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Easy Salsa Recipe with Fresh Garden Tomatoes

Recipes

Fresh garden salsa is a quintessential summer favorite! There’s nothing as zesty and delicious as a spicy bowl of salsa made with tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro you picked this morning. It’s also a breeze to make and highly adaptable to your own preferences.

fresh tomato salsa

Feel free to play around with the texture and flavors to make this recipe your own. Many people will skip the cilantro, and if that makes you happy, go for it! Choose any tomatoes you like, including smaller grape and cherry varieties. The kind of tomato you choose can make a huge difference in the flavor, so experiment! Use whatever peppers you prefer for a spicier or milder version. If you love chunky salsa, simply chop your veggies and mix. If you like a finer texture, pulse it in a food processor until it reaches the perfect consistency.

Most of all, enjoy!

Easy Garden Salsa

Ingredients

3 pounds fresh tomatoes
1 onion
2-8 hot peppers* or ½ bell pepper
1 bulb of garlic, peeled
1 cup cilantro
1 Tbs sea salt
2 tsp cumin
Juice from 2 lemons or 3 limes

*Add peppers to taste according to your personal heat preference. Jalapeño, serrano, and habanero are all good choices for hot peppers, or choose your favorite bell pepper if you need to tone it down.

Directions

Wash all vegetables.
Seed and peel your tomatoes if desired. (Reserve some of the juices just in case.)
Chop all vegetables.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. If you prefer a blended salsa, process lightly in a food processor.
Transfer to jars for storage and move to the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Fermented Garden Salsa

If you’d like to try your hand at some super-easy fermenting, we’ve got some notes on how to create a gut-healthy, fermented version. Salsa is a simple and delicious way to get some extra probiotics in your diet, without a lot of effort.

This recipe makes about 2 quarts, so you may want to eat some immediately and ferment the rest.

Fermented Salsa Recipe Instructions

To make your own probiotic-rich, tangy garden salsa, make your garden salsa as above, making sure you’ve got at least 1 inch of room at the top of your jar.
Press all ingredients down underneath the liquid. Tuck a fermenting weight or a vegetable like a cabbage leaf or sliced pepper on top. Add a little water or reserved tomato juice if necessary to get everything fully submerged. Fermented salsa needs a lot of liquid for the process to work, but the results are definitely worth it.
Once you’ve got your salsa sealed in a jar, set it in a dark place at room temperature. After 2 days, bubbles will start to form and your salsa will develop a sour tang.
Check your salsa daily to release any trapped gasses and to taste test. Some people like to let salsa ferment for a whole week, while others like a short two-day ferment.
Once you’re happy with the flavor, transfer it to the fridge to halt the fermentation process. Fermented salsa will keep for up to 6 months in the refrigerator.