I genuinely love this roasted salsa and am always happy when we’ve made it. It’s absolutely delicious and easy to dial in the spice level, depending on how spicy you like things. This recipe is inspired by our roasted tomatillo salsa, which has received so many happy reviews. There has been so much positive feedback for it that we decided to try the same recipe but use red tomatoes instead of tomatillos. Just like the tomatillo salsa, this tomato salsa tastes amazing! For a quicker salsa, see our easy red salsa, which uses canned tomatoes.
Key Ingredients
Tomatoes: I love fresh tomatoes for this salsa. You can use canned whole tomatoes, but you won’t get the same level of char on the tomatoes since they are more wet. Chile Peppers: I love this roasted salsa made with jalapeño and serrano chile peppers. Serranos are usually a little spicier than jalapeños, but after I roast them, I remove the seeds and membrane to make the salsa medium-hot. If you love spicy salsa, leave the seeds in! Garlic: For a sweeter roasted garlic flavor, I toss unpeeled garlic cloves into the same dish as the tomatoes and roast them together. Then, before you blend the salsa, squeeze the roasted garlic out of the cloves. Onion, Cilantro, and Lime: To freshen up the salsa, I blend in raw onion, lots of fresh cilantro, and lime juice.
How to Make Roasted Tomato Salsa
The salsa is really simple to make. You’ll start with roasting the tomatoes, peppers, and garlic. Place them onto a rimmed baking sheet and slide them under the broiler on high, turning each ingredient so all sides become slightly charred. If you’d like to do this outside, you can! I’ve included roasting tips on a BBQ in the recipe below. Let the tomatoes, peppers, and garlic cool down a little, and then pull away the skins (it should be easy). You can leave some black skins from the tomatoes and peppers intact for a bit of color and char. Remove the core of the tomatoes and add them, along with the peppers and garlic, to a food processor. Add raw onion, fresh cilantro, and fresh lime juice, and blend until you are happy with the salsa’s consistency. I like it a little chunky. You can enjoy the salsa immediately, but if you have the time, cover it and place it in the refrigerator. As the salsa sits, it becomes even more flavorful. Then, enjoy however you like. I love this with homemade tortilla chips! 1 jalapeño pepper 1 serrano pepper 2 unpeeled garlic cloves 1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup) 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and tender stems 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or more to taste Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste 2Broil, turning occasionally, until they’re blackened in spots, about 8 minutes. Let tomatoes, peppers, and garlic cool. See notes for using a grill. 3When the tomatoes, peppers, and garlic are cool enough to handle, peel most of the skins from the tomatoes and remove the cores. 4Peel most of the skins from the peppers and remove the seeds. For a spicier salsa, leave in some or all of the seeds. Remove the softened garlic from the peel. 5Add roasted tomatoes, peppers, garlic flesh, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and a pinch of salt to a food processor or blender. Pulse 3 to 4 times or until the salsa is mostly smooth and no big chunks of tomato remain, scraping down the sides as necessary. 6Adjust with more lime juice, salt, or pepper based on consistency and taste. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for about 1 hour for flavors to develop.
