This easy fresh salsa can be whipped up in just 10 minutes and tasty as can be. Delicious plain with chips as an appetizer or on top of your favorite Mexican-inspired dish.
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Hello my friends!
Our tomato plants were a little slow coming on (thanks to the deer pruning them early on in the season), but thankfully they did finally start producing and are still cranking out tomatoes for us every few days.
And we have been in heaven.
I love fresh garden vine-ripened tomatoes.
And here’s proof…
One year for my birthday when I was 11 or 12 the only thing I asked for on my birthday was fresh tomatoes. True story. Yes I got them. And I ate them. And they were so good.
There are days (lots of them) that I wish I had a way to grow garden vine-ripened tomatoes all year long. I’m super jealous of all you greenhouse owners that have made my dream your reality.
But meanwhile I will just feast upon juicy ripe tomatoes while I have my chance to for the next month or two. And when my garden tomatoes are gone, I will cry inside every time I have to buy a disgusting store-bought tomato. There’s just no comparison, my friends. No comparison at all.
So I’m just going to come right out and say that for the best flavor, you really need to make this salsa, with garden fresh vine-ripened tomatoes. If you don’t have a garden, check out the farmer’s markets or roadside stands. It will make all the difference.
Let’s talk variations of this fresh salsa
Next, I want to tell you that this recipe is SUPER adaptable. You can add as many jalapenos or other spicy peppers to increase the heat as you’d like.
As I’ve mentioned before, our family likes things SUPER mild so we usually just make this salsa with some combination of sweet bell peppers, banana peppers, and maybe an anaheim pepper without the seeds. That’s about as much heat as we like around here. But feel free to substitute spicier peppers to your liking.
This salsa has become a tradition in our family EVERY year this time of year. We love it plain with chips but it also delicious on tacos or your favorite Mexican-inspired dinner.
Also I should tell you that you can use any type of tomato in this recipe. We love to put in a variety of different kinds. The yellow tomatoes are called lemon boys that we grew this year and I love the color they add. We also really enjoy a few green tomatillos in the salsa for the color and flavor they add as well. Roma or other plum-type tomatoes are nice because they’re not as runny as regular tomatoes and the salsa will be a little thicker so I always try to add at least a few of those type to the salsa if I’ve got them. Like I said before, this recipe is super adaptable and it’s fun to change things up with different kinds of tomatoes and peppers to make the flavor slightly different every time.
Oh by the way, this is totally optional, but I love this Vidalia chopping tool (aff. link) for making salsa. It makes chopping up the veggies super easy.
Our favorite add-in
One super delicious addition that we discovered several years ago is adding some sliced Dutch smoked cheese to your bowl of salsa just before eating it. My husband used to go to Amsterdam every year this time of year for business and he would bring back those amazingly delicious smoked Holland cheeses. Oh my they are so good. If you’re not going to Holland anytime soon, the Trader Joe’s brand of Dutch smoked cheese (totally unsponsored plug here) is the closest we’ve found to the real stuff from Holland and is SO SO good sliced into a bowl with this salsa. The flavors compliment so well and it really is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
Okay my friends. I’d love to hear from you. What’s your favorite way to eat fresh salsa?
I love to eat it served on top of steamed rice and this sweet pork: A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
Have an great week.
Easy Fresh Salsa
This easy fresh salsa can be whipped up in just 10 minutes and tasty as can be.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (20 ounces) diced tomatoes see note, chopped and drained
- ¾ cup (3 ounces) finely diced peppers see note
- 1 ½ tablespoons (½ ounce) finely diced onions
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice from 1 lime
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro 1/2 bunch
- 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
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Add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix well to combine. Best served fresh. Leftovers are still tasty but salsa will be runnier as liquid drains from the tomatoes.
Recipe Notes
1. You can use any type of tomato in this recipe. We love to put in a variety of different kinds, including tomatillos. Roma or other plum-type tomatoes are nice because they’re not as runny as regular tomatoes and the salsa will be a little thicker.
2. Our family likes things SUPER mild so we usually just make this salsa with some combination of sweet bell peppers, banana peppers, and maybe an anaheim pepper without the seeds. That’s about as much heat as we like around here. But feel free to substitute spicier peppers (jalapenos, etc) to your liking.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
