Blender Salsa 6 Ways (and Beyond!)

Sweet, spicy or smoky, these salsas are fantastic as written. But you can also mix and match ingredients until you find a combo you love.

By: Food Network Kitchen

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Break Out the Blender

Salsas can be a tangy relish to serve with grilled chicken or fish, add a picante kick to braised or stewed dishes, or bring a herbaceous freshness to charred tortillas (or, of course, chips!). Start with a blender (and our easy, mix-and-match ingredient combos), and you can achieve silky-smooth or chunky salsas in a flash.

By Angela Carlos for Food Network Kitchen; photography by Karen Cohen

Cracking the Salsa Code

Salsas add balanced vibrancy to whatever they accompany — but "balanced" doesn't mean there's only one way to make them. Here are the five tastes that make up each of our blender salsas. Start with our recipes, but then have fun experimenting with different ingredient combos.

Main ingredient: tomatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, tomatillos, roasted red peppers, mango, bell pepper and corn

Heat: fresh jalapenos, charred jalapenos and poblano peppers

Herbs: cilantro (or parsley, if you prefer)

Onion-y Flavor: white onions, red onions, scallions and garlic

Tang: lime and salt

Corn Blender Salsa

Swap out the typical red-tomato base in this corn number. Although yellow tomatoes help provide a little bulk to this recipe, their mild acidity showcases the sweeter kernels of corn. This salsa is simply perfect for pouring over spice-rubbed flank steak.

Get the Recipe: Corn Blender Salsa

Fire-Roasted Tomato Blender Salsa

Believe it: Canned tomatoes are ideal for salsas no matter the season. The sugars in the tomatoes balance the sharper flavors of the raw red onion and garlic in this recipe. Plus, the fire-roasted flavor delivers a pleasant char (without an extra step).

Get the Recipe: Fire Roasted Tomato Blender Salsa

Mango Blender Salsa

This sweet-and-spicy salsa is filled with contrasting flavors and textures. Reserving some of the mango, bell pepper and scallion to stir in at the end is the key to a super-chunky blender salsa. Don’t worry about the perfect dice; your guests will be scooping up this dip too quickly to notice your knife skills.

Get the Recipe: Mango Blender Salsa

Blender Pico de Gallo

Pico de gallo is known for its fresh flavor. Fresh tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, onion and lime juice come together in one bright, balanced bite. Just pulse the blender to keep that chunkier texture, then scoop up the salsa with warm, salted tortilla chips.

Get the Recipe: Blender Pico de Gallo

Roasted Red Pepper Blender Salsa

This salsa is sweet, smoky and just a little bit spicy. Good thing it whips up in mere minutes; we're betting you'll have to frequently replenish your chips and salsa platter.

Get the Recipe: Roasted Pepper Blender Salsa