Not just salsa … but award-winning salsa! Lauded restaurant Amelia’s Mexican Kitchen has nabbed best salsa awards from the SAACA’s Salsa, Tequila & Taco Challenge multiple years in a row. Try not to fill up on the complimentary chips served with red and green salsa as you wait for your meal – save room for the also award-winning quesabirria. 

Have it your way at BK Tacos with a salsa bar that not only has all the fixings for your tacos or Sonoran dog, but pico de gallo, red and green salsas. Bonus – there’s also guacamole and a variety of other sauces to spice up your chips. 

It’s a salsa surprise at BOCA. The chips and salsa appetizer yields fresh-fried chips and a rotating variety of house-made salsas. Salsas span spicy to mild and more traditional options to those with some unexpected ingredients that borrow inspiration from other cuisines. 

You can’t miss Calle Tepa’s salsa bar. Just look for the blue Chevy truck tailgate turned refrigerator where you’ll find five varieties of fresh salsa made in-house daily – and it’s a steal at just $3. The thin, crispy chips are served warm. 

Chips are a loose term at Casa Asada, which favors whole, fried corn tortilla tostadas. But you’ll want to order extra to dive into the taqueria’s extensive salsa bar. The eatery offers some more unique options in the salsa realm, including a salty salsa negra with a deep flavor and a kick of what seems to be soy, to a bright, fresh vegetal green with some roasted options and spicy picks in between. 

Guero Canelo has an extensive salsa bar to top its carne asada specialties with fixings from roasted jalapeños and onions, to limes, cucumbers, and radishes. There’s a fresh pico de gallo, red and green salsas, plus a smooth avocado crema. The not-too-spicy red is a perfect pairing for the restaurant’s bagged chips which are thick, crunchy and salty. 

Salsa and a show! Guadalajara Grill is known for its table-side salsa presentation – worth a trip to the restaurant alone according to the internet masses. It’s also a bonus for those who’d like a little control over their salsa spice level. Double down on the experience and opt for the guacamole, which is also made table-side. 

With its flavor of the month, there’s always something new to try at La Botana’s salsa bar. More than a half-dozen options offer standbys such as pico de gallo and a  smashable roasted red and green, but don’t sleep on more unique options including the zucchini jalapeño and pineapple habanero. The first round of chips is on the house, then it’s just $1.99 to keep sampling those house-made salsas. 

Chips and salsa – but upscale! This downtown restaurant fries up thick chips for its coveted salsas that include a spicy, smokey red. Need more salsa options? Kick your meal or happy hour off with the Guacamole con Salsas Caseras which arrives with house-made roja, verde and chipotle options. While the red kicked off the salsa love affair at Penca, there’s lots of online love for the verde, too. 

If it’s a chips and salsa on the patio kind of day, Poco & Mom’s is the ideal destination with one of the top patios in Tucson. Order an appetizer and chips and salsa are complimentary, or shell out $1 for solo chips and salsa or $1.99 for parties of two or more. An order yields thin, crispy chips and a fresh red salsa. Specializing in New Mexican cuisine, expect a menu populated with dishes featuring red and green hatch chillies. 

Chips and house salsa are a deal at $4, but there’s even more to explore at Reforma Modern Mexican. Make it a flight and pick three of the seven house-made salsas for just $7.50. In addition to a house red, find verde, heirloom habanero, arbol and chingona options, plus a Mexicana with big chunks of tomato and onion or a fruit-forward mango studded with red onion and cilantro. 

The internet has love for Rosa’s. Search for the best salsa in Tucson and Rosa’s is a frequent find on the forums. Well-blended, the tomatoey salsa has a strong flavor of garlic and oregano with a spicy kick. The chips are thin, crispy and corn forward and not overly salty. 

The restaurant does indeed have its namesake as part of a salsa bar that features at least five salsa options, plus pico de gallo, pickled onions and carrots, cucumbers and more to jazz up your chips or your meal. For the spice fans, there’s a habanero, and then an avocado crema to soothe the burn, along with a mild red and green. 

House-made chips served with fire-roasted red and green salsas are the complimentary kick off to a meal at Seis Kitchen. The four-location restaurant is a frequent flier on best-of and must-eat lists in Tucson with its menu of breakfast, tacos, burritos and more inspired by six culinary regions of Mexico.

With five locations, a chips and salsa fix from Street Taco is never far away. The salsa bar has a little bit of everything – spicy to creamy and fresh to roasted. Dip warmed chips in a hot red with a spicy kick and vinegary finish, or a bright, fresh medium green with a touch of heat. The chips are airy with a crisp, shattery shell. Spend $5 and the chips and salsa are free. 

The Si Charro family of restaurants all have varying types of salsa; the smoky red salsa at Charro Steak is a staff favorite. Get a jar to gift from their restaurants or keep an eye out for it in gift stores such as Plunkett’s.