Restaurant Style Vitamix Blender Salsa Recipe

Sharing is caring!

Make a big batch of homemade salsa that's just as delicious as your favorite Mexican restaurant! This is the best blender salsa recipe made with only a handful of simple ingredients and less than 5 minutes of your time.

Are you a salsa hogger, too? I mean, pick-up-the-bowl-and-walk-around-with-it kind of person. Because I am so guilty of that. I'll have a little bowl of salsa verde to add to carnitas tacos and a huge side of red salsa and chips...but that's just me.

When hubs and I were dating as kids, we had a really good Mexican restaurant across the street from my subdivision, called Cancun. It was the best: there was karaoke and live singing, an amazing brunch every Sunday, and the best Mexican food.

overhead view of a platter of corn tortilla chips and limes, with a bowl of blended red salsa

And the salsa? Free-flowing, you'd never run out! It was blended together and more sauce-like than a pico de gallo so you could put it on basically anything, but you could tell that it was made in house with tons of fresh flavor.

So my restaurant-style salsa is very reminiscent of Cancun's! Made of fresh herbs, spices, and canned tomatoes so I can enjoy it any time of the year, not just when my tomatoes are bursting out of the garden or abundant at my local farmers' market, you know?

It also only takes a few minutes to whip up and is a staple in my freezer! Make this easy blender salsa ahead of time for your Cinco de Mayo festivities or all your Taco Tuesday needs.

This post may contain Affiliate Links. Please see my Full Disclosure Policy for more details.

Jump to:

Equipment

Vitamix Blender - I have my high-speed blender and just pulse until the salsa is as smooth as I want it. But that doesn't mean you need to shell out the big bucks. A regular blender or food processor works just fine.

Ingredients

Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

ingredients for vitamix blender salsa including canned tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, ground cumin, a red onion and jalapeño pepper, garlic, a lime, and a bunch of fresh cilantro

Canned Tomatoes - using a can of tomatoes means that you will end up with pretty consistent results every time, and be able to make blender salsa any time of the year. You can use any kind of canned tomatoes (not tomato sauce!) like whole, diced, crushed, etc.

Jalapeño Peppers - in my house, we don't do a lot of spicy so we deseed and remove the membrane of the peppers. But if you're a spicy household, use the whole jalapeño or heighten the spice level with serrano peppers or whatever chiles you like.

Fresh Cilantro - When you have your bunch of cilantro, cut the cilantro leaves from the stems. The stems can mess with the flavor of the salsa, making it seriously bitter.

Red Onion - I love the assertive flavor of red onions in the salsa, but if you aren't looking for that use a sweet onion like Vidalia or more mild flavor or a white onion.

Ground Cumin - have you ever made a Mexican dish (like refried beans?) and forgot to add the cumin? It's incredible how such a small amount of this spice is so impactful!

Chipotle Pepper - love, love, love the smokier flavor of a chipotle pepper. It's less about the spice it brings and more about that savory, smoky flavor. Yum! Can't find the can of them in your grocery store? Use ground chipotle or chili powder.

Limes - lime juice has that tart-bitter element that you wouldn't get from lemon juice. I also like adding the zest of the limes --why not?-- I really like the lime oils in the salsa, it emphasizes that element.

Garlic Cloves - garlic powder won't give the same spicy, punchy flavor since it's cooked before being dehydrated and turned into powder. That fresh garlic taste is a must for me!

Kosher Salt.

How to Make Salsa

ingredients for the salsa in a vitamix blender

Step 1 | chop up your ingredients and place them into your blender.

tomatoes being added to a vitamix blender to make blender salsa

Step 2 | add the canned tomatoes to your vitamix.

restaurant-style salsa being blended in a vitamix blender

Step 3 | blend the salsa in quick pulses or blend on the lowest speed until your salsa is at your desired consistency. Less pulses = chunkier salsa!

blended salsa being served with tortilla chips in a bowl

Step 4 | Taste for seasoning, like adding as much lime juice as you like. A good homemade salsa is always served with your favorite tortilla chips!

Pro Tips, Variations, and Substitutions

This recipe is incredibly customizable! Add in fresh oregano, different chiles, substitute the cilantro for parsley (shout out to y'all with the soap gene!).

We love a more mild salsa, but if you love spicy salsa turn it up a notch! Use cayenne pepper to really add that spice.

If you're going to use fresh tomatoes, the type of tomatoes matter! The best tomatoes (in my opinion!) are San Marzano-style roma tomatoes because they tend to be sweeter and less watery than your classic sandwich-style tomatoes, so save your beautiful heirloom tomatoes for a chicken caprese sandwich instead.

