Tomato and Chilli Salsa (Family Recipe, Taqueria Style)
Last updated on October 13th, 2026
This tomato and chilli salsa is one of the three salsas I ate daily when I lived in Mexico. It was taught to me by my friend Lordis and has been passed down through her family. It looks like a simple Mexican tomato salsa, but a few small tricks make it taste far deeper: charred tomatoes, golden garlic and dried chillies stirred in off the heat.
The result is a classic taqueria-style homemade salsa, loose but with real body from the tomatoes. The full recipe card is below, and here is what makes it work.
Why You’ll Love This Tomato and Chilli Salsa
- Charring the tomatoes in a dry pan gives the salsa a deep flavour.
- Small, sweet tomatoes are what set this salsa apart.
- It is made in one pan and one blending container, with fantastic heat from the dried chillies.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The full list with quantities is in the recipe card. These are the three ingredients worth a note.
Tomatoes. Use small, sweet tomatoes. Cherry, baby plum or grape all work, and the sweetness is what sets this salsa apart.
Dried chillies. I use dried chile de arbol, which grow in Mexico, but there are plenty of dried chillies out there. If you cannot get these, use what is available to you.
Chicken stock powder. This is a bit of a secret ingredient. It is hard to find in the UK, where stock mostly comes as cubes, so I chop a quarter of a stock cube into a powder with my knife.
How to Make Tomato and Chilli Salsa
Every step is in the recipe card. These are the five that decide how it turns out.
Char the tomatoes in a dry pan
Put a dry frying pan on a medium heat with no oil, add around 30 tomatoes and shake the pan every 30 seconds or so. The aim is to char the skins in places, which gives the salsa its deep flavour. You are ready to move on when one or two tomatoes begin to burst.
Fry the garlic in a little oil
Push the tomatoes to one side, turn the heat down to low and add about a teaspoon of oil. Fry two small peeled garlic cloves, turning them every 30 seconds or so, until the outsides are golden. This takes no more than 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the dried chillies off the heat
Mix the garlic and tomatoes together, turn the heat off completely, then add 10 dried chillies and stir them around for about 30 seconds. The residual heat of the pan gently brings out their flavour without any risk of burning them, because dried chillies burn very easily.
Deglaze the pan
Tip everything into a high-sided container, then pour 25ml of water into the pan and scrape the base with a wooden spoon. That lifts the stuck-on flavour, known as fond, into the salsa, and it saves you some washing up too.
Blend it loose, then taste
Add a quarter teaspoon of chicken stock powder and a small pinch of salt. Blend with a stick blender on a medium speed, and not for too long. You want a loose consistency that still has some body from the tomatoes. Then taste, because it will probably need a little more salt.
What to Serve With This Salsa
This is the sort of salsa that will be on your table when you go for some really good tacos. For something creamy alongside it, try my easy guacamole recipe. For a hotter salsa, there is my spicy peanut salsa, and for a fresher, creamier one, my avocado salsa.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tomato and chilli salsa spicy?
Yes, this one has fantastic heat from the dried chillies. It is not the hottest salsa in my video though: the peanut salsa uses around four or five times as many chillies. The heat depends on the dried chillies you use, so use whichever you can get.
Can I make chilli salsa with fresh tomatoes?
Yes. This salsa is made entirely from fresh tomatoes, but they need to be small, sweet ones, charred whole in a dry pan rather than chopped raw. Cherry, baby plum and grape tomatoes all work, and the charring is what gives the salsa its deep flavour.
Tomato and Chilli Salsa (Family Recipe, Taqueria Style)
Equipment
- Stick blender
- High-sided container
- Frying pan
- Wooden / Stirring spoon
- Chef’s knife
- Chopping board
- Measuring jug
Ingredients
- 30 cherry tomatoes or baby plum or grape tomatoes
- 2 small garlic cloves peeled
- 10 dried chile de arbol or other dried chillies
- 1/4 teaspoon chicken stock powder or 1/4 of a stock cube, chopped to a powder
- 25 ml water roughly
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat your pan
Place a dry frying pan (no oil) on medium heat. - Add the tomatoes
Add around 30 small, sweet tomatoes (cherry, baby plum, or grape).
Let them cook dry: you want the skins to blister and char slightly. - Char the tomatoes
Shake the pan every 30 seconds.
Keep going until 1 or 2 tomatoes begin to burst. - Add oil and garlic
Push the tomatoes to one side.
Turn the heat to low, and add 1 tsp of oil to the empty space.
Drop in 2 peeled garlic cloves. - Gently fry the garlic
Cook the garlic in the oil, turning every 30 seconds, until golden on the outside (no more than 2 to 3 minutes). - Mix everything in the pan
Stir the garlic and tomatoes together.
Turn off the heat completely. - Add dried chiles
Add 10 dried chiles to the pan.
Mix them around in the residual heat to gently release their flavour (about 30 seconds).
Note: don’t turn the heat back on. Dried chiles burn easily. - Transfer to blending container
Scoop everything from the pan into a high-sided blending container. - Deglaze the pan
Pour 25ml of water into the hot pan.
Use a wooden spoon to scrape and lift the browned bits from the bottom.
Add this water to your blending container. - Season
Add ¼ tsp chicken stock powder (or a quarter of a stock cube, finely chopped) and a small pinch of salt. - Blend and taste
Use a stick blender on medium speed to blend the salsa.
Pulse gently and don’t over-blend. You want a loose consistency with some body left from the tomatoes.
Taste and add a little more salt if needed.
Video
Nutrition
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