This mild homemade salsa recipe is so easy to make and tastes amazing! A restaurant style salsa made with fresh tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, limes, and pickled jalapenos. It’s the perfect blend of fresh vegetables and savory spices that is perfect for dipping, scooping, and topping!
Salsa is one of my favorite dips to serve when I’m hosting a party. Some of the other dips that are a huge hit are these Buffalo Chicken Dip, Spinach Artichoke Dip and Chicken Enchilada Dip recipes.

Homemade Mild Salsa
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t love salsa. Mild, spicy, chunky, or smooth, this special sauce adds a refreshing, zesty, element to everything!
We love it as a dip with tortilla chips, of course, but it’s also perfect as a topping for burritos, tacos, nachos, enchiladas, and more.
This restaurant style salsa is made with fresh tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, limes, and pickled jalapenos.
Keep it mild salsa with just a couple of pickled jalapenos, or kick up the heat with more to suit your tastes. It’s a homemade and tastier version than the stuff you’d buy in a jar, because fresh ingredients make everything better.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made with fresh, real ingredients in just 15 minutes.
- It tastes amazing, whether you like it mild or spicy.
- Makes a great snack, appetizer, or topping.
- Can be made ahead of time because it tastes better the longer it chills!
Ingredients Needed
- Tomatoes: I use Roma tomatoes for their natural sweetness and juice.
- Green onions: You can either use just the green portion or both the green and white parts.
- Cilantro: I know, I know, not everyone’s favorite, but fresh cilantro makes a difference! I love it.
- Pickled jalapenos: Start with 1 or 2, then do a little taste test. Add a couple more if you’d like. You can also omit them entirely.
- Limes: Fresh lime juice adds a pop of vibrant zest!
- Seasoning: Salt, garlic salt, ground cumin, and sugar.
How To Make Homemade Salsa
- Step 1: Wash and chop the tomatoes into quarters before putting them into the food processor. Pulse to your desired consistency, just be careful not to puree them. You can also chop or dice them by hand.
- Step 2: Slice the jalapenos and add them into the processor with the tomatoes so they are finely chopped. Transfer the tomatoes and jalapenos to a mixing bowl.
- Step 3: Add thinly sliced green onions and chopped cilantro to the bowl and mix well.
- Step 4: Sprinkle in the sugar, cumin, garlic, salt, and lime juice and stir to combine. Set the bowl in the refrigerator to chill and for the flavors to marry.
Tips & Variations
- Make this fresh tomato salsa even milder by swapping the jalapenos with chopped green bell pepper.
- San Marzano tomatoes are also a great choice. You could also swap the fresh tomatoes for canned tomatoes. This is an easy homemade salsa recipe after all!
- Lime juice is a staple in Mexican-style cuisine, but lemon juice works too! If you don’t have limes, use lemons.
Dishes To Serve With Homemade Salsa
This homemade salsa recipe goes great with some of my favorite recipes. Here are few suggestions that we think you will love!
- Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
- Homemade Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
- Easy Tostadas Recipe
- Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla
- 50 Cinco de Mayo Recipes
- Easy Tamale Pie Recipe
FAQs
How can I make this salsa hotter?
A simple way would be to add more pickled jalapeños. You could throw in some serrano peppers or even green chilies, which would make this similar to a homemade Rotel.
Is salsa healthy?
This homemade salsa recipe is loaded with delicious fresh vegetables and spices offering plenty of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It’s also made without preservatives or artificial flavors, and with only a few calories per serving, it’s a healthy addition to any recipe.
What is the difference between salsa and pico de gallo?
It all comes down to texture. Both have similar ingredients and are used in very similar ways; however, pico de gallo isn’t a sauce. It’s not puréed and it is a chunky combination of finely chopped tomatoes, onions, and seasoning.
More Fresh Salsa Recipes
If you loved this homemade salsa recipe, here are a few others to try.
Best Homemade Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. Roma tomatoes
- 4 bunches green onions, (use 4 whole bunches – not 4 stems)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 4 pickled jalapenos, from a can (see recipe notes)
- 3 limes
- 1 tbsp alt
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Chop tomatoes very fine by hand or in a food processor being careful not to puree. Put tomatoes in a large bowl.
- Chop jalapenos very fine or you can add them to the tomatoes as you put them in the food processor.
- Thinly slice green onions and finely chop the cilantro leaves. Add them to the bowl of tomatoes and jalapenos and mix well/
- Add lime juice, salt, garlic, cumin, and sugar to the bowl and stir until well combined.
- Chill several hours before serving to blend flavors (if you can’t wait that long!)
Nothing like fresh salsa. It looks delicious! Your little one proves that point. 🙂 Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
It makes a big batch, but if you like salsa…..it goes fast!
We are Mexaholics, so we’re always up for a new salsa recipe! I’ve never seen instructions to “shave” the cilantro leaves off the stalk — would love to know more about this!
Thanks for the recipe, I've been wanting a good salsa recipe! I will be trying this. 🙂
Amy
Sounds delish! I'm using your quesidilla recipe so I'll have to make this salsa too!
I awarded you a blog award!
http://beforethebabywakes.blogspot.com/2009/09/bloggy-award.html
Oh My Goodness! This sounds sooo Good! I love Salsa! I can't get enough of it!
It's 7:30 in the morning, I saw the picture and before I read anything, my mouth started watering! I thought this was going to be your rotel salsa recipe, but this one sounds super good! I could eat salsa all day!
My mouth was watering at the picture…mmmmmm looks SO good. I love salsa too!! And I also like it more on the wimpy side but not because I don't like hot foods, I just wanna taste all the yummy flavors in salsa!
I am a sucker for homemade salsa! We don't buy salsa anymore. I usually make a fresh batch every 2-3 weeks as it is a staple at our house! YUMMY!
I'm a big salsa lover too! How can I be hungry for it this early in the morning? Thanks for sharing the recipe.
pk @ room remix