Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe
This Roasted Tomato Salsa is easy to make and it’s loaded with roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapenos, bell pepper and cilantro. Roasting tomatoes in the oven brings out their best flavor and the little bit of charring on the roasted veggies adds a fire-roasted layer of flavor. P.S. Roasted salsa is also freezer-friendly!
![Roasted Tomato Salsa is loaded with tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro. This roasted salsa recipe is easy and freezer friendly. Roasted salsa served with tortilla chipos](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Roasted-Salsa-728x1091.jpg)
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Roasted Salsa Recipe
When tomatoes are plentiful, we’re all about tomato recipes, from classic Tomato Caprese to Panzanella and Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad. It’s also great to be able to preserve those sweet summer tomatoes. That’s why we are obsessed with this Roasted Tomato Salsa. It’s been on our regular rotation for years.
We make batch after batch of roasted salsa and stash it away in the freezer so we can enjoy it year-round. It keeps really well and when you thaw, it’s just as good as a batch of freshly prepared salsa.
Roasted Tomato Salsa Ingredients
- Tomatoes – you can use Roma tomatoes or whatever you have on hand.
- Jalapeno peppers – you can add these to taste or use serrano peppers if you want a spicier salsa.
- Bell pepper – use red or green. The bell pepper is optional and we add it if we have one on hand.
- Onions – yellow onions work great, but white onion is a great substitute as well.
- Garlic – use the cloves from one full head of garlic which is about 10 peeled cloves.
- Cilantro – use 1 medium bunch of cilantro, rinsed and chopped.
- Salt – add the salt to taste. We add about 1 Tbsp of fine sea salt.
![Ingredients for homemade roasted salsa Ingredients for homemade oven-roasted salsa with tomatoes, cilantro, onion, garlic and peppers](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Roasted-Salsa-copy-728x485.jpg)
How to Make Roasted Salsa
- Arrange cut tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic cloves on rimmed baking sheets.
- Bake at 375˚F for 25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft.
- Broil – move the baking sheet to the highest position in the oven and broil for 5 minutes until veggies are slightly charred (check periodically to make sure they don’t burn).
- Cool and Process – let the veggies cool for about 20 minutes then transfer in batches to the food processor along with the cilantro and salt. Using a 13-cup food processor, we are able to process in 2 batches, adding half of the ingredients, cilantro, and salt with each batch. Blend to your desired consistency (we like to make sure the onions are finely chopped). Combine both batches in a bowl and season to taste with salt if needed.
- Store – Once cooled to room temperature, you can refrigerate or freeze (see make-ahead tips below)
![Roasted Tomato Salsa is loaded with tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro. This roasted salsa recipe is easy and freezer friendly. Step by step how to roast salsa and blend in a food processor](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Roasted-Salsa-Collage-728x1092.jpg)
Common Questions
You get to control the spice level here. It depends on how many jalapenos you add and how spicy they are. We love a spicy roasted salsa that has a nice kick to it.
The bell pepper is optional. You can omit it if you don’t have one on hand or prefer not to use it.
We don’t peel tomatoes and since you are blending the salsa, it isn’t really necessary. You can if you want to and it will come off easier once the tomatoes are roasted.
We use whatever we have on hand, but Roma tomatoes are a good bet. Sometimes we use a variety. Keep in mind the type of tomato can affect the sweetness and color of your salsa.
![Roasted Tomato Salsa is loaded with tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro. This roasted salsa recipe is easy and freezer friendly. Roasted red salsa in a black serving dish surrounded by tortilla chips](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Roasted-Salsa-3-728x1091.jpg)
To Serve
There are so many great ways to serve roasted salsa. Here are some of our favorites:
- Appetizer – serve as a starter or snack with tortilla chips for dipping.
- Topping – on burritos, Chicken Fajitas, tacos, Nachos, or Tostadas.
- Breakfast – roasted salsa pairs so well with Scrambled Eggs or any egg-based breakfast such as Breakfast Burritos, on a Breakfast Sandwich or with Breakfast Quesadillas.
![Roasted Tomato Salsa is loaded with tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro. This roasted salsa recipe is easy and freezer friendly. Salsa served as an appetizer with tortilla chips](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Roasted-Salsa-4-728x1091.jpg)
Make-Ahead
We have tons of garden tomatoes every year and they’re growing faster than we can eat them, this freezer-friendly salsa is our favorite way to preserve tomatoes.
