Restaurant Style Mild Salsa (5 minutes) (2025)

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Updated: Oct 8th 2021 • Published: Jan 6th 2019 • 29 Comments

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4.03 from 42 votes

This restaurant-style mild salsa recipe takes under 5 minutes to make and is a great healthy, fresh homemade appetizer perfect for game day!

Plus it can be made all year round as it uses canned tomatoes! With cilantro, lime juice, onion and a few spices you can have this easy salsa on the table in minutes.

Serve it with flour tortillas or with corn chips for a naturally gluten-free snack.

Restaurant Style Mild Salsa (5 minutes) (1)

Who doesn't love chips and dip!!! Put a bowl of fresh salsa on the table and people will be happy. Serve a few beers and people will be laughing. Serve a few margaritas and you have yourselves a party!

Restaurant salsa is so much better than anything you can buy in a can or jar. It is fresher, overflowing with flavor and doesn't have that slightly metallic taste that some jars/cans can have.

And now with this easy recipe you can make the same restaurant salsa at home.

How do you make restaurant style salsa at home?

The ingredient lists looks quite long but the process is so simple. You just add the ingredients to the food processor and blitz them for about two minutes.

If you add them in the following order the food processor will break down the larger items before it gets to the cilantro, so you will still get attractive green flecks in your salsa rather than a brown colored salsa.

tomatoes
onions
garlic
cumin
coriander
salt
sugar
lime juice
cilantro

Restaurant Style Mild Salsa (5 minutes) (2)

Is this salsa suitable for kids?

Definitely!!!!
My kids will be the first at the table if they know this is on offer.

This is a mild salsa, so there are no jalapeños in the mixture. Obviously feel free to add them if you like your salsa spicy or if your kids are exploring spicy foods.

I would add them after the onions, to ensure it gets thoroughly chopped up.

This salsa makes a great lunchbox idea! Spoon some into an airtight pot, add a few corn chips and enjoy dipping at lunch!

Restaurant Style Mild Salsa (5 minutes) (3)

Can this salsa be made ahead of time?

It sure can!!!

In fact it is better made at least 3 hours before you need it. It gives the flavors time to meld together, making everything taste smoother.

How long will homemade salsa keep?

Okay, so it should last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, BUT I have never had it last that long. We struggle to leave it the 3 hours 😉 let alone 3 days!

What to dip in your restaurant style salsa

Are you a soft tortilla or a hard tortilla kind of person??

We are mixed. So I like to serve both and also a selection of crunchy veggies for those avoiding carbs.

Get the recipe for my favorite homemade soft tortillas here.

Restaurant Style Mild Salsa (5 minutes) (4)

Enjoy x

For more dips try:

Get the Recipe

Restaurant Style Mild Salsa

Claire | Sprinkle and Sprouts

This restaurant style mild salsa recipe takes under 5 minutes to make and is a great healthy fresh homemade appetizer perfect for game day! It can be made all year round as it uses canned tomatoes! With cilantro, lime juice, onion and a few spices you can have this easy salsa on the table in minutes. Serve it with flour tortillas or with corn chips for a naturally gluten free snack.

4.03 from 42 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 10

Calories 24 kcal

Ingredients

28 oz can whole plum tomatoes including juice
1 small onion (see note 1)
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup cilantro tightly packed

Instructions

Pour the canned tomatoes and their juice into a food processor (or blender).
Peel and roughly chop the onion then add it to the tomatoes
Peel the garlic and add them to the processor
Add the spices, salt, sugar and lime juice.Then add the cilantro to the top.
Pulse chop your salsa until you have the desired consistency.
Transfer the salsa to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 4 days.

Video

Notes

You can use a brown, white or red onion.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Nutrition

Nutrition is per serving

For more great recipes follow me on PinterestFollow @sprinklessprout

Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Manjinder says
April 09, 2024 at 2:01 am

Hi I don't have fresh cilantro will ground work?
Reply
- Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
  April 17, 2024 at 4:54 pm
  
  You can just leave it out.
  Ground coriander is the seeds rather than the leaf so it won't give the same flavor.
  Cx
  Reply
Judy says
April 26, 2022 at 7:41 pm

Hi Claire
Can you use garlic powder instead of the cloves of garlic? I never use cloves even thou I know it would be fresher tasting (I just never have any). Anyway, if you did use the garlic powder how much (teaspoons) do you think it would be?
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  April 27, 2022 at 12:00 pm
  
  Hi Judy,
  I have never tried it with garlic powder and like you say I think it will taste different to fresh.
  But as a general rule 1/4 tsp of garlic powder is equivalent to a medium clove of chopped fresh garlic.
  Even though the recipe uses 3 cloves, I would try using just 1/2 tsp of garlic powder and taste your finished salsa.
  I hope that helps. Do let me know if you try it and I can add a note in the recipe card.
  Cx
  Reply
Michelle Schroede says
August 29, 2021 at 3:21 am

I just found this recipe today and plan on going to get some of the ingredients I’m missing today! Sounds wonderful! I don’t have a food processor so I hope a blender will mix it to the right consistency. I have been looking for a mild sauce and this sounds perfect!
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  September 02, 2021 at 6:36 pm
  
