Fresh and Easy 5-Minute Salsa

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

This easy salsa is bursting with bright, fresh flavor and comes together in just under 5-minutes to make a rich and addictive dip that you will find yourself going back to chip after chip!

---

Here’s Why You Will LOVE this Recipe

• It is fresh and made using simple and wholesome ingredients – no preservatives, additives or artificial anything.
• It is also clean eating, gluten-free, vegan- and vegetarian-friendly, paleo-friendly, and keto-friendly!
• It comes together in just 5 minutes in two simple steps.
• You can make this in your blender or food processor.
• It is honestly very healthy with a 1/2 cup serving having only 32 calories, 7g carbs, 1g protein, 2g fiber and 4g sugar.
• No cooking is involved.
• This recipe scales up or down beautifully depending on how many servings you need and the uses you need it for!
• You can make this recipe in advance, as a matter of fact for the best results this recipe gets better when it sits and the flavors can meld together.
• You can customize this recipe to suit your own personal taste by increasing or decreasing the herbs and spices as you like.

---

Ingredients Needed

• Lemon Juice: Opt to use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• Onion: I’m using a red onion since it’s sweeter and milder but you can also use yellow or white onions.
• Tomatoes: You can use any kind of tomatoes you have on hand but the best varieties for this recipe include: Roma, plum, beefsteak or on the vine tomatoes. You’ll want to peel your tomatoes before using them. Another great option is to use whole canned tomatoes just be sure it’s clean-eating and contains only tomatoes for the ingredients – for a special kick you can opt for the fire roasted variety!
• Tomato Paste: This is a bit of a secret-ingredient that will amplify your salsa by adding a deep and rich concentration of tomato flavor that you won’t get from the raw tomatoes alone.
• Jalapenos: Optional but a few slices of jalapenos – fresh or pickled – adds a great hint of spice and flavor. You can add in as much or as little as you’d like.
• Salt: I’m using my favorite Himalayan pink salt, but you can use sea salt if you prefer or any other salt of your choosing.
• Sugar: A small touch of sugar perfectly complements the balance of acid and spice and salt to round our salsa’s flavor out. Note: To keep this recipe paleo-friendly, skip this ingredient.
• Garlic: You can use cloves of raw or roasted garlic.
• Parsley/Cilantro: This herb adds a great pop of herbaceous freshness to the salsa. The grassy notes perfectly complements all other ingredients so don’t skip it.

---

What’s the Best Way to Peel Your Tomatoes & Do I Need to Peel Them?

For this recipe’s consistency I highly recommend you peel your tomatoes to avoid having flecks of tomato skin in the salsa which can be hard/unpleasant to swallow. That said, you don’t HAVE to peel them if you don’t want to, peeling them is just for improved consistency.

That said, there’s two great methods you can use to peel your tomatoes, the first is the classic method of lightly scoring an X on the bottom of the tomato using a sharp knife, be sure you only cut the skin, don’t go too deep, and then place your whole tomatoes into a pot of boiling water and let them sit in the water for 20-30 seconds. Remove your tomatoes and plunk them into a bowl of ice water – this cools them down to make peeling them easier and stops the cooking process. Let them cool for a minute and then where you scored the X, lift an edge of the skin and it should peel right off.

Another method, and the one I’ve used today, is to use a vegetable peeler. It works a lot faster than the above method and removes a very thin layer of your tomato. It’s quick and efficient, much like this recipe…

---

Here’s How Easy This Salsa is to Make

Making this salsa is a two-step process. First, add all your ingredients into a food processor or blender cup.

Cover and use the pulse function to to combine your salsa ingredients together until everything is broken down and comes together into a slightly chunky consistency. You don’t want it to be smooth like a sauce or puree but you also don’t want large chunks of garlic remaining.

HELP! My Salsa is too Watery!

Don’t panic! This can sometimes happen depending on how juicy your tomatoes are. Fortunately there are a few easy solutions!

• If you know beforehand that your tomatoes tend to be more on the watery side you can remove the insides of the tomatoes before blending to reduce the water content.
• However if you’ve already blended your salsa together and you find there is a lot of water in it, you can remove some of the water by pouring your salsa into a container that has either a ultra fine mesh strainer, cheese cloth or even a coffee filter over it, this will allow any excess water to drip out until it’s the consistency you need it to be.
• If you don’t have any of those items on hand you can also fold and place a paper kitchen towel along the edge into the salsa and the excess water will be wicked away up into the paper towel.

With your salsa made, the next step for the best possible result is to allow your salsa to sit and rest for a bit.

Why Should I Rest My Salsa Before Enjoying it?

This is one of those recipes that gets better with time. As the ingredients sit and meld together, something magical happens; the flavors blend together and mellow out at an individual level while becoming concentrated and amplified as a whole dish to unlock the potency and full flavors of the dish. Put simply, if you eat it right away it will still be good, but you will taste the individual ingredients -vs- if you let it sit and meld together which will allow you to taste the dish as a whole instead of the individual ingredients.

If you’re in a rush, letting it rest for at least an hour works to allow at least the sharpness of the raw onion and garlic to lessen. It’s at this point as well that you should taste your salsa and adjust your flavorings; maybe it needs a bit more salt or sugar or more heat? With the ingredients settled for an hour you’ll have the better idea of the final flavor. In my case I ended up adding in a touch more tomato paste to really amplify the potency of the tomato flavor.

For the absolute best flavor results, let your salsa rest in your fridge for 12-24 hours before enjoying.

How Much is a Serving Size Supposed to be?

This honestly depends on what you’re using this salsa for. If it’s as a topping or side side, a recommended serving size is about 2 tbsp or 1 oz. If however you want to enjoy this salsa as a main feature/dip alongside some chips, then the recommended serving size is about 1/2 cup or 4 oz.

A half pound of tomatoes will yield you about 1.5 cups of salsa which is three servings of dip, or 12 servings as a side/topping.

---

And there you have it, a incredibly easy, healthy and delicious homemade salsa, free of any additives or preservatives or artificial anything. Coming together in no time, this salsa is fresh, wholesome, clean and simple, just the way our food should be!