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This salsa fresca recipe turns ripe tomatoes into a bright, tangy dip with cilantro, lime, and jalapeño. It comes together in a food processor in 10 minutes!
Ready for what might be the best salsa recipe? Meet this salsa fresca, a “fresh salsa” made with ripe, juicy tomatoes. Every year I grow tomatoes in my garden, and this is the absolute best way to use them. (Except for Caprese salad, right?)
If you have access to some great ripe tomatoes, I recommend you consider making up a batch, stat! It’s super tangy from the lime, a little sweet from the tomato, and has a back-end heat from the jalapeño.
Salsa Fresca Ingredients
To make salsa fresca, you need a handful of ingredients that you could possibly recite from memory, if you’re a salsa lover like we are. While many recipes use canned tomatoes, salsa fresca uses ripe raw tomatoes to get that perfectly fresh flavor. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Ripe tomatoes: Use the best ripe tomatoes you can find.
- White onion: The mild flavor of white onion is traditional in a salsa fresca.
- Garlic: This adds the big savory flavor.
- Jalapeño peppers: I typically remove the seeds and then add some to taste for heat.
- Cilantro: This is required and brings the signature flavor.
- Cumin: This also adds a nice complexity to the flavor.
- Lime juice and kosher salt: Adds the final brightness and pop to the flavor.
Salsa Fresca vs. Pico de Gallo
As you read the ingredients list above, you might wonder: Doesn’t that sound just like pico de gallo? Salsa fresca vs pico de gallo: same or different? The salsa fresca definition is a sauce made with raw tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime. The definition for pico de gallo is the same ingredients, but the texture is chunkier.
Many sources say that salsa fresca and pico de gallo are two words for the same thing. Others argue that salsa fresca has a pureed texture, whereas pico de gallo is hand-chopped where you can distinguish the pieces of vegetables. I tend to go with the second definition. However, there is some gray area: feel free to weigh in below in the comments!
How to Make Salsa Fresca
This salsa is all about fresh, ripe tomatoes: so make sure to make it when you have access to the best juicy tomatoes you can find! The flavor is 100% dependent on good tomatoes, so if you have some hesitation, you could try a canned salsa version instead. Try my Roasted Tomato Salsa as a starting point!
Here’s how to make salsa fresca (or jump to the recipe card below for quantities):
- Chop and remove the core from the ripe tomatoes.
- In a food processor, blend tomatoes, white onion, garlic, cilantro, and jalapeño peppers (with the seeds removed for a mild salsa).
- Add the tomatoes, cumin, lime, and salt, and process until a uniform texture forms.
- Strain to remove extra liquid, then discard.
- Add the remaining lime juice and salt and stir to combine.
Ways to Serve This Fresh Salsa Recipe
There are so many ways to eat salsa fresca outside of chips! Though if you choose chips, make sure to try our Homemade Tortilla Chips: they’re easy to make and baked so they have a healthy spin. Here are some of our favorite ways to eat salsa fresca:
- On top of scrambled eggs—scrambled eggs are taken to the next level with a few spoonfuls of salsa on top. Or try them on a scrambled egg taco.
- On top of enchiladas—salsa works perfectly on top of enchiladas. Try this as an adder to our Artichoke & Quinoa Enchiladas.
- Mixed into soups—Salsa fresca is a great garnish for soups like Vegetarian Tortilla Soup or Black Bean & Roasted Tomatillo Soup.
- On tacos or nachos—no explanation is needed for this one. Try it on our Vegan Nachos, Grillable Loaded Nachos, or Quinoa Tacos.
Dietary Notes
This salsa fresca recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Salsa fresca is Spanish for “fresh sauce”: it means it’s made with raw, uncooked ingredients, vs cooked salsas such as salsa roja or Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde).
“Salsa” is the umbrella term for any Mexican sauce, raw or cooked. Salsa fresca is one type: raw, tomato-based, uncooked.
Almost. It has the same ingredients, different texture. Salsa fresca is pulsed saucier; pico de gallo is hand-chopped and chunky enough to eat with a fork. But some people use the terms to mean the same thing.
Easy Salsa Fresca
This salsa fresca recipe turns ripe tomatoes into a bright, tangy dip with cilantro, lime, and jalapeño. It comes together in 10 minutes!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 ½ cups 1x
- Category: Dip
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh tomatoes (6 medium)
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 medium garlic clove
- 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, seeds removed (depending on your spice tolerance)
- 1 large handful cilantro
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
Instructions
- Food processor method: Cut the tomatoes into wedges and remove the white part of the core; then cut the wedges in half. Cut the onion into chunks. Peel the garlic. Remove the seeds from the jalapeño peppers. Place the onion, garlic, jalapeño peppers and cilantro in the bowl of the food processor. Add the tomatoes, cumin, 2 tablespoons lime juice and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt. Pulse until a chunky texture forms. Taste, and if you’d like extra heat, add seeds from the jalapeños. Strain the mixture to remove excess liquid (the volume will decrease by almost half).
- Hand-chopped method: Chop all ingredients and mix them together, using 2 tablespoons of the lime juice and ¾ teaspoon salt.
- Place the salsa in a serving dish and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Hi, I tried this and the color turned out brown. The tomatoes were fresh. Do you think I added too much cumin?
Hmm we’ve never had that happen! The cumin amount is not enough that it would color it brown. What kind of tomatoes were you using?