If your tomatoes are on the too-acidic side add in a small bit of sugar, like ½ teaspoon. You don't want it to taste sweet, you just want to balance out the acidity.

close up view of blender salsa in a bowl

Here's a secret for thicker salsa: make sure you don't have tomato seeds in your salsa. The seeds make your salsa watery!

My best salsa tip (in my opinion): this is my go-to salsa recipe every Taco Tuesday so I make a big batch and freeze it in portions in freezer-safe zip-top bags or in Souper Cubes.

Serve your Fresh Salsa with...

This fresh salsa recipe is fantastic for game days! Serve it up with fresh paloma mocktails, lemon pepper wet wings, or tasty beef fajita tacos!

It's also great as a condiment for taco salad, on burrito bowls, or anything that could use a fresh addition!

Storage Instructions

Your leftover salsa will last 2 weeks in an airtight container (like a mason jar). It gets an even better flavor as it sits!

FAQs

Can I freeze blender salsa?

You can freeze blender salsa! Make a big batch and freeze it in portions in freezer-safe zip-top bags or in Souper Cubes. Keep in the freezer for up to 6 months and thaw in the fridge before serving.

Why is my blended salsa pink?

Air can get whipped into your salsa if you blend it too fast on too high a speed, turning it pink. It'll turn back to red once it calms down.

What is the difference between restaurant-style salsa and chunky salsa?

Restaurant style salsa is a smoother, thinner, more homogenous consistency. The ingredients are well chopped/minced/blended, while a chunkier salsa has very obvious ingredients that are chopped into much larger and more recognizable pieces.

Is it more affordable to make your own salsa?

While it's easy to grab a $4, 8 ounce jar of salsa at the store, it's much more budget-friendly to make your own salsa.
You will have much more salsa left over for canning or freezing to enjoy for months while spending maybe a few dollars more for ingredients.

More Latino Recipes:

Click here to subscribe SWEET TEA & THYME’S NEWSLETTER for free and fresh recipes right into your inbox!

To pin this recipe and save it for later you can use the Pin button on the recipe card, the sharing buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. 

Tag me @sweet_tea_thyme on Instagram to share your remakes with me, I love looking through your photos!

Enjoyed the recipe? Leave a 5 star rating and comment below to let me know. I appreciate ya!

📖 Recipe

Vitamix Blender Salsa

Eden Westbrook
Make a big batch of homemade salsa that's just as delicious as your favorite Mexican restaurant! This is the best blender salsa recipe made with only a handful of simple ingredients and less than 5 minutes of your time.
4.86 from 7 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Dip
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4 cups
Calories 8 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 28 oz can roma tomatoes
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 small red onion quartered
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 chipotles in adobo sauce OR ½ teaspoon chipotle powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 jalapeño pepper membrane and seeds removed
  • ½ bunch fresh cilantro stems removed
  • Kosher salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients into your blender container.
  • Give quick pulses or run your blender on the lowest setting until your restaurant-style blender salsa is at your desired consistency.
  • Give a quick taste and season with kosher salt and lime juice as needed.
  • Serve in a bowl. The flavors get even better as the salsa sits.

Notes

Can you freeze blender salsa?

You can freeze blender salsa! Make a big batch and freeze it in portions in freezer-safe zip-top bags or in Souper Cubes. Keep in the freezer for up to 6 months and thaw in the fridge before serving.

Pro Tips, Variations, and Substitutions

  • This recipe is incredibly customizable! Add in fresh oregano, different chiles, substitute the cilantro for parsley (shout out to y'all with the soap gene!).
  • We love a more mild salsa, but if you love spicy salsa turn it up a notch! Use cayenne pepper to really add that spice.
  • If you're going to use fresh tomatoes, the type of tomatoes matter! The best tomatoes (in my opinion!) are San Marzano-style roma tomatoes because they tend to be sweeter and less watery than your classic sandwich-style tomatoes, so save your beautiful heirloom tomatoes.
  • If your tomatoes are on the too-acidic side add in a small bit of sugar, like ½ teaspoon. You don't want it to taste sweet, you just want to balance out the acidity.
  • Here's a secret for thicker salsa: make sure you don't have tomato seeds in your salsa. The seeds make your salsa watery!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 8kcalCarbohydrates: 2gSodium: 32mgSugar: 1g
Tried this recipe?Leave a star rating and let us know!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

One Comment

  1. Pingback: TOSTADAS | Crab and Shrimp Tostada Recipe - Sweet Savant