Easy Authentic Mexican Salsa

This delicious authentic Mexican salsa recipe is super easy, makes a large batch for a crowd, and gets better each day the flavors marinate in the fridge. It’s a chunky salsa and can be made as spicy or as mild as you want, but either way, I think you will love the flavors!

Authentic Mexican salsa is made with tomatoes, onions, green chilis, and seasonings like cumin. This authentic chunky Mexican salsa recipe has a fresh, bold flavor with just the right amount of heat, making it perfect for serving with tortilla chips or your favorite Mexican dishes.

Where did this authentic Mexican salsa recipe come from?

When I was young (like 5 years young!), we lived in Arizona for a few years. During that time, my mom gathered tons of delicious recipes for authentic Mexican dishes from her friends. My mom and I still make many of them today. One of our favorite recipes is Barb’s Hot Salsa, which tastes like a true authentic Mexican salsa.

We called it Barb’s Hot Salsa because a dear family friend named Barb shared the recipe with us. After we moved from Arizona, we lost touch with Barb. However, I think of her every time my mom or I make her salsa recipe.

A recipe for a crowd

During my childhood, we had tons of parties and get-togethers. My mom would make all of the food for these events.

Most of the dishes my mom would make were things that served a large crowd. I remember Barb’s Hot Salsa being one of those dishes we often had. It is so easy to make because it makes plenty for a crowd and can be made a couple of days ahead of time. This authentic Mexican salsa tastes even better after it sits for a day or two in the fridge.

If you love dishes that make enough for a crowd and can be made ahead, check out these recipes:

• Marinated Slaw
• Marinated Potato Salad

What is in Barb’s Hot Salsa?

This recipe is truly so easy and packed full of authentic Mexican flavors. It’s also more of a chunky salsa. The ingredients include:

• Canned stewed, peeled tomatoes
• Canned diced green chilies
• Green onions
• Cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Hot taco sauce

All of the ingredients, except the green onions, are straight from the pantry. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dish full of so many flavors that were mainly from my pantry.

The great thing about this authentic Mexican salsa is all you have to do is chop the tomatoes and onions, add the other ingredients, then mix everything in a bowl.

My trick for quickly chopping the peeled tomatoes—use kitchen scissors to cut them into small pieces! The original directions say to use your hands to crush the tomatoes, but the kitchen scissors are less messy.

Substituting or modifying the ingredients

You can add as much or as little cumin, green chilies, green onions, and hot taco sauce as you want. If you’re feeding a group of hungry children at a birthday party, you may want to use less of the hot taco sauce. The hot taco sauce could even be replaced with mild taco sauce. Of course, if you want really spicy salsa, go ahead and add a jalapeño or habanero sauce!

My favorite hot taco sauce is Siete traditional hot sauce because it has all-natural ingredients and does not have any added sugars.

Another way to make your salsa more mild is to use less of the green chilies. Green chilies usually aren’t super spicy to begin with, but some people find them to be strong when there are too many in a dish. You can also add more to add that extra spice.

Cumin gives this authentic Mexican salsa its “authentic” taste. Cumin is frequently used to season Mexican dishes. However, if you use too much, it can give the dish a somewhat bitter taste. My suggestion is to add a little cumin at a time, tasting after each addition to see if the flavor is what you want. I typically start with one tablespoon, then add more as needed.

The recipe calls for two bunches of chopped green onions. I find this to be plenty, but feel free to add more if you love the flavor of green onions.

Depending on the level of spice that you prefer, you can add jalapeños. We opt to keep the jalapeños out of the salsa and use more hot sauce if we want a spicier version. It’s always hard to know how spicy jalapeños will be.

You can use fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones when they’re in season and full of flavor. If using fresh tomatoes, Roma tomatoes are usually the best choice because they contain less water than slicing tomatoes. During the winter months, however, canned tomatoes often produce a more consistent, rich salsa because they’re packed at peak ripeness.

How to Store and Serve Your Chunky Salsa

Serve your salsa with thick restaurant-style tortilla chips because they can scoop chunky salsa without breaking. Blue corn chips and traditional white corn chips are both delicious options.

If you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal, add salsa with chicken breast and cook it in the Instant Pot or slow cooker for chicken tacos. I also use salsa in place of enchilada sauce when I make enchiladas if that’s all I have on hand.

This authentic Mexican salsa recipe makes such a large amount, it’s perfect for a party. It also keeps very well in the fridge for two to three weeks. Since it stays good for a while, you can add it to your tacos on Taco Tuesday for a couple of weeks!

Freeze any leftovers in airtight freezer containers for up to three months. After thawing, stir well before serving since some liquid separation is normal.

Troublshooting

If you use fresh tomatoes, your salsa may turn out more watery than you would prefer. This is because fresh tomatoes naturally contain more moisture than canned tomatoes. If your salsa seems thin, drain some of the excess tomato juice before blending or stir in additional diced tomatoes until you reach your preferred consistency.

This recipe makes a chunky restaurant-style salsa with plenty of texture. However, if you prefer a smoother salsa like many Mexican restaurants serve, simply blend the ingredients in a blender until you reach the desired consistency.

Authentic Mexican salsa is our favorite

This authentic Mexican salsa recipe (AKA “Barb’s Hot Salsa”) is our favorite salsa and gets rave reviews when I make it for a crowd. I hope you love it as much as we do!

xoxo,
Molly