Easy Spicy Salsa Recipe for Topping Your Favorite Tacos (2024)

This spicy salsa recipe is perfect for adding a little bit of kick to your favorite meals. This is a cooked salsa recipe, but it comes together in just 20 minutes. Stir some into homemade guacamole or serve it with your favorite Mexican meal.

Originally published October 2019; this post has been updated.

We are a family of salsa lovers. Some like it hot, some less so, but we all just love our tomato salsa. When I have access to lots of fresh tomatoes, it’s one of the first things I make.

Spicy Salsa Recipe

If you’ve got an abundant crop of tomatoes, it’s easy to make your own at home instead of buying jars or bottles of ready-made salsa. This recipe makes a restaurant-style salsa, and can be left somewhat chunky or blended to make a smoother salsa.

Ingredients

Tomatoes– This recipes uses tomatoes fresh from the garden. I use an assortment of tomatoes, both red and yellow.Roma tomatoes, beefsteak, even cherry tomatoes if I have an abundance. Can you use canned tomatoes?Sure. Because this is a cooked salsa, it’s easier to add canned diced tomatoes to the recipe without loss of flavor. (They’d be weird in this pico de gallo recipe, though!) You can even opt for fire roasted tomatoes for an extra burst of flavor.

Onions & Garlic– You can use yellow, white, or red onions for this recipe, depending on what you like and what’s readily available. Garlic? If you’re not a fan you can leave it out, but is there anyone who doesn’t like garlic?

Peppers – Using a combination of peppers provides a nice balance of heat and flavor in this salsa. Jalapeno peppers add heat, and a green bell pepper adds flavor without the heat. Prefer a really spicy salsa? You can certainly replace the bell pepper with a hotter variety of pepper.

Lime Juice – The brightness of fresh lime juice brings out the flavors of this home made salsa. No lime juice? You can certainly use lemon juice.

Spices and Seasonings – If you have access to Mexican oregano, that’s what’s called for, but plain dried oregano will work fine, too. Smoked paprika and crushed red pepper flakes add a deeper flavor and a little more spice. The cilantro is always optional.

Making this Homemade Salsa Recipe

The bulk of the preparation for making this recipe is in chopping and dicing the ingredients. You can chop the ingredients by hand or use a food processor to make quick work of it.

Once that’s done, you’ll simply sauté the onions, fresh garlic, and peppers to soften them and bring out their flavor. Once they’re fragrant, add the tomatoes and spices and cook just long enough to soften the tomatoes.

Pulsing the cooked salsa in a blender — or using an immersion blender — creates a restaurant style salsa with saucy bits of chunky cooked vegetables.

Serving this Salsa

Serve this spicy homemade salsa with chips for dipping or over our family favorite refried beans. Add a dollop to these Dutch oven carnitas. Or spread some inside tortillas and top with cheese for a delicious quesadilla dinner.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.

★ Did you make this spicy salsa recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! ★

Quick & Easy Spicy Salsa

Yield: 2 cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This healthy and delicious salsa recipe comes together in just 20 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ½ medium onion, diced small (red, yellow, or white)
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, diced small
• 1 medium jalapeno, finely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
• ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (or oregano)
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup water
• 2½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2-3 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and peppers become soft, around 4-5 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and water. Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 4-5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Once slightly cool, process mixture with an immersion blender, leaving slightly chunky, or transfer to a regular blender or food processor and pulse a couple of times until just blended to desired consistency.
4. Transfer salsa to a bowl and stir in fresh lime juice and cilantro. Season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.
5. Serve immediately or cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Notes

This homemade salsa will keep in the refrigerator for several days, so you can double recipe to enjoy with your favorite Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes or as a snack with your favorite tortilla chips.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 60Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 8mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g

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More Salsa Recipes to Try

• Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
• Pineapple Pico de Gallo
• Garden Fresh Salsa (Pico de Gallo)
• Strawberry Salsa
• Peach Salsa
• Cucumber Salsa
• Black Bean Salsa
• Salsa Recipe for Canning