This fresh garden salsa recipe is mild and just a little sweet, so it’s perfect for those with a sensitive palate. It’s the best way to use up the tomatoes, veggies, and herbs from your garden!
If you’re like me and planted way too many tomato plants in your garden this year, you probably have more tomatoes than you know what to do with.
You can definitely use those tomatoes in recipes like creamy gnocchi with tomatoes, grilled cheeseburger wraps, and cilantro chickpea salad, but one of the best ways to use those fresh tomatoes is in a delicious garden salsa.
This fresh garden salsa recipe works because it’s:
- Easy to make. You’ll need to chop a few ingredients, and the food processor will take care of the rest for you.
- Not too spicy. This salsa is sweet and delicious. It’s so mild, you won’t be able to stop eating!
- Full of flavor! Cilantro, lime juice, and cumin work together to give this salsa a fantastic flavor.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Chop 7 small-medium garden tomatoes into small pieces. Cut 2 jalapeno peppers in half and remove the seeds and ribs. Wash and carefully remove the cilantro leaves from the stems until you have a packed 1/4 cup.
Add the jalapeno peppers, cilantro, 1/4 of an onion, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 clove of minced garlic, and salt and lime juice to taste to a food processor and pulse until fine.
Pour the mixture over the cut tomatoes and mix well.
Let stand for about an hour for the flavors to mix. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
You can use any tomatoes for this salsa, but fresh garden tomatoes will taste the best!
As mentioned earlier, this salsa is pretty mild, so if want it to be spicer try adding:
- The seeds and ribs from the jalapenos
- A few shakes of your favorite hot sauce
You can try these vegetable oil substitutes or these cilantro substitutes if you don’t have any on hand.
This salsa has a lot of juice, so if you don’t want it to be as runny, you can remove some of the liquid with a spoon before serving.
I recently made this recipe by adding everything to the food processor (except the tomatoes) and blending. Then I poured that over cut tomatoes and mixed. I loved how it turned out and I’ll be making like this going forward!
More Like This
Looking for more delicious dips? You’ll love these!
- Cowboy Caviar with Avocado
- Toasted Almond and Swiss Cheese Dip
- Crock Pot Chili Cheese Dip
- Artichoke Parmesan Dip
FAQs
That depends on your preference!
It’s definitely more work to peel the tomatoes, so if you want to save time and effort, you can leave the peels on. The food processor will break down the tomatoes fairly well so you shouldn’t even notice the peels.
Vinegar adds an additional acid element to the salsa that helps bacteria from growing and helps it stay fresh in the refrigerator.
It also adds a delicious tang to the salsa!
My personal preference is to use white onions for salsa. They pair nicely with the tomatoes and are commonly used in Mexican dishes.
If all you can find is red or yellow onions, you can use those, but you may need to adjust the amounts to get the flavor you want.
I hope your family loves this homemade garden salsa recipe! If you make it, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!
And if you’d like to get a 4-week meal plan featuring my recipes, just enter your email in the form above and you’ll get it straight to your inbox!
The Best Fresh Garden Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 garden tomatoes, small to medium
- 2 jalapeno peppers
- ¼ white onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, packed
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt, to taste
- Lime juice, to taste
Instructions
- Chop the garden tomatoes into small pieces. Cut jalapeno peppers in half and remove the seeds and ribs.
- Add the jalapeno peppers, 1/4 onion, garlic, cilantro leaves, vegetable oil, vinegar, ground cumin, garlic, and salt and lime juice to taste to a food processor and pulse until fine.
- Pour the mixture over the tomatoes and mix well.
- Let stand for about an hour for the flavors to mix. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.