- Refrigerator – Once the salsa is at room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Freezer – Transfer to a freezer-safe zip-top bag or freezer container (do not overfill, leave a little room for expansion), and squeeze out any excess air which can cause freezer burn. Lay flat and freeze for up to 3 months or longer in a deep freezer.
- To Thaw – You can thaw in the refrigerator overnight. To speed thaw: set freezer bag in a bowl of cool water for about 2 hours. If you replace the water a couple of times, it will thaw faster.
More Salsa Recipes
If you love homemade salsa, you will find many new favorites here. Salsa is big in our home. Sometimes my husband and I just make a big batch of Cowboy Caviar or this Roasted Tomato Salsa and munch on that instead of dinner.
- Pico De Gallo
- Fresh Homemade Salsa (Restaurant-Style)
- Mango Salsa
- Spicy Guacamole
- Ceviche (shrimp salsa)
Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe
![Roasted tomato salsa served in a dish with tortilla chips](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Roasted-Salsa-SQ-150x150.jpg)
Ingredients
- 15-20 medium tomatoes, or 6 to 7 lbs, halved
- 5-10 jalapeno peppers or serrano peppers*, halved and seeded
- 1 red or green bell pepper, cut into quarters and seeded, optional
- 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and quartered
- 1 head of garlic, about 10 cloves, peeled
- 1 medium bunch of cilantro
- 1 Tbsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Arrange your tomatoes cut-side-up on a rimmed baking sheet and arrange the jalapenos, bell pepper, onions, and garlic on a second rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 375˚F or until tomatoes and onions are soft.
- Move the rack to the highest position in the oven, set the oven to broil and broil each baking sheet for an additional 3-5 minutes. The tops of the serrano peppers should start to look charred (check on the veggies a couple of times to make sure they don't burn). Remove the baking sheets from the oven being careful not to spill any of the tomato juices that have accumulated.
- Let vegetables cool down a bit then use a food processor to blend everything together along with one bunch of cilantro, 1 Tbsp of salt, and any tomato juice left in the baking dish (feel free to discard tomato juice for a thicker salsa). We were able to blend in 2 batches in a 13-cup food processor. Combine both batches and season to taste with more salt if needed. Let cool to room temp, then cover and refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
This recipe was updated with new photos Sept 2022. Here are the previous photos (we used lighter-colored homegrown tomatoes which gave the salsa a lighter color).
![Roasted tomato salsa garnished with cilantro](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Roasted-Tomato-Salsa-2-2-320x400.jpg)
No lime juice? Guessing it’s an accidental omission. I’d hit each batch with juice from two medium limes, to taste.
Hi Scott, we haven’t tried since it doesn’t seem to miss it being a roasted salsa. Give it a whirl and if you add lime, let me know how you like it!
I just mad it and it tastes very sweet to me. I’ve added more salt, and garlic and onion powder to try to make it less sweet. Do you think it’s because I used Vidalia onions? I can’t seem to reduce the sweetness. Thanks for any advice!
Hi Susan, the vidalia onions could make it sweeter. Also, the variety of tomatoes will affect the sweetness. Also, if you possibly reduced the peppers, it might seem more sweet since there isn’t as much contrasting spiciness.
Question- why use two baking sheets- one for tomatoes, another for jalapeños, onions and garlic?
Hi Mary! You can reference my images above to see how I have them laid out on the baking sheets. One was not enough. If you are using a larger sheet that can fit them all, that will work too.
I only cook Natasha’s kitchen recipes!!!! Question on this salsa recipe: what if I am not a cilantro lover….I really despise cilantro, should I substitute it with something else? Many thanks and keep up the good work!
Hi Anita, I have not tried any substitution but one of our readers shared this “I made this salsa today. It was pretty good. We didn’t have any cilantro or the little hot peppers so I added parsley and dried hot peppers. Tastes similar to the salsa at the Mexican restaurant. I will try to leave some tomatoes a little more chunky next time.” I hope that helps.
Can you put the roasted salsa in sealing jars and process them instead of freezing?
Hi Joanie! This recipe is not designed for canning.
The best recipe with full flavor. I have made it several time. I love the recipe as written. Really highlights the tomatoes. The second time i seeded the tomatoes. What a difference! Took out the bitterness. The third time I replaced the cilantro for the cilantro sensitive husband, with a nice Italian Parsley. Would make again and again
Thank you for the wonderful review, Cheryl! I’m glad you loved it.
Excellent and easy recipe. My go to salsa from now on. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Tracie!
So simple & so yummy!! Loved this salsa with our favorite chips!
