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Roasted Tomato Salsa

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Hey, hey, it’s my birthdaaaaaay!

And I am ready to party!

Actually, this whole past weekend has felt like one big party. One of my dear friends had her wedding reception on Friday night (soooo fun!), then my parents came to town to do birthday brunch together with Barclay and his folks (absolutely lovely), after which we all came back to my place and made homemade salsas all afternoon (yessss), followed by a birthday dinner with B at this new ramen place I’ve been wanting to try (pretty good!), then we partied it up at another wedding on Sunday (where we totally waited in line to have this done at the reception)…and, well, I think it’s safe to say that 32 ended on a high note.

And I’m feeling extra-thankful for this life, and for all of these special people I’m lucky to have in mine, and for all of these wild and wonderful moments we keep getting to share together.

I am indeed a very lucky 33-year-old duck.

So to celebrate, I’m having everyone over to mi casa tonight for my idea of a perfectly well-balanced meal after work — a chips-and-salsa-a-thon! I’ve whipped up a bunch of my favorite homemade salsas, and then picked up some of my favorites from restaurants around town, and then my awesome friends are bringing a bunch of their favs to share as well. And I can’t wait. Oh, and Barclay’s getting off work a little early to come and help me juice a few dozen limes to make an epic batch of homemade margaritas, so we’ll have the fruit side of the food pyramid covered too. ;)

So it only seemed natural to share one of my favorite salsa recipes with you, which will be making an appearance tonight. It’s super quick and easy to make (under 20 minutes!), it’s chocked full of fresh tomatoes and veggies that have been roasted to perfection, and it’s always a hit at every party. It’s this yummy roasted tomato salsa recipe!

Believe it or not, this salsa was actually one of the first 10 recipes I ever posted on Gimme Some Oven, way back in 2009. And I think it’s safe to say it was probably one of the first 10 or so recipes I ever learned to make period. Because salsa and I go way back. And roasted salsa and I go way back, once a local Mexican restaurant owner in college tipped me off on how much extra flavor you can add by popping the main ingredients under a broiler.

That’s right, you don’t even have to let these slow roast for half an hour. Just pop your veggies (skin-side-up) on a baking sheet under the broiler for about 6-8 minutes until they’re nice and blistered and blackened, blitz them in a blender or food processor, and dive in. Preferably with your favorite salty tortilla chips. YUM.

A few quick tips though:

  • In-season ripe tomatoes make this salsa. If you happen to come across this recipe in the dead of winter when those watery, flavorless, sad little Romas are the only thing available at the grocery store, I’d actually probably refer you to using fire-roasted canned tomatoes in this salsa recipe instead. Canned tomatoes are usually packaged at their peak of freshness, and will probably be more flavorful. But if it’s summertime and the in-season-tomato-buyin’ is easy, then turn on that broiler and get ready for that classic sweet and smoky depth of flavor you can’t get from just blending everything up fresh. You won’t regret it.
  • Don’t get scared by the blackened char marks. You want them to look burnt, so leave those tomatoes and veggies under the broiler (keeping a close eye on them) until they’re nice and deeply blistered. The more marks, the more flavorful.
  • If you’re feeling patient, let the roasted tomatoes and veggies cool before mixing them with the remaining ingredients.  This way, the cilantro will stay fresh and greener longer. But if you’re feeling hungry or impatient, do what I do and just immediately toss everything in the food processor and enjoy that roasted salsa nice and warm. It’s just as good. ;)
  • If you’d like this to be even smokier, add in a chipotle chile and a teaspoon of adobo sauce.  Or feel free to blister up and add in any of your other favorite chiles to the mix instead. And of course, if you’d like a spicier salsa, just add in another jalapeno with its seeds.

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Roasted Tomato Salsa

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 32 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 7 minutes
  • Total Time: 17 minutes
  • Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 pounds Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • 6 unpeeled garlic cloves
  • 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
  • 1 large white onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds
  • 1 large jalapeño, cored* and halved
  • 1 large handful fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions

  1. Preheat broiler to high.
  2. Arrange the tomatoes (skin side up), garlic cloves, onion and jalapeño (skin side up) in an even layer on a large baking sheet.  Broil for 6-8 minutes, or until the tomatoes and jalapeños have blistered and blackened pretty thoroughly on top.
  3. Remove pan from the oven, and peel and discard the skin from the garlic cloves.  Transfer the tomatoes, garlic, onion and jalapeño to the bowl of a food processor or blender.  At this point (if you’re feeling impatient and hungry), you can either go ahead and add in the remaining ingredients and puree the salsa until it’s smooth while it’s warm.  Or you can transfer the roasted veggies to the refrigerator and let them chill until cooled, then proceed with adding in the remaining ingredients and pureeing the salsa until smooth.
  4. Taste, and season with extra salt or lime juice if needed.  Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Notes

Jalapeño notes: I recommend 1 large (or 2 small) jalapeños for this recipe, but feel free to add extras (or leave the seeds in) for extra heat, or omit the jalapeño entirely if you prefer an even milder salsa.

