Celebrate Cinco de Mayo AND Taco Tuesday with this real, restaurant-style salsa, Packed with rich, roasted tomato flavor, it’s as close as your nearest sheet pan!
Guys – the stars have aligned in May 2020, and Cinco de Mayo is falling on Taco Tuesday!
Normally, this would call for a trip to your favorite Mexican restaurant where you can celebrate with all of your friends in style. But unfortunately, that’s probably not gonna happen this year. Because most of us are still in Covid Quarantine.
So instead, let’s head into the kitchen, whip up some Margaritas, and make some homemade, restaurant-style salsa to save the day. I’ll show you how.
For me, the thing that makes or breaks a Mexican restaurant is the salsa (and the margaritas of course). I can put up with a less than stellar dinner menu if the chips and salsa are amazing.
I love my salsa slightly warm, with lots of roasted tomato flavor, chunks of onion, just the right amount of hot and spicy, and a fair amount of cilantro.
I used to think that deliciousness was some kind of a secret recipe available only at good Mexican restaurants. Until one day when I was trying to figure out what to do with an abundance of tomatoes and I hit on this Mexican Restaurant Style Roasted Tomato Salsa.
Let me just say, this recipe is the best reason to plant lots of tomato plants this summer.
Roma tomatoes are my favorite for this recipe because they’re more meat and less water and seeds. Here’s how easy it is:
If this isn’t the most perfect sheet pan meal, I don’t know what is. Yes, I did say meal, because when you’re an empty nester, this can be dinner.
On a side note – One thing I do not love is cleaning a sheet pan. if that’s you too, it’s so worth it to invest in a Silpat silicone cooking/baking mat which just rinses clean in about half a second. Or – just keep several boxes of Reynolds precut parchment paper on hand. It’s a lifesaver!
Sheet Pan Restaurant-Style Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes (about 6) sliced in half
- 2 large jalapeños stems and seeds removed, and sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 medium sweet onion peeled, and sliced in quarters
- 4 medium garlic cloves unpeeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (packed), more or less to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Place the tomatoes, jalapeños, onion, and garlic in a mixing bowl. Pour the olive oil over and toss well to combine.
- Spread the vegetables onto a lined sheet pan, in a single layer. Roast the vegetables for 20-25 minutes, or until they start to blacken in spots. Turn them after about 15 minutes, so they cook evenly.
- When the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes.
- When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, remove the skins from the garlic, and place all of the vegetables into a blender or food processor, along with the salt, cumin, and lime juice.
- Pulse several times or blend/process to almost desired consistency. Add the cilantro, and pulse 3-4 more times to incorporate.
- Taste and adjust any seasonings. Serve warm with chips or vegetables.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you ever made your own salsa? Happy Taco Tuesday and Cinco de Mayo friends!
Eat well!
This is my favorite way to make salsa! Can’t wait for my garden tomatoes to ripen.
Me too! and I wish I could grow tomatoes – too hot and sunny in Scottsdale to grown anything except cactus and agave 🙁
I’m not an empty nester but still consider salsa a meal some nights! This is fantastic, I’ve never thought about making salsa on a sheet pan but now I must try it!
Ha! I agree – chips and salsa plus a Margarita is sometimes the perfect dinner 🙂 Thanks for visiting Brynn!