Salsa: USDA Nutrition, Sodium, Pico de Gallo and Food Safety Facts

Salsa is one of the simplest sauces in the kitchen: chopped vegetables, chile, acid and salt. This guide covers the main styles, compares salsa vs pico de gallo, sets out salsa nutrition from USDA data, explains where most of the sodium comes from, gives a fair answer to whether salsa is healthy, and explains what CDC and FDA reports say about fresh salsa and food safety.

Peptide Labs does not sell salsa or other sauces. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

What is salsa? Salsa vs pico de gallo

Salsa simply means sauce in Spanish, and in US kitchens it usually means a chunky or smooth mix of chopped vegetables served cold with tortilla chips, tacos, eggs or grilled food. Red salsa, often called salsa roja, starts with tomatoes, onions, chile and garlic. It can be raw, or cooked and blended until smooth, a style common in jars.

Salsa vs pico de gallo comes down to texture and moisture. A 2025 CDC MMWR report defines pico de gallo as a Mexican salsa made with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro and lime juice. It is chopped by hand, served raw and stays chunky, with little liquid, while many salsas are blended, cooked or looser. Our jalapeno guide and cilantro guide cover two of its main ingredients, and limes supply the acid.

Salsa verde is the green branch of the family. It is built on tomatillos, the tart, husk-covered fruit covered in our tomatillo guide, usually roasted or boiled first and then blended with chile, onion and cilantro. Milder versions use mango, poblano peppers or bell peppers.

Salsa nutrition: USDA numbers

The table shows USDA SR Legacy values (April 2018 release) for ready-to-serve salsa, using USDA’s own portion weights. Percent Daily Values (%DV) use FDA reference amounts. USDA’s portion for salsa verde is a slightly smaller 30-gram serving of 2 tablespoons.

Two things stand out in the USDA data. Calories and fat are very low: both entries list well under a gram of fat per serving. Sodium is the number to watch: USDA puts it at 256 milligrams for 2 tablespoons of red salsa and 924 milligrams for half a cup. FDA’s guide says 5% DV or less of sodium per serving is low and 20% DV or more is high, so a small spoonful sits in between and a generous half cup is well into the high range. USDA also lists lycopene, the red pigment of tomatoes, in the ready-to-serve salsa entry, at about 6,060 micrograms per 100 grams; there is no Daily Value for it.

Where the sodium in salsa comes from

The vegetables themselves carry very little sodium. The next table compares raw ingredients with the two ready-to-serve entries, all per 100 grams in USDA SR Legacy, so the comparison is like for like.

The gap is added salt. USDA lists 2,325 milligrams of sodium in one teaspoon (6 g) of table salt, FDC 173468, slightly more than the entire Daily Value FDA uses, which is less than 2,300 milligrams a day. Homemade salsa can range from almost no sodium to as much as a jar. Store-bought salsas vary widely too, so compare the Nutrition Facts labels; our low-sodium foods guide explains how to read them.

Is salsa healthy?

Is salsa healthy? As a sauce, it is mostly vegetables, with few calories and almost no fat in USDA data, which makes it a light way to add flavor. Sodium is the main catch, and it adds up quickly with salty partners. FDA cites CDC data that about 40% of the sodium Americans eat comes from a short list of foods that includes burritos and tacos and savory snacks such as chips. A bowl of salsa with a bag of salted tortilla chips is a very different snack from a spoonful on grilled fish or black beans.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 use salsa in their own example of small meal changes. Their burrito bowl figure swaps jarred salsa, guacamole and sour cream for fresh salsa or pico de gallo and sliced avocado, noting that slight changes to individual parts of a meal can make a big difference. One small 2005 study adds a kitchen-relevant detail: in a crossover test with 11 healthy adults, adding avocado to salsa increased how much lycopene and beta-carotene the participants absorbed from it, which the authors attributed mainly to the fat in avocado. Our guacamole guide covers that pairing from the other side, and our avocado guide covers the fruit itself.

Chile heat varies a lot. Our cayenne pepper guide covers capsaicin research, so this article makes no claims about it.

Fresh salsa and food safety: what CDC and FDA found

Fresh salsa is chopped raw produce, often held for hours. A CDC analysis published in 2013 reviewed outbreaks reported to CDC’s Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System from 1973 to 2008. The authors note that fresh salsa and guacamole often contain diced raw produce, are often made in large batches and are often poorly refrigerated.

• How many: CDC found 136 outbreaks in which salsa or guacamole was reported as a possible vehicle, with 5,658 illnesses, and none reported before 1984.
• Causes: CDC reports that most were caused by norovirus (24%), nontyphoidal Salmonella (19%) and Shigella (7%).
• Where: 84% came from foods prepared in restaurants or delis; of these, CDC reports 19% cited ill food workers and 29% cited improper storage as possible contributing factors.
• Trend: among outbreaks with a reported food, CDC found the share tied to salsa or guacamole rose from 0.9% in 1984 to 1997 to 1.4% in 1998 to 2008. The CDC authors conclude that fresh salsa and guacamole require careful preparation and storage.

Later reports point the same way. In a 2023 outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic illness, with 47 cases among patrons of a Mexican-style restaurant in Alabama, the 2025 CDC MMWR report found that salsa roja was the only menu item significantly associated with illness, and the case-control analysis identified cilantro as the likely source. The cilantro was traced to a Texas firm with no identified food manufacturing license that sourced it from Mexico. During the large 2008 Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, which our jalapeno guide describes, a 2010 study reports that two clusters of illness among restaurant patrons were significantly associated with eating salsa.

FDA testing shows why raw ingredients matter. In 1,615 samples of hot peppers such as habanero, jalapeno and serrano, FDA found Salmonella in 2.85 percent of samples overall. In its fresh herb sampling, FDA detected Salmonella in 8 of 849 cilantro samples. Lab research adds a caution about acid: a 2010 study found Salmonella did not grow in any salsa held at refrigerator temperature, but grew at warmer temperatures except in recipes with both fresh garlic and lime juice, and a 2019 study found salsa recipes with or without lime juice supported growth of the 2008 outbreak strain at room temperature. Citrus is not a substitute for cold storage.

Making and storing salsa at home

• Wash the produce: FDA advises washing all produce under running water before cutting, and says soap, detergent or commercial produce wash is not recommended.
• Keep boards separate: FDA advises a separate cutting board for fresh produce and for raw meat, poultry and seafood, or washing boards with soap and hot water between them.
• Handle hot chiles with care: the oils cling to skin; our jalapeno guide covers gloves and what to do about burning eyes.
• Chill it: FDA advises a refrigerator at 40 degrees F or below and covered containers. Fresh salsa on a party table falls under FDA’s two-hour rule, or one hour above 90 degrees F; set out a small bowl and refill it from the refrigerator.
• Salt gradually: add salt a pinch at a time and taste, since much of the sodium in USDA’s ready-to-serve salsa comes from salt.
• Fix the texture: draining chopped tomatoes in a sieve keeps salsa from turning watery.
• Jarred salsa: follow the label, which usually says to refrigerate after opening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a food allergy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Guacamole: USDA Nutrition, FDA Safety Testing and Browning Tips, Tomatoes: Nutrition Facts, Lycopene and Are Tomatoes Healthy?, Jalapeno: How Hot It Is, Nutrition Facts and Safe Handling, Tomatillo: Nutrition, Uses and Tomatillo vs Green Tomato.