Fresh Roasted Vegetables Are A Game Changer For Jarred Salsa

Jarred salsa: It's easy, it's affordable, but, unfortunately, it doesn't always sing. Sure, it'll do in a pinch, but there's an easy way to revamp that sometimes-underwhelming experience of cracking open a jar of salsa. Adding freshly roasted vegetables to your jarred salsa is the easiest upgrade to employ the next time you bust open that bag of tortilla chips.

Many salsa brands already use roasted vegetables in their recipes. Adding in additional freshly roasted vegetables enhances and emphasizes those latent flavors. And, depending on how you roast your veggies, it can also be an opportunity to introduce other flavor dimensions to your salsa. For example, a jarred salsa may already contain corn, but adding in some crispy roasted corn not only diversifies the salsa's flavor, but also its texture. 

When thinking of which roasted vegetables you can incorporate, feel free to look at the ingredients in the salsa and add their freshly roasted counterparts; think bell peppers, poblano peppers, and onions. Or if you'd like to try this upgrade but don't already have a jar of store-bought salsa handy, explore some of the different types of salsa you can make at home with the ingredients already in your fridge or pantry.

Once you have your jar handy, you can start selecting the produce you want to roast and add to the salsa. You might start with peppers, onions, and corn, but these veggies are far from the only produce items that will work to your advantage. For a light-hearted addition that adds savory, grassy notes, roast some small, cubed zucchini. Or for a more bittersweet bite, add some browned asparagus.

Trying outside-the-box vegetables can be beneficial as well. If you have a jar of sweeter salsa, like a mango habanero one, try whipping up a batch of honey-roasted carrots and adding them in to complement the sweet and spicy profile. Or, try roasting your vegetables with chili crisp for a spicy, textural crunch. You don't have to stop at vegetables, either. Fresh-roasted tomatoes, peaches, and pineapple can all be a game changer for ho-hum jarred salsa.