The best tomatoes for salsa include a wide range of tomato varieties. Don't limit yourself to just one kind of tomato for your salsa!
Often, fresh chopped tomato salsas like pico-de-gallo are made with firm, fleshy tomatoes such as San Marzanos or Roma Tomatoes. However, this is because those are the types that you can find in the stores.
But that doesn't mean they are the only (or best) tomatoes for salsa! Good heirloom tomatoes are not often available at the grocery store. But you can make pico-de-gallo and salsa out of any variety of tomato! Each tomato variety will lend it's own flavors and textures to the salsa. Some tomatoes are more watery than others, so if a thicker salsa is desired, you can also drain off the excess juices if desired (save and use the juices for something else like soup or to add to salad dressing, for example).
Discover our favorite salsa recipes »
How to make salsa with fresh tomatoes
Fresh tomatoes make great salsa! Is there a best type of tomato for pico-de-gallo? Nope, this pico-de-gallo recipe, above, was made with a colorful mix of orange Chef's Choice tomatoes, Jet Star tomatoes, Black Prince Tomatoes, and some cherry tomatoes. You can mix several types of tomato that you have on hand – don't limit your salsa to just one type of tomato!
When making blended salsas, any tomato will do. You can also roast tomatoes to give them more flavor while condensing and thickening them. If tomatoes are very juicy, you can drain off some of the liquid to make a thicker salsa.
Save the watery tomato liquid to add to soups or other dishes, it's tasty!
Looking for a Cherokee Purple Tomato Recipe?
Make salsa!
Many people will peel their tomatoes for salsa, especially when canning/processing, but it's not absolutely necessary. To save time in harvest season, we like to make canned salsa with a mix of our end-of-the-season tomatoes in this No-Peel Salsa recipe. That's right, you can put an assortment of heirloom tomatoes, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, you name it to create a big batch that is worth canning into jars for preserving and storing for winter use.
Check out all of our easy-to-grow tomato seeds and choose several varieties to grow and make into salsa!
Our Salsa Garden Seeds four-pack is perfect for a starter garden, then you can add in a few other tomatoes and hot peppers for variety!
A salsa garden is a must for any chilehead or salsa lover. But don't just stop at San Marzanos or jalapenos, grow different varieties of hot pepper seeds and tomato seeds so that you can make a wide range of delicious salsas or hot sauces from your garden!
The purple jalapeno, shown above, makes for some delicious salsa!
