The Best Store-Bought Salsa Is So Good You'll Want To Lick The Jar Clean

Chips and salsa are a must-have for any get-together or game day watching event. But, as we found out in our ranking of 15 popular store-bought salsas, they can run the gamut between watery and flavorless to unpalatably sour. That being said, we did have an all-time winner, and it's one that gives you a pop of coriander (sorry, cilantro haters) along with a balanced freshness that the other jarred salsas don't provide.

Our top jarred salsa comes from Siete, and it's the mild version. Our taste tester said, "A (maybe controversial) shoutout to cilantro here. A lot of jarred salsas either skip it entirely or toss it in like a garnish, but this one leans all the way in. It gives the salsa a fresh, grassy lift, and the tomatoes are clean and just acidic enough while the garlic and onion show up in perfect proportion."

The tester also noted that the jalapeños give the Siete salsa just a touch of warmth without being distracting, too. One thing you'll want to note is that the texture's a bit on the thinner side, but it'll stay on a chip, and you'll want to "enjoy until the jar is licked clean."

Try as you might, you may still end up with a slight bit of salsa at the bottom of your jar. That doesn't need to be used on just a few loose chips — you can stretch that out by turning it into the base of a salad dressing. If you want to rescue those last dregs, try turning it into a salsa vinaigrette by adding a cup of vinegar (your choice of which) to the remaining salsa in the jar, along with a good 1/3 cup of olive oil, then give it a good shake. Now you've got a vinaigrette that you can use on any greens as you see fit. The hat tip here goes to Rachael Ray, from whom we originally picked up this handy concept.

Fortunately, if you've gotten our brand of choice, the Siete mild salsa, it's likely you won't even have this problem to begin with. Once you taste it, we have a feeling you're more likely to run out to the store and get another jar just for yourself, let alone share it at a gathering — and leftovers won't be an issue.