This creamy Jalapeño Salsa recipe is made with only 5 ingredients and has an amazing mild-spicy flavor. Serve over tacos, burritos, or quesadillas. If you looking for an easy and quick recipe with a full bright flavor, this is it!
Jalapeno salsa is a Mexican sauce recipe made of fresh jalapeno peppers, onion, garlic, and neutral oil. It has a mild-spicy and fresh flavor that goes perfectly with tacos, quesadillas, and other Mexican foods.
The consistency of this jalapeño sauce is creamy and smooth, but it doesn’t include any dairy. The reason is that the ingredients are emulsified with oil in a blender until the sauce becomes nicely creamy.
This salsa is the counterpart of Salsa Taquera Roja which is made with red chilies and tomatoes. Both sauces are very popular in Mexico and served in many street food stalls to accompany any sort of antojitos like tacos, gorditas, and fried quesadillas.
This is one of my favorite recipes and I always have a jar in the fridge. My husband also loves it because it is not overly spicy and goes perfectly with many foods.
Why This Recipe Works:
- Few ingredients: That’s right, you will need only 5 ingredients to make this creamy sauce.
- Easy to make: Boil and blend, that’s it! No special cooking skills are needed, you will master this recipe the first time you make it.
- Versatile: It goes with pretty much anything. Serve as a dip with chips, crunchy veggies, or finger foods. Drizzle it over tacos, quesadillas, your favorite burrito bowls, or salads.
- Stores well: Either you want to serve at a party or want to make a large batch to have on hand whenever you want, this chile jalapeño salsa stores nicely in the fridge or freezer.
Ingredients
- Jalapeños: Jalapeno chilies sit on the low end of medium-heat peppers. If you want a low spicy sauce, make sure to devein and remove their seeds, otherwise, just cut off the stem and add the chiles whole.
- Onion: This ingredient adds a sweet touch to the sauce, balancing well the flavors. Use yellow or white onion.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is better than jarred for this recipe, I add just 1 large clove or 2 small, since I definitely don’t want to cover the jalapeno flavor.
- Oil: I like to use a neutral vegetable oil such as sunflower oil, or corn oil.
- Salt: Make sure to add plenty if you want to bring out the rich flavor of chiles.
Don’t forget to scroll down for full ingredients measurements and the printable recipe!
How To Make Creamy Jalapeno Salsa
Wash the jalapeño chili peppers under cold water and pat dry them with kitchen paper towels.
Cut the bottom part of each jalapeno to remove the steam, then cut the chilies in half lengthwise. Use the tip of a knife to remove the core of each chili if you don’t want your sauce to be overly spicy, otherwise, just cut them in half.
Place chilies and onion in a pan and lightly cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until the peppers are nicely soft but not mushy.
Allow to cool down then transfer to a blender along with garlic cloves and a good pinch of salt. Pour the oil and 1/3 cup water.
Blend at high speed for 3 minutes or until you will have a nice, smooth sauce. Adjust salt to taste if needed.
Transfer the jalapeno salsa to a bowl or jar and serve with your favorite foods. Scroll down to see our serving suggestions.
Tips & Recipe Variations
- We used small peppers for this recipe, as you can see in the images, if yours are larger, simply decrease the quantity.
- If you want to give this sauce an earthy and smoky flavor, roast the fresh ingredients in a griddle or the oven until charred marks appear.
- For a fresh and tangy kick, add lime juice and a few sprigs of cilantro.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit more water.
Serving Suggestions
- Eat as a snack with totopos (crisp tortillas), or your favorite chips.
- Drizzled over cabbage salad to serve as a side or topping.
- Served with quesadillas de flor de calabaza or mulitas de carne asada.
- With grilled veggies and proteins like fajitas de res.
- Spooned over tacos de bistec or chorizo tacos.
Storage Suggestions
Jalapeno Salsa lasts for up to 5 days in the refrigerator nicely stored in a jar or glass container with a tight lid.
It also freezes wonderfully for up to 3 months. I like to make a large batch of this recipe and divide it into resealable bags. Don’t forget to add a tag with the date when you made this recipe!
When ready to eat thaw the sauce overnight in the fridge, transfer it to a bowl, give it a quick mix, and serve.
Canning salsa is also a good idea to preserve it, take a look at the article linked and follow the instructions to can this recipe.
More Salsas Recipes
If you’re a big fan of Mexican authentic salsas recipes, check out these favorites:
Easy Jalapeño Salsa
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 16 small jalapeno peppers
- 1 small onion (cut into quarters)
- 1 garlic clove (peeled)
- ¼ cup sunflower oil (or any neutral vegetable oil)
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Wash the jalapeño chili peppers under cold water and pat dry them with kitchen paper towels.
- Cut the bottom part of each chile to remove the steam, then cut the chilies in half lengthwise.
- Use the tip of a knife to remove the core of each chile if you don't want your sauce to be overly spicy, otherwise, just cut them in half.
- Place chilies and onion in a pan and cover with water.
- Simmer for 10 minutes or until jalapeno peppers are soft but not mushy.
- Allow to cool down then transfer to a blender along with garlic and a good pinch of salt.
- Add oil and â…“ cup of water, then blend at high speed for 3 minutes or until you'll have a smooth and creamy salsa.
- Adjust salt to taste and transfer to a bowl or jar and serve with your favorite foods.
Notes
- We used small peppers for this recipe, if yours are larger, simply decrease the quantity to 10-12 chiles instead.
- You can also roast the chilies and onion in a griddle or oven until charred marks appear. This will give the sauce a distinctive smoky flavor.
- This salsa can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Nutrition Information
Loved this Jalapeño Salsa Recipe and have questions or need help? Maybe you want to share your own recipe or a suggestion to make it better? Drop a comment below and don’t forget to rate this recipe!
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I’m currently simmering my peppers and onions, but I was wondering if after they cool… do I strain everything then add to the blender? And add 1/3 of that cooled water to the blender or fresh water? Just figured that water would have so much flavor
Hi Stephanie, you can add the cooking water for more flavor, but make sure it’s about 1/3 cup or the salsa will be too watery. I’ll edit the recipe later to make it clear :) hope you enjoy your jalapeño salsa!
Can this recipe be canned for longer storage? Without having to freeze?
Hi, yes. Make sure you know how to do it tho, you might want to check on a website that specializes in canning foods, like foodinjars.com
This jalapeño salsa is perfect for our tacos! It’s creamy and saucy, me and my boyfriend loved it so much. We just found out that roasted chilles have milder taste and a nice smoky flavor!