Restaurant Style Salsa – homemade salsa just like they make at your favorite restaurant, with just a few simple ingredients! So easy and it only takes 5 minutes.
Salsa is one of my all time favorite snacks. I could eat chips and salsa all day long and never get tired of it. I am definitely one of those people who fills up on the chips and salsa at a restaurant before my food comes. It is just so darn good!
But store bought salsa is just not the same. Which is why I love this easy restaurant style salsa, that only takes 5 minutes to make!

This salsa is so easy to make, and only takes 5 minutes. You literally throw all of the ingredients into the food processor and let it go! You can make it smoother or chunkier depending on how long your process it.
Plus you can make it all year long! This recipe uses canned tomatoes, so you don’t have to wait until summer when tomatoes are at their peak to enjoy this. Canned tomatoes are picked and canned when they are super ripe and fresh, so they are perfect to use in recipes.

What You’ll Need
- Canned tomatoes – you can use whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes for this. It really depends on how chunky you want to make it. Just make sure they aren’t seasoned.
- Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies – The green chilis in Rotel tomatoes help give this salsa such great flavor .
- Onion – be sure to finely chop if you want your salsa a little chunkier, otherwise a course chop will do.
- Jalapeno – again if you want a chunky salsa you want to chop it very fine, so the food processor doesn’t have much work to do. For the pictures shown I did a small dice, but it wasn’t super fine or small.
- Cilantro – fresh cilantro just brightens the flavors and makes it taste homemade
- Lime Juice – just a little to add some flavor.
- Garlic – I like to mince or even grate my garlic, so it is nice and small before I add it to the food processor.
- Spices – salt and cumin is all you need for this easy recipe.

How To Make Restaurant Style Salsa
- I like to drain the tomato products before I put them in the food processor. This isn’t a necessary step, but I think it makes the salsa a little thicker and not watery.
- Add everything to the food processor and pulse until it is combined and the texture you want.
- The smaller you chop the onion, garlic, and jalapeno the less you will need to pulse.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

This does make a lot of salsa! It makes about 6 cups, which lasts in the fridge for about a week. You can easily cut the recipe in half if you want less.
The really nice thing about homemade salsa is you can adjust the heat level. My family likes this spicy, so I always add more jalapeno than written in the recipe. This makes a medium heat level as written. If you like it mild, you can remove the seeds from the jalapeno before you add it. And if you like it spicy add more. Super easy and versatile to customize to your tastes!

Have leftover salsa? No problem!
More Mexican Recipes To Try
- Mexican Pizza
- Creamy Salsa Chicken
- Mexican Rice
- Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
- Chicken Fajita Salad
- Dorito Taco Salad
Restaurant Style Salsa

Restaurant Style Salsa - homemade salsa just like they make at your favorite restaurant, with just a few simple ingredients! So easy and it only takes 5 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained (or whole tomatoes)
- 2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
- 1/3 cup onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 jalapeno, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 lime, juiced
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients into a food processor.
- Pulse until desired consistency.
- Taste, and adjust the seasonings to your taste.
- Store in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
If you like a mild salsa, remove the seeds from the jalapeno. If you like it spicy, leave them in and add more.
Recipe Adapted from Pioneer Woman
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 12Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 350mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 1g
Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on dinnersdishesanddesserts.com should only be used as a general guideline.
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Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
I love making salsa at home. Heck I love salsa in any form!
Jennifer @ Not Your Momma's Cookie says
Salsa is so yummy, especially homemade! 🙂
Meagan @ A Zesty Bite says
Mexican food is my FAVORITE! love a good simple salsa.
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
I’ve made this salsa before too, and it’s SO scrumptious! One of the best (and easiest) I’ve ever made at home. Great recipe, Erin!
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel says
I am a salsa fiend. Actually, a condiment fiend. I polish off salsas, guacs, and dips like it’s my day job and I am at risk of being fired. Lurve them. And love this!
The Café Sucre Farine says
I think this looks better than any restaurant I’ve been to!
The Farmers Wife says
Oh I love me some Salsa!! Living in the southwest I’m always searching for the best and brightest (and easiest) salsa recipes. I will definitely be trying this ASAP! Yum!!!
Shannon says
I LOVE restaurant style salsa. I’m not too fond of the chunky style, so I’ve really never found any salsas in the store that I’m totally in love with. I’ve never made salsa at home before, but now I think I’m going to this weekend!
Erin S says
I hope you try it – it is so easy, and you can control how chunky (or not) it is!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
This salsa looks so good, Erin! Perfect with my afternoon pita chips!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Now this is a salsa I could just dive into it and polish off in mere seconds! Looks incredible!
Nicole says
Yum, this looks just like restaurant salsa! I could dive right in!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction says
Love homemade salsa! This would be devoured at my house in no time!
Jocelyn @ BruCrew Life says
Yay for getting closets clean, although not yay about actually cleaning them 😉 This salsa looks delish! I love homemade!!
Jean says
I can eat salsa all day and not tire of it. I always have all these ingredients in the pantry so you bet I’ll be trying this!
Lisa {AuthenticSuburbanGourmet} says
This is my kind of salsa! Nothing better. I will be pinning so I can make this soon!!!!
Carole says
Lovely work! Would you be happy to link it in to the current Food on Friday which is all about sauces? This is the link . I do hope to see you there. There are already quite a lot of links for you to check out. Cheers
Catalina says
We use very often salsa in our house! It’s so great to make it at home now!
Amanda Livesay says
This salsa is so delicious! I love keeping a big batch in the fridge for easy snacks.
katerina @ diethood.com says
This salsa is fantastic!! I can’t wait to try it!!
Beti | easyweeknightrecipes says
This restaurant style Salsa is incredibly delicious!! Everyone loved it!
Beth says
Yum! This is going to be a big hit here! My hubby and daughter are going to love this recipe!
Allyson Reed Zea says
Wow the salsa looks absolutely perfect for my chips! Can’t wait to try it!