Salsa is a must for your taco Tuesdays or to complement a bowl of tortilla chips for a party. But what do you do with the leftover salsa after the chips or tacos are gone? If it's going to be awhile before the next time you make Mexican food, don't worry. There are still plenty of delicious ways you can use up that leftover salsa before it goes to waste. Take a look at some creative ways to use up that half-finished gar of salsa and add a little zest to your meals.

Try Salsa Butter

You don't want to throw away those last few spoonfuls of salsa, but you're not sure that it's enough to make anything with. That's OK – turn it into a zesty salsa butter. Just add the salsa, a stick of butter, and a little garlic and lime juice to a food processer. Blend until smooth, then put the mixture in the fridge to chill.

Salsa butter makes a great addition to grilled steak, and can really jazz up your roasted vegetables. You can also spread it on hamburger buns to give the flavor of your burgers a buttery kick.

Spice Up Your Dessert

Fruit salsas, like mango, pineapple, or peach salsa, can make excellent additions to a dessert. You can make a simple glaze by heating the salsa with corn starch, corn syrup, and sugar until it boils and becomes thick. Then pour it over a plain pound cake to give it a sweet and spicy topping.

If making a glaze sounds like too much work, try serving the salsa over vanilla ice cream instead. You don't have to do much preparation for this at all. Just warm up the salsa and spoon it over a dish of vanilla ice cream. This looks and tastes like an exotic treat, but it requires hardly any work at all.

Make an Easy Gazpacho

If you have a lot of leftover salsa, take the opportunity to make gazpacho with less effort than it usually takes. Gazpacho, which is served cold, is a great summer soup – cool, healthy, and satisfying without being too filling. However, it's also a lot of work to prepare. But if you have a big batch of leftover salsa, you're already most of the way there.

All you need to do is add vegetable stock, cucumbers, and jalapenos to the salsa, then blend it in a food processor. Puree the mixture, then chill and serve right away or freeze it for later use.

Salsa is a versatile condiment, but it also makes a great ingredient for other dishes. When you have leftover salsa, view it as an opportunity to experiment a little in the kitchen and come up with a fresh variation on an old dish. For more information, contact companies like Mike's Salsa and Seasonings.