Roasted Habanero Tomato Salsa

Pop open the iced cerveza and rip open the bag of chips. You’ll be double dipping into smoky, spicy, fruity, and bright Roasted Habanero Tomato Salsa. Combining beautiful fresh produce with an easy process, you won’t be reaching for the jar anytime soon.

It’s not a fiesta until the bowl of dip comes out. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Ultimate French Onion Dip, Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salsa, or this fire roasted tomato salsa, it’s officially a party when you’re diving in with a chip. Combining a few fresh ingredients with pantry staples like cumin, those grilled salsa recipe is equally as easy to make as it is delicious.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Accessible Ingredients – You can easily find the produce for this roasted habanero salsa year round. The tomato of choice for this salsa is the Roma which is readily available. Not only is it easy to find but also delivers the best texture and holds up well to grilling.
• Easy Process – This salsa comes together quickly and is perfect for any level of griller. You’re just quickly charring the vegetables and then chopping them in the food processor or blender.
• Make Ahead – Make this on the weekend and enjoy it all week long. This actually gets better as it refrigerates.
• Versatility – You can make this salsa on a gas grill or charcoal grill. No grill? No problem you can also char your vegetables under the broiler.
• Balance of Flavors – This spicy salsa does have a lingering kick at the end, but it’s not excessively hot. It’s a salsa you can enjoy snacking on without breaking a sweat. You can also control how spicy you make it by adding only one pepper and also removing the seeds. Earthy poblanos add additional chile flavor while a little drizzle of honey brings out the fruitiness of the habanero.

How to Make Roasted Habanero Tomato Salsa

Fire up your grill and get the Modelo super cold. This salsa is perfect for dipping, topping, and smothering. If you’ve never made salsa before this is a great starter recipe and if you’re looking for a new recipe to spice up your lineup, this is it.

• Prep your veggies. Half your tomatoes, limes, and jalapeno. Cut the onion in half making sure to leave the root end attached. This will make it easy to flip while grilling. Don’t worry about halving your poblano or habanero. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on them.

• Fire it up! Prepare your grill for direct grilling. If you’re using a gas grill you want it at around 450-500 degrees. Make sure your grates are clean and if necessary oil your grates.
• Char your vegetables. Place the vegetables over direct heat. Rotate them often, allowing all sides to char. The habanero and limes will cook faster while the onions and poblano will take a little more time. Remove them from the grill as they char. You’re only looking for color and to slightly soften them, not cook them all the way though.

• Let them cool. Place the poblano in a plastic bag and allow it to steam. Let the rest of the vegetables cool enough to handle.

• Pulse your aromatics. Roughly chop your onion, removing the root end. Peel and deseed your poblano and roughly chop it. Roughly chop the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, and habanero. Add them all to a food processor and pulse until they are evenly chopped.

• Add the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, lime juice, salt, cumin, and honey and pulse until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

• Let chill. You can totally eat this salsa warm or at room temperature, but if you have the time, allow it to refrigerate.
• Taste and season. Taste your salsa. You may need to add a little additional salt or squeeze more of lime juice.

How to Store Roasted Habanero Tomato Salsa

Once you realize how easy it is to make homemade salsa, you will skip buying the jarred stuff. Not only can you enjoy this salsa throughout the week, but you can also freeze it. This is a great way to use up produce that might be turning too ripe.

• Refrigerate – Transfer your salsa to an airtight container and keep it refrigerated. It will last for up to five days.
• Freeze – Transfer the fire roasted habanero salsa to either freezer safe bags or containers, making sure to let the air out. The salsa will last for up to three months in the freezer. When ready to use allow it to defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

Tips From the Beach

• Texture is everything! Many roasted tomato salsa recipes call for you to add all of the ingredients to the food processor or blender at the same time. This can give you a watery and thin texture. Pulse all of the aromatics first, and then add your tomatoes. This allows you to create a chunky or smooth salsa depending on what you like.
• Heat control. Start with one habanero if you’re making a salsa you want to easily snack on and add two if you are going for a serious kick. You can also remove the seeds from the habanero to mellow this out even more.
• Let chill and then taste. Fresh tomatoes have a way of really sucking up salt. Once your salsa has chilled in the refrigerator, give it a taste. You may need to add a pinch more salt or a squeeze more of lime.
• Color it up. Because of all of the glorious charred bits and pieces in this salsa, it’s not a traditionally red salsa like you may be used to. To give your salsa more color add 2-3 good quality canned tomatoes like San Marzano to your mixture.
• Make it vegan. Skip the honey and add a little drizzle of agave. That whisper of sweet brings out the fruitiness of the habanero.
• There’s flavor in the char. The skin of the poblano can get tough so go ahead and remove that, but don’t remove too much of the skin from the tomatoes. Don’t worry, it will get chopped in the food processor.
• Use this salsa to make creamy black bean dip! A couple cans of black beans, this homemade grilled salsa, and ten minutes and you are on your way to making chips’ best friend!

Looking for more ways to use the mighty habanero? Check out Grilled Shrimp and Sausage Skewers and Halibut Ceviche! And for a true fiesta serve this with Michelada Buffalo Wings. It also makes a great topping for Surf and Turf Tacos, Chipotle Grilled Fish Tacos, and Chili Lime Fish Tacos.

Roasted Habanero Tomato Salsa

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Pop open the iced cerveza and rip open the bag of chips. You’ll be double dipping into smoky, spicy, fruity, and bright Roasted Habanero Tomato Salsa.

• Author: Nicole Stover
• Prep Time: 10
• Chilling Time: 60
• Cook Time: 8
• Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
• Yield: 2 cups 1x
• Category: Side Dish
• Method: grilling
• Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 pounds Roma tomatoes, halved, about 8-9
• 1 large sweet onion, halved, leave root attached
• 1 jalapeno, halved
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1–2 habanero peppers, remove seeds for less heat if desired
• 1–2 limes, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon honey or agave

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Instructions

1. Prepare your grill for direct grilling. If using a gas grill heat to about 500 degrees.
2. Lightly sprinkle kosher salt over your tomatoes.
3. Place the tomatoes, poblano, onion, limes, jalapeno, and habanero over direct heat.
4. Allow the first side to char for 2-3 minutes. The limes and habanero will char quickly.
5. Flip and allow the other sides to char, rotating as needed.
6. Remove the vegetables as they char on all sides. You are just looking to blister the skins and slightly soften them, not cook them all the way through. 
7. Transfer the poblano to a plastic bag and allow it to steam.
8. Let all of the vegetables cool enough to handle.
9. Roughly chop the tomatoes, jalapeno, and habanero.
10. Peel the poblano and remove the seeds. Roughly chop.
11. Cut off the root end of the onion and roughly chop.
12. Add the onion, jalapeno, cilantro, habanero, garlic, and poblano to a food processor or blender and pulse until chopped.
13. Add the tomatoes, cumin, salt, honey, and a tablespoon of lime juice and pulse until desired consistency.
14. Transfer the salsa to a serving bowl and allow to refrigerate for at least an hour.
15. Taste and adjust for salt and lime juice.

Notes

• You can also char the vegetables under the broiler.
• For a salsa that is more red, add 2-3 high quality canned tomatoes.
• This will last in the refrigerator for up to five days and in the freezer for 3 months.
• Start with one habanero and then add an additional one if you crave more heat.