I’m glad you loved this recipe. 🙂
Is it possible to store in mason jars and if so would I have to boil to seal them. Thank you
Hi Gayle, this one is not designed for canning and I’m not sure if processing it in the water bath would adversely affect the consistency or flavor, or if there is enough salt/acidity to preserve it for canning. We always make a ton of this salsa when the garden vegetables are here and portion it in freezer safe ziploc bags for the winter. It still tastes completely amazing once it is thawed.
I froze my garden tomatoes whole. Can I defrost and roast them for this Salsa?
Hi Claudette, I haven’t tested this with whole frozen tomatoes. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I don’t know if you can roast whole tomatoes that have been frozen. However, you can simply remove the skin when they’ve thawed out. Proceed with prepping and roasting the peppers, onions, garlic and then process in a blender with the tomatoes and cilantro. I like to add cumin to my roasted tomato salsa as well (add to taste according to how many tomatoes/peppers/onions/garlic that you have prepared. It is a delicious addition!
You mentioned Jalapeno’s, but used Serrano peppers. Jalapeno peppers were my favorite forever until they started tasting and with the heat of a green Bell pepper (blah). Now…it’s Serrano’s to the rescue!!!
Nice recipe…
FYI-I was looking at the picture but the recipe mentions Serrano’s. *wink* LOL
I’m glad you spotted it and I hope you love the roasted salsa.
Hi Butch, we have used both. This year we are using jalapenos because that is what we have growing in our garden. Last year it was serranos (which we accidentally planted thinking it was jalapenos), but both options work great.
Just wondering on your nutrition facts, what is the serving amount?
Hi Robyn. At the top of the recipe card, it shows how many servings each recipe makes. This recipe makes 20 servings (about 10 cups total) and the nutrition facts are per 1 serving. One serving would be 1/2 cup.
The best way to use up tomatoes from my garden! Roasting them really took the flavor to a whole other level! So yummy!
Hi Jamie, we’re glad to know that you liked this recipe!
You can’t beat this fresh roasted salsa! Roasting gives it such a great flavor- way better than store bought!
Hi Dana, love the review and feedback. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes. Your videos are so inspiring. I just made the salsa. It was delicious. When you put your cilantro in, do you throw in the stems too or just the leaves?
It’s my pleasure, Sabrina. The stems are edible so you can leave them or remove them if you prefer.
This is wonderful in soups. I love it in chicken tortilla soup, just add beans, chicken, corn, and some spices. I froze a bunch this summer and will be enjoying it all winter, thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Diana! I’m so happy you enjoyed that.
I couldn’t tell….after roasting the tomatoes….did you remove the skins before putting in the food processer?? Thanks! Looks delicious!!
Hi Kathy, we don’t usually remove the skins, but you can if you want to. It’s not necessary however.
What is the approximate weight of the tomatoes? We have so many different sizes from our garden.
Hi Lisa, I wish I had weighed them before cooking!
the best salsa i ever tried!!!I MEAN..LIKE…SERIOSLY,CAN IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT??
It sure is the best! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Alina!
Just wondering if peppers and tomatoes will need skins peeled off after roasting/broiling in the oven
Hi Diana, we don’t peel the peppers or tomatoes, we just put them in the food processor whole.
Can I use a blender if I don’t have a food processor?
Hi Kathy, I think you could make a blender like that work, just be careful not to purée it.
Hey!
How would you freeze this and what would you freeze it in?
Thanks!
Hi Courtney, We make a ton of this salsa in the summer months when tomatoes are at their peak of yumminess and we freeze them flat in freezer-safe Ziplocs. It freezes beautifully. We thaw one bag at a time and enjoy it all winter long. It’s so much tastier than store-bought and healthier too! But seriously, I hope you love this recipe!
Natasha – love you. Do you freeze with the cilantro in it? Or just the tomatoes (halfed)? I started a garden and have tons right now.
Hi Daniel, we freeze the salsa after it is fully prepared with all the ingredients blended.
Can’t wait to try, but woud love to know name of tomato plants that you use to make the salsa, I know it would probably be a Roma type of tomato but the ones I planted had so many seeds in them…ps love your recipes….Gail
Hi Gail, we use a variety of tomatoes from the garden. There are Roma and also bulls heart tomatoes and a couple of other varieties that I’m not familiar with (gifts from my Mom).
One of the best roasted salsa recipe i have ever tried. Thanks for sharing this amazing roasted salsa recipe.
Thank you!
Can you preserve this salsa by canning it? If yes, would you can it right after its done and still hot?
