but the flavor will be different.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Easy Homemade Salsa Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup onion (or ½ teaspoon onion powder)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (or honey)
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
Instructions
- Put onion, cilantro, garlic, cumin, sea salt, sugar and lime juice into the container of a Vitamix blender.
- Pulse to combine until the onion are diced well.
- Add 1 can of diced tomatoes and blend for 5-10 seconds.
- Add second can, pulse to lightly blend (if desired), or leave them chunky.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes (optional but recommended for flavors to blend together).
- Pour into a serving dish and enjoy!
Notes
- Canned diced tomatoes. Fire-roasted tomatoes add a great depth of flavor. If using fresh tomatoes, you need 3 cups of fresh tomatoes which is about 2 pounds of whole tomatoes. Remove the seeds/pulp before blending.
- Onion. onion powder works as a substitute, but fresh onion is better.
- Fresh Cilantro. There’s really no substitution fresh cilantro.
- Minced garlic. 1 teaspoon garlic powder is a good substitute.
- Ground Cumin. Ground cumin is an essential spice for homemade salsa! Another pantry staple I recommend always having on hand.
- Granulated Sugar. Sugar is optional but just a small amount really brings out the flavor of the tomatoes. You can substitute brown sugar, coconut sugar, or honey.
- Lime juice. bottled or fresh both work well.
How to Make Spicy Homemade Salsa
If you like a spicier salsa here are some additions to kick up the heat:- Cayenne or chili pepper
- Hot peppers to taste: jalapeño, habanero, etc.
- 1-2 Tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce
- Hot green chilies
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t have red spatula.
You don’t need one!
Can I use Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes?
Yes for sure!
What size and how many cans of the tomatoes do you use?
This recipe calls for 28 ounces of tomatoes. Which is one large can or two 14 ounce cans.
I don’t have a Vitamix Blender.
You can use a food processor or regular blender for this recipe!
Thank you for this recipe. We recently moved to a small town and no one carries the salsa we prefer. This sounds perfect for us. We eat Mexican food at least twice a week and will certainly use this recipe. Thanks so much!
Thank you for posting this recipe!! I’ve must’ve made it three times within the past month AND shared it work my work mates. I use it for lots of food choices…just a dip for chips, in my scrambled eggs, on pinto beans, dip for quesadillas, etc. All I know is my store bought salsa taste soooo inferior to this recipe that I keep throwing them away, then quickly making a new batch or your salsa. NOTE: To your recipe, I add 2-3 serrano peppers and 2 Tbs of white vinegar.
Thanks so much for this recipe! It was lovely! I made it for a family that can’t have raw onion, and our own family loved the leftovers as well. I’m so glad to have this in my repertoire. Thanks!
Best salsa our family has ever had! Easy to make—we won’t be buying our salsa anymore! So good! Thank you!
I made the refried beans and the salsa. Both were super quick and so delicious!
Thank you so much Deborah! I’m so glad you loved them both!
I made this for my snack. I LOVED it. I added a little extra cilantro because I do like the taste. I forgot to take a picture. This will be my summer go to snack with homemade tortilla chips!
Perfect snack Cherese!!! Thank you for your comment!