  Hi Michelle,
  I would say that a blender should work, but it might take a bit longer than a food processor.
  Definitely make sure that you put the ingredients in chunkiest first (which is how the recipe is written) that way they are closest to the bad and will get well chopped and then incorporated into the canned tomato.
  I hope you enjoy it 🙂
  Cx
  Reply
Cynthia says
January 08, 2021 at 9:56 pm

Hi,
Am I able to just use regular whole tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes?
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  January 13, 2021 at 10:20 pm
  
  Hi Cynthia, I find with fresh tomatoes the flavor is quite different and not like the salsa you get in restaurants. But it does work. Hope that helps 🙂 Cx
  Reply
  See Also
  Creamy Tuscan Ravioli Soup
Paul Clark says
December 10, 2020 at 3:40 am

Love this recipe!!
Have you ever tried canning it?
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  December 16, 2020 at 1:39 pm
  
  Hi Paul,
  I haven't tried canning the salsa. I wonder if it night loose that fresh taste? But certainly worth a go 🙂
  Cx
  Reply
Michelle says
September 30, 2020 at 8:53 am

Wow, I just made this salsa and it is so yummy! Very easy to make, we all loved it. Thanks for such a delicious and easy recipe. 😊
Reply
Kim says
September 03, 2020 at 10:30 am

We have our first garden this year and were looking for something to do with all the tomatoes! This recipe is SALSA PERFECTION! Thanks so much for sharing! We added jalapeños for a little kick and it made if even better. Muchas Gracias!
Reply
Josephine B says
January 24, 2020 at 6:18 pm

Hi Claire, I forgot to ask if this can be frozen if I make a double batch and if so how long would it keep? Thank you.
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  January 25, 2020 at 2:20 pm
  
  I have never frozen it so I can't say for sure! But I think it should be okay. You might find the cilantro goes a little dark/black. But the flavor shouldn't be affected.
  I keep it in the fridge for at least a week (probably more like 10 days) and it has been fine. BUT most food safety websites suggest only 5 days for fresh salsas, which is why I suggest 5 days as I don't like to advise anything different.
  Hope that helps Cx
  Reply
Josephine B says
January 24, 2020 at 6:08 pm

Hi Claire, I'm on the Keto plan and don't have carbs, so would this salsa be OK without the sugar. I'd love to try your recipe as anything bought has the sugar in and since this is homemade I'm hoping you can help me out. Thank you.
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  January 25, 2020 at 2:15 pm
  
  Hi Josephine,
  You can definitely leave out the sugar. I add it to counter balance any sourness from the tomatoes, but if you use a good brand/variety of canned tomato (Italian are very good) then they will be naturally sweeter.
  Hope that helps.
  Cx
  Reply
Sydney says
January 21, 2020 at 2:20 pm

Hi! I’d love to make your recipe and wanted to see how much it made? Do you know about how many ounces one batch of it made?
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  January 22, 2020 at 5:50 am
  
  Hi Sydney,
  I haven't weighed the finished salsa so I can't be sure on the ounces. But as written the recipe makes around 4 cups of salsa.
  Hope that is some help 🙂
  Cx
  Reply
Amanda says
November 16, 2019 at 11:48 pm

Can the salsa last more than 4 days in the fridge? One jar doesn't last long in my house but I don't always want to whip up a new batch every other day. So, can I double it and then store it in the fridge (in a mason jar) for longer than 4 days?
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  November 17, 2019 at 11:22 am
  
  Hi Amanda,
  I've kept it for 6 days with no issues. We have kept it longer as well but I find it starts to get a bit wetter and the cilantro loses it color and freshness. But it is still delicious!
  Hope that helps 😀
  Reply
Liz says
November 12, 2019 at 1:14 am

I made this and added jalapeños. It was awesome !!
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  November 12, 2019 at 9:31 am
  
  Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed it Liz!
  Reply
Eliana says
October 15, 2019 at 5:19 am

Deliciosa
Reply
Debbe says
September 24, 2019 at 2:32 am

Love this recipe. I like a lil bite to my salsa so I added some jalapeños! Yummmm best quick salsa to make and I almost always have all these ingredients on hand. This will be my go to.
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  October 09, 2019 at 8:16 pm
  
  I am so pleased you enjoyed it Debbe, thank you 😀
  Reply
Ava says
September 20, 2019 at 9:36 am

Okay, let me just say that this recipe is absolutely amazing! I had to make some homemade salsa for my spanish class, and my entire class loved it! My teacher even said this was one of the best homemade salsa recipes that she had ever had and she asked me for the recipe. It is super easy and super delicious. I have tried many salsa recipes, but this one is by far my favorite! One thing that I didn’t use though was the coriander. I didn’t have any, so I made my salsa without it and it was still delicious! This recipe is amazing and 100% recommended to all people who love salsa.
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  September 21, 2019 at 7:21 am
  
  Oh Ava!! Thank you so much for coming back to comment! I am so pleased that the salsa was a hit in class.
  Your comment has made me grin from ear to ear. So thank you 😀
  Reply
Evie says
March 08, 2019 at 4:46 pm

This dish is looking delicious.
Reply
- Claire McEwen says
  March 09, 2019 at 8:40 am
  
  Thank you Evie
  Reply