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This roasted tomato salsa recipe is easy to make and packed with smoky, spicy flavor. Perfect with tortilla chips, tacos, and more!
This roasted tomato salsa has been one of my favorites for years, and once you taste it, you’ll understand why! Instead of using raw or canned tomatoes, I roast fresh tomatoes, onions, and garlic in a hot oven until they’re softened and lightly charred. Roasting brings out the tomatoes’ natural sweetness, mellows the onions and garlic, and gives the salsa a wonderful smoky flavor. (I use the same technique for my salsa verde, swapping the tomatoes for tomatillos.)
It’s easy to make, and the flavor gets even better after a day or two in the fridge, so it’s perfect for making ahead when you’re having people over.
What You’ll Need To Make Roasted Tomato Salsa
As you can see, this salsa recipe calls for three serrano peppers. Serrano peppers are similar to jalapeño peppers in taste and appearance but they are smaller and hotter. Feel free to substitute jalapeño peppers, if you like, but keep in mind that you’ll only need one or two, depending on how spicy you like your salsa.
How To Make Roasted Tomato Salsa
Toss the veggies with oil: Begin by tossing the quartered tomatoes (I don’t even bother coring them), onion wedges, garlic and whole peppers with the vegetable oil directly on a baking sheet.
Broil: Cook under the broiler until blistered and slightly charred, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add seasoning: Transfer the vegetables to a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and add the salt and cumin.
Blend: Process until slightly chunky. Taste and add the remaining chili pepper(s), if desired.
Finish: Add the cilantro leaves and lime juice and pulse a few times until the cilantro is finely chopped. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!
Make-Ahead and Freezing Instructions
Make ahead: This salsa is perfect for making ahead, especially if you’re entertaining. Prepare it up to a week in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Give it a good stir before serving, and taste for seasoning. A squeeze of fresh lime juice can help brighten it up after a few days in the fridge.
Freezing: You can also freeze the salsa for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely, then transfer it to an airtight, freezer-safe container, leaving a little room for expansion. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and give it a good stir before serving. The salsa may release some liquid as it thaws, so just drain off any excess if needed.
Roasted Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
- 4 vine-ripened tomatoes, quartered
- 2 small yellow onions, cut into wedges
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 serrano chili peppers, stemmed (use less for a milder salsa)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler and set an oven rack about 5 in (13 cm) beneath the heating element. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, whole serrano chile peppers and vegetable oil directly on the prepared baking sheet and toss with your hands. Broil until softened and charred, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer the vegetables and their juices to a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the salt and cumin and pulse until slightly chunky.
- Add the cilantro and fresh lime juice, and pulse until the cilantro is chopped. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and more lime juice if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and serve warm, at room temperature, or slightly chilled.
Notes
- This recipe is not meant for canning.
- Adjusting the heat: Serrano peppers can vary quite a bit in spiciness. If you prefer a milder salsa, start by blending in just one roasted serrano pepper. Taste the salsa, then add more of the roasted peppers, pulsing after each addition, until it’s as spicy as you like.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you’re following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
What to Serve with Roasted Tomato Salsa
Of course, this salsa is delicious with tortilla chips, but don’t stop there! I love spooning it over chicken fajitas, carne asada, or southwestern burgers. It’s also great alongside guacamole and chili con queso if you’re putting together a spread for a party. And don’t forget about breakfast: a spoonful on scrambled eggs is delicious, too!
More Salsa Recipes You May Like
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Good morning Jenn!
Not surprising, yet another one of your wonderful recipes! This salsa is so easy,so good! I made the salsa yesterday, and used the salsa last night at dinner over grilled chicken & vegetables,but we also ate by the spoonful- YES,it’s that good! Plus, it’s so good for you!
This morning I served it over omelettes-and again, I had our spoons handy-and we finished it off! I’m making more today.
The only thing I did differently was to use jalapeños ( I used 4), increased lime juice by 1 Tbls..
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you-
Your recipes are not just consistently outstanding, but often very healthy like this one😊.
You’re so welcome! 🙂
Overall an EXCELLENT RECIPE but it calls for way too much salt I added only 1 teaspoon (half of what was called for) and next time I’ll less than that.
Also, the ingredients list should come BEFORE the instructions.
Ummmm, what are you doing wasting time reading my review. You should either be at the store purchasing the ingredients or in your kitchen making this salsa. Yes, it is that good! It has spoiled me for all other salsas. It is super easy to make and on several occasions I was accused of lying about this being a homemade salsa. The flavor and texture is exactly what you want and need it to be, Give it a go. You won’t be disappointed.
This Salsa is awesome. It’s our new family favorite. I roasted all of my garden tomatoes, pureed them and froze them so I can continue to make this salsa through the winter.
We make this salsa in the summer and freeze for winter. It’s awesome. Took it to a family gathering and all loved that it was homemade without extra ingredients. Summer tomato flavor!
We have been cooking from Jen’s website for a few years now and are delighted that her recipes are so dependable and good. At this point, I cannot honestly say how many we have tried since we lost count a while back BUT this is the one recipe that is literally the one we make several times a week to keep it in “stock” in the refrigerator (salsa is a major food group in our home). This is as good or better than any restaurant salsa I have ever had.
If you use salsa a lot, I would recommend doubling (or tripling) for everyday use. I would not recommend making this for guests for the 1st time since its difficult to anticipate the heat of the salsa since tomato and pepper sizes vary significantly. So be careful and watch your size and ratio of tomatoes/peppers. I have used smaller tomatoes by the correct count with 1 larger serrano and it was very hot. I have used larger tomatoes with 3 smaller peppers and it was a tad mild for us (but still good). So this is an “approximate” recipe since the measurements for tomatoes and peppers are not by weight or the cup. So her advice about starting with one serrano is good advise, but watch the size of your tomatoes in proportion. But whatever ratio you make is going to be good, though maybe a little hotter/milder depending on the tomatoes/peppers.
Amazing! We make a double batch every week. We use 2 packs of grape tomatoes, love it. Thanks SO much.
This recipe always gets many compliments! Super easy to make and for me it has the perfect amount of spice. I love the fact that I don’t have to spend so much time chopping like other salsa recipes. My son in college made this for his friends and he couldn’t stop bragging about how everyone ate his salsa and not the others 🙂
This was so good! And so easy!!!! I used one jalapeño pepper instead of the Serrano, because that’s what I had on hand. Next time I’ll probably use two, because it wasn’t that spicy. (I think some jalapeños are spicier than others and you never know what you’re going to get until you taste it.) The texture of this salsa is what really sold me: it’s a lot like the well known Mexican chain restaurant down the street. I could eat this with a spoon! (Hypothetically speaking of course; not that I stood at counter and gobbled down a bunch before breaking out the chips.)
This salsa, especially when still warm, is heavenly. So easy and quick and flavorful!