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5-Minute Homemade Salsa

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All you need is 5 minutes and a handful of fresh ingredients to make this homemade salsa recipe!

Bowl of salsa with a chip on the side, and fresh tomatoes, cilantro and jalapeno surrounding it.

Homemade Salsa Overview

Homemade salsa is incredibly easy to make. It uses 7 fresh healthy ingredients, and takes less than 5 minutes to make! You will need a food processor which makes it easy to chop all the vegetables together in less than 1 minute.

This recipe uses fresh healthy ingredients: tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, garlic and salt. Everything is dumped into the food processor and chopped on low until you get a chunky consistency.

You can scoop the salsa with tortilla chips, scoop on top of crusty baguette slices, on toast, or over cooked chicken.

Fresh tomatoes, chopped red onion, cilantro, garlic, a jalapeno pepper, some salt and some lime juice - all in bowls on a counter

Recipe Ingredients

  • 4 medium tomatoes – cut in half
  • 1 small red onion – cut into large chunks
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro
  • ½ jalapeño – seeds and ribs removed, then chopped
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice
  • 3 cloves garlic – peeled
  • ½ tsp salt

Kitchen Equipment Used

A jalapeno first cut in half, then the inner rib and seeds scraped out with a spoon.

How To Make Homemade Salsa

Full ingredients and instructions are also in the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post.

PREP:  Slice the stem off one jalapeño, then slice it in half. Use a spoon to scrape the inner rib and seeds off and discard. Chop it into three pieces. You only need half a jalapeño for this recipe.

Before and after of a food processor container with fresh ingredients dumped in to make the salsa.

STEP 1: In a food processor, add 4 medium tomatoes (halved), 1 small red onion (chopped), 1 cup fresh cilantro, ½ jalapeño (seeds and ribs removed, then chopped), 1 Tbsp lime juice, 3 minced garlic cloves and ½ tsp salt.

STEP 2: Seal the food processor with the lid. Turn it on low until you reach a chunky but chopped consistency. Turn off and test the taste. Add more salt if needed. Scoop the salsa into a bowl. Now it’s ready to serve.

Close up of salsa in a food processor

Recipe Tips

  • NOTE: This fresh salsa has a lot of liquid from the tomatoes. If you don’t like that, just scoop some out with a spoon or add the salsa to a fine mesh strainer to discard most of it.
  • If you don’t like heat, just skip adding the jalapeño. Most of the heat is in the seeds and inner rib, so discard these if you want more of a medium heat.
  • This salsa definitely tastes best when served fresh!

How To Store Leftovers

  • Refrigerate – Leftover salsa can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. Just give it a quick stir before serving.
Tortilla chip scooping salsa.

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A bowl of homemade salsa with tomatoes, cilantro, chips and jalapeno beside.

5-Minute Homemade Salsa

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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 medium tomatoes - cut in half
  • 1 small red onion - cut into large chunks
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro
  • ½ jalapeño - seeds and ribs removed, then chopped
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice
  • 3 cloves garlic - peeled
  • ½ tsp salt

Instructions

  • Slice the stem off the jalapeno, then slice it in half. Use a spoon to scrape the inner rib and seeds off. Chop it into three pieces. You only need half a jalapeno for this recipe.
  • In a food processor, add 4 medium tomatoes (halved), 1 small red onion (chopped), 1 cup fresh cilantro, ½ jalapeño (seeds and ribs removed, then chopped), 1 Tbsp lime juice, 3 minced garlic cloves and ½ tsp salt.
  • Seal the food processor with the lid. Turn it on low until you reach a chunky but chopped consistency. Turn off and test the taste. Add more salt if needed. Scoop into a bowl to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 19kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 185mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 665IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.3mg

The nutritional information provided is an estimate and is per serving.

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