Easy Roasted Cherry Salsa Recipe

Roasted Cherry Salsa is sweet and savory with a touch of heat from jalapeños-a perfect salsa for chips and snacks or a sauce for steaks, chicken or pork and so much more.

This fast and easy salsa recipe is a delicious way to enjoy summertime cherries. You will want to put it on everything. So, buy some extra cherries and make a big batch.

The cherries are here, the cherries are here!

I love fresh cherry season! Cherries add just the right amount of sweetness and a touch of tart to our favorite recipes.

This salsa is a wonderful balance of sweet and spicy so, it puts an unexpectedly delicious twist on all sorts of savory dishes. 

Why You Will Love Roasted Cherry Salsa Recipe-

• Deliciousness- This Roasted Cherry Salsa is a delicious blend of sweet and savory with a touch of tart hat gives an unexpected burst of flavor to any dish.
• Fast and Easy! Just throw the ingredients on a sheet pan then, transfer to the food processor and you are done.  Oh yes, please don’t forget to rinse the veggies.
• Endless Possibilities- This sweet and savory cherry salsa takes your recipes up another notch. From appetizers to dinner to dessert, this salsa recipe will fit right in.

What to Serve with Roasted Cherry Salsa-

Here’s your chance to think outside the bun… I mean tortilla chip.

This salsa is a wonderful balance of sweet and spicy so, it puts an unexpectedly delicious twist on all sorts of savory dishes. 

These are a few of my favorite dinner ideas for Roasted Cherry Salsa. Click on any of the links below to find recipes that will go well with this salsa.

• Kalua Pork Tacos (AKA Hawaiian Pulled Pork)- This super easy slow cooker pulled pork recipe goes really well with Cherry Salsa. Just follow the recipe for Kalua pork as usual BUT, add the Cherry Salsa instead of Pineapple Salsa.
• Pork Tenderloin- Dress up a pork tenderloin dinner and use this roasted cherry salsa as a delicious sauce. I put a large spoonful of cherry salsa on the plate (or platter) and lay slices of pork tenderloin on top. Garnish with more cherry sauce.
• Grilled Pork Chops- Yes! This sauce is perfect for your BBQ dinner! Trade Roasted Cherry Salsa for the sauce in this Mayan Pork Chop recipe (trade cherries for mango in the marinade, as well, or just skip the marinade and season well with salt and pepper).
• Grilled Chicken Tacos- chicken goes very well with cherries so I make a large batch and use it on tacos all season long.
• Chicken Breast- This salsa makes a great sauce for chicken. Just grill, sauté or bake your well seasoned chicken breasts or thighs and serve with smothered in Roasted cherry salsa for an easy, healthy dinner.
• Don't forget Chips and Salsa-a salty corn chip is the perfect match!

I’d love to hear your ideas! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram.

Ingredients for this recipe

• Cherries- Lovely ripe cherries are only in the stores for a few months, buy extras and freeze them for the winter months and for holiday recipes.
• Garlic- Two or three fresh cloves will do, be careful not to burn them.
• Tomatoes- (optional) Tomatoes give that extra savory flavor BUT they are optional! You can easily add extra cherries for that sour sweet taste. If you include the cherries, choose a very ripe, slightly sweet tomato like Roma tomatoes (used here) or the smaller grape or cherry tomatoes.
• Jalapeños- I use jalapeños because they are on the mild side of the Chile scale. If you would like your salsa with a little more heat, you can choose Serranos, Fresnos or even Thai Chile.
• Onions- I prefer white or yellow onions for most recipes. Red onions a good as well. The red are a little sweeter but, they have a stronger taste (at least to me). I used a mixture of red and white for this recipe. Make sure they are “al dente” when you roast them so they are not too mushy.
• Limes- Fresh lime juice is best for adding zing to your salsa. If you can’t find it, lemon juice will do.
• Cilantro- Fresh cilantro is the best. Finely mince it and add it last so it doesn’t wilt.

Helpful Tips:

• Cut large tomatoes in half and remove the seeds to reduce the amount of water in your salsa.
• To reduce heat in the jalapeño, remove the seeds and ribs on the inside before roasting.
• Zest the limes BEFORE juicing them.
• Pre-minced cilantro is available in the produce sections of most grocery stores. I use it all the time. The cilantro is compacted during packaging so, a little bit goes a long way. Add it to the recipe one tiny pinch at a time.

How to Make Roasted Cherry Salsa

This recipe is so easy. There are not many directions, more like helpful tips for roasting.

• First, start with a very hot oven or grill. Pre-heat to broil or 450 degrees BEFORE placing ingredients in the oven.
• I like to cover the sheet pan with parchment or tin foil to avoid things sticking to the pan and burning.
• The cherries and veggies should be cooked quickly so that the skins soften and char without becoming mushy.
• Roast the cherries and garlic separately. They will roast much faster than the other ingredients and require less time. Remove them from the oven and transfer them to a cool pan. Set aside to cool while roasting the others.
• Caution: Allow ingredients to cool at room temperature before adding them to the food processor. Processing super hot ingredients can cause steam to build up and liquid to spirt out.
• Season with salt and pepper and lime juice while pulsing in the food processor so the seasonings will distribute easily.
• Chill for several hours before serving.

Kitchen Tools You May Need for This Recipe

• Cherry Pitter - a cherry pitter is really worth it. They save time without wasting cherry.
• Sheet Pans- I find simple stainless steal or aluminum pans that are NOT non-stick are most versatile.
• Food Processor- simple and less expensive wins the race for me. Top of the line food processors can be more complicated than they are worth.
• Zester or Microplane- very helpful when zesting citrus fruit.

I hope you love this recipe, it just might become your new favorite Salsa.

Let me know what you think about it. You can leave a comment here on this post or on Everyday Southwest's Facebook Page.

I love hearing from you!