Quick & Easy Spicy Salsa Recipe

This spicy salsa recipe is perfect for adding a little bit of kick to your favorite meals. This is a cooked salsa recipe, but it comes together in just 20 minutes. Stir some into homemade guacamole or serve it with your favorite Mexican meal.

Originally published October 2019; this post has been updated.

salsa recipe in a bowl, garnished with a wedge of lime and a cilantro leaf.

We are a family of salsa lovers. Some like it hot, some less so, but we all just love our tomato salsa. When I have access to lots of fresh tomatoes, it’s one of the first things I make. 

Spicy Salsa Recipe

If you’ve got an abundant crop of tomatoes, it’s easy to make your own at home instead of buying jars or bottles of ready-made salsa. This recipe makes a restaurant-style salsa, and can be left somewhat chunky or blended to make a smoother salsa.

The Handcrafted Pantry

Ready to DIY your pantry with more wholesome ingredients? Check out my ebook, The Handcrafted Pantry! Filled with delicious recipes for some of your favorite condiments, snacks, and toppings, it’s the guide you need to start skipping packaged products and embrace homemade.

ingredients for making spicy salsa on a marble backdrop. Peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, onion, seasonings.

Ingredients

Tomatoes – This recipes uses tomatoes fresh from the garden. I use an assortment of tomatoes, both red and yellow. Roma tomatoes, beefsteak, even cherry tomatoes if I have an abundance. Can you use canned tomatoes? Sure. Because this is a cooked salsa, it’s easier to add canned diced tomatoes to the recipe without loss of flavor. (They’d be weird in this pico de gallo recipe, though!) You can even opt for fire roasted tomatoes for an extra burst of flavor.

Onions & Garlic – You can use yellow, white, or red onions for this recipe, depending on what you like and what’s readily available. Garlic? If you’re not a fan you can leave it out, but is there anyone who doesn’t like garlic?

Peppers – Using a combination of peppers provides a nice balance of heat and flavor in this salsa. Jalapeno peppers add heat, and a green bell pepper adds flavor without the heat. Prefer a really spicy salsa? You can certainly replace the bell pepper with a hotter variety of pepper.

Lime Juice – The brightness of fresh lime juice brings out the flavors of this home made salsa. No lime juice? You can certainly use lemon juice.

Spices and Seasonings – If you have access to Mexican oregano, that’s what’s called for, but plain dried oregano will work fine, too. Smoked paprika and crushed red pepper flakes add a deeper flavor and a little more spice. The cilantro is always optional. 

chopped peppers, onion, and garlic.

Making this Homemade Salsa Recipe

The bulk of the preparation for making this recipe is in chopping and dicing the ingredients. You can chop the ingredients by hand or use a food processor to make quick work of it. 

Cooking the salsa in a skillet.

Once that’s done, you’ll simply sauté the onions, fresh garlic, and peppers to soften them and bring out their flavor. Once they’re fragrant, add the tomatoes and spices and cook just long enough to soften the tomatoes.

Pulsing the cooked salsa in a blender — or using an immersion blender — creates a restaurant style salsa with saucy bits of chunky cooked vegetables.

cooked salsa in a food processor.

Serving this Salsa

Serve this spicy homemade salsa with chips for dipping or over our family favorite refried beans. Add a dollop to these Dutch oven carnitas. Or spread some inside tortillas and top with cheese for a delicious quesadilla dinner.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.

close up of salsa recipe in a bowl, tortilla chip scooping some out.

★ Did you make this spicy salsa recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! ★

salsa recipe in a bowl, garnished with a wedge of lime and a cilantro leaf.

Quick & Easy Spicy Salsa

Yield: 2 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

This healthy and delicious salsa recipe comes together in just 20 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ medium onion, diced small (red, yellow, or white)
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, diced small
  • 1 medium jalapeno, finely chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
  • ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (or oregano)
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¼ - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 2-3 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and peppers become soft, around 4-5 minutes.
  2. Add tomatoes, Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and water. Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 4-5 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Once slightly cool, process mixture with an immersion blender, leaving slightly chunky, or transfer to a regular blender or food processor and pulse a couple of times until just blended to desired consistency.
  4. Transfer salsa to a bowl and stir in fresh lime juice and cilantro. Season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
  5. Serve immediately or cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Notes

This homemade salsa will keep in the refrigerator for several days, so you can double recipe to enjoy with your favorite Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes or as a snack with your favorite tortilla chips.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 60Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 8mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g

Did you make this recipe?

Share an image on Instagram and tag @attainablesustainable with #attainablesustainable!

More Salsa Recipes to Try

spicy salsa in a bowl with jalapeno slices

Click to save or share!

About the author: Kris Bordessa is an award-winning National Geographic author and a certified Master Food Preserver. Read more about Kris and how she got started with this site here. If you want to send Kris a quick message, you can get in touch here.

1 comment… add one
  • Lemongrass Feb 23, 2019 @ 11:47

    I love cilantro in all forms. While a member of a community garden in Brooklyn NY during the late 1990’s, a friend gave me a young plant. I fell in love immediately. Have been hooked since. Now am living in Grenada in the Caribbean, I have not been able to get non GMO seeds. Am looking for some seeds, any way I can. Would love to make the salsa. The flowers are even more breathtaking. Those white petals with the green leaves is natures way of saying anything is possible.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to Recipe