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You are here: Home / Salsas & Sauces / Salsa Roja

Salsa Roja

Douglas Cullen, This blog generates income via ads and affiliate links which earn us a small commission.

Easy Mexican Red Tomato Salsa

**Updated with more step-by-step photos to help you achieve the perfect salsa**

The two most common salsas in Mexico are salsa roja, a red salsa prepared with tomatoes and salsa verde, a green salsa prepared with tomatillos. Both are versatile salsas enjoyed with a wide variety of dishes.  

Every family has its favorite variations. Give this very easy recipe for an authentic salsa roja a try. Guaranteed happiness!  Make a double batch to freeze so that you always have salsa on hand when you want it.

Bowl of Mexican Salsa Roja

Fresh Ingredients Make the Best Salsa

Fresh ingredients always make the best salsas. Make sure that your tomatoes are really red and ripe which gives the salsa better color and a richer flavor. Really fresh cilantro gives the salsa a nice herbal tang. Avoid tired wilted cilantro because it has lost much of its flavor.

Ingredients to make salsa roja.
  • 5 plum Roma tomatoes
  • 1 white onion
  • 12 stalks of cilantro
  • 2 serrano chiles
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt + salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 4 cups water

HOW TO MAKE SALSA ROJA | 1-MINUTE VIDEO

Slice the tomatoes in half.

Roma tomatoes (plum) cut in half.

Slice the onion into quarters.

Quartered White Onion on Cutting Board

Remove the stems, then slice the serrano peppers in half and remove the seeds. You can leave the seeds in if you prefer. This will add more heat to your salsa.

Green Serrano Peppers on Cutting Board

Add all of the ingredients except the cilantro and salt to a pot. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. (About 2 cups)

Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to low. Simmer 20 minutes.

Simmered Salsa Roja Ingredients

Blend all of the ingredients including the cilantro with the cooking water (Blend in 2 batches.)

Salsa Roja Ingredients in Blender Jar

Preheat 2 tablespoons of oil on high.

Pouring cooking oil into pot to pre-heat.

Slowly pour the blended salsa into the hot oil. This is called “seasoning” the salsa and it’s an important step to develop the flavor of your salsa.

Seasoning Salsa Roja

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Notice that the salsa has reduced and thickened. Add the salt and stir. Adjust the salt as needed.

Adding Salt to Salsa Roja

The Finished Salsa

Bowl of Mexican salsa roja (closeup).

Homemade Salsa is Always Better

Homemade salsa is always better. It really doesn’t take much work and the results are so much more delicious. Once you get in the habit of making salsa from scratch you will never buy salsa again. Your tastebuds just won’t let you. Really!

Time to make some salsa! Provecho!

Bowl of Mexican Salsa Roja
Print Pin
3.60 from 91 votes

Easy Salsa Roja Recipe

Versatile salsa roja recipe that is really easy to prepare. Made with plum tomatoes, white onion, serrano chile, cilantro, and garlic. Great with chilaquiles, eggs, beef, and chicken.
Course Salsa
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword easy salsa roja, How to make salsa roja, salsa roja, salsa roja recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 24kcal
Author Douglas Cullen

Equipment

  • 1 large pot
  • Kitchen knife
  • Cutting board
  • Kitchen spoon
  • Blender
  • Serving bowl

Ingredients

  • 5 plum Roma tomatoes
  • 1 white onion
  • 12 stalks of cilantro
  • 2 serrano chiles
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp. salt + salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp. cooking oil
  • 2 cups water

Instructions

  • Cut the onion in quarters.
  • Cut the tomatoes in half.
  • Cut the stems off the chiles, slice in half, and remove seeds.
  • Peel the garlic.
  • Add all of the ingredients except the cilantro and salt to a large pot.
  • Add just enough water to almost cover the ingredients (about 4 cups).
  • Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to low. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Blend all of the ingredients including the cilantro with the cooking water (blend in 2 batches).
  • Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in the same pot over medium heat.
  • Pour the blended salsa into the hot oil.
  • Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Adjust the salt to taste.

Notes

  • With 2 serrano chiles, the salsa is medium hot. Reduce the number of chiles to 1 if you prefer a mild salsa or increase the quantity to 3 if you prefer a very hot salsa.
  • You don’t need to remove the seeds and veins from the chiles.
  • This salsa freezes very well.
  • Divide the salsa into 2 cup batches and pour into freezer bags. The next time you need salsa you will have four ½ cup portions ready to use.

Nutrition

Calories: 24kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 247mg | Sugar: 3g

More Mexican Salsa Recipes

Mexico has an endless variety of incredible salsas. Here are a few more that we are sure you will enjoy. Which one is your favorite? They are all worth a try.

  • Pico de Gallo
  • Mexican Restaurant Salsa
  • Cascabel Salsa
  • Salsa Verde
  • Avocado Salsa
  • Habanero Salsa

Did you enjoy this recipe? Any questions?

Please let us know in the comments below if you have prepared this salsa and how it turned out for you. Also, if you have any questions on preparation you can let us know in the comments too.

More Authentic Mexican Salsas

  • Chunky Mango Salsa
  • Chipotle Salsa
  • Pineapple Habanero Salsa
  • Salsa Roja with Queso Cotija

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stevie McCallum says

    March 15, 2020 at 8:21 am

    5 stars
    stupid question but would you serve the Salsa hot, cold or either?

