Fresh California Salsa

As written I would have to give this a four but I added some stuff that I thought brought it up to 5*s. I used 7 roma tomatos (pureed 2 of them), used a whole vidila onion, added 1 c. of corn & 1 c. of black beans (drained & rinsed), I didn't seed the jalapeno & I also added one habanero (I did seed it). At the end, hubby & I argued as to whether it needed a bit of sugar or vinegar, I won the arguement & we added 1 tbp. plus 1 tsp. of white wine vinegar... this really helped bind the flavors together & strangely enough, seemed to add the bit of sweetness my hubby thought it needed. I think we may have just made the best salsa ever!

This is quick, easy and delicious! Hint though. After chopping the tomatoes, I drain them in a collander for a while to eliminate some of the excess liquid.

This is the same recipe I have been making for ages. Everyone loves it, and there is never enough, no matter how much I make. The great thing about it is that you can simply adjust the amounts of the different ingredients to make it the way you like. I like it spicy, so I throw the seeds in with the peppers. Also, red onion works really well in this.

This is a good basic salsa...now if you really want to make it a California salsa you need to add at least one avocado and do not use so much garlic, unless you are looking for a Gilroy taste. Gilroy, California is known for its garlic every-thing...garlic perfume, garlic ice cream etc. Lets just stick to our basic salsa. Buen provecho !!!

OUTSTANDING recipe. I let it sit over night so let the ingredients meld together and man oh man was this salsa wonderful. I will make it again and again. Thank you Cecilia D for sharing such a greatrecipe with us.

This Salsa turned out GREAT!! I did add a fresh green bell pepper from our garden and used 6 tomatoes. I only used a 1/4 cup of cilantro, to make it to my familiys' taste. Thanks for the recipe!

Too much cilantro....if I try it again, I will definitely cut back!

ICK! Too much cilantro and too much garlic. I ended up throwing it away. Basic idea is good, just reduce cilantro and garlic so it isn't so strong.

This salsa was nothing special. It needed to be zipped up alot. I added another jalepeno, alot of fresh ground pepper and salt, some fresh lemon and lime juice and it still came out just OK.

Delicious salsa. I'll never buy store bought again. I can't wait every year for my own tomatoes to ripen just to make this. I even grow a pot of cilantro so I have it all summer.

This is my absolute FAVORITE homeade salsa! It's more like Pico De Gallo...but nonetheless, it's AMAZING! You won't be disappointed. Such a simple recipe! I could eat all of it in 1 sitting!

What a delicious recipie I added an avacado made it just right for us.

Mmmm, this recipe reminds me of the salsa of certain taquerias that were renowned for their salsa. As a true Californian, I frown on the other reviewers that suggest adding corn and black beans or avocado to this salsa (are you even from California?!). This salsa is certainly Californian cuisine. I'd recommend blending half of the ingredients in a food processor and mixing it with the rest of the chopped ingredients to obtain the consistently that you come to expect from most taquerias. I noticed that using half of a normal/small-sized jalepeño yields mild heat.

I never measure when I'm making this salsa; just throw it all together and it always tastes great. I use red onion and a lot of cilantro. My friends are always begging me to make it!

It is amazing! i doubled the recipe and added a little bit of sugar and rosemary. We also chopped up some green pepper and yellow grape tomatos..... everything except the onion was fresh from our garden. This is great recipe. YUM!

This is great. I scaled down a bit using 3 tomatoes, 1 clove of garlic (don't care for strong raw garlic taste), 1/4 red onion for colour, 1 jalapeno, kept the lime juice the same and added 1/2 tsp sweetener for contrast. Also added a pinch of cumin. Would try with finely diced deseeded cucmber next time. Thank you for sharing!

I first found this recipe years ago, and have made it countless times. It is ALWAYS a huge hit!!! As another reviewer said, there is definitely never enough :) I find that I usually end up putting in the whole jalapeno and it isn't too hot. FAVORITE AND ONLY SALSA I MAKE!

