Roasted Tomato Poblano Salsa

Sep 5, 2024 · by Valentina · 51 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links.

Roasted Tomato Poblano Salsa has a delicious fresh and smoky flavor. It's fantastic with chips, tacos, burritos, or to top meats, chicken and fish.

Rosted poblano tomato salsa in black bowl with green peppers behind it.

Many moons ago, my friends and I used to frequent a Santa Monica restaurant called Carlos & Pepe's.

The main reason we loved it was because of the incredibly delicious chips and salsa (I guess that's two reasons).

Their salsa recipe was fresh, spicy, smoky, slightly sweet, and a bit crunchy. The chips were light, warm, and perfectly salted.

I recreated the salsa and it's amazing! The key to this Poblano salsa is roasting most of the ingredients before you blend them together.

Jump to:

The Key Ingredients
How to Make it
Recipe Tips
Serving Suggestions
Other Uses for Roasted Tomato Poblano Salsa
More Recipes with Poblano Peppers
More Delicious Summer Salsa Recipes
Roasted Tomato Poblano Salsa Recipe

The Key Ingredients

Shiny dark green poblano peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, brown onion and garlic cloves on a bed of cilantro sprigs.

poblano chile peppers - Poblano chile peppers add a smoky, earthy and warm flavor to recipes -- especially when roasted. Their heat level varies, but they're typically mild to medium. Choose shiny dark green poblanos.
jalapeño chile peppers - Though jalapeño peppers are typically hotter than poblanos, their heat level can also vary. Look for firm, deeply colored shiny peppers.
tomatoes - Choose the best tomatoes you can find. Summer and early fall is when you likely find those that are sweetest. Use any variety you like.
onion - The onions are one of the the two ingredients that do not get roasted in the poblano salsa. They add the most delicious crunch! (Cilantro is the other.) Choose onions that are heavy for their size and without bruises.
fresh garlic - The garlic is roasted for this recipe, which takes out its sharpness and makes it subtly sweet.
fresh cilantro - Since it's a love it or hate it ingredient (I love it!), in this recipe you can replace it with lime zest -- use about a tablespoon. Or you can skip it all together. Choose bunches that are bright green and perky.
lime juice - Get the juiciest limes you can. They should be heavy for their size, on the soft side and ideally with smooth skin.

Pro tip: Always taste your chile peppers before using them so you know what their heat level is. It can vary from pepper to pepper, and you might want to make a measurement adjustment if they're especially hot, unless that's what you want.

How to Make it

- Remove the cores from the tomatoes and cut an “X” on the bottom (without going deep — just enough to slice the skin). Then cut them in half horizontally.

- Place the tomatoes flat side down on the baking sheet that’s thinly coated with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Add the garlic cloves to an empty space on the baking sheet.

- Roast in a 500°F oven until the garlic is golden and the tomatoes are sizzling with their skins beginning to pull away from the "X," about 10 minutes. Don't worry if the sheet pan is getting brown from the tomato juice, as this will later be incorporated into the salsa.

4 images in a grid of tomatoes, one with roots cut out, one with an X on the bottom of each tomato, one with tomato halves and raw garlic on a sheet pan and one with the tomatoes and garlic roasted.

- Once the tomatoes are cool enough to touch, you can use your hands or the dull side of a paring knife to remove the skin. It should come off quite easily.

Roasted tomato on a sheet pan with skin peeling off from cut lines on the bottom of the tomato.

Roasted tomato on a sheet pan with skin peeling off from root.

- As you do this, add the skins to a small strainer over a large mixing bowl. Finely chop the tomatoes and mince the garlic. Add both to the bowl. Use a metal spatula to scrape any brown bits of tomato, and any remaining olive oil and tomato juice from the baking sheet and add it to the bowl. (This is key for the smoky flavor!) Use the back of a spoon to press down on the tomato skins to get any excess juice into the bowl.

Do you have to peel the tomatoes? No, this really a matter of preference, though I think the overall texture is better without the skins. (If you choose not to, you don't have to cut the "X" before you roast them.)

- Cut all of the peppers in half vertically, remove the seeds and membranes, and place them round side up on a baking sheet. Place them directly under the broiler until the skin is fairly evenly charred and blistered.

Raw halved poblano peppers and jalapeno peppers on a sheet pan.

Charred halved poblano peppers and jalapeno peppers on a sheet pan.

- Let the peppers cool for a few minutes, and then use your hands or the dull side of a paring knife to remove the skin. Finely chop them and add them to the other ingredients.

roasted and peeled pbolano peppers with pile of skins next to them

- Add the onion, cilantro and lime juice to the bowl and mix everything together. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper. (How to Season To Taste.) Tip: If the tomatoes aren't especially sweet, add a pinch or two of sugar.

Ingredients for roasted tomato poblano salsa, chopped in a bowl with tomato peels above them in a strainer.

*Alternately, you can put all of the ingredients — both roasted and raw — in a food processor and blend to the desired consistency. (Onions should be roughly chopped first.)

Recipe Tips

Mild version. This is where it's important to have a tiny taste of the peppers before using them. As I mentioned, both the Poblanos and the Jalapeños can vary in heat from pepper to pepper. So if you want mild, be sure to use those that are more mild, and be sure to remove all of the seeds and the membranes, too.
Hotter version. If you want extra heat, leave some of the seeds in the peppers.
If your tomatoes are not as sweet as you'd like, add a pinch or two of sugar when you season the salsa.
While the recipe calls for specific measurements that work very well, when it comes to salsa, generally more or less of any of the ingredients is okay. Feel free to adjust it to suit your taste.
Don't worry if bits of the charred pepper skins get mixed into the salsa -- that only adds to the delicious smoky flavor.

Black bowl filled with poblano salsa with a chip sticking in the middle.

Serving Suggestions

Below are a few dishes that would be excellent to serve after, or along with the salsa.

Other Uses for Roasted Tomato Poblano Salsa

Beyond serving the salsa with warm salted tortilla chips (my favorite!), there is really no end to the possibilities. Below are handful of ideas.

Mix it into guacamole.
Spoon it on top of grilled chicken, fish or meat.
Drizzle it over grilled vegetables.
Mix it into salads as a dressing.
Add it to your tacos, burritos, tostadas and wraps.

However you serve this amazing, smoky and delicious salsa, I hope enjoy every last bite!

More Recipes with Poblano Peppers

Black bowl filled with poblano salsa with a chip held above it with salsa covering most of it.

More Delicious Summer Salsa Recipes

Enjoy!