Easy Homemade Garden Salsa (only 6 ingredients!)

This easy homemade garden salsa recipe is made with fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime, jalapeno and a touch of salt! Eat it with tortilla chips, as a topping on eggs (or straight out of the bowl with a spoon).

Salsa is hands down the first thing I look for from a good taco restaurant. There are so many different types of salsa- there's roasted salsa, green salsa, mango salsa, the list goes on. But if I had to pick just one it would be garden salsa (also known as Pico de Gallo).

I like my salsa to taste light and fresh but also be packed with flavour! Which is exactly what this homemade garden salsa does. It not only is SO simple to make (literally all you have to do is blend it together) but it also has all the fresh flavours I love in a salsa- a little spice, a little freshness, a little salt and a little tang. This homemade garden salsa is probably one of my most highly requested recipes by both mine and Brandon's families! So I know what I'm going to be making for Cinco de Mayo tomorrow!

What makes this garden salsa better than a store bought one?

I may have convinced you that the taste of this salsa is the best ever but you might still be wondering 'is it really worth it to make your own salsa, why can't I just buy it?'

To that I reply- because it is so insanely easy to make your own AND it's cheaper. So cheaper+fresher+easy= WIN WIN WIN in my books. Therefore there really is no reason NOT to make this homemade garden salsa.

No really, if you were to go to the grocery store and buy a fresh salsa (not just the jarred ones- a REAL salsa in the refrigerated section) it would cost you upwards of $7 for a tiny little container. By making your own with a few basic ingredients you get more than double the amount for more than half the price!

Okay so not for the easy part- this salsa is also really only one step (I broke it into two just to help you if you have a smaller food processor like me). All you have to do is throw everything in a food processor and voila you have the perfect salsa. I swear that's it! You don't even need to spend hours chopping everything. Just make sure everything fits in the food processor and you are good to go.

I could go on and on about how much I love this salsa but the last thing I'm going to mention is my favourite part of making food homemade- you get to customize it to your taste preferences! If you like things less spicy- add less jalapeno, if you are watching you sodium intake- add less salt! This homemade garden salsa is YOURS to customize!

What ingredients do I need for homemade garden salsa?

Tomatoes- I personally use hothouse tomatoes for my homemade garden salsa as they are larger. However Roma tomatoes also work perfectly! Try to choose the freshest tomatoes possible- you want them to be a nice red colour and be firm in texture with just a little give.

Onion- both white or Spanish onions will work! I'm sure red onion will work as well I personally haven't tried but I do think it would alter the taste slightly as red onions typically have a quite strong taste. Before adding to your food processor, just peel the onion, chop off the ends and cut it into quarters.

Jalapeno- The amount of jalapeno added is fully up to your spice preference. I personally will use a whole jalapeno if it is small (removing the seeds), or half of one if it is large! If you aren't a fan of spice I'd recommend starting off with a quarter and going from there. Just be careful not to touch your eyes/ face when you are removing the seeds!

Salt- Once again, the salt amount is up to you. I like to do this by taste because I find every time I make this homemade garden salsa it changes a little.

Cilantro- Okay let me just say I normally hate cilantro (team tastes like soap) but in this salsa I love it? I know that sounds crazy but I swear it's true. The cilantro paired with the jalapeno, onion and tomato just changes it into this delicious fresh taste. I would not recommend leaving it out as it will really just be tomato puree if you do.

Lime- A touch of zest to bring it all together!

Garlic- I feel like garlic is self explanatory- it just makes everything taste better right?

Peppers- Although I didn't include peppers in the recipe below as I wanted to share my more traditional recipe. You can 100% add in one red pepper into the recipe for a pepper garden salsa! I've tried this before and it tastes AMAZING!

Food processor- I personally use a food processor (I have this one and love it- it's also currently on SALE). I recently got one and haven't looked back. It's made recipes that involve a lot of chopping, grating or mixing like this salsa (or these carrot cake muffins) so much easier. However, if you don't have a food processor you can use a high powered blender (OR chop everything up as finely as possible and just mix it together with a spoon.

Serving Suggestions

I personally could eat this salsa straight out of the bowl with a spoon. But if you are looking for some serving inspiration this fresh homemade salsa pairs perfectly with...

• Tortilla chips (these are my personal low sodium favourites)
• With guacamole (my favourite easy recipe is made by just combining a mashed avocado, with cumin, salt and paprika)
• On a burrito bowl
• In your favourite tacos!
• As a topping on scrambled eggs (SO good!)
• With this southwest chickpea salad
• As a topping on stuffed peppers

PS. I love seeing my recipes in action! If you make this homemade garden salsa don't forget to tag me on Instagram - @nourishedbynic or leave a comment below!

📖 Recipe