Our easy fresh salsa recipe comes together in just a few minutes. Made from simple ingredients, this homemade salsa is full of fresh, vibrant flavor, with plenty of options to make it mild or spicy. (You’ll want to put it on everything!)
Chips and salsa are an institution here in the Southwest, so it feels like we have a delicious salsa for every occasion.
I’ve got Salsa With Canned Tomatoes (great for winter!), Fresh Green Salsa that’s amazing with tacos, fruity salsa recipes that are fun for parties, corn salsa for burrito bowls, and then, there’s this fresh homemade salsa that’s made for serving with chips. But, honestly?
This Easy Homemade Salsa Is Good On EVERYTHING
From your morning eggs, to tacos, to tortilla chips, this fresh recipe is good for it all. Simple ingredients, fresh bold flavors, and minimal prep make this easy homemade salsa recipe a winner. But there’s SO much to love about it!
🍅 EASE: A handful of fresh ingredients, some light slicing and dicing, and a few pulses on a food processor are all you need to make this salsa!
🌶️ FLAVORS: Bold, light, and fresh in every bite! Fresh tomatoes, savory notes from onion and garlic, a bright pop of lime and cilantro, and a little warmth from the jalapeño.
🍋🟩 TOP TIPS: Try to limit the speed when you’re blending, so the salsa doesn’t foam and you can control the texture. (We’re going for Cantina-style salsa, with minimal chunks!)
Happy cooking! xo, Emily
Gather Your Ingredients
How To Make Fresh Salsa, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.
- Prep First. To start, make sure to halve or quarter the tomatoes, dice the onion, mince the jalapeño, and mince the garlic. This will help reduce the amount of blending you need to do, which will cut down on how much foaming happens when mixing.
- Combine. In a food processor, combine tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, and salt. (Add pinch cumin or chipotle chili powder, if desired.)
- Pulse on low speed a few times until your salsa reaches your desired consistency. (Try not to use high speeds–just pulse to blend a bit at a time)
- Taste & Adjust. Then, taste the salsa and add additional lime juice, salt, jalapeño, or seasonings, to taste. Keep in mind that the flavor will continue to develop with time!)
- Serve & Store. If possible, chill 1-2 hours to let the flavor develop, then enjoy right away with tortilla chips, on tacos, with chicken, burritos, nachos, taco salad, and more, or store leftover salsa in an airtight container in the fridge 4-5 days.
FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Fresh Salsa
Can I Freeze This Salsa? I don’t recommend freezing this salsa, since it can get mushy and watery after thawing. It’ll have its best flavor fresh!
To Seed or Not To Seed? If you want thicker salsa, or want to avoid foaming, you can remove the juicy pulp and seeds from the tomatoes. (Another trick to control foaming? You can also add a tiny drizzle of olive oil!)
How To Control The Spice Level:
- For Spicy Salsa: For spicier/hot salsa, leave the white ribs and seeds inside the jalapeño when dicing, and consider adding extra jalapeños, or a little bit of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce for even more heat. Or, try a blend of serrano peppers and jalapeño peppers.
- For Mild Salsa. Prefer a mild salsa? Remove those seeds and ribs or reduce the jalapeño!
How To Control The Texture. My goal with this salsa is a Cantina-style salsa with very small chunks, but if you want a more chunky texture, simply pulse it fewer times to leave the ingredients bigger.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Fresh Homemade Salsa recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Homemade Fresh Salsa
Ingredients
- 24 ounces Tomatoes halved or quartered*
- 1/2 Small Onion diced
- 1/2 cup Cilantro
- 1-2 Jalapeños finely diced*
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 pinch Chipotle Chili Powder (optional)
- 1 pinch Cumin (optional)
Instructions
- Prep First. To start, make sure to halve or quarter the tomatoes, dice the onion, mince the jalapeño, and mince the garlic. This will help reduce the amount of blending you need to do, which will cut down on how much foaming happens when mixing.
- Combine. In a food processor, combine tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, and salt. (Add pinch cumin or chipotle chili powder, if desired.)
- Pulse on low speed a few times until your salsa reaches your desired consistency. (Try not to use high speeds–just pulse to blend a bit at a time)
- Taste & Adjust. Then, taste the salsa and add additional lime juice, salt, jalapeño, or seasonings, to taste. Keep in mind that the flavor will continue to develop with time!)
- Serve & Store. If possible, chill 1-2 hours to let the flavor develop, then enjoy right away with tortilla chips, on tacos, with chicken, burritos, nachos and more, or store in an airtight container in the fridge 4-5 days. (I do not recommend freezing this salsa, since it can get mushy and watery after thawing.)
Notes
- Maybe Seed The Tomatoes? If you want thicker salsa, or want to avoid foaming, you can remove the juicy pulp and seeds from the tomatoes. You can also add a tiny drizzle of olive oil to reduce foaming.
- Mild, Medium, or Spicy. To reduce the heat in your jalapeños, remove the seeds and white ribs inside before mincing. For medium salsa, you can leave about half of them in. For spicy salsa, you can leave in the seeds and ribs, and consider adding additional jalapeño, to taste. (Not all jalapeños have the same heat level, so I always recommend starting small and adding more, if needed.)
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are an estimate only and will vary based on brands and amounts used.
Find it Online:
https://www.onelovelylife.com/easy-fresh-salsa/Original recipe posted summer 2015. Updated in April 2017, then updated and republished again with new photos, improved notes, and video July 2025.
Hello, have you ever canned this salsa? If so what was the shelf life?
Hi, Taelor! I haven’t canned this salsa before.
This salsa is so good. I couldn’t get enough of it. I also love that I can customize it to my particular taste and spice-level because it is so easy and adaptable.
Hi Emily,
Do you ever freeze this? Thanks!
I have never frozen the salsa, since the veggies would be a bit soggy after thawing. If you give it a try, I’d love to know what you think!
Just made some. Delicious. I always have hand chopped and diced…first time to try a food processor (recently bought one) and wow so fast. No more chopping!!! I used green onions and it worked great. Thanks for your great recipes.
Cynthia – I’m so glad you liked it. After trying it in the food processor, I’m never going back! So quick and easy!
This salsa looks so yummy and delicious! I’ve never actually made my own salsa before, but this looks pretty fool proof! I also love your new header and picture 🙂
Yum!! I want to dive right in!! We are up north, so no tomatoes for us yet. I can’t wait though. Fresh tomatoes are the best!! There are some recipes that you just have to wait for the fresh tomatoes. This recipe will be added to the list for sure!