I love cilantro and garlic, but this recipe was still just so-so. It does seem to still be missing something - perhaps red wine vinegar or some other kind of vinegar. It is super simple to make, so it's great there, but I agree with some of the other reviewers that it still seems to be missing something (but I can't figure out what).

I really did enjoy it, but maybe it's the Texas in me, I thought it could be a little hotter. I will make it again using atleast 2 jalapenos this time. All-in-all though, it was really great.

Very good Salsa!!! Very easy to make. I will make this again soon. Thank you Cecilia

I recently made this for an At Home Spa night I had with my girlfriends. I wanted things that were fresh and lite and this was a huge success I will definitely make again.

I love salsa and this recipe worked for me with a little enhancement of Garlic Salt, used roma Tomatoes, mild green chillies from can, also used red onion, eliminated the jalapeno pepper. THE BEST FLAVOR EVER!

Yummy! If you are looking for fresh salsa with good taste, this is the recipe. I didn't change anything and have already made it twice! I took it to a luncheon and they all wanted the recipe. I may experiment adding other things like vinegar or cayenne pepper. But, its great just as is.

I pureed two of the tomatoes with the onion, garlic, cilantro, diced chilies (I used half of a 4 oz. can of miled green chilies instead of the jalapeno because I don't have jalapenos on hand AND because I was feeding two kids this salsa, so I wanted it to be a bit tamer) and the lime juice. I did add just a touch of cumin. After I pureed it, I folded it into the two remaining diced tomatoes. I made it early in the morning so it would have time to sit before dinner. I did not try this myself but my husband said it was very good, though it had a little too much onion for him. Next time I'll cut back just a touch and use a quarter of a large onion.

Very easy recipe and tastes a lot better than store bought ones. tastes even more better the next day and everytime i make this for a party, they ask for the recipe. thanks for the recipe.

I didn't have cilantro and this was still very good.

This is exactly like my recipe except I use about 6-8 tomatoes and a whole sweet onion. I put it in my cruiseart blender and it comes out perfect. Great way to use up summer garden tomatoes!!

The best! No recipe needed, just stir up "til you like it"!

This is exactly the salsa recipe I use all the time. My husband LOVES it! I usually substitute one of the tomatoes for about 1/4 cup tomato sauce if I have it on hand and I throw everthing in my blender whole and pulse it til it's the consistancy we like. We like it less chunky like the mexican resturants make it. I have also left out the lime when I didn't have it and it was still great. This recipe is the BEST and you can adjust any of the ingredients to suit your taste. Yummmmm

Not a lot of flavor.

I love this salsa!!!!!! I used all fresh tomatoes , jalapeno peppers and cucumbers from our garden. I put 6 peppers.......did not clean out the seeds...we like it hot. The cucumbers just blended in with everything else. Those people who don't think this is a great salsa.......prob. didn't add enough salt. The salt is very important. The celantro is wonderful. It really makes the salsa.

This recipe is great. The only suggestion I would make is to add the seeds of the jalapeno if you want a real kick. You can add half of the seeds and then taste it. If you want a real fire, add the rest.

YUM! YUM! YUM! This was an instant hit!

This salsa is absolutely wonderful! I had fresh salsa when I was a kid and ever since then the canned stuff in the store just didn't taste as good. I was thrilled when I found this recipe. I use fresh vegetables out of my garden. I use two cloves of garlic instead of three. I also add the jalapeno pepper 1 tsp at a time after the first initial two tsps. I like it hot enough just to notice that the chile pepper is there, but not hot enough to have to have a glass of ice water on hand. Thanks for the great recipe!

One of my favorite salsa recipes. very versatile. sometimes I omit the jalapenos or use another type of pepper instead. Once in awhile I'll add a dash of cinnamon to give it a sweeter spin.

Very good, simple salsa!

Loved this! I pureed all in the food processor because I really dont care for chunky salsa. Only used 2 cloves of garlic and that was too much for me. 3 would have been WAY OVERKILL!

salsa was good,the whole family loved it

This was simple and delicious!!! I let it sit in the refrigerator over night before digging in and it was amazing.

this was my first time to make salsa... delicious! I didn't change a thing. :) Buying jarred from now on will only be under duress.

