The salsa is not only a great dip with your favorite bread, but it's also a perfect garnish for meats and seafood.
This is packed with fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices and is great for a health-conscious lifestyle.
Served with all fresh herbs and chopped vegetables, this will be great all year long.
We love to pack this for a picnic outing or backyard barbecue, it's the perfect garnish.
If you love appetizer recipes like this one, you may also like our Italian Tuscan White Bean Dip or our delicious 30 Appetizers and More recipes.
Scroll down to my printable instruction card to make this easy appetizer recipe for Italian Salsa .
Healthy Appetizers
This tasty healthy appetizer dip has so many uses.
It's great anytime even for breakfast as a topping for eggs, for dinner on chicken or salmon then the appetizer can be served with healthy raw vegetables for dipping!
I love that it's low in calories, delicious on anything, and easy to make, it's a win-win appetizer.
Fresh Italian Salsa is different than most with its robust flavors of garlic oven onion and three kinds of olives.
Again, remember the recipe is a guideline of what our family likes in it, adjust the recipe to your taste.
Optional Additions
- chopped onions
- minced beets
- chopped arugula or spinach leaves
- diced dried meats
- capers
- minced fresh figs
- boiled minced chesnuts
Ingredients You Will Need
- peppers any kind
- kalamata, cured olives, and Spanish olives
- plum tomatoes
- fresh garlic minced
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- red pepper flakes
- basil leaves, chopped fine
- fresh Italian parsley
- Garnish: shaved Romano or provolone cheese
Dipping or Topping Suggestions
- low carb tortilla chips
- pita chips
- garlic toast
- air fried potato slices sweet or white
- cucumber slices
- crackers
- sliced radishes
- celery sticks or carrot slices
- zucchini slices
Tools You Will Need
- cutting board
- sharp knife
- food processor if you want a puree style like the photo below
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowl
- wooden board for serving
- cheese grater
Try Some Of My Other Favorite Recipes
Cauliflower Rice
Parmesan Roasted Vegetables
Vegetable Stir Fry
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Low Calorie
Choose the ingredients you prefer, leave out or add the suggestions, create your salsa the way you would like it, and enjoy every healthy bite!
Beans are full of protein, I always like to add a few chickpeas or white beans, but again, rinse or use dried cooked beans.
Again, watch the sodium in canned or bottled additions you use, I always rinse them before using them.
If you are weight watching, this is a delicious, low in calories, and a great way to start eating healthy, but remember to choose low-calorie fat-free ingredients to dip with.
The suggestions are adapted to those who may be on a diet or aren't either way, you can serve what you want alongside this salsa, it's delicious anyway your serve it.
Italian Salsa
Yield: 10
Prep time: 15 MinTotal time: 15 Min
A blend of delicious fresh vegetables diced served as an appetizer with your favorite bread, chips, or a great topping for meats and seafood.
Ingredients
- 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 3 tablespoons of minced cleaned peppers (bells, pepperoncini, long hots, or roasted
- 4 or 5 minced mixed pitted cured black olives, green Sicilian olives, kalamata olives
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon each chopped fresh parsley, fresh basil
- pinch of dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- a pinch of red pepper flakes
- Optional garnish: Shaved block romano cheese, mozzarella pearls, shaved provolone, 1 teaspoon capers, chopped garbanzo beans, diced
- Substitutions: add to the salsa use red wine vinegar if you prefer instead of balsamic you can also use dried herbs when fresh isn't available.
- Other Additions: chopped onion, chopped celery, chopped cucumbers, chopped avocado
Instructions
- Note: Put the ingredients in a food processor for a puree or chop by hand for chunky.
- Slice the fresh vegetables you plan to use for dipping with and set aside for dipping.
- Chop up the (assorted suggestion of vegetables going into your salsa) tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, herbs olives, peppers, etc. in a mixing bowl.
- Add the red pepper flakes, and balsamic vinegar.
- If you're using the beans, add them in at the end and garnish with shaved cheese more fresh herbs, and drizzle with more olive oil.
- Allow at least two hours refrigerated until serving.
- Serve with any sliced fresh vegetables, garlic toast, pita points, flavored crackers, sesame breadsticks, pita chips, low carb tortilla chips, air fried potato slices sweet or white, cucumber slices, sliced radishes, celery sticks or carrot slices, zucchini slices
- The salsa is a great topping for any kind of cooked meats or seafood as a garnish.
- Feel free to add more balsamic or olive oil, cheeses, etc.
Calories
136.64Fat (grams)
9.10Sat. Fat (grams)
1.93Carbs (grams)
11.25Fiber (grams)
3.60Net carbs
7.65Sugar (grams)
3.61Protein (grams)
4.03Sodium (milligrams)
315.77Cholesterol (grams)
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Baked Chicken Zucchini Casserole
Sugar-Free No Bake Cheesecake
Disclosure: This recipe was posted in 2009, edited, and re-published in 2021.