Hi Lena, I haven’t tested it that way and I’m not sure if it has enough acidity to be safe for canning. I can tell you it is freezer friendly though
Hi Natasha,
I’m wondering if you can roast the ingredients on the grill in stead of the oven? Would like to make this today, but it’s supposed to be over 100 degrees today so not really wanting to turn the oven on
Hi Cindy, I have not tested that on the grill to advise. If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
I know that it is too late to respond on this question but I think you could roast the ingredients on the grill…provided you place them in a tray with a lip on it to catch the juices. I roast tomatoes all the time in the oven for waterbath canning as well as other recipes and they put out a lot of juice! Even though I half them, remove as many seeds and juice into a strainer/bowl to add to the finished product, and then roast them cut side down on a tray in the oven, there is always a lot of juice depending on the type of tomato that I use (love Early Girls, Shady Lady, Better or Best Boys, Ace, etc.). That way I can also remove the skin easily from the tomatoes after roasting (some tomatoes have thicker skins). However, even if you used the meatier Roma varieties, I think you would really make a mess on the grill unless you placed the tomatoes in a tray with a lip to catch the juices. The veggies might also pick up more smoke than you want by grilling them. You could always cover them with foil half way through cooking to avoid too much smoke.
Can this salsa be canned?
Hi Tanya, I haven’t tested it that way and I’m not sure if it has enough acidity to be safe for canning. I can tell you it is freezer friendly though 🙂
No lime? Sacrilege! 🙂
Nope! We haven’t tried since it doesn’t seem to miss it being a roasted salsa. 🙂 Give it a whirl and if you add lime, let me know how you like it! 🙂
Will adding lime affect freezing it ? Will still freeze good ?
Hi Shannon, I honestly haven’t tested that to advise.
Firstly, I made this about a month ago and it was absolutely delicious! Now I have a second batch of tomatoes from my garden to make more. I was wondering if you could can this salsa in jars? Thanks!
Hi Dee, this one is not designed for canning and I’m not sure if processing it in the water bath would adversely affect the consistency or flavor, or if there is enough salt/acidity to preserve it for canning. We always make a ton of this salsa when the garden vegetables are here and portion it in freezer safe ziploc bags for the winter. It still tastes completely amazing once it is thawed.
Made this today with a huge batch of tomatoes from my garden. Came out absolutely perfect! Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ahhh smells so good in the oven:)))!! Just cannt wait to try this, first time making this!! Wish me luck:)!!
Your the best, love all ur recipes!
Christina, thank you for such a sweet comment 😊. Let me know how it turns out.
Hi Natasha!! Have u tried the “smart stick Variable speed Hand Blender”? What do u think of that one to use for this recipe?
I think you could make an immersion blender like that work, just be careful not to purée it.
Natash thank you so much, so far this is the third dish I’ve tried from your blog. This salsa is amazing! The only mistake I made is that I cut everything in two. Next time I have to multiply it instead! Thank you very much !
Awesome! I’m so happy you liked it :). We make a ton of this salsa in the summer months when tomatoes are at their peak of yumminess and we freeze them flat in freezer safe ziplocs. It freezes beautifully. We thaw one bag at a time and enjoy it all winter long. It’s so much tastier than store-bought and healthier too! But seriously, I’m so happy you liked it! 🙂
Natasha, this recipe is awesome! I grew 100s of yellow and red cherry tomatoes so that is what I used. 🙂 DELICIOUS!!!
Nicole, thank you for the great review, enjoy :).
HI! this look so good! I eat salsa with everything it seems and I can’t wait to try this recipe. I have never tried to make it on my own for some reason. I have 2 questions:
1) are the yellow onions the sweet ones (like vidalia) or just regular?
2)how do you store it in the fridge? how long does it keep? (bc 10 cups seems like a lot even for me 🙂
They are just regular onions, but you can use vidalia if that’s what you have :). We freeze what we don’t eat n sandwich sized ziploc bags. Lay them flat in the freezer and thaw in cold water when ready and it’s seriously just as good as when it’s fresh. You can store it 3 or 4 days in the fridge.
Just tried this recipe, turned out okay. Bunch of cilantro seems to be way too much, didn’t really like it’s overpowering flavor 🙁
I guess I’m a cilantro lover :). I did not notice overpowering flavor of cilantro. Valentina, did you you happen to have larger bunch of cilantro?
Now that i look at your pictures, im sure I had a larger bunch haha, the first one i found in Fred Meyer. Oh well! I really like a lot of your other recipes though, thanks for posting! 🙂
Delicious once again!! Your recipes are so wonderful!
Thank you so much! 🌺🌺🌺
Thanks for the good feedback!
