Restaurant Style Salsa is everyone’s favorite appetizer, and this fresh and simple recipe will have everyone snacking right into dinner!
Whether you serve it with chips, tacos, or over your favorite egg breakfast, everyone loves Restaurant Style Salsa! Blend tomatoes, Rotel, a little garlic, onion, jalapeno, and a few spices for an easy appetizer that is a huge crowd-pleaser!
It’s my favorite!
Whenever friends and family pop over and they see a big bowl of homemade Restaurant Style Salsa on the table, they always exclaim that it’s their favorite thing I make! I know it’s not strictly true, but I have to agree, whenever salsa is around it’s all I want to eat too! We go through so many bowls of chips sometimes that we don’t even bother making dinner. Breakfast, appetizers, or Taco Tuesdays are all of the best times to enjoy this amazing salsa!
We like to have an evening of appetizers sometimes and along with our amazing salsa we also whip up Roasted Tomatillo Salsa and 3 Ingredient Crock Pot Bean Dip!
Other Recipes to Serve with Restaurant-Style Salsa
- Feed a crowd or just the family Super Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos– they’re incredibly flavorful and a perfect way to devour this salsa!
- Pineapple Coconut Margaritas are easily held in one hand while dipping chips into delicious salsa with the other hand.
Ingredients
Pantry Items: Famous restaurants and home chefs agree that canned tomatoes are key to a great restaurant-style salsa! You’ll need a large can of whole tomatoes and a couple of cans of Rotel too.
Veggies: Head to the produce section to pick up onion, garlic, lime, jalapeno, and cilantro.
Seasoning: For this recipe, you will need salt, cumin, and a little sugar to balance the acid.
How to Make Restaurant-Style Salsa
STEP ONE: Add all ingredients to a food processor or make smaller batches in a blender.
STEP TWO: Pulse the ingredients until everything is well chopped and has reached the consistency you like in salsa.
STEP THREE: Pour the salsa into a bowl or jar and cover. Refrigerate the salsa for at least an hour, and then enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!
Tips for Success
- Everyone likes salsa a certain way, so don’t be shy about making this recipe your way! If you like chunky salsa, don’t pulse the ingredients for long, but if you prefer a smooth salsa, continue to blend the ingredients until smooth.
- Let’s talk heat! After blending everything, taste the salsa and see if you like the heat level. If you need more, drop in more jalapeno or a serrano and crank the heat up! If you know, you’d prefer mild salsa, keep the jalapeno out completely or remember to cut out the seeds and membrane so that you still get that get jalapeno flavor without the heat.
- Sugar may seem like an odd addition to salsa, but it helps to balance the acid from the tomatoes, which brings out their sweetness and helps all of the flavors of the ingredients to blend well, so don’t skip it.
What is the difference between Restaurant style salsa and jarred salsa?
Restaurant-style salsa and jarred salsa that you purchase at the grocery store both contain tomatoes, onions, and green chilies, so there’s no difference in the ingredients. So what is the difference? The texture! Jarred salsa is chunky than restaurant-style salsa, which tends to be blended more.
What is restaurant salsa called?
There are many types of salsa and restaurant-style salsa, also known as Salsa Roja or red sauce. Any salsa made with the same ingredients as restaurant-style salsa is called Salsa Roja. Pico de Gallo, another popular salsa, consists of diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro and is not saucy. Salsa Verde is made using tomatillos instead of tomatoes, giving the salsa a wonderful green color. These are the three most popular types of salsa but there is a huge variety of salsa’s out there for you to try!
More outstanding dips everyone loves!
*This post was originally posted on 08/03/2012.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 28 ounces canned whole peeled tomatoes
- 20 ounces Rotel
- ¼ cup yellow onion peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic peeled and chopped
- 1 jalapeno quartered, seeded & sliced thin
- ½ cup cilantro stems removed
- ½ lime juiced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor.
- Cover and pulse until the salsa is your desired consistency. (I like mine on the chunky side.)
- Pour in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or pour into a large mason jar. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Pour into a bowl and serve with your favorite tortilla chips for dipping.
Pamela says
My family loves salsa! This looks yummy, will be making this weekend.
Marlene @Nosh My Way says
Your salsa looks fantastic. Definitely restaurant worthy. Thanks for sharing for Cinco De Mayo recipes on Foodie Friends Friday.
Stacey says
Thank you Marlene! I love this salsa, it is always a hit, and it is super easy to make!!!
Christi says
Mom’s Pantry Blog shared your salsa recipe and so I checked you out. I like what I see and I’ll be visiting again real soon. Thanks!
Stacey says
Thank you for checking us out Christi. Hope to see you again soon! 🙂