Fresh tomato salsa is the perfect allergy-friendly condiment. Made with fresh healthy ingredients, it is naturally dairy free and vegan. Tomato salsa is so versatile too. Use it as a dip, a topping for your Mexican inspired dishes like nachos and tacos, or serve it with any of your main meals to add some fresh spicy flavour. And it tastes delicious!
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What is tomato salsa?
Salsa means “sauce”. It usually means the traditional sauce made with tomatoes, onions and hot chilies. New versions of salsa can include many different ingredients, including sweet fruits like mango or pineapple. However our tomato salsa recipe is modern take on the traditional flavours and spicy chili (also spelt chilli here in Australia, or chile).
Ways to use fresh tomato salsa
Salsa is fresh and spicy and makes a delicious addition to lots of dishes. My family love to heap it on nachos and tacos, with dairy free cheese and guacamole. Fresh tomato salsa also makes a great dip for tortilla or corn chips, or any crackers or vegetables you usually like to have with dip. Try some salsa on bruschetta, crostini or crunchy bread. We also spoon it over cooked chicken breasts to spice them up.
Potential food allergens in salsa
Why make your own salsa when you can buy it? It’s true that you can easily buy salsa at the store. If it is traditional style salsa, it shouldn’t contain any of the top 10 common allergens either. We sometimes buy tomato salsa in a jar for quick week night tacos.
However, if you lie with food allergies, you’ll know about cross-contact. Some store bought salsa varieties have statements that they “may contain” traces of allergens. Making your own avoids that risk.
But most importantly, homemade salsa is made with just simple fresh ingredients. It can be easily adapted to your own taste and is delicious!
Ingredients
To make our allergy-friendly fresh tomato salsa, you’ll need:
- 450g (1lb) fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 clove of fresh garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 small red chili (hot pepper), seeds removed and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- extra chopped coriander/cilantro to garnish
Which tomatoes are best for salsa?
The great thing about this salsa is you can use whatever tomatoes you like. The most important thing is that the tomatoes are nice and ripe. Using ripe tomatoes gives the best intense tomato flavour.
I do like using Roma tomatoes for salsa. However, in this recipe I often use a variety of different coloured tomatoes to give extra colour to the dish. Here I’ve used some medium Roma tomatoes, black tomatoes and a variety of red, orange and yellow cherry tomatoes. Any combination of tomatoes will work.
Do you need a food processor to make salsa?
Our tomato salsa is designed to be made without a food processor. Chopping all the ingredients by hand gives a beautiful texture to the salsa. If you use a food processor, it is too easy to over process and end up with a smooth sauce-like dip. That said, if you do intend to use the salsa as a dip and prefer it slightly smoother, you can use a food processor to lightly process just half of the mixture (keep the other half chunky and add bac to the more blended mixture). To process, I like to use the small bowl attachment on my Breville Kitchen Wizz processor, or if don’t want as much washing up I’ll just use my Bamix stick blender with the processor attachment.
Method
Prepare the tomatoes first by washing well and dicing into small pieces. Add the tomatoes and their juice to a clean mixing bowl.
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Wash and halve the chili, remove the seeds, and finely chop. Add the prepared onion, garlic and chili to the bowl of tomatoes, mixing well with a spoon to combine. Coarsely chop the coriander (cilantro) leaves and stir through the tomato mixture. Finally, add the lime juice, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and stir to combine.
When you are ready to serve, spoon the salsa into a serving bowl and garnish with some extra fresh coriander (cilantro).
Enjoy with your tacos, nachos, burritos or other Mexican-inspired dishes. Or serve with crunchy tortilla or corn chips or spread on your favourite crunchy bread.
Recipe serves 8 (1/4 cup serving size).
Salsa will keep in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
#Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing salsa made with chopped tomatoes as the texture won’t be the same when defrosted. If you do decide to blend the salsa first, the smoother version can be frozen for up to 3 months.
#Tip: For even better flavour, prepare ahead and store the salsa overnight in the fridge. Serve at room temperature for the best taste.
More allergy-friendly recipes
Looking for more recipes with tomatoes? Try our quick and easy roast potatoes with olives and cherry tomatoes. Or if you love hot chili (or chilli as we call it here in Australia), try our chili and lime salad dressing (which also makes a great marinade).
For more dip inspiration, you might like our vegan guacamole, sesame free hummus, dairy free French onion dip or olive tapenade (without anchovies).
You can find lots more allergy-friendly recipes on our recipes page.
Best Fresh Tomato Salsa (Allergy-friendly & Vegan)
Equipment
- 1 chopping board
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- mixing spoon
- 1 Citrus juicer
- measuring spoons and cups
Ingredients
- 450 g (1 lb) fresh tomatoes (Roma or any variety), finely diced
- 1 clove fresh garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 small red chili (hot pepper), seeds removed and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- extra fresh coriander (cilantro) to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the tomatoes first by washing well and dicing into small pieces. Add the tomatoes and their juice to a clean mixing bowl.
- Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Wash and halve the chili, remove the seeds, and finely chop. Add the prepared onion, garlic and chili to the bowl of tomatoes, mixing well with a spoon to combine.
- Coarsely chop the coriander (cilantro) leaves and stir through the tomato mixture. Finally, add the lime juice, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and stir to combine.
- When you are ready to serve, spoon the salsa into a serving bowl and garnish with some extra fresh coriander (cilantro).