This is the BEST, EASIEST and FOOL PROOF salza recipe ever! Of course everything we try from NK is fantastic, but this one is a keeper!!!
Awww thank you so much for such an awesome review! 🙂
This was so tasty! We made it with all fresh ingredients the other day and everyone loved it. I wrote about it on my blog and linked back to your site for the original recipe. Just spreading the blog love. <3 genkikitty.wordpress.com/2014/08/20/fresh-produce
Thank you so much for sharing it with your readers! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the awesome review! 🙂
Can’t wait to try… LOVE your website!! How long can I keep this in the fridge before it goes bad? Couple days ok?
Couple days is fine. For longer period of time I would recommend to freeze it in the Ziploc bag.
Ok, so, I was craving this so bad I didn’t want to wait til summer for the garden veggies. I made a half batch with store bought veggies. And it turned out so delicious!!! I will never get store bought salsa again! This was perfect! Thanks so much for the recipe!! This is a keeper! And I was worried it would go bad in the fridge. …btw, it’s gone!! Now I want more!
Now wait until you taste how amazing it is with in-season veggies. We seriously had like 40 full ziploc bags of these in the freezer for winter and ran out 2 months ago! 🙂
Hi Natasha! Made this salsa three times already; love it!! So super good. Never lasted more than two days. But now I wanna try to make a couple batches and can it. Do you think that might work? Or keep it fresh in the fridge in Mason jars. How long do you think it would last in the fridge? I wanna use up some of the loads of tomatoes in the garden, and I prefer this stuff over adjika 😉
I think it would stay good in the fridge 1 week. To be honest, we eat it up pretty quickly too! I haven’t tried canning it to keep it on the shelf. You’d have to cook the whole mixture and do all that sterilizing business. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. We’ve been making this weekly with all the wonderful tomatoes from my mom’s garden 🙂
Hello Natasha!! Your website is AMAZING. Thanks so much for sharing all your recipes. Its so easy to follow and always turns out GREAT!
Mira
You are welcome Mira, you made me smile :).
Tried this recipe over the weekend, and loved it ! made it again today 🙂 I love that its a 100% veggie recipe, no oil 🙂 I think this will be a once a week( at least) new tradition !
Isn’t that great? We just took out a batch from the oven; taking it to camp!! 🙂
hi natasha…!i m from pakistan.plz tell me about cillentro..and bell peppers or their substitute.is it also available in pakistan? ur recipies r tried all over the world who ever uses facebook. i luv ur recipies…
Cilantro might be called “coriander” in Pakistan, and bell pepper (Capsicum) is optional. I can’t really tell you if they are sold in Pakistan, but try to look at vegetable stands in the market. Thank you for the compliment Uzmazia :).
Hi Natasha!
I am thrilled to see your recipe which is very similar to my own and find out that I can freeze it! I usually have to give it away to friends and family because I was afraid it would go bad. Now I can simply freeze it!!! Thank you posting your recipe and including the info about freezing it!
In regard to Uzmazia’s comment, I’ve recently learned of a herb that is sometimes used in place of cilantro called culantro. It is stronger than cilantro but is often used in sauces and salsas as a substitute for cilantro. It may be available in Pakistan under that name. See https://worldcrops.org/crops/culantro for more info on where it might be available as well as other names it might be known under. I would think bell peppers could be substituted with other sweet peppers for those who can’t find it.
Thanks again for posting this recipe! I am so excited to see that it can be frozen!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Dianna!
Beautiful salsa! And look at all those roasted veggies! Yummy. I need to try this too some time
We can’t get enough of it :).
It’s especially amazing with garden grown veggies. I’m eating this tonight!! 🙂
Looks delightful !!!!! Ya hochooo
You should have come over to Anna’s last night. I brought it there!!
Hi Natasha,
I made this salsa today. It was pretty good. We didn’t have any cilantro or the little hot peppers so I added parsley and dried hot peppers. Tastes similar to the salsa at the Mexican restaurant. I will try to leave some tomatoes a little more chunky next time.
I think you’d love it with the serranos and cilantro! Make sure you give it a try! 🙂
What an interesting idea to roast tomatoes for salsa. I think a good salsa recipe is a must have for every cook!
So true! And this truly is a keeper 🙂
Is there anything better than a cold mexican beer, a hot summer sunset, a bowl of crunchy tortilla chips, with plenty of hot salsa to dip them in?
Nope. That’s the best!
Yep, except for me it would be Kvas (it’s like a non-alcoholic beer of sorts) and a bowl of salsa. mmmm. 🙂