My Simple 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Salsa

After college, I became obsessed with Emerald Valley Kitchen hot salsa—sadly, it’s no longer being made. It was so much fresher tasting than the jarred, shelf-stable salsas I grew up eating that I’d down it by the tubful.

The only thing I didn’t like about it? The price tag. At around four dollars for a tub (this was back in the early 2010s), this salsa was out of my league. There began my journey to create my own “house” salsa recipe superior to, and far more affordable than, anything I could buy at the store.

After years of experimentation, it was my husband, not me, who cracked the code on a truly great homemade, restaurant-style salsa that plays nice with everything from egg tacos to bean tostadas. We always have a quart container of it in our fridge and our friends request that he make it for every backyard barbecue and potluck.

An Overlooked Ingredient

However, my husband and I are always looking to improve our recipes with low-effort upgrades. A few years ago, we went through a green mole phase, and one recipe called for both cilantro leaves and stems. When I chopped them up, I noticed that they weren’t tough and stringy at all. I started experimenting, adding them to other dishes like chile verde and pozole. They always added a bright cilantro flavor and a crunchy texture.

Then one day when I made my husband’s salsa recipe, instead of plucking the cilantro leaves from the stems, I chopped up the cilantro, stems and all. They added a deeper fresh cilantro flavor and a pleasant crunch that immediately improved the whole batch. I’ve been adding cilantro stems to salsa ever since, whether homemade or store-bought.

How To Add Cilantro Stems to Your Salsa

If you make your own salsa, this trick is super easy because you likely already have cilantro on hand, and adding the stems saves you the work of having to pick the leaves. Just grab a small handful of cilantro, trim any discolored stem ends, and chop the cilantro finely before stirring it into the salsa.

However, this upgrade is also perfect for store-bought salsas, most of which don’t contain anywhere near enough cilantro and can benefit from the boost of fresh herbs. Adding cilantro stems gives the salsa a more homemade flavor and appearance.

Now that I know how delicious cilantro stems are, I hardly ever throw them out. It makes my meals even tastier, and while it’s not much, being able to cut down on even a little food waste feels like a win.