There are a ton of easy salsa recipes on the web. Diced tomatoes, a little onion, a squeeze of lime juice—what, like it’s hard? But we’re willing to put this one on the line as the best easy salsa out there; the one you can make any time of year, even when ripe tomatoes are nowhere to be found. And when you do have summer tomatoes, it’s even better. What’s the secret? Your broiler.
Blistering the tomatoes, chiles, onions, and garlic allows the fresh ingredients to retain some of their vibrance while giving this delicious salsa a rich depth of flavor. And because it’s a restaurant-style salsa (i.e., you’ll pulse the charred fresh tomatoes and garlic in your food processor until the mixture reaches your desired consistency), chopping is kept to a minimum.
Serve as a party appetizer alongside our favorite guacamole and superior store-bought tortilla chips, or use it as a topping for all kinds of Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, such as nachos, burrito bowls, enchiladas—and practically anything else. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container; the flavors will meld overnight.
Recipe information
Total Time
30 minutes
Yield
Makes about 4 cups
Ingredients
2
1
3
3
2
2
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Step 1
Heat broiler. Place 2 lb. tomatoes, cored, cut in half crosswise, cut side down on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Fit 1 medium white onion, sliced into ¼"-thick rounds, 3 serrano chiles, and 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled, around tomatoes so everything is snug but not overlapping. Broil, turning onion and chiles once, until lightly charred, about 6 minutes for chiles and garlic and 15–18 minutes for tomatoes and onion.
Step 2
Peel garlic and place in a food processor along with half of tomatoes. Pulse until very smooth. Add remaining tomatoes and pulse until tomatoes are mostly broken up but mixture still has some texture. Transfer to a medium bowl. Finely chop onion and chiles and mix into purée; season with kosher salt. Let cool. Stir in 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice and 2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro. Season salsa with more salt if needed. Serve with tortilla chips.
Editor’s note: This fresh salsa recipe was first printed in our August 2019 issue as “The Only Salsa You Need.” Head this way for more of our favorite dip recipes →