This easy canned tomato salsa is loaded with bold, fresh flavours and takes just 5 minutes to throw together. No cooking or roasting required!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick and easy – everything comes together in minutes with a handful of basic ingredients. It’s as simple as placing all of the salsa ingredients into a food processor.
- Convenient – no need to roast or chop tomatoes in this recipe! Canned tomatoes are used, which makes it perfect all year round.
- Adaptable – you can adjust the flavours, heat level and texture to suit your tastes.
It’s perfect served with tortilla chips and sliced veggies or as a topping for your favourite Mexican foods like homemade beef tacos, burritos, salad bowls and more!
Ingredients you will need
** This post contains tips and instructions to achieve the best possible results. This photo is a great guide for when you are in the supermarket, but for full ingredient quantities and methods, please scroll down to the detailed recipe card below!
- Canned tomatoes – regular diced or whole canned tomatoes are the base of the salsa. Choose canned tomatoes without any added seasonings or flavours. Drain the excess liquid from the tomatoes before adding them to the food processor.
- Onion and garlic – give them a quick chop and the food processor will do the rest. Raw or roasted garlic can be used. Roasted garlic will give a warmer, deeper flavour.
- Jalapeño – fresh jalapenos add a little spice, but can still be kept mild based on the quantity used. Pickled jalapenos can also be used, if fresh aren’t available. Most of the heat in the jalapeno is in the seeds and ribs, I recommend removing them or the spice will overpower the other flavours.
- Coriander – the amount of fresh coriander (cilantro) can be adjusted to suit your taste. It’s a staple flavour in salsa, but can be left out if you just don’t love it. You could swap for basil or some fresh parsley.
- Cumin – adds depth and savoury flavour.
- Lime juice – start with a small squeeze and add more, to taste.
- Salt – lifts and enhances the flavours in the salsa. Use regular table salt and adjust, to taste.
Step by step instructions
Full ingredient notes and quantities can be found in the detailed recipe card below. But here is a brief overview of what you can expect;
- Drain the tomatoes – use a sieve to drain the excess liquid from the canned tomatoes.
- Chop the fresh ingredients – once the onion, garlic, jalapeño and coriander are roughly chopped, everything gets thrown into a food processor and lightly pulsed until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Pulse – pulse the food processor in short bursts, until the salsa reaches your desired consistency.
For a chunky salsa, use short pulses until the salsa reaches your desired consistency. For a smoother salsa, pulse for longer. Don’t over-pulse, or the mixture will be too smooth.
Once blended, place the salsa into a bowl and serve with extra lime wedges and coriander.
Expert tips
- Use a sieve to drain some excess liquid from the canned tomatoes before adding them to the food processor. Too much liquid will make the salsa watery.
- Don’t have a food processor? Very finely chop the fresh ingredients and stir them through the diced tomatoes.
- Pulse the food processor until you reach your desired consistency. For a chunkier texture, use short pulses to combine and stop before it becomes too smooth; we still want some chunks for texture.
- The recipe can be multiplied. This recipe makes about 4 cups and can be easily multiplied for more.
- Adjust the flavours to suit your tastes. Once blended, taste the salsa and add extra lime juice, salt or chilli to taste.
- To make mild salsa, omit the jalapeno entirely or add less, to taste. For a spicier salsa, include the chilli seeds as well. You can also add a little hot sauce or chilli powder for more spice.
FAQs
For a spicier salsa, include the chilli seeds as well. You can also add a little hot sauce or chilli powder for even more spice. The heat level will be determined by the type of chilli that you use. If you prefer a milder salsa, use a mild chilli like cayenne, poblano or bullhorn. If you like your salsa on the spicier side, use habanero, bird’s eye or jalapeno.
Store leftover salsa in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
This recipe makes the most of canned tomatoes, meaning you don’t need to roast or chop them before adding them to the food processor. For extra flavour, choose canned tomatoes that have been roasted, or good quality canned whole tomatoes for extra flavour.
Lime juice, jalapeno, onion and tomatoes are all rich sources of Vitamin C. Salsa is also a great source of potassium and is low in calories, but full of flavour!
Related recipes
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Canned Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
- 1200 grams canned tomatoes 3 x 400 gram cans diced or whole tomatoes
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 1-2 jalapeno chillies roughly chopped and seeds removed. Or use less, to taste.
- juice from one lime or use more or less, to taste.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 garlic cloves raw or roasted, peeled. Roughly chopped.
- 1 teaspoon salt table salt
- â…“ cup fresh coriander cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Use a sieve to drain the excess liquid from the canned tomatoes.
- Add all of the ingredients together in a food processor and blend in short pulses until all of the ingredients are combined, but the salsa is still chunky. Pulse until you reach your desired consistency. Avoid over blending, as the salsa should still have some lumps and texture.
- Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
-
- Use a sieve to drain some excess liquid from the canned tomatoes before adding them to the food processor. Too much liquid will make the salsa watery.
- Don’t have a food processor? Very finely chop the fresh ingredients and stir them through some diced tomatoes.
- Pulse the food processor until you reach your desired consistency. For a chunkier texture, use short pulses to combine and stop before it becomes too smooth; we want chunks for texture.
- The recipe can be multiplied. This recipe makes about 4 cups and can be easily multiplied for more.
- Adjust the flavours to suit your tastes. Once blended, taste the salsa and add extra lime juice, salt or chilli to taste.
- To make mild salsa, omit the jalapeno entirely or add less, to taste. For a spicier salsa, include the chilli seeds as well. You can also add a little hot sauce or chilli powder for more spice.
- Storage; keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days.
- Please note that the nutrition information is based on the salsa being divided into 8 serves. The nutritional information is an estimate only and does not take into account any additional toppings or sides served with the salsa.
- This recipe is made using Australian cups and spoon measurements. Any reference to cups or spoons in this recipe is in Australian metric. Due to cup sizes varying from country to country, I advise adjusting if necessary.
Nutrition
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Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in April 2019, but was re-published with new information and photos in May 2023.
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