10-Minute Cherry Tomato Salsa
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Trying to figure out what to do with too many cherry tomatoes? Make your own salsa at home with a food processor in just 10 minutes total time!
Serve my garden fresh cherry tomato salsa as a zesty dip with tortilla chips or as a topping for your favorite Mexican tacos, burritos, or enchiladas.
Because cherry tomatoes are naturally sweet, this salsa recipe is a bit sweet, too, and without adding sugar! Blended with onion, garlic, and jalapeño for a bit of heat, cherry tomato salsa is whole 30, paleo, gluten free, and dairy free. Most importantly, it’s fresh and delicious!
Use this same recipe to make Pico de Gallo, or salsa fresca, which has a thicker consistency. To do that, instead of using a blender, dice the veggies by hand to keep the mixture chunky.
Are you a chips and salsa fanatic like me? My homemade salsa verde gets a rich and earthy flavor from roasting tomatillos,, garlic, and onions. Or, you may enjoy my fresh corn salsa — it’s delicious with grilled catfish — or fruit salsa served with cinnamon tortilla chips.
Salsa ingredients
- Cherry tomatoes — For the sweetest flavor, choose cherry tomatoes that are ripe with a beautiful deep color. Cherry tomatoes come in both red and yellow varieties, so you can use one or both in this recipe. Or, you can also use any other tomato variety, like grape tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, or Campari (which have more flesh and less seeds).
- Onion — Either white onion, green onions, or sweet onions work in this recipe, so use whatever you have on hand!
- Jalapeño pepper — For a spicier salsa, leave in the seeds. As a substitute, try serano peppers or leave out the peppers entirely for mild salsa.
- Cilantro — Many people have an aversion to cilantro (like my husband), so this ingredient is totally optional.
- Lime juice — Absolutely use fresh squeezed lime juice, not the bottled kind. The secret to great salsa is adjusting the ratio of lime and salt until you get the perfect balance.
Special equipment needed
- Food processor — I use my Ninja blender whenever I need a food processor or blender. It’s powerful and is dishwasher safe which makes cleaning a breeze. My Ninja even has a separate smoothie cup that doubles as a blending cup and serving cup — super convenient!
- Fine Mesh Strainer — You’ll want to strain off extra juice for the best salsa consistency and texture.
How to make cherry tomato salsa
STEP 1 | Chop onion, jalapeño, and garlic
- Roughly chop the onion and add to the bowl of a food processor or mini chopper.
- Remove the seeds from an jalapeño pepper — or leave them in for extra spicy salsa — and cut it into large chunks.
- Add the jalapeño and garlic to the food processor and pulse until everything is finely diced.
STEP 3 | Add cherry tomatoes
- Add the cherry tomatoes and pulse until the salsa is the consistency you desire — I like mine a bit chunky.
- Tomato skins contain antioxidants which are believed to reduce the risk of cancers and heart disease. That’s a good reason to enjoy eating salsa!
- If you like cilantro, add a bunch now and pulse again a couple of times.
tip
- For a more robust flavor, try roasting the cherry tomatoes for roasted cherry tomato salsa. Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil and roast for about 20 minutes in a 450 degree oven until they start to burst and are slightly charred.
STEP 3 | Strain the tomato mixture
- To make sure your salsa doesn’t end up watery, strain the tomato mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the excess juices.
STEP 4 | Season and serve
- Add the strained tomato mixture to a bowl and squeeze in fresh lime juice (start with half a lime).
- Add sea salt and black pepper. Give it a stir and taste, then adjust the amount of lime and salt to your liking.
Frequently asked questions
Store fresh salsa tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 to 7 days. You can also freeze fresh salsa for up to 3 months. If you plan to freeze the salsa, go ahead and blend the mixture for the best texture since diced tomatoes in the salsa tend to have a weird texture once thawed.
Fresh Cherry Tomato Salsa: behind the recipe
Just ask my family. I’m a true chips and salsa fanatic. I mean, if you eat with me at a restaurant that offers “endless” chips and salsa, you may never get your fair share! I’m joking, of course, but I am serious about my salsa.
What makes homemade salsa so good? FRESH ingredients and no preservatives.
Everyone loves this homemade salsa — even my husband who claims he doesn’t like tomatoes!
10-Minute Cherry Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
- ½ medium white onion
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded
- 1 – 2 cloves garlic
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh Cilantro leaves optional
- ½ large lime
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- Roughly chop the onion and add to the bowl of a food processor or mini chopper along with the jalapeño pepper, and garlic cloves. Pulse until the contents are finely diced.
- Add the cherry tomatoes and pulse until the salsa is the consistency you desire — I like mine a bit chunky.
- If using, add the cilantro and pulse one or two more times.
- Strain the salsa through a mesh strainer to remove the excess juices.
- Add the salsa to a bowl and add the lime, salt, and black pepper. Taste and adjust the amount of lime and salt to your liking.
- Serve immediately (or chill first if you prefer) with tortilla chips.
Notes
- Store fresh salsa tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 to 7 days.
- You can also freeze fresh salsa for up to 3 months. For the best results, blend to a finer texture.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
This recipe is GREAT and EASY! The last cherry tomato salsa I tried was a little too sweet still, and blended way too much. It was almost like a spicy spaghetti sauce. But this one hits differently. My husband likes spice, so I was a little more liberal with the jalepeno (I think I added 3!), but otherwise, stuck to this recipe. Lessened my blending (as I, too, like a little more chunky) and voila! Delicious way to use the abundance of cherry tomatoes we have grown this year. Thanks for sharing this!