Roasted Tomato Salsa is the quickest and easiest way to recreate Chevy's grilled salsa at home. Simply throw some fresh tomatoes and jalapenos on the grill with onion, and garlic, then mix with cilantro and spices to create a deliciously spicy dip. Enjoy this recipe with tortilla chips or as a topping for the perfect addition to any Mexican dish.
This is my family’s favorite salsa! That’s saying a lot since we live and breathe Mexican food around here. It’s always my go-to when I’ve got an exploding tomato plant in the garden and everyone who tries it absolutely loves it!
If you’ve never had salsa with roasted or grilled tomatoes, you MUST TRY THIS. Throwing the tomatoes and jalapeños on the grill (or under an oven broiler) gives this salsa a deep, smoky flavor you can’t get with other types of salsa.
This is the best Roasted Salsa Recipe
You NEED to try this recipe, as well as my Grilled Pineapple Salsa, Homemade Salsa Verde, Pineapple and Jalapeno and Tomatillo-Chipotle Salsa! So many salsa recipes, so little time to try them all!
Roasted salsa you ask? Yes. You'll want in on this smoky, spicy chunky homemade Tex-Mex Salsa! Roasting tomatoes on the grill or under the broiler brings out their flavor while the charring on the roasted veggies adds a fire-roasted smokiness.
If I had planted tomatoes, I think they'd be busting out of the garden by now. Since I didn't, I'm going to live vicariously through you patient gardeners.
(Or I'll pick up some on-the-vine tomatoes at the grocery store. No shame, friends.)
Chevy’s Salsa Recipe Ingredients
The nice thing about grilling the tomatoes is that it brings out some sweetness and improves their flavor -- which is nice if you're relying on store-bought, hot house tomatoes.
- Tomatoes
- Jalapenos
- Spanish onion (or yellow sweet onion)
- Garlic
- Cilantro
- White vinegar
- Salt
- Liquid smoke
Cooked salsa recipe variations
Spice - add some more jalapenos for some extra bite! I would say this recipe is already a “medium”. Reduce the jalapenos if you like your salsa more mild.
Smokiness - You might notice that the recipe calls for liquid smoke. This is optional, I love how it enhances the smoky grilled flavor, but leave it out if you aren’t a fan!
Does this cooked salsa recipe have to have jalapeños
Well, technically no. I love their flavor, but I understand if you don’t want it to be too spicy. In this recipe, I think 2 jalapenos are just right. One would make it more mild, and 3-4 would make it really spicy, if that’s your thing.
How to make this Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe
- All you need to do is drizzle some heat-safe oil over the tomatoes and jalapenos.
- Pop the tomatoes and jalapenos on the grill or under the broiler until blistered and slightly charred.
- When almost all of the surface of the peppers are black, remove them from the grill. The tomatoes will turn partially black, but when the skin begins to come off they are done.
- Remove the skin from the tomatoes, pinch the stem end from each pepper, remove any skin that has burned and remove as many seeds as you can (unless you want the salsa extra spicy).
- Place all the ingredients in the blender and pulse for about a minute.
How do you know when the grilled tomatoes and jalapenos are done?
- They'll have dark grill marks. Especially the jalapenos -- leave those on longer so they're mostly black.
- The roasted tomato skins will split.
You don't want to wait until the tomatoes get super mushy and hard to remove from the grill, though.
Cooked Salsa Recipe tips & tricks
- After the veggies come off the grill, put them in a bowl and cover them. Let them steam for a few minutes and cool off so you can handle them. The skins will come off easier that way, too.
- You can even put them in the fridge and work on it several hours or a couple days later. If you do this, you'll notice a large amount of liquid accumulated in the bowl from the vegetables. Save this liquid and use it to thin out the salsa if you find it's too thick for your taste. (Normally all of that liquid would be in the salsa if you grilled the veg & buzzed it up the same day.)
- Remove the jalapeno seeds. Even though I removed the seeds from both jalapenos, this salsa still had a good kick to it.
4. You might notice that the recipe calls for liquid smoke
This is totally optional, but a little of this can really enhance the grilled smoky flavor. I never leave it out!
If you're wondering what kind of liquid smoke -- I like Wright's Applewood Liquid Smoke, but the hickory flavor is good, too. You can find liquid smoke in the grocery store near the BBQ sauces. Or you can grab some on Amazon.
Roasting Tomatoes for Salsa
Roasting tomatoes brings out their flavor while the charring on the roasted veggies adds a fire-roasted smokiness. So if you want more flavor, then you'll want to try this smokey, spicy restaurant-style salsa!
Do you have to add jalapenos?
Well, technically no. I love their flavor, but I understand if you don't want it to be too spicy. In this recipe, I think 2 jalapenos are just right. One would make it more mild, and 3-4 would make it really spicy, if that's your thing.
How to store this recipe for Salsa
How long is fresh salsa good for?
Salsa will keep for up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Cooked Salsa Recipe FAQs
Yes and no. Cook them with their skins on - when the skin begin to come off easily they are done. Then you should remove the skins before blending.
If you place your tomatoes too close to eachother while grilling they can become mushy. Give them room and you’ll have perfect roasted tomatoes!
Roma, Plum, Heirloom or Beefsteak tomatoes are ideal for making salsa. Tomatoes with lower water content will work best in a chunky salsa.
If you make one of my recipes, I'd love to see! Post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
More Recipes on Perry's Plate
If you like this recipe, try another one of my copycat recipes! My Chipotle Beef Barbacoa rivals the famous shredded beef everyone loves.
Chevy’s Salsa Recipe
Throw some tomatoes and jalapenos on the grill and make some of this copycat Chevy's Fresh Salsa! It has such a delightful smoky flavor and it's our family's FAVORITE salsa!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds tomatoes
- 1-2 jalapenos
- ¼ medium Spanish onion (or yellow sweet onion)
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teasopon liquid mesquite smoke
Instructions
- Preheat BBQ (or stovetop grill pan like I used) on high.
- Remove stems from tomatoes, then rub some oil over each. Leave stems on jalapenos and rub oil on them, too. Place tomatoes on grill when it's hot.
- After about 10 minutes, add all jalapenos. In about 10 minutes, turn the tomatoes and peppers.
- When almost all of the surface of the peppers are black, remove them from the grill. The tomatoes will turn partially black, but when the skin begins to come off they are done. Remove from grill, cover to steam them for a few minutes and allow veggies to cool.
- Remove skin from tomatoes as well as the seeds (if you want) and place in a food processor. Pinch the stem end from each pepper, remove any skin that has burned. Cut them in half and remove as many seeds as you can (unless you want the salsa extra spicy). Place the jalapenos into food processor with the tomatoes.
- Add remaining ingredients and pulse for about a minute. For best flavor, chill for at least an hour or overnight before serving.
- Makes about 2 cups.
Notes
Nat's Notes:
1. After scraping all of the seeds and some of the whitish veins from the peppers, it was still quite spicy -- about like "medium" salsa you'd buy at the store.
2. After the tomatoes have cooled, you'll notice quite a bit of liquid left in the bowl (especially if you let them sit overnight). Adding it all back into the salsa makes it sort of watery (see picture on original post). I didn't add any back into it this time around and I liked the thicker texture. It also thickens as it sits in the fridge, so hold on to that liquid in case you want to thin it out later.
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