I love a good salsa!
One full of fresh garden tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, and onions…seriously is there anything better!?!
Today I want to share with you my “nearly famous” recipe for salsa — it’s actually won a couple contests! The recipe is a simple one that only uses a few ingredients, but the secret is the garden fresh tomatoes. Not to mention the fresh, raw garlic and onions give this condiment an added punch of immune system goodness!
Homemade Garden Fresh Salsa
Ingredients
-4 lbs. garden fresh tomatoes, diced
-10-15 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
-1 bunch cilantro, chopped
-the juice of one lemon
-garlic salt to taste
Method
1. Chop the tomatoes, garlic, onion, and cilantro. Place in a large bowl.
2. Add the juice of one lemon and garlic salt to taste.
3. Mix thoroughly.
4. Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours prior to serving to allow the flavors to blend. Will keep refrigerated for up to a week…if it lasts that long!
Note
-For an even easier method, I like to combine all of the ingredients into my Vitamix Blender or food processor and pulse slowly (don’t over do it) until well combined. I prefer the texture to be somewhere between chunky and thin.
-Looking for a spicy version? Feel free to add jalapeno peppers, chili peppers, or cayenne peppers/powder to taste.
–Canning Option: If you’d like to can this recipe all you need to do is put all of the ingredients into a pot (except for the lemon juice), bring to a boil and then simmer for 25 minutes. While using a ladle and a funnel, fill sterilized mason jars with the salsa. Then add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to pint-sized jars and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to quarts. Be sure to leave 1 inch headspace. Slip a non-reactive straight kitchen tool (i.e. a knife or something similar) down along the sides of the jars. This helps to release any bubbles. In order to insure a good seal, clean the rim of the jar by wiping with a damp cloth. Apply the lid and a ring. Place the jar into your canner and proceed to water bathe your jars. Process pint-sized jars for 15 minutes and quarts for 20 minutes.
–Lacto-Fermentation Option: Another great method of preservation is the lacto-fermented option. Mix all ingredients (except for the lemon juice) and place in quart-sized mason jars, pressing down on the salsa with a kitchen object such as a wooden pounder. To each quart-sized jar of salsa add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 4 tablespoons of whey. Apply the lid and a ring. Keep at room temperature for approximately 2 days prior to transferring to cold storage. Note: To learn more about this traditional method of food preservation known as lacto-fermentation, you may be interested in participating in the Lacto-Fermentation eCourse offered by the good folks over at GNOWFGLINS. This book is also an amazing resource…The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fermenting Foods.
–Download and print the recipe: Homemade Garden Fresh Salsa.
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Brilliant recipe! I love salsa but the stuff you get in the shops tastes almost toxic! Just pinned this!
Daisy
You’re so right Daisy! And I think you’re going to LOVE this recipe.
This sounds absolutely delicious…is there another name for cilantro? I am not familiar with that vegetable/herb.
Larissa – cilantro is coriander in the UK.
Similar to mine except I use lime instead of lemon. Do you find more of a benefit with lemon?
Not necessarily…maybe just a slight difference in taste.
Gotcha. I know sometimes that lime makes my green smoothies a bit bitter if they sit overnight, so maybe lemon is a better choice. Thanks!
Do you use 10 to 15 garlic cloves the size in your picture? That seems like a lot and I really love garlic. Let me know, I would like to find a go to recipe this simple. I usually end up adding stuff until I like the flavor, then I don’t write down anything and the next time I want to make some……duh I can’t remember. Love your web site. Pat
This looks so good, I copied it down and will try it. My heritage tomatoes have been decimated by squirrels, but there is always the farmer’s market!
Hi Pat! I do…it does depend on the size and taste. You could cut it down to 6-10 and it would still be amazing!
Thanks!
Ooh, I am going to pin this for later. I have tomatoes that were planted late, I am still waiting for fruit. I have a feeling I will be getting a lot at one time! And my family loves salsa, I’ll need to can it. Thanks for the instructions!
Sounds great, except your missing the chile! That is the most important part, says someone from NM.
I always get asked what my recipe is for salsa no matter how I make it, as long as it starts with garden fresh tomatoes. They make such a huge difference. Since I try to eat locally and lemons aren’t in season when tomatoes are, I like to juice and freeze lemon (and other citrus) juice and zest when they are in season. I have generous friends who give me free fruit. I use ice cube trays and muffin tins to freeze the juice solid then put the cubes into a zip top bag in the freezer. I freeze the zest with a bit of juice in ice cube trays or mini muffin tins.
Fabulous, we have lots of tomatoes this year and i could live on salsa!! yum!
Thanks a lot for sharing such recipe! I really love salsa but I never tried doing one. So maybe now is the right time!
My mil makes fresh salsa all the time, they use way to many onions for my taste. Your recipe seems to have a good ratio. For salsa, I like the flavors to mingle, not one to over power. I can’t wait to try it.
what kind of tomatoes do you use or at least the best kind because this looks so darn good and I’m always looking for a good fresh salsa recipe.
I too enjoy making home made salsa, bread, soy milk, and fresh juices. Have you tried making mango or peach salsa? Those are exceptionally good as well. Let me know if anyone wants to try other salsas I will be happy to share the recipe.