Try this delicious homemade salsa with garden fresh tomatoes and you will be eating it by the spoonful! It’s like eating the best flavors of summer all at once.

Homemade garden fresh salsa with tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime and salt on a corn chip.

This is the perfect side to serve with many different summer meals, from fish to burgers. It is also a perfect side to bring to a BBQ or picnic with some of your favorite chips.

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Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes

Summer is coming to a close but let me tell you, the tomato plants are still giving many delicious juicy tomatoes.

To let you in on a little secret, I’ve never been a plain tomato lover. As a kid, I really didn’t like them. As I got older they didn’t turn me off quite as much, but I’d still rather not have them on my plate.

Ingredients for homemade salsa with tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime, and salt laying on a large wood cutting board.

However, when I started making homemade salsa several years ago, my love for tomatoes started growing. It is by far my favorite way to eat garden fresh tomatoes right now! I usually make a large bowl and snack on it throughout the day.

I’ve experimented with several different ways to make this salsa and they are all good, but this recipe is currently my go to and favorite.

Fresh salsa on a spoon held above a large bowl full of homemade salsa.

Salsa isn’t just for taco night

I usually make this salsa recipe without jalapeño peppers. Not that I don’t love a good spicy salsa but I’ve found I appreciate the wonderful flavor of this recipe without the spicy hotness competing with the other delicious flavors.

Homemade fresh salsa in a large clear pyrex bowl next to a cream bowl filled with corn chips.

This makes it almost more like a tomato salad rather than a salsa.

Because it isn’t spicy, I’ve found myself serving it as a side with salmon or cod. I’ve brought it to BBQ picnics to be served with burgers and hotdogs. We’ve also enjoyed it with a cheese and cream based pasta dish and as a topper to salads.

Seasonal Eating from the garden or farmer’s market

A large harvest basket with fresh vegetable and flowers from the garden.

One of my favorite things about having a garden is harvesting, preparing and eating all within less than an hour. Food can’t get any fresher than that! And of course the taste is beyond amazing.

Enjoying local seasonal produce is very much possible without having a large garden or a garden at all. And while I always advocate that everyone can benefit from a garden no matter how small, the second best thing to having your own garden is shopping at a local farmer’s market.

Buying straight from the farmers will not only reward you with the freshest of produce and seasonal flavors, it also benefits the farmer far more than shopping at any grocery store ever would.

A large bowl of salsa and chips on a reclaimed wood farm table.

These farmers wake early in the morning, sweat in the heat of summer and weed constantly in order to grow beautiful fresh fruits and veggies for their customers. Having a face behind those who are working so hard to produce our food is such a privilege.

By shopping the freshest produce, you also might find yourself enjoying fruits and vegetables that you never thought you would. Eating local and fresh really does affect the flavor.

Tools Needed for Homemade Salsa with Fresh Tomatoes

Cutting board
Sharp knife – serrated knives work well to cut tomatoes
Large bowl

Optional, but nice to have:

Citrus press or citrus juicer
Garlic press

A bowl with diced tomatoes, peppers and onions sitting on a wood cutting board with cilantro, lime and garlic.

Recipe for Homemade Salsa with Fresh Tomatoes

Ingredients

Freshly harvest summer vegetables sitting on a large wood cutting board ready to be made into salsa.

The amounts in this recipe are really flexible so I usually don’t measure other than the salt, although even that is a bit flexible depending on how much you prefer.

3 cups diced fresh tomatoes (I love to use a variety of tomatoes, from cherries to beefsteaks)
1 cup diced green peppers
1 medium onion diced (1 cup)
2-4 chopped garlic cloves (I always use a garlic press to “chop” my garlic)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley or basil
the juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon salt

Optional for a tradition spicy salsa: 1 jalapeño pepper finely chopped (using the seeds make it spicier)

Instructions

A small bowl of corn chips sitting on a farm table with a woman in a white and black polka dot apron stirring a bowl of fresh homemade salsa in the background.

Dice tomatoes, peppers, onion. Finely chopped garlic and cilantro or parsley or basil and put in a large bowl.

Squeeze the juice of 1 lime into the bowl and add 1 teaspoon of salt.

Optional: Add a finely chopped jalapeño pepper if you want at spicy salsa. The seeds add extra hotness so leave out if you want a more mild salsa.

Stir to combine.

Serve with chips, on tacos or eat by the spoonful!

Store leftovers in fridge for 3 days.

Other Healthy Recipes you might enjoy

Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Easy Frittata Recipe with Turkey Sausage & Spinach

Prize Winning Meatloaf Recipe

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