Homemade Fresh Salsa | Chuy's Salsa Fresca Copycat | Recipe
An easy, homemade salsa recipe, that tastes eerily similar to the beloved Tex-Mex restaurant Chuy's famous salsa fresca.
If you have ever been mystified as to how to make homemade salsa taste as good as your favorite Mexican restaurant's, you are in the right place. This salsa is simple and straightforward to make. It requires only a bit of chopping and a little blending.
First, let's talk salsa ingredients: The tomatoes you choose for fresh salsa play a pretty large role in the flavor. Most tomato varieties tend to get grainy and dull in flavor outside of the summer months, but Campari and Vine-Ripened tomatoes are great options for salsa, as they tend to keep both a more vibrant color and flavor even outside of tomato season. If you can't find either of those, go with Roma tomatoes.
Next, the acid. Chuy’s? Anybody ever heard of Chuy’s salsa fresca? Rice wine vinegar is commonly found in salsa fresca, and I do believe it is Chuy's secret weapon. A small amount of rice wine vinegar goes a long, long way. If you're not into the whole "vinegar in my salsa" thing, that's perfectly fine. Just stick with the lime juice and all will be well.
Now, onto the jalapeno. The amount of hot peppers (and particularly pepper seeds) used in your salsa are going to affect the heat level. To break it down even further, use more peppers for a fiery hot salsa, use less peppers for a more mild version.
All that's left is to gather up the rest of your ingredients, along with your blender or food processor, and slam out a super easy, homemade restaurant-style salsa. Enjoy!
SIDE NOTE: To seed a tomato quickly, remove the stem end, cut the tomato in half and turn it upside down over the sink. Applying a gentle amount of pressure, squeeze the tomato and shake until the seeds fall out.
Ingredients:
1 pound tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
4 jalapenos, seeded (if desired) and chopped
1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon rice wine vinegar (optional)
Method:
Add the tomatoes, red onion, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice, salt, cumin, garlic powder and rice wine vinegar (if using) to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse until a chunky puree has formed. Transfer to a bowl and serve right away, or to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
Serve Alongside:
