Easy 5 Minute Salsa

This Easy 5 Minute Salsa is a deliciously bold flavored replacement for your store-bought jar of salsa!  All made in a food processor, it's packed with fresh veggies and a can of fire roasted tomatoes for a quick batch of salsa any time of year! It's perfect for weekly meal prep to always have on hand for taco night, quick quesadillas for lunch, and healthy snacking! And yes, it's ready in just 5 minutes!

Homemade Salsa Made Easy!

A jar of 5 Minute Salsa is one of the easiest things to start making and quit buying! With no real chopping or cooking involved and a can of fire roasted tomatoes, this food processor salsa is simple and healthy!

This is seriously good salsa, Mexican restaurant style, and quick enough to meal prep every week!

When you make it from scratch, you can pack it with nutrition.  With lots of fresh veggies, you can replace your store-bought jar, and actually call it a healthy snack!

If you love this salsa, be sure to try my Mango Corn Salsa, Pineapple Pico de Gallo and the best ever Guacamole! And make this Garden Fresh Salsa when the garden's full of fresh tomatoes!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes - Fresh tomato pico de gallo salsa is amazing, but this winter salsa with canned tomatoes is a totally different kind of delicious! The secret is a can of fire roasted tomatoes. Extra flavorful and not too much juice in the can, plus you don't have to wait until tomatoes are in season.

• Garlic - Definitely go for fresh garlic! Fresh garlic is cheap and lasts on the counter for months. Plus you don't even need to chop it, the food processor does the work. I used one large clove, but you could do 2 if you really love garlic.

• Onion - Any type of onion will work here, red, yellow or white, even shallots, spring onions or scallions. You need about a quarter of a regular sized onion.

• Bell Pepper - You can use 3 mini bell pepper or half of a regular bell pepper. Really any color is fine. With red peppers you won't see the colorful specks, with yellow, orange or green you will, so choose your preference. This adds a healthy dose of extra veggies. You can also add or substitute a spicier pepper like jalapeño or poblano. I've kept this recipe a kid-friendly, extra mild salsa, but it's easily adaptable to add the amount of heat you like. A pinch of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or a dash of hot sauce can also give you more heat.

• Cilantro - To me, cilantro is the star of the show! It's what makes salsa, salsa. So I add a generous handful! No need to pick off the leaves, cilantro stems are tender and totally edible when blended into the salsa. Just discard the bottom couple inches of the stem.

• Lime - The essential salsa flavor, go for a fresh lime! You can squeeze in the juice of the whole lime, but I usually just cut away the peel and throw in the whole thing. Slice off the ends and then peel down and around the lime with a knife as you would peel a cantaloupe or a kiwi.

• Salt and Pepper - It's very important to season your salsa since you are using only a few ingredients. Salt enhances the fresh flavors and lets each ingredient shine. You are probably still way better off than the amount of salt in store-bought salsa!

• Sugar - This is totally optional, but a pinch of sugar is often used to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and lime juice.

Instructions

Step 1 - 5 Minute Salsa really is as easy as it sounds!  Roughly chop your onion, bell pepper and peel your garlic.

You can easily remove the garlic peel by laying your knife blade on its side on top of the garlic and giving it a light pound with your fist. The clove smashes and the peel comes right off.

Step 2 - Add all ingredients to the food processor (or a blender), and pulse until you reach the amount of chunkiness you like!  Add jalapeño or poblano if you like it spicy!

Recipe Tips

• Storage - Store this fire roasted salsa in jars in the fridge for up to a week. It makes 3 cups, so 1 pint jar and 1 half pint jar, any containers are fine! The flavors get even better after a day so it's great to meal prep! Extra salsa can even be frozen. Just fill your jars only ¾'s full to allow for expansion, and freeze salsa for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge to use.

• Mild or Spicy - This recipe is written to be an extra mild salsa, mainly because I want my kids to like it! It's easily customizable, so if you want more heat, either substitute or add jalapeño or any spicier pepper. Leaving the ribs and seeds in will give you even more heat. You can start with a small chunk of jalapeño and add more until you like it. Taste as you go! Hot sauce, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes can also be added for a spicier salsa.

• Chunky or Smooth - The food processor is great for salsa because you can get the exact consistency you like. Just keep pulsing until you get it as chunky or as smooth as you like it! I love seeing those little confetti salsa specks of color, so I keep it a bit chunky!

• Make this Veggie Salsa Even Healthier! - Being a mom, I think I'm always trying to add vegetables to our food! Like Italian Sausage Bolgonese Sauce, salsa is a place where a food processor can hide a few extra veggies with nobody noticing. In addition to the onion, bell pepper, garlic, lime and tomatoes, you can throw in a small chunk of carrot, zucchini, celery, or a few leaves of spinach if you've got it hanging out in the fridge. You can puree these in the food processor first, then add everything else and pulse until it's the consistency you like.

• More Variations - You could also do a tropical salsa using the same method, adding fresh peaches, pineapple, or mango in place of the tomato.  When my garden is bursting, I always find things to add to salsa, like a leaf of kale, spring onions or scallions, a chunk of zucchini or any type of pepper. You can use fresh tomatoes in place of the fire roasted, or check out this Pineapple Pico de Gallo or this Cherry Tomato Pico de Gallo recipe when your garden is full!  This recipe is versatile, so your salsa can be a little different each time.  Always easy, always healthy, and always in just 5 minutes!

What to Eat with Salsa

We LOVE salsa and this healthy veggie-packed condiment goes way beyond just snacking with chips! In just 5 minutes, you can add lots of veggies to your week!

• Taco Night - Add it as a topping to any taco, burrito, or nacho night! Try these Steak Fajita Tacos with Peppers and Onions!

• Loaded Baked Potato Bar - Add it to a Loaded Baked Potato Bar for an easy weeknight meal.

• Southwest Dressing - Mix equal parts salsa and ranch dressing for a Southwestern salad dressing, perfect for taco salads.

• Scrambled Eggs - Spoon salsa over scrambled eggs or roll them up in a tortilla for breakfast with black beans or bacon.

• Crockpot Chicken - Add a jar of salsa and chicken to a crockpot for shredded taco meat.

• Beef Taco Meat - Add salsa to your cooked ground beef taco meat instead of a seasoning packet.

• Kid's Quesadillas - Make easy lunches for the kids with Quesadillas in the panini press, just add cheese, salsa, and leftover chicken or black beans. Or mix a spoonful of salsa with plain yogurt or sour cream for a pink quesadilla dipping sauce.

If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it!  Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!

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