The 12 Unhealthiest Salsas You Can Buy

A delicious salsa usually goes hand-in-hand with tortilla chips and the big game. The piquant dip can make you breathe fire depending on the heat, but more often than not it's a pleasant accompaniment to an array of dishes. Spoon some on a breakfast scramble, fold it into a burrito, or create saucy chilaquiles to highlight the condiment's versatility. 

But if there's one thing we love about this Mexican condiment, it's the convenience. Peruse any grocery store and you'll be greeted with a dizzying selection of brands and styles. A 2020 consumer survey found 218 million shoppers in the U.S. get their salsa fix from the supermarket, which isn't that surprising since purchasing a jar takes less time than wrangling the veggies to make your own. You might be wondering about the healthiness of pre-packaged salsa. While the tomato mix touts high amounts of fiber and potassium with few calories, browsing the aisles shows options clogged with artificial preservatives and loads of sodium, which can muddy the waters for mindful purchasing. 

With the help of the FDA's dietary guidelines (more on our criteria at the end), we tracked down the unhealthiest salsas you can buy. Fruity, chunky, or teeming with spice, here are the dirty dozen to watch out for. 

Identifying the unhealthiest supermarket salsas requires a look at the bigger picture. In doing so, Newman's Own Chunky Mango Salsa strikes almost every nutritional no-go with a bullseye precision. The condiment jams 30 calories and 240 milligrams of sodium into 2 tablespoons, leaving the latter to eat into 10% of your allotment for the day. 

Fruits will inevitably sweeten any dish, so it isn't shocking to see 5 grams of sugar lingering in a single serving. What is concerning are the 3 grams of added sugars, which kick up the total amount you're consuming to 6% of the recommended intake. Just dunking your corn chips for seconds (or thirds) can quickly catapult your consumption way past the CDC's daily target. It's no mystery that excess sugar can saddle our bodies with vacant nutritional value, never mind serious health effects — from dental cavities to high blood pressure. 

Customer complaints over the saccharine flavor illustrate that this sugar surplus also works against the execution, not just our wellness. Assuming dire feedback doesn't dissuade you, the trivial traces of vitamin C, iron, and potassium certainly make this one to skip in the sauce aisle.

In theory, purchasing this Corn & Chili Salsa from Taste of Inspirations should tick the box for mindful munching. After all, there's no cholesterol, no saturated fat, and a mere 85 milligrams of sodium to its name. So, what's the problem? Calories, mostly. For context, tomato-based salsas contain minimal calories to begin with. A small tomato is 18 calories, so along with minced veggies (think onions and chili peppers) most jars tend to boast 10 to 15 calories per serving. Corn, on the other hand, is much more calorie-dense, so the nutritional label is a stark increase in the retail sphere, exceeding the usual range with 45 calories per 2 tablespoons. 

Other factors reducing the benefits of this relish-like amalgamation are the carbs and sugar, which both appear in concerning abundance. Ten grams of carbs might not seem like much when the Mayo Clinic pinpoints the daily target between 225 and 325 grams. But we know how easy it is to overdo it. The same goes for the 6 grams of sugar. Unless you're assembling a stripped-down burrito bowl, your starches will go through the roof so long as you're scooping this salsa on generously. 

Within the retail realm, Mrs. Renfro's isn't one of the healthier options to supplement your Super Bowl party. The Texas brand delivers a range of heat-fueled garnishes, but in examining the red and green jars in the line, the Hot Salsa emerges as the least nutritious in the pack. Sodium once again rears into the spotlight, with the fiery dip covering 13% of the suggested dietary load at a hefty 310 milligrams per 2 tablespoons. Doing the math, we'd quadruple that number to reflect realistic dunking tendencies and end up reaching 1,240 milligrams (or over half the daily sodium dose touted by the FDA) from the condiment alone — forgetting sour cream, cheese, and anything else you like to stuff into your taco. 

Reviewers have docked stars over the salty taste, so keep that in mind when browsing the shelf. Your personal preferences and dietary needs drive what items deserve a place in your pantry. Sprinkled sparingly, we suppose it could work in moderation, given that a serving doles out 15 calories. Regardless, the salt content is far from ideal. Maintain your health for the long haul by nabbing a low-sodium choice or mixing it yourself.

The truth about Tex-Mex is that it relies heavily on beans and corn. Both are good sources of fiber and antioxidants and pack a sweet and savory kick to the cuisine. You might think the Corn Black Bean Red Pepper Salsa from Desert Pepper would elevate your diet, granted that it's jarred with so much good stuff. Sadly, the salsa-maker misses the mark on nourishment. 

The salsa contains 20 calories per 2 tablespoons, plus it'll kick the sodium up a notch slightly over 10% of your suggested allowance (or precisely 240 milligrams). There is some transparency regarding modified ingredients since the label warns that "corn and its derivatives" can provoke allergic reactions. But that's as far as the bottle goes in alerting health-conscious customers of its synthetic properties. 

Even given the above-average salt level, one would at least hope the salsa carries a stronger zip to make eating it worthwhile. However, shoppers who've gone ahead and bought it aren't feeling the heat. If grievances over the blandness are to be taken at their word, you may as well avoid it. 

Casera translates to "homemade" in Spanish, and it's a dubious claim Herdez makes with its far-from-wholesome Salsa Casera. The brand is going for the freshly blended red sauces common in authentic taquerias, except without much of the nutritional value to back it up. Excluding the minor traces of vitamin C, the tomato and pepper condiment hardly possesses the restorative properties health-conscious shoppers should look for. On top of the lack of vital compounds, an abundance of salt seeks to squash the salsa's chances of riding home in your supermarket tote, with 270 milligrams gobbling up 12% of the FDA's daily target. 

Remember that salsa is an accompaniment. Blowing through the recommended value of sodium with sauce doesn't leave much room for the rest of your feast. It might be a mistake to pry open the lid before you've skimmed through the label, especially when the massive sodium count doesn't even pay off for quality. Shoppers describe the dip as bland and tasting like canned tomatoes, proving it's an empty pick that won't invigorate your cooking, let alone your well-being. 

Chips and dips poised to start the party have defined Tostitos, a member of the Frito-Lay coalition, for generations of snackers. With the brand's finger foods taking the form of scoops, rounds, and rolls, pairing them with an appropriate sauce aims to spark a confetti blast of flavor. Glancing at the "real avocados" paraded on the label, we'd assume the Medium Avocado Salsa Dip is chock-full of the fruit's signature superpowers like healthy fats and fiber. Yet upon carefully examining the nutrition, this is another salsa that's ultra-processed and flooded with empty fillers that won't leave your body well-fueled. 

Jumping over to the ingredients, the list overwhelmingly favors preservatives that fail to provide significant nourishment, if not impact one's wellness for the worse. Diglycerides (an emulsifier) and xanthan gum (a thickener) are instrumental in keeping jarred goods fresh for long periods, but they're not exactly a boon for proper nutrition. On account of the 45 calories in just 2 tablespoons, managing your calories to align with the FDA's allotment is a challenge. Obviously, indulgent sauces have their place in our diets, but the key to enjoying them is balance.