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Sauces · Mexican

Restaurant-Style Salsa

The smooth, chip-ready salsa from your favourite taco place, made from cans in a few pulses.

Hands-on
15 min
Hands-off
1 h
Total
1 h 15 min
Makes
12 servings
Serves
12

15 min prep + 1 hour chill. No cooking.

  • easy
  • vegan
  • vegetarian
  • gluten-free
  • game-day
  • party
  • no-cook
  • make-ahead
  • dip

Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means

Illustration of Restaurant-Style Salsa
Amount
Units

Ingredients

You need: 12-cup food processor (or a blender, working in batches) · can opener · cutting board and knife · disposable gloves for the jalapeño · large bowl · airtight container

Contains: none of the 9 major allergens in the listed ingredients

Method

  1. Wash and prep the fresh things

    Wash your hands. Rinse the cilantro, onion, garlic, jalapeño and lime under running water. Wearing gloves, quarter the jalapeño lengthwise and slice it thinly. Chop the onion to get 40 g (1/4 cup) and mince 1 garlic clove.

    Otto tried this firstOtto slices the jalapeño bare-handed, then rubs his eye. The sources say: gloves on, and hands off your face until you've washed them.

  2. Load the processor

    Put both 283 g (10 oz) cans of diced tomatoes with chiles, the 794 g (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes with their juice, 1/2 cup cilantro, the onion, garlic and jalapeño into the food processor. Add 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp sugar and the juice of 1/2 lime.

  3. Pulse

    Pulse about 10 to 15 times, until it is as smooth or chunky as you like. Fewer pulses keep it chunkier.

  4. Taste and adjust

    Taste it on a tortilla chip. Add more salt, lime or cilantro if it needs it, and pulse once more to mix.

  5. Chill

    Pour the salsa into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Swaps

  • Instead of the 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles: plain canned diced tomatoes plus a 113 g (4 oz) can of diced green chiles The canned chiles bring the heat. Taste and add chiles to your liking.
  • Instead of plain canned tomatoes: canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes They give a light charred flavour without cooking.

Make ahead, store & reheat

Make ahead
It's meant to be made ahead: chill it at least 1 hour so the flavours blend.
Storage
Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. At a party, don't leave it out for more than 2 hours. This is a fridge salsa: it is not for canning or keeping in the cupboard.

If something goes wrong

  • Too spicy Why: The jalapeño seeds and membrane were left in.
    Use a seeded jalapeño next time, or stir in more canned tomatoes.
  • Too smooth and thin Why: Processed too long.
    Pulse in short bursts and stop as soon as it reaches the texture you like.

Good to know

  • No food processor? Chop everything by hand to the size you like for a chunky salsa.
  • Stir in drained canned corn or black beans for a heartier dip.

Safety

  • Jalapeños can burn skin and eyes. Wear plastic or rubber gloves while cutting them and don't touch your face; if you go gloveless, wash your hands well with soap before touching your eyes.
  • Rinse fresh produce under running water before cutting; no soap or produce wash.
  • Food processor blades are very sharp. Lift the blade out by its centre post before you pour, and keep kids' hands out of the bowl.
  • Canned tomato products vary by brand: check labels if you cook gluten-free or for allergies.