Name: 5-Minute Homemade Salsa
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
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

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

Food processor - so handy for this recipe!
Chopping knives
Cutting board
Measuring spoons - this is a magnetic set that sticks together in the drawer to keep organized.

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.

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.