    Reply
    • LDJ says

      May 29, 2021 at 2:55 am

      5 stars
      What almost nobody in these comments seems to understand is that there are many different types of salsa in Mexico. But principally, there’s two basic types. There’s salsa where the salsa is a condiment, and then there’s salsa where it is integral to the dish. Salsa which is used more like an Italian tomato sauce, but with Mexican flavours. This salsa roja recipe is the saucy type. It’s not a condiment. One prepares other dishes with it like chilaquiles en salsa roja, or enchiladas en salsa roja. This is Mexican cooking, not Tex-Mex nachos and salsa.

      It’s not a stupid question. This recipe is just lacking the context I am trying to give it. So, to answer the question… hot (temperature). This type of salsa is always for hot dishes. Look up a recipe for chilaquiles. It’s dead simple, and delicious! A Mexican breakfast favourite. The only hard part is finding the totopos; deep-fried pieces of corn tortilla that are unsalted. If you can get corn tortillas, you can always prepare your own totopos. Commercial tortilla chips just aren’t the same. Even the unsalted ones.

      Reply
  2. P.M. says

    April 04, 2020 at 2:35 pm

    I followed this recipe and it worked out really great, still I had to do some changes and substitute the Serrano chiles with a lot of dried De Arbol chiles and no cilantro. Just use water enough to be able to blend the vegetables. Always boiling everything and reducing at the last to really thicken it. Take your time seasoning. It came out really hot just the way I like it. I loved it.

    Reply
  3. Maire says

    May 04, 2020 at 4:36 am

    You have stated 2 cups of water in the ingredients list and 4 in the method

    Reply
    • Maria says

      December 13, 2020 at 12:39 pm

      Advice; drain all ingredients before putting it in the blender { save the liquid } . Blend it and if it’s needed add some liquid . Remember, the tomatoes when cooked , releases a lot of water. So probably 2 cups are to much. I would start with 1 cup.

      Reply
  4. Marvin says

    August 22, 2020 at 12:55 am

    1 star
    Absolutely no flavor. Not spicy at all. Glad I wasted my time on this!

    Reply
    • Joana says

      May 11, 2021 at 5:58 am

      5 stars
      Your failure not the recipe! Recipe is failure proof for those that can follow directions.

      Reply
  5. Megan says

    September 09, 2020 at 5:59 pm

    After reading all the bad reviews I had to reply. I have been making my own salsa for many years, but always a fresh salsa and having been searching for am authentic recipe like this one. I love the recipe, have been making it over and over and find it absolutely delicious. I never add much of the cooking liquid, I just save some and use it to thin as needed. I love the simplicity of this recipe and the depth of flavor is incredible, and it really does taste better and better as it sits. Everyone I’ve served it to has raved about it. I always uses the freshest, highest quality ingredients I can find, maybe that i enhances the flavor as well. I use organic Roma tomatoes.

    Reply
    • Deb says

      September 10, 2020 at 1:09 pm

      We also have made this salsa. It was great and everyone loved it.

      Reply
  6. Amy says

    September 10, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    Can I can this recipe???

    Reply
    • Omar says

      September 24, 2020 at 6:53 pm

      You can’t.

      Reply
      • Omar says

        September 24, 2020 at 6:59 pm

        It will be gone before you can (it)!

        Reply
  7. AL says

    September 28, 2020 at 3:34 pm

    1 star
    Absolute terrible recipe. Followed to a T and as everyone else has mentioned, ended up with what I can only imagine dish water tastes like after cleaning Michelada glasses.

    Look elsewhere (also suspect this recipe has no lime). Terrible this even comes up in the google search it’s so bad.

    Reply
  8. M&M says

    December 09, 2020 at 3:41 pm

    4 stars
    Some tweaks, more garlic (used 4 instead of 3), add limon, more cilantro (used half a cup instead of 1/3) a little more salt and some chicken consume (used about a teaspoon, a little trick I learned from my sister). Typically 2 cups of cooking liquid should be good but if you put too much it should cook off in the last step. 15-20 on the stove should be sufficient and dont let it burn! My guy has a very low spice tolerance so I used a half of a jalapeno. He likes salsa for the taste, not so much the spice. Ive always been intimidated at making salsa because it never came out right, but with the little tweaks i made, it was not too shabby.

    Reply
  9. Bob says

    May 20, 2021 at 10:30 pm

    It is a known fact that the seeds in chiles don’t contain capsacin so they do not add spice.

    Reply
  10. Amy N. says

    December 30, 2021 at 8:03 pm

    4 stars
    Delicious!
    Followed the recipe but cut it in half and added a few toasted Chile de Arbol. Will continue making this salsa regularly!

    Thank you!!

    Reply
  11. AC says

    May 29, 2022 at 8:57 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious! Can’t wait to make it again!
    However, how long is this good for in the fridge?

    Reply
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Hola, I am Douglas. Let me share my love of Mexican Cuisine with you that developed over 20+ years of living in Mexico.

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D. Cullen Profile Picture

Hola, I am Douglas. Let me share my love of Mexican Cuisine with you that developed over 20+ years of living in Mexico.

More about me →


Most Popular Recipes

  • Classic Salsa Verde
  • Restaurant Style Salsa
  • Traditional Sopa de Fideo
  • Red Pork Pozole
  • Chicken Tinga
  • Agua de Jamaica
  • Tres Leches Cake
  • Beet Salad with Feta Cheese and Citrus Balsamic Viniagrette
  • Red Enchilada Sauce
  • Mole Poblano

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