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If your chip game has been giving you 200-year-old cobweb-covered Handi Snack vibes lately, this salsa fresca recipe is about to make your life so much less sucky. Just 7 (6 if we don't count salt) ingredients, and 1 bowl, your hyper-fresh and flavorful taco night dreams are about to come true.
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Salsa fresca is pico de Gallo, but with a bit more flavor, and jalapeño heat calibrated for human enjoyment, not a dare. Use it as a taco bling, chip dip royalty, or the surprise hero on a vegan taco bowl with vegan Mexican rice and tofu chorizo. Enough talk. Let's get this classic salsa from the farmers market to face.
Adams Salsa Fresca it is perfect on any Mexican plate or just simply devouring with tortilla chips. Be careful though....with this salsa you'll go through an entire bag!
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🥰Why you'll adore this salsa fresca recipe
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this one's been tried, tested, and devoured by hundreds of recipe testers from across the globe before I published it.
⏱ Made in Minutes: No simmering, no blending, no waiting, and absolutely no heating up your house in the summer with roasting. You can knock this out way faster than it takes to order some straight regrettable trash from Chipotle.
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan Mexican recipes, this one's free of animal products and cholesterol. This salsa totally belongs in your rotation of gluten-free vegan recipes that actually taste like something you'd order twice.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🍅Salsa fresca ingredients
Tomatoes
Use ripe, juicy tomatoes with firm flesh like Roma or other plum varieties. Tomatoes provide the base of the salsa and give it texture and freshness. If the tomatoes are particularly watery, drain them for 10-12 minutes in a wire mesh strainer first to keep the salsa from coming out swampy.
Red Onion
If the flavor is too pungent for you, soak the diced onion in cold water for about 5 minutes, then drain. Some people use vinegar for this, rinsing it off thoroughly afterward. That's wayyyy too much of a headache for my lazy-butt.
If you've got shallots on hand (which I keep in my pantry for Thai cucumber salad or harissa chickpeas), they're a milder, slightly sweet alternative that also has a little bit of the reddish color that looks pretty in this.
Jalapeño
Mince the jalapeño finely to distribute the spice evenly. For milder salsa, remove the seeds and inner membranes before chopping. You can swap in a single habanero or serrano for a sharper burn that'll wake your burritos right the heck up.
Lime Juice
If your limes aren't that juicy, or are just MIA at the grocery store, freshly squeezed lemon juice can sub. Just don't reach for bottled lime unless you're lost at sea and that's your only form of sustenance. Because it sucks.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Pineapple Salsa Fresca
Swap ½ the tomatoes for chopped fresh pineapple for a sweet-heat combo that absolutely crushes when spooned over vegan taquitos fresh outta the oven. You'll wonder why this was never your default for din din.
Cucumber Salsa Fresca
Add ½ cup finely diced cucumber for extra crunch and a cooling vibe. This is basically the Mexican version of Shirazi salad. Snappy Persian or English cucumbers, like the ones I keep around for cucumber beet salad, work best. They're crisp, nearly seedless, and won't water down your salsa.
📖 How to make pico de gallo
Yeah yeah, we know you just want the salsa and not a novella. Scroll to the printable recipe card if you're in a rush, or keep reading for the full step-by-step.
Step One
I Bless the Drains Down in Africa:
If your tomatoes are juicy, pop them in a wire mesh strainer over the sink and let them drain for a few minutes.
Step Two
Let the Good Times Bowl:
In a medium mixing bowl, put the diced tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, and minced garlic together.
Step Three
Hit Me Baby One More Lime:
Stir in the chopped cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
Step Four
Jar-assic Perk:
If not consuming within a couple of hours of mixing, spoon the salsa into a jar or an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 48 hours, draining a little of the built-up liquid before serving.
💡Serving Ideas
Spoon this generously into vegan breakfast burritos with tofu scramble. Or rock it on your mushroom fajitas with vegan refried beans, or use it as the best part of a vegan breakfast bowl with vegan sour cream.
Of course, it's also the most classic upgrade for your taco nights too. Load up your vegan carne asada, jackfruit carnitas, or tofu tacos with this salsa fresca to really bring them to life.
👉Top tips
- Use A Non-Reactive Bowl: Acidic ingredients like lime juice and tomatoes can react with aluminum or copper, resulting in off-flavors or discoloration if they hang out in the bowl for very long. Glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bowls keep your salsa tasting extra-lovely.
- Strain Your Tomatoes: If your tomatoes are watery, draining the excess liquid before mixing helps keep your salsa chunky instead of swampy.
- Mix Close to Serving Time: This kind of salsa really tastes best when fresh. Aim to make it no more than a few hours in advance for peak flavor and texture.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Basically, yes. Pico de gallo is a type of salsa fresca. Different name, the same snack-worthy vibes.
NOPE. Like, hard no. If you're holding a can opener right now and thinking about it, gently set it down and walk away backward. Canned tomatoes are great in soups or for making vegan spaghetti sauce, but in raw salsa? That's how you get salsa that tastes like it's going through a divorce
It's absolutely better consumed within a few hours of having been made, but if you have leftovers, transfer them to a clean container and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Give it a stir before serving, and if it needs it, drain off some of the extra liquid that the salt has drawn out of the veggies.
Do NOT freeze salsa fresca. I repeat-DO. NOT. FREEZE. IT. Imagine licking a rain-soaked sponge that once saw a tomato in 2007. Just eat it fresh like nature and your better judgment is intended.
Don't know what do with your leftovers? That's an easy fix! Rock 'em on your calabacitas for breakfast, or on a bowl of vegan picadillo for just about any other meal!
✌️You'll love these salsa recipes too:
Don't let sucky dips run your taco nights. You're about to master 6 salsas that upgrade your hosting chops overnight.
Salsa Fresca
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup ripe tomatoes diced
- ¼ cup red onion small diced
- 1 jalapeño seeds and stem removed, minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ⅓ cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 4 teaspoons lime juice
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- If your tomatoes are very watery, place them in a wire mesh strainer in your kitchen sink, and let them drain for a few minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, and minced garlic.
- Add the chopped cilantro, lime juice and salt, mixing thoroughly.
- Jar and refrigerate for up to 3 days if not using immediately.
Notes
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Marna says
Adams Salsa Fresca it is perfect on any Mexican plate or just simply devouring with tortilla chips. Be careful though....with this salsa you'll go through an entire bag!
Tee Hansen says
Six ingredients, one bowl, zero cooking - can't mess it up even if you tried! Perfect ratios and uber good!!