True fact: Salsa and chips taste better when eaten at home wearing pajama pants. Test this theory yourself when you make this easy roasted vegetable salsa recipe!
I lived over a full quarter century before I ever thought to make salsa! As far as I was concerned salsa came out of a jar or the refrigerated section at the grocery store deli. I didn’t even know anyone who made salsa from scratch! Who does this? I also thought Taco Bell was at least slightly authentic. South Florida doesn’t expose you to very much in the way of Mexican food. I have learned the error of my ways… you can put down the chancleta (sandal). :-p Let’s talk about this easy roasted vegetable salsa instead.
Since yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, we decided to celebrate this decidedly American holiday with vegetarian taco salads. I’d been up since o’dark thirty that morning baking, worked a windy farmer’s market, and cooking should have been the last thing on my mind. But I got the notion to make salsa with our dinner and nothing was going to deter me!
The results were so worthwhile! Homemade salsa is life-changing, darlings. Seriously. You can customize it, the flavors are so fresh. Did I mention you can eat in your pajamas? PAJAMAS with your chips and salsa! Glorious.
Back to the salsa…
I read a few recipes and then decided to just wing it instead of following any one recipe in particular. That’s the really nice thing about making your own salsa… you can customize, and most of the measurements are very flexible. Of course, I have tested the measurements below, and they are quite delicious and approved by the Godmother testers.
Salsa is a very personal thing though (seriously). Feel free to take this and change it up to suit your preferences.
The only thing I recommend you MUST follow from this recipe? Don’t skip roasting the vegetables.
This homemade salsa recipe still tastes great without roasting the vegetables, but that extra step is so worth it. Roasting vegetables for your salsa makes it taste JUST like a really good restaurant salsa. It deepens the flavors, adds a little char. And if you want to skin your tomatoes, it’s really easy after roasting.
Only you made it at home. And if you’re super fancy, maybe even with summer garden produce? Or the summer produce section at the store. I’ll see you there. 😉
But seriously, do you see how easy this is? It’s so quick, and you’ll even have some to freeze (maybe).
A few quick notes about choosing tomatoes and peppers for salsa…
Choosing the right tomato can help you end up with a better final product. Technically, any tomato will do, but results vary. For the absolute best salsa, choose tomatoes with a lot of flavor and a low water content. Roma tomatoes are best because they don’t carry a ton of water, and the flavor is potent. This is also why Roma tomatoes make great pasta sauce.
When shopping for jalapenos, the jalapenos with the brown stripes on the skin have more heat than those with a perfectly green skin. If you’d like less heat, remove the seeds.
Enjoy!
Easy Roasted Vegetable Salsa
Make this restaurant quality easy roasted vegetable salsa at home in minutes!
Ingredients
- 8 roma tomatoes
- 1-2 fresh jalapenos
- 1 lime
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 medium onion
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your broiler while you give all vegetables a rough chop. Toss in olive oil and place single-layer on a cookie sheet.
- Broil vegetables for 5-10 minutes until the jalapeno skin starts to blister and veggies start to color. While this is happening, remove the cilantro stems.
- Once the vegetables are ready, remove from the oven and put everything into a food processor.
- Add cilantro and juice from half the lime. Pulse 4-5 times until you've reached your desired consistency.
- Add salt and pepper. If you'd like more lime flavor, add the juice from the other half of the lime. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste if needed, and serve!
- This will keep up to one week in the refrigerator or can be frozen in smaller batches for longer storage and thawed as desired.
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