Very good salsa. Next time I'll use my food processor so it's more finely chopped, but it had a good taste. Also it was a great way to use up some of the tomatoes and jalapenos from my garden.

Very good basic recipe, much like my own. I only use about 1/2 that much cilantro and throw in several jalapeno's and usually a serrano as well as we like our salsa to have a little kick. I also grate about a half teaspoon of the lime peel into it.

I probably went a little heavy on the onion and I used a food processor but it turned out very tasty!

better with cumin

This is really great. I had to tweak it a bit for my personal taste. It was very easy to adjust the amount of the ingredients to make it just they way I like it.

I'm giving this a 5 star rating, but so much depends on the flavor of the tomatoes. The first time I made it, everyone raved. The tomato flavor was excellent that time. The second time, it was good, but the tomatoes were not as flavorfull. This recipe for "cruda" style salsa is overall great ... a fresh, envigorating taste experience.

I have never made homemade salsa in my life. After reviewing numerous recipes on this site, I decided to give it a try. I did not follow any one recipe. I instead made my own recipe based on reviewing the many different styles on this site. I used 1 30oz can of whole skinned tomatoes, 2 10oz cans of rotell (sic) diced tomatoes and green Chilli peppers, 1 small jalapeño pepper withsseed pod removed, 1 small red pepper with seed pod removed, 1 small yellow onion, 1 small purple onion, 3 full gloves of garlic, 3 small limes, 2 cups of cilantro, 2 tablespoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. I chopped the onions, peppers and the garlic. Mixed in bowl all the ingredients after draining the tomatoes. I then spoon feed the salsa in a chopper until it reached a smooth consistency. My wife loves it and I may have to make it all the time. Made about 1 gallon of salsa.

Love the taste of fresh salsa, and love making it as well. I did not add the cilantro because I personally do not care for it. I also used a red onion for more color and flavor. Being a fan of garlic, this has the perfect amount!

This is the exact recipe I always use (except I never measure and just eyeball it). Best salsa ever, hands down. Sometimes I add a splash of red wine vinegar...sometimes not. Every time I bring this to a party it gets gobbled up right away. People request that I bring it. Also, mix a few spoonfuls in with mashed avocado and you have the most amazing guacamole on the planet.

Over all a good recipe. I seeded the tomatoes and allowed them to drain in a collinder before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients. I added a yellow bell pepper. Definately worth making again.

I too make this salsa all the time, and never measure anything. We love it, although I usually add chopped fresh avocado to it.

Good starting recipe. I used more tomato and lime to add a little extra flavor.

Great Salsa! You don't even have to have the recipe, just make it to taste! Wonderful, healthy too!

The ingredients seem good, but I followed the recipe exactly and it did not taste good. Confirmed by 4 other people. Sadly, we had to toss it because no one wanted to eat it.

This was my first ever time to make homemade salsa- I used my own garden tomatoes- this recipe was a great first recipe. I do agree that it is a little bland, but I added more jalapino to it along with red bell pepper to help with additional spice. Another thing that added more taste to it was the addition of a few tablespoons of white vinegar. I love the freshness of this recipe!!!

I'm gonna bet this is as good as mine. I use almost the same exact ingredients except when I am in a time crunch I actually have used canned diced tomatoes, tobasco sauce instead of a jalapeno and garlic powder instead of chopped garlic. It is so good I get requests for potlucks and for the recipe time and again.

This is very tasty. My husband and I used all fresh ingredients from our garden. I doubled this batch and canned it. Will save this to my file and make it again!

Oh my, this is a great salsa recipe. I seeded and drianed the tomato. I did use less cilantro than called for. I used juice from one lime and used juice from a one lemon.(Did you know if you nuke a lemon or lime before juicing for 20 seconds you get way more juice!) I almost freaked out when I forgot to save this recipe to "my recipes" and then it was requested that I make it for a birthday party. Luckily for me I found it again and I'll never lose it again! Thank you so much for this recipe!