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103 comments on “Roasted Tomato Salsa”

  1. Love this. Skip the liquid smoke and add a small can of smoked chipotle peppers ?. SO YUMZ!






  2. Look no further, this is the perfect roasted salsa recipe!






  3. We don’t have a broiler so I just roasted in the convection microwave. It turned out to be the star of the meal. So easy and sooo good!






  4. This is now my favorite salsa recipe!

  5. So where does the cumin come in? Thanks!

  6. Great recipe! Made it tonight. Easy and delicious.

  7. I’m wondering if this recipe can be used for canning? Or does it really only work with fresh?

  8. Wow! Such a simple easy yummy salsa. I didn’t have the canned adobo on hand so I just didn’t use it and I added a lil sugar to balance out the tomatoes and yummy. I love it when its warm too. So fresh and so simple. Yummm.






  9. I make this salsa every week, and between my boyfriend and I, it gets completely destroyed. Absolutely fantastic!






  10. I used regular tomatoes since I had an abundance and one Serrano pepper which I also had.






  11. I made this over and over again last summer. I am wondering, since it’s April and there are no “good” tomatoes, how you substitute canned fire-roasted tomatoes? How many cans/ounces? Thanks!






  12. This is my go-to salsa recipe! Sooo good!! I use cherry tomatoes though because I always seem to have an abundance in my garden.






  13. Tried this and my veggies didn’t char very well. Was I supposed to toss the veggies in oil before roasting? I dry roasted. Or was I supposed to move my oven rack to the top of the oven? I had mine in the middle. What did I do wrong?

    • i would try to move the tray to the upper rack as close to the top as possible, the broiler comes from the top so you get a more efficient roast/char from the top

    • I cold smoked all the ingredients after they were cooked. For one hour oh my God
      I used Cherry wood 🪵 it is the most simplest but best tasting salsa EVA!






    • Yes, it needs to be in the top (broil) position for the veg to char properly.






  14. I made this salsa with our garden tomatoes and peppers and everyone loved it!!! And it was very simple to make,I will definitely use this recipe again!!!






  15. Can this recipe be canned?

  16. Excellent recipe, just made again and in love with this salsa
    Thank you!






  17. This sounds amazing and I tried to make this but it comes out too sweet. It is not a good sweetness for salsa. It doesn’t taste like salsa because the sweetness overpowers it. I tried adding more garlic, onion, lime and lastly salt. What is causing this problem? What could be causing this? I used Roma tomatoes. I had similar trouble when making salsa verde in another recipe from another site. Please help. Any recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks!

  18. It’s so good warm!! No I couldn’t wait and impatiently mixed and dug in. So yummy! I did add an extra jalapeño and extra chipotle pepper. Also an Anaheim pepper. Will probably add an additional pepper next time but we like a good kick. This a keeper of a recipe for sure! Ready for game time!






  19. This was not only excellent, but easy too – it came together so fast, and it was so delicious and fresh-tasting. It’s flexible too – I had a whole variety of small tomatoes – yellow, orange, heirloom, cherry – worked out great- and you can adjust the amount of jalapeno (or other chile pepper) and chipotle pepper, spice you add. Thank you for this awesome recipe, which I’ll be sharing with others momentarily!






  20. Hi! Would love to know how many ounces if using fire roasted canned. Thanks!

  21. Delicious! I was low on fresh tomatoes so I tossed in a can of fire roasted from the store with the ones I had, still sooo good! Also added one serrano for some extra heat, but that’s obviously up to preference. Thank you for all the amazing recipes, you never disappoint!






  22. I cold smoked all the ingredients after they were cooked. For one hour oh my God
    I used Cherry wood 🪵 it is the most simplest but best tasting salsa EVA!

  23. I made this salsa yesterday and it is truly delicious! Found it while researching what should be done with all the ripe tomatoes from a friend’s garden. This is a keeper, will be making more soon. Thanks.






  24. This is a great salsa recipe! I loved that I could adjust the heat (we like spicy so I added a second jalapeño and a habenero). The quick broil made it super easy and the char made it that much better. I am definitely saving this . Thank you!






  25. Could you use thawed frozen tomatoes?