Artificial Food Coloring Free Smoky BBQ Salsa
Store-bought salsas and BBQ sauces are notorious for sneaking in artificial dyes — that suspicious red hue in a jarred salsa isn't always just tomatoes. This recipe skips all of that entirely, building its deep, smoky color the old-fashioned way: by charring real roma tomatoes, red bell peppers, and jalapeño directly in a screaming-hot cast iron pan until the skins blister and blacken. The result is a rich, complex salsa with layers of heat, sweetness, and smoke that no bottle of dye could ever fake. Smoked paprika, chipotle powder, and cumin pile on the depth, while a splash of maple syrup and apple cider vinegar keep everything balanced and bright. Cooking the spices briefly with softened scallion greens before adding the vegetables is a small step that makes a big difference — it blooms the aromatics and ties the whole thing together. Serve it warm straight from the skillet, let it cool to room temperature, or chill it for later — it's genuinely great every way. Whether you're spooning it over grilled proteins, scooping it with chips, or stirring it into a grain bowl, this is the kind of from-scratch condiment that makes you wonder why you ever reached for a jar.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 4 medium roma tomatoes, halved
- 2 medium red bell peppers, halved and seeded
- 1 jalapeño, halved and seeded
- 2 tbsp garlic-infused oil, divided
- 4 scallions, green tops only, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp chipotle powder
- ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Heat a large skillet or cast iron pan over high heat until very hot, about 2 minutes. Brush the cut sides of the tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapeño with 1 tablespoon of the garlic-infused oil.
- 2
Place the tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapeño cut-side down in the dry hot pan. Cook undisturbed for 4–5 minutes, until the cut surfaces are deeply charred and the skins begin to blister and loosen. Flip and cook for 2 minutes more, until the skins are softened and the vegetables are tender throughout.
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