Good salsa! Made half a batch to go with Mijo's slow cooker shredded beef (by Kyle) that I prepared for dinner tonight. I liked the fresh taste of this even though I didn't really have a chance to get the full benefit of it because it was piled in my taco (my bf and I made tacos out of the shredded meat)! My bf and I like HOT foods, so I added the entire half jalapeno called for and did not find this to be too spicy at all (actually, it was lacking spice IMHO). I don't know that I'll make this often (my Better Homes & Gardens salsa recipe uses canned tomatoes/chilies, is WAY easier to prepare and tastes better, IMHO), but when I want to go "all out" or am craving the fresh stuff, I think I'll turn to this recipe. Thanks for sharing!

I had never made salsa before this recipe. I took advice from previous entries and added black beans, corn, sugar,cumin and white wine vinegar. It had a good taste, tangy. I might not add the black beans next time.

Very nice.....just love that salsa

This is the best salsa recipe!!! We make it all the time!! We use tomatoes and jalopenos from or garden!! If we want it a bit hotter we just add more jalopenos. Thanks for a great recipe!!

I went exactly by the recipe and enjoyed it very much. However, I felt it was lacking some kick. This recipe is more of a pico de gallo like you get in a Mexican restaurant. It might have had more heat if I had left some of the pepper seeds in the recipe. It was however delicious! I used it in beef fajitas and my family ate it with chips as well.

I'd never made salsa before trying this recipe, but my husband misses "real" california/mexican food and I thought it would be a nice treat for him. He said it was the best salsa he'd ever had. I thought he was kidding me considering he's likely had many different salsas being from california and salsa being served with nearly everything. Have made it twice now over a couple of weeks and it will be a staple in our home! Yummy!

I thought this recipe was perfect. Couldn't think of a better way to use up the tomatoes from my garden!

too much cilantro, def add that to suit taste. I always add a few dashes of hot sauce. sometimes add diced cuccumbers. splash of white vinegar. roma tomatoes...with these changes 5*

Just made it today, I love it I did add a little more garlic, I like the garlic!

This would be a 5 star recipe had I used lemon instead of lime. Being from California I had never heard of anyone using lime in thier salsa but found two recipes that used it and tried it. It was okay the first day but the next day the lime was terrible in the salsa. I really reccomend using lemon and this would be a perfect fresh salsa. I used canned tomatoes, will use lemon next time and threw it in the blender with some extra chopped garlic cloves.

The cilantro is seriously overbearing. It does take a really long time to prepare due to the enormous amount of chopping.

this was pretty good. followed the suggestion to add some white wine vinegar. would make again but would also let some of the tomatoes 'drain' a bit before adding to the mixture. I like mine a bit thicker and not so 'wet'.

Worked well for me... I've just used a few drops of Tabasco for the Jalapeno pepper, which I didn't have. Will certainly make it again.

Very tasty ! I did add 1/2 - 1 tsp. of Cumin for a bit more of that mexcian flavor. Also used Roma Tomatos as well as red onion. You cannot go wrong with this one. As it sits over night in the Fridge, it becomes more juicy. We Love this recipe. Thank You for sharing Cecilia !

DELICIOUS!!!!

Outstanding recipe. It didn't have a strong flavor, but we added a bit more hot pepper. I loved how well the flavors blended together, we ate the whole batch right away and had to make it again!

This was a good basic salsa recipe. It really helps to read the tips from other reviewers, that is why I love allrecipes so much! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!

My first attempt at this wasn't the best. As others have said, the cilantro was too over-powering. Also the tomatoes in the stores this time of year are seriously lacking in flavor. The second time I made it I added about 1 1/2 cups of canned crushed tomatoes, 2 TBSP. of white vinegar, cut the cilantro to 1/4 cup and used 1/2 of a green pepper. I also added about 2-3 tsp. of sugar (or to taste). My husband and I loved it!!

