I love making fresh salsa. It’s so simple to do, and it stores really well in the refridgerator to be used all week. Today’s post is for 2 easy homemade salsa recipes that I make often. A roasted tomato & garlic salsa, and a grilled corn salsa!
Both can be made in 30 minutes or less. And if you roast the tomatoes ahead of time, they can both be made in less than 10 minutes! You can use chips to eat these as a snack, or spoon them over tacos, in burritos, over enchiladas and nachos, etc. Cody and I have a Mexican-themed dinner night at least once a week, and these two salsa are definitely something we make often!
Let’s get started.
Roasted Tomato & Garlic Salsa
The unique aspect of the first salsa is that I roast the tomatoes and garlic that goes in it. You don’t have to do this step, but it honestly makes a big difference in the flavor of the salsa! So if you’re short on time, you can just put all of the salsa ingredients in a blender and blend, but if you have a little bit of extra time in your hands, I recommend firing up the oven.
You can use round tomatoes, or Roma tomatoes for this recipe. I used a mix of both actually, because that’s just what I happened to have in my fridge at the time.
Wash your tomatoes and place them on a plain baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. If you are making a smaller batch for you and one other, I think 5-6 tomatoes will do. If you plan on making a bigger batch for a party, I’d use 10-12 tomatoes.
You’ll want to keep an eye on the clock, because at the half way point (15 minutes) you’ll want to take your fresh garlic cloves and place them on the baking sheet in the oven too. Then, at the end of the 30 minutes you have your roasted tomatoes and garlic ready to use!
The next step is super easy. Simply place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend! I blend on a low speed so that it doesn’t get too “pulverized” and liquidated. I like my salsa to be a bit chunky still. So I’ll flip the blender switch on, at a low/slow setting for a few seconds, then turn it off. Shake the container a bit or stir with a spoon. Then blend it for a few more seconds. Do this a few times until it reaches the consistency you want.
Pro tip with the blending: They say that you should put the ingredients in the blender first, that you want to be the most blended/pureed. So If you want your onion pieces to be really tiny, put the onion in first. If you wan the tomato really blended, put those in first, etc.
Grilled Corn Salsa
The grilled corn salsa is just as easy to make, but takes a tiny bit more chopping. Also, just like with the salsa above, if you are short on time you can just use frozen corn kernels and make the salsa that way. But if you have some extra time on your hands, I recommend getting whole corn on the cobs, and grilling them for extra flavor in the salsa!
I happen to use a grill pan on my stove top, because that’s what I have to work with. Simply place the corn cobs on the grill pan (or grill) plain and cook until the outside starts to get charred. This will take about 10-12 minutes, and you’ll need to rotate the corn cobs every so often so every side gets grilled evenly.
While the corn is grilling you can chop your jalepenos, onion, cilantro, and mix them in a large bowl. Once the corn is done grilling, take a knife and cut the kernels off of the cob. Mix it in with the rest of the ingredients and serve!
Easy Homemade Salsa
That pretty much sums it up for this quick post! These easy homemade salsa recipes are super simple, quick to make, and DELICIOUS! Especially if you take the time to roast the first one, and grill the second. But like I mentioned, if you are running short on time you can always skip those steps and just prepare them with frozen corn or plain tomatoes.
The thing I love about salsa, is that it’s also very easy to customize. If you want to use more onion, use more onion than I listed below. You can tweak the amount of cilantro used, salt, garlic, etc. to suit your tastes. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you enjoy making these easy salsa recipes, and like eating them just as much as I do!
Easy Homemade Salsa, 2 Ways
Ingredients
Roasted Tomato & Garlic Salsa
- 10 roma tomatoes*
- 2 jalapeños
- 1 small bunch of cilantro
- 3/4 large red onion
- 3 large fresh garlic cloves
- 4 TBS lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Grilled Corn Salsa
- 4 ears of corn or 2 bags of frozen corn*
- 2 jalapeños
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro
- 3/4 red onion
- 4 TBS of lemon juice*
- 1/4 tsp salt optional
- 1/4 tsp cumin optional
- 1/4 tsp chili powder optional
Instructions
Roasted Tomato & Garlic Salsa
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Arrange tomatoes on plain baking tray. Roast for 30 minutes
- At the half-way point place the garlic cloves on the tray in the oven for the remainder of the time
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on low/slow for a few seconds. Pulse until the salsa reaches your desired consistency
Grilled Corn Salsa
- Grill the corn for 10-12 minutes, until the outside is charred. Rotate every so often so it cooks evenly. If using frozen corn, thaw the corn in the microwave.
- While the corn grills, chop the rest of your ingredients
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl
