Italian Salsa (only 5 Ingredients)

By Becky Hardin

Updated Jul 24, 2025

This EASY Italian Salsa has only has 5 ingredients! Love these flavors as a dip or bruschetta topper. Simple to throw together and gone in minutes! Favorite easy salsa recipe! - 3

This Italian Salsa comes together in no time, using only 5 ingredients! Made from scratch in a few minutes, you’ll love the flavors in this easy salsa recipe. Perfect as a dip or bruschetta topper.

Italian salsa with tortilla chips on white plate. - 4

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Easy Italian Salsa Recipe

This Italian Salsa recipe came to me by accident one day. While trying to make a simple salsa, I discovered I didn’t have any cilantro or lime juice, two much-needed ingredients for fresh salsa . So, I substituted balsamic vinegar for the lime juice and basil and garlic for the cilantro. The result? A fresh, healthy tomato dip that is so delicious, I’ve been making it ever since!

Call it salsa, call it bruschetta—whatever the name, this chunky, vibrant dip is perfect for chips, pita bread, crackers, you name it! This Italian salsa begins and ends with fresh, juicy tomatoes. I love making this salsa with tomatoes out of the garden, but you can find delicious options at the grocery store too. It’s a good excuse to scope out farmers markets in your area!

This salsa is so wonderfully fresh, and the balsamic vinegar gives it an amazing sweet and tangy flavor. It’s a must-make for this tomato season!

Tips for Beginners

You can make this salsa with any tomatoes. I like to use Roma as they are nice and firm, and have fewer seeds, but you could use cherry tomatoes for a sweeter salsa. Just make sure whichever tomatoes you use are ripe.
Chop the tomatoes as finely as possible to ensure the balsamic and olive oil mix together with them fully. If making a bruschetta topping, you can make the tomatoes slightly larger.
If your tomatoes have a lot of seeds, you can remove them so that it’s not too watery.
If your tomatoes aren’t very sweet, try mixing in a teaspoon of sugar.

Ingredients1x2x3x

▢ 4 cups finely chopped tomatoes
▢ 1 cup fresh basil leaves minced
▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
▢ 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
▢ 1 tbsp garlic powder
▢ salt and pepper to taste
▢ tortilla chips or pita chips

Instructions

Combine all ingredients (except for the chips) in a bowl and stir to combine. 4 cups finely chopped tomatoes, 1 cup fresh basil leaves, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp garlic powder, salt and pepper
Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips. Enjoy! tortilla chips or pita chips

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

How to Make Italian Salsa Step by Step

Combine salsa ingredients: Combine 4 cups finely chopped tomatoes, 1 cup fresh basil leaves, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp garlic powder and salt and pepper.

Close up of Italian salsa in a white bowl. - 5

Serve: Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips. Enjoy!

How to Store

This is a great make-ahead dish and will keep well covered in the fridge for a couple of days once made. Depending on how watery your tomatoes are, some juice may pool in the bottom of the bowl when it sits, but you can easily drain this away to serve. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. I do not recommend freezing.

Italian salsa in white bowl with striped towel in background. - 6

Serving Suggestions

This Italian salsa is perfect for dipping and topping! It’s great served with some tortilla chips or loaded onto garlic bread . You can also serve it next to a batch of breadsticks .

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Italian Salsa (Only 5 Ingredients)

Ingredients

4 cups finely chopped tomatoes
1 cup fresh basil leaves minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
tortilla chips or pita chips

Instructions

Combine all ingredients (except for the chips) in a bowl and stir to combine. 4 cups finely chopped tomatoes, 1 cup fresh basil leaves, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp garlic powder, salt and pepper
Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips. Enjoy! tortilla chips or pita chips

Nutrition

By Becky Hardin

Published Jul 12, 2017

This Essential Grocery List is an absolute life saver for my family on the busy weeks. When I started this journey to learn how to cook, I quickly realized that the first step in cooking is having staple ingredients on hand. I want to avoid having to run out to the grocery store every single time I prepare a new recipe. Having a well-stocked pantry has made my life in the kitchen so much simpler, because when it’s time to cook, I have what I need.

Essential Grocery List

It’s so helpful to have a basic grocery list to help me remember which foods to buy at the store. This food shopping list is my go-to!

It’s better to stock up on things like grains, seasonings and spices, baking essentials, oils, condiments, canned and frozen foods, etc. so I can just grab them when I need them. These things have a long shelf life , so I keep them in my kitchen for convenience.

However, I do have to go to the supermarket sometimes, and there’s a way to make that trip easy and hassle-free: I keep a grocery list! If I go in blindly, I’ll leave with things I don’t need, and nothing that actually helps me prepare a good meal.

In the list below, I’ve compiled everything I always have on my stock-up grocery list.

I’ve got you covered! I created an easy grocery list filled with all of the essentials. Plus there’s a free printable version that you can take with you to the grocery store. It has everything you need to stock your pantry, your freezer, and your refrigerator.

Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List

What to Buy at the Grocery Store

This is the perfect grocery list filled with all the basics and essentials. It should help get you going if you’re new to cooking, or if you’re just left staring helplessly at an empty pantry and don’t know how to fill it.

When I first started cooking, things could seem overwhelming. I quickly realized that they more prepared I could be, the more confident I felt. If you already have the basics in your kitchen, then you can shop stress-free.

So print out our easy grocery list, stock up your pantry and fridge, and you’ll be cooking in no time!