Instant Pot Salsa

salsa roja in a bowl surrounded by chips

4.67 from 124 votes

Instant Pot Salsa is a cooked restaurant-style salsa roja that's healthy, delicious, and easy. Salsa roja made at home beats the jarred salsa any day! An easy salsa recipe for parties, appetizers, or to use in other recipes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Resting Time2

Total Time2 30

Course: Appetizer, Sauce

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: instant pot, party recipes, pressure cooker salsa, salsa, salsa roja

Servings:

Calories: 28kcal

Author: Kristina Tipps

Equipment

pressure cooker
potato masher
immersion blender optional

Ingredients

7 cups tomatoes about 10 large tomatoes
¼ - ½ cup jalapenos or chilis fresh or jarred
1 large sweet onion chopped
2 bell peppers diced
4 garlic cloves minced
4 green onions diced
2 tsp salt
⅓ cup lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup cilantro torn

Instructions

Set the Instant Pot to saute mode on normal/high and the timer for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and jalapeños to the heated inner pot and cook, stirring frequently. When the 3 minutes is up, press down on the tomatoes with a masher to break them down slightly. Scrape the bottom of the inner pot with a wooden spoon to ensure nothing is stuck to the bottom.
Add onion, bell peppers, garlic and green onions. Close the lid and seal. Set to pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
Let pressure naturally release for 5 minutes, then quickly release the remaining pressure. Open the lid and stir, further crushing the tomatoes with a masher.
Stir in the lime juice, lemon juice, salt, and cilantro. Blend the salsa to the texture that you'd like using an immersion blender or potato masher. For a smoother texture, run the salsa through a food processor or blender. Taste and add more salt, lime juice or cilantro as desired.
Transfer the salsa to covered jars or bowls and chill for at least 2 hours until ready to serve.

Notes

This recipe yields about 5 cups of salsa. Calories and nutritional values are approximate and are based on a serving size of ¼ cup of salsa, not including chips or other dipping ingredients.

This salsa tastes best when chilled for a few hours before serving. It can also be frozen or canned for later use.

Do I Need To Add Water To The Pot? No, do not add water to the pressure cooker. The tomatoes will release a good amount of water while they are sauteing and this is enough liquid for the pot to come to pressure as it should.

What If My Salsa Is Too Watery? If your salsa seems too watery, let it sit overnight in the fridge. It should thicken slightly. If it's still too thin for your liking, use a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to drain a little liquid.

Nutrition