This salsa recipe has been on repeat in our house ever since our tomato and jalapeño plants have exploded with fresh veggies! It seemed like overnight we went from having no veggies in our garden, to having way too many! One of the main reasons I keep making it – it requires little chopping!

I was looking all over the internet for restaurant style salsa recipes and couldn’t find any that didn’t involve canned tomatoes. Since I was in desperate need to use my fresh tomatoes from my garden, I decided to modify a few recipes I found and it actually turned out great!

Aside from using this salsa for dipping chips (side note: my grocery store sells black bean chips that are way less net carbs than the typical tortilla chips), you can use this in meals as well! We’ve used it to top our fajita bowls (healthy fajita marinade recipe coming out next week) and for zucchini enchiladas. I followed THIS zucchini enchilada recipe, but made a couple of adjustments:

1. I used extra virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oil, and only a fraction of what they recommended (probably a teaspoon)
2. Minced my garlic, because hello I have a garlic press
3. I made my own shredded chicken by using the crockpot (THESE directions are pretty easy but I added a cup of water and chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder to the chicken)
4. I used less cheese than recommended
5. The key – use the salsa in today’s recipe to make it fresh!! I promise you that’s the secret weapon!

Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups quartered tomatoes (use juicy tomatoes, mine are heirloom)
• 1/2- 1 bunch cilantro (I love cilantro… adjust this if you aren’t a fan)
• 1/2 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• juice from 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2-3 mini jalapeños (or 1/2 a large jalapeño)

Directions:

1. place all ingredients in a food processor or blender.
2. Process on high until all ingredients are blended. You should have a liquid consistency. If your tomatoes are not juicy enough, you may add a small amount of water. Store in an airtight container!

My Favorite Guacamole Recipe

ALSO – I feel like salsa and guacamole go hand in hand, you can’t have one without the other. THIS is our all-time favorite guacamole recipe. Brandon actually found it a couple years ago and made it, and we have been making it since. I only do two things differently than what is written in the recipe.

1. I use my kitchen-aid mixer to mash up the guacamole (shout out to our friend who taught us this hack). It makes the mashing avocado process so much easier.
2. I use a lot more cilantro than recommended because we are cilantro people. I use about 1/2 a bunch!

Who is going to give this salsa or guacamole recipe a try? Let me know what you think, we are obsessed!