Homemade vs. Store-Bought: {Yummy} Salsa

In its previous life, this jar held jelly.  It has now been transformed to house an even better condiment:  salsa.  Please pardon the dishwasher-eaten picked-at label that won’t go away. 

This is not just any salsa – this is the best homemade salsa that one could ask for.

That’s saying a lot from a gal who grew up in Texas – where tex-mex restaurants either make or break their reputation based on their chips and salsa.  Where I grew up, there were tex-mex restaurants EV.RY.WHERE and I was able to spend nearly 20 years tasting the different varieties that these establishments had to offer:  warm, cold, spicy, mild, roasted, fresh, corn, black bean, mango… to say that I’ve tried a few different salsas is an understatement.

Consider me a salsa pro.

You can imagine the upset when we moved to California and realized that not only are Mexican restaurants sparse, but “chips and salsa” is considered a side dish that you ask for (and pay for) when you place your order.  It’s not brought out automatically with tall glasses of ice water.

WHAT?!

Oh no.  That wasn’t going to work.  We practically drank salsa with tortilla chips.  It had its own food group in our house.  We needed a better solution, pronto!

We tried nearly every brand of store-bought and settled on one that was “decent” in our opinion.   When a good friend passed on her homemade recipe, we tried it with nothing to lose and everything to gain.  And gain we did!  It was one of the best salsas we’d ever had!

And I’m a salsa pro, remember?

We’ve made our own salsa ever since and we’re not looking back.  Not only are the ingredients easy to find (I only have to go as far as our pantry!), but you can tailor the heat and spices to your liking.

Without further ado, I present to you, “Jay’s Salsa.”  Many, many, MANY thank to Lindsay for passing on this delicious recipe!

Jay’s Salsa

(2) 14.5oz cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 fist full cilantro
2-4 whole pickled jalapenos w/seeds (canned)
1/2 medium white onion
1/2 lime, squeezed for juice (or 2 tsp lime juice)
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Put all ingredients in a blender (with a lid) and press go!  That’s it!

For comparison purposes, let’s use Pace Picante Sauce.  It’s available nationwide and seems to be preferred over most other brands.

Price:  This recipe costs roughly $2.50 and makes approximately 40oz of salsa (less if you use ingredients from your garden).  According to Amazon, the price of a 38oz jar of Pace Picante is $9.53!  Wowzers!

Taste:  Homemade, hands down.  It tastes cleaner, fresher and more pure by a long shot.

Satisfaction:  Homemade.  This can be whipped up in just a few minutes and that alone makes it so much more enjoyable than store-bought.  We also don’t feel bad if we finish off a batch in a few days given it’s significantly less expensive and so easy to make!

The Winner:  Homemade!