The Store-Bought Brand Salsa Professional Chefs Gravitate Toward

A freshly made salsa, with its mix of tomatoes, chiles, onions, garlic, and cilantro, is delicious. But this tasty creation involves a fair amount of prep work and sometimes you're looking for a fast way to get your salsa fix. That's where store-bought, something even professional chefs have been known to seek out, comes into play. However, not just any store-bought sauce will do. 

Speaking to Insider, Frontera was chosen as the favorite brand of two chefs, with St. Louis, Missouri-based chef Jason Tilford saying he's a big fan of Frontera's Roasted Habanero Salsa and chef Robert Carr, of San Antonio, Texas, preferring Frontera's Cilantro Jalapeño Salsa. 

It's no surprise that these chefs picked Frontera's line of salsas. After all, the business was started by another famous foodie, Rick Bayless, a "Top Chef Masters" winner who has devoted his career to Mexican cuisine. In addition to writing numerous cookbooks on the subject and running several Mexican restaurants, Bayless co-founded Frontera Foods with Manny Valdes in 1996 and began making Mexican food products for consumers.

What do these chefs find so special about Frontera salsas? For Tilford, it's that extra dimension of flavor that using roasted chiles and vegetables adds to the Roasted Habanero Salsa. He also appreciates its overall consistency, as he explained to Insider. "It has a nice viscosity for dipping or topping or whatever it is you're using it for," he shared.

Carr, a fan of Frontera's Jalapeño Cilantro Salsa, also likes what using roasted vegetables brings to the sauce. He finds that this variety "has a rich, smoky flavor with some heat," according to Insider. 

Frontera Foods makes several other types of salsa, including Tomatillo Salsa with serrano chiles and cilantro and Guajillo Salsa with roasted garlic and tomatillo. In addition to salsas, Frontera Foods also sells cooking sauces for enchiladas and barbacoa, grilling marinades, guacamole mix, and even frozen dinners.