Chips and salsa is one of my favorite snacks. Whether it’s taco night, you’re having a party, or just have a hankering for a spicy snack, chips and salsa are a great go-to. And what’s better than homemade salsa?
With ingredients easily found in any grocery store, this recipe is quick to make. Make by hand using a mortar and pestle or toss the ingredients in a food processor until it reaches your desired consistency.
Making the Homemade Salsa
Homemade salsa is easy to make and can be made with either a food processor or a mortar and pestle. While a food processor is certainly the faster way to make this recipe, a mortar and pestle is more fun. Not to mention, a mortar and pestle creates more flavor from crushing and grinding each of the ingredients.
Ingredients
All of the ingredients in this salsa recipe are easily found at your grocery store and most are fresh from the produce department. This recipe calls for:
- Tomatoes
- Jalapeno
- Cilantro
- Garlic
- Onion
- Lime juice (optional)
- Salt
- Olive oil
Roasting the Ingredients
Your first step in making homemade salsa is to prepare the ingredients. First, you’ll wash and prep the produce. Then, coat in oil before popping in the oven to roast for about 25 minutes. When done, the tomato skins will have separated, making it easy to remove from the tomatoes. Also, the garlic should be a golden brown, but still soft to touch.
Make to Taste
This salsa should be made to taste. If you prefer less spicy or mild salsa, you may want to start with half of a jalapeño rather than the whole.
Similarly, some may not be fond of cilantro – I’ve often seen and heard it described as tasting like soap. You may want to use more or less depending on who you’ll be sharing this with!
How to Serve
Once your salsa is prepared, it’s about ready to serve! Keep in mind, that it will likely still be warm from roasting the ingredients. I find that it’s best to chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator before serving. You can serve right from the mortar or pour the salsa into a serving dish.
Homemade Salsa Recipe
This salsa recipe can be made with a food processor, but it’s much more fun with a mortar & pestle. All ingredients are stocked at your local grocery store, most of which are from the produce department.
Ingredients
- Salt
- olive oil
- 2-3 tomatoes (cores removed & halved)
- 1 jalapeno (small)
- 1 chipotle pepper (optional)
- 3-4 cloves garlic (peeled)
- Onion (cut into large chunks)
- Cilantro
- A splash of fresh lime juice (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Place the tomato halves, jalapeno, garlic, and onion on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, ensuring each ingredient is coated. Roast in oven about 25 minutes or until tomato skins are separating. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before handling
- Remove the tomato skins – they should be practically falling off when you remove them from the oven
Mortar & Pestle
- Coat the mortar with salt
- Add garlic to mortar, mash and grind until it becomes a paste. Chop the jalapeno and optional chipotle pepper, then work into the garlic paste. Chop onion and add to mixture. Remove stems from cilantro and grind into mixture
- Remove peels from tomatoes and add one half at a time to the mortar, mashing and mixing as you go. Once all of the tomatoes are added, it’ll take about 5 minutes to get to the right consistency
- Chill until ready to serve
Food processor
Combine all ingredients into a food processor and blend until it’s reached your desired consistency
All photos in this post were taken by cookingbylt. To see more food ideas, follow me on Instagram.