Fire Roasted Salsa (Salsa Tatemada)

This smoky Fire Roasted Salsa, or Mexican Salsa Tatemada, is a fiesta of flavours. Made with fire roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro, fresh lime juice, and your choice of peppers, it’s the perfect combination of tangy sweet, smoke, and salt. Adjust the spice level of this roasted salsa recipe by adding mild bell peppers, medium jalapeños, or hot habaneros and beyond.

A little bit of char on roasted vegetables is one of the best ways to impart a sweet and smoky flavor to any dish. This flavourful Roasted Tomato Sauce is a great way to use up a bountiful tomato harvest while these Oven Roasted Cabbage Wedges made me love cabbage again.

Fire Roasted Salsa

As far as salsas go, this one is pure fire. Literally. On our first trip to Mexico we stayed in a small boutique casa. When we got there, the friendly owners welcomed us with some tasty bocadillos. I watched very carefully so that I could recreate the recipes here at home and share them with you.

First they roasted veggies on the grill then made them into salsa in a large molacajete right on the table in front of us. Then they made guacamole while the picanha steak sizzled on the barbecue.

I haven’t forgotten the vibrant flavour of the salsa tatemada, or the kindness of our hosts. We were so tired and hungry that we ate our snacks and went straight to bed without any tequila. Kidding!

I know that you will love the simplicity and authenticity of this roasted salsa. It is tasty enough to make a great snack with tortilla chips but even better on tacos and grilled meats (like picanha). I highly recommend making it in large batches to share with family and friends.

Ingredients in Fire Roasted Salsa

For this salsa recipe, you will need a few basic ingredients, a grill (or oven), and either a blender, a food processor, or a large molcajete with a tejolote (mortar and pestle).

• Tomatoes
• Red Bell Pepper
• Jalapeños
• Yellow Onion
• Lime
• Cilantro
• Salt

For best results use garden fresh tomatoes. You can swap out large tomatoes for roughly the same weight of any tomato you have- Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, etc. If you must use canned tomatoes, use fire roasted canned tomatoes.

For a spicier salsa, free to use other peppers in place of the jalapeños, but keep the red bell pepper as it provides a touch of sweetness to the salsa. There is no need to pick the cilantro leaves off the stems, simply twist the leafy bits off of the main stalks before adding to the blender.

You can use a red onion instead of a yellow onion or use both for a more onion-forward salsa. You’ll notice there is no garlic in this recipe. Feel free to add roasted garlic cloves to the blender if you like garlic in your tomato salsa.

Taste and season with salt and add fresh lime juice for extra acidity.

How to Make Fire Roasted Salsa

Start by preheating the grill to 350 F and washing the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and jalapeños. Next, peel and slice the onions into thick slices. Once the grill is nice and hot, place whole tomatoes, whole bell pepper, whole jalapeños, and thick slices of onion directly on the grill grates. If you would like to coat them in olive oil first you can but it isn’t necessary.

Close the lid and grill vegetables for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, flip the veggies over and grill for an additional 10 minutes. As they become nicely charred and softened, remove them from the grill or grill for an additional 5 more minutes. The more char, the more flavourful the salsa!

Alternatively, place the vegetables on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and roast them at 450 F on the highest rack position for 15 minutes, or until they are charred.

Remove the veggies to a large cutting board and let them cool for 10 minutes. Cut the peppers open and remove the seeds. Keep some of the jalapeño seeds to add some spice, if needed. Core the tomatoes.

Place all the grilled veggies in a blender, reserving 2 tomatoes to the side. Squeeze the lime juice over top and season with salt. Pulse until the salsa is mostly smooth. Add the remaining tomatoes and cilantro then pulse a few times until it reaches your desired texture. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Place salsa in an airtight container and refrigerate until cold. Enjoy with your favourite tortilla chips, grilled chicken, or as a topping for tacos. 

How to Adjust the Spice Level

There are two ways to adjust the spice level in this fire roasted salsa. One is by controlling the amount of jalapeño seeds added. For medium spicy salsa, keep all of the jalapeño seeds. For a mild salsa, keep only the seeds of one jalapeño and for a very mild salsa don’t add any seeds at all.

The second method is by increasing or decreasing the amount and variety of peppers in the salsa. To increase the spice level, grill 3 jalapeños instead of 2 or use a spicier chile pepper such as serrano or habanero peppers. For a extremely mild salsa version, only add roasted red bell peppers.

Leftovers and Storage

Refrigerate any leftover Fire Roasted Salsa in an airtight container for 5 -7 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen salsa in the fridge overnight. Note that the peppers will become milder in flavour.

If you want to make a larger batch it is very easy to double or triple this salsa recipe. You can either portion and freeze it or make it shelf stable using the water bath canning method outlined here.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill, the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

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