Sorry, this wasn't my favourite:( I had high expectations and thought it would get better after sitting in the refrigerator but it just wasn't the case. I guess you either love cilantro or hate it. Having never used fresh I know I'm in the latter. Besides which, the salsa just seemed to fall all over the place, needed something to bind it all together. Yes, it was like a brushetta (which i love) but i didn't want brushetta, i wanted salsa to dip my chips in!! If you're looking for something similar to that in a jar this is not for you (or me)!

Just got to love salsa :-)

Excellent! It made a great supper along with a turkey sub. Will make it again for entertaining, pot lucks, etc. Thanks. Great directions, too!

I gave it 5 stars because it is a really simple recipe, pretty hard to mess this one up.

I reviewed this a couple years ago, but decided to upgrade my rating. I just made this with some garden tomatoes a friend gave me. I don't really measure anything. I threw the garlic, onion and cilantro in the food procesor and pulsed it a few times, then added the seeded chopped fresh tomatoes. Salt, lime juice and a 1/2 tsp of cumin and this is the best one I've made. Oh, I did up the jalapenos to 3,seeded, but w/ the membrane. We like it hot. Garden fresh tomatles make such a difference in the flavor.

Very good salsa! I used two jalapenos, a little extra lime juice and less cilantro (I just seasoned to taste). This freezes really well-I made it on Tues, stuck it in the freezer & set it out to thaw Fri. Took it to a party on Sat & got lots of compliments! Next time I will drain the tomatoes after chopping-I had to pour out quite a bit of extra juice.

I have made this salsa countless times over the past few years and always get RAVE reviews!! I have become famous among my friends, and this is my specialty when it comes to potlucks :) Many thanks to the chef! Personally I end up adding the entire jalapeno as it takes quite a bit for it to be the right amount of picante. Fabulous!

Yumm.... I've made this a few times now for parties and everytime there's at least one person that wants the recipe. The only change I make is doubling the recipe to serve more!

I tripled the recipie added 4 extra large jalps and 4 large sweet green peppers. I also used a whole yellow onion. Tasted great when first made...not so good after 2 days....freshest is best!!!

VERY GOOD SALSA, SERVE WITH LIME CHIPS FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!!

This recipe turned out well - very flavourful! I used roma and vine-ripe tomatoes, a little extra garlic and jalepenos (we like it hot). I also added a half chopped yellow pepper.

Good, basic, and easy for beginners. Beware of the jalopeno seeds though! If you choose to add them they really crank up the fire of the entire recipe.

It can be tailored to your liking. My favorite salsa recipe so far.

Very good taste! I accidently used lemon juice instead of lime but the taste was still good. Otherwise followed directions exactly.

Fresh and fast! You'll never use the jarred stuff again.

best with fresh garden tomatoes! it's more of a pico de gallo which is my favorite kind of fresh salsa if you want jar salsa buy it if you want fresh from the garden healthy and great taste this is for you.

This was great. I think a good tip would be to make sure you chop everything VERY finely - This is the first time I did that for salsa and it really made a difference. The flavors in this were nice - I added some tabasco to increase the spice, and it doesn't seem to need salt (plenty of salt on the chips.) Thanks, Cecelia!

This was great. I made it quickly after work one day, before leaving for a ballgame. When I returned, took it out the fridge and dug in. It was great! Everyone I gave some to loved it as well.

This was fast, easy and tasted great!! - Jenny

I love this recipe. The first time I made it, I used fresh summer tomatoes and it was amazing. The other time, the tomatoes I had didn't look very good, so I used petit cut canned tomatoes and it still turned out really good. The fresh cilantro is what really makes this salsa fantastic. I also used it with mashed avocados to make guacamole and it turned out wonderful, too.

Very tasty! I did not use the full amount of cilantro called for. It was eaten over a period of 3 days and was as good the last day as it was the first.

I used only a 3rd of a jalapeno pepper.......next time use the whole.

This was OK but somehow the flavor wasn't quite what I was looking for. I LOVE cilantro, but this actually had too much for me. I would reduce it to 1/4 c next time. I tried adding cumin and a little vinegar to try and help the flavor, but it still didn't do it for me. Sorry, I'll keep looking!