It’s not too late to make a holiday gift for the Tex-Mex fans in your life.  My mom has a great recipe for homemade salsa that is easy, fresh-tasting and delicious.  Some very special people on our Christmas list love this salsa, and I don’t make it for them often enough.  (Yes, you read that right — this is one of the very few recipes that I make all on my own!)  I made a couple of batches for our friends this year.

The salsa uses very simple ingredients:  1 white onion, 2 cans chopped green chiles, garlic salt, 1 can tomatoes, 1-2 jalapenos, and cilantro.  It will probably also need some salt once it’s all mixed up.

If you have a food processor, roughly chop the onions, then finely chop them in the food processor.  So easy.  If you don’t have a food processor, just chop them by hand.

Add the chopped green chiles and the garlic salt to the onion.

My mom will tell you (and she’s right — Hi Mom!) that the salsa won’t taste as good if you don’t mix the chiles, onions and garlic salt together as the first step.  We have no idea why this is the case, but it’s true.

Put the tomatoes in the food processor and pulse them for a few seconds until they are chopped up, but not liquified.

If you don’t have a food processor, it’s probably best to buy the can of diced tomatoes instead of whole.  The salsa will be a bit more chunky if you use diced tomatoes, but some people may actually prefer it that way.

Add the tomatoes to the chile/onion mixture.

I did a double batch on the night I made this and decided I needed more green chiles.

Add the finely chopped jalapeno.  You can also use the jar or canned jalapeno if you prefer it over fresh.

Then add the cilantro.  Stir it all together, taste and add regular salt as needed.  Keep in mind that the salsa should sit for at least 1-2 hours before serving, so that the flavors can combine.  I prefer to let it sit in the fridge overnight.  Stir it up and taste it again before serving or presenting as a gift — might need a little more salt.

The oh-so-fancy holiday containers I used to package the salsa.  Not the most festive, but the salsa itself is Christmas red & green, so there.  No matter the packaging, this is a really good salsa that can be an interesting alternative to the more traditional holiday gifts of cookies and other sweets!

Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 4.5 oz. cans diced green chiles
• 1 white onion (chopped)
• 1-2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes (diced in a food processor)
• 1-2 jalapenos (chopped)
• cilantro (chopped)
• salt to taste

Directions:
Combine the chopped onion, chiles and garlic salt and mix together.

Pulse the whole tomatoes in a food processor so they are diced but not liquified.  Save some of the liquid from the can if you want to thin out the salsa a bit.

Add the jalapenos and cilantro, then taste.  Add salt as needed.

Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours before serving.  The flavors will combine and the salsa will taste better after it sits in the fridge for a while.

Print This