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Inspired by a salsa I’ve been obsessed with since I lived in Austin years ago, this homemade jalapeño salsa is absolutely irresistible! It’s made with a handful of fresh ingredients, blended into a creamy consistency that’s perfect for dipping chips into or spooning onto tacos.
Before You Get Started
- When you’re shopping for jalapeño peppers to use in this salsa, look for shiny, bright green skins without any dark spots. Jalapeños with a lot of white lines on their skin tend to be hotter, while peppers with few or no white lines will be more mild.
How to Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Boil the Jalapeños
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, then add the whole jalapeño peppers and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the peppers for 10 minutes or so, until they’re nice and tender. Carefully drain the water and transfer the jalapeños to a cutting board.
Cheryl’s Tip: Give your salsa a sweeter, smokier flavor by roasting the jalapeño peppers instead of boiling them! See the Recipe Variations section below for instructions.
Remove the stems and seeds
Use a sharp knife the cut away the stems of the jalapeños. If you want a milder salsa, slice the jalapeños in half and carefully remove the ribs and seeds, too.
Blend the ingredients
Toss the peppers into the blender and add the rest of the ingredients, then blend everything together until it’s creamy and smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender with a spatula to ensure you get every bit of everything.
Cheryl’s Tip: If the salsa is thicker than you’d like, add more oil! I recommend adding it in 1-tablespoon increments and blending it in completely before adding any more. You can always add – you can’t remove!
Chill then serve
When you’re happy with the consistency of the salsa, pour it into a bowl or a jar, cover it with a lid or plastic wrap, and refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve it. The longer it chills, the more intense the flavors will be!
What I Love About This Recipe
- Jalapeño salsa is ridiculously easy to make, and the results are mouthwateringly incredible. Go ahead and double the recipe. You’ll be glad you did.
- Even though this recipe only calls for 4 ingredients (6 if you include the optional onion and cilantro) it has SO MUCH flavor! Because everything is fresh, the salsa is bright and vibrant and bold and tangy. It immediately boosts anything you eat with it – tortilla chips, tacos, salads, and even chicken or eggs!
- It’s really not very spicy at all, so even the most timid eaters can enjoy it. Of course, if you like a little more kick to your salsa, you can leave the ribs and seeds in the peppers to punch the salsa up a bit.
Recipe Variations
- Roasted Jalapeños: Instead of boiling the peppers, roast them under the broiler for a sweeter, smoky flavor. Cut away the stems, then slice the peppers in half and scrape out the seeds and ribs. You can leave them in for more heat if you want! Lay the peppers cut-side down on a pan lined with foil, then place the pan under the broiler. Broil the peppers until the skins are charred, then remove the pan from the oven. Push the peppers into a pile and cover them with a bowl, then leave them to steam for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the bowl and gently rub the peppers with paper towels to peel off the charred skins.
- Brighter, Tangier Flavor: Add a little lime juice to the mix! ½ to 1 tablespoon should be plenty, but use as much or as little as you like.
- For More Heat: Cut away the stems of the jalapeños, but leave the ribs and seeds intact.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Jalapeño Salsa
Equipment
- medium pot
- colander
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- standard blender
- Airtight container
Ingredients
- 10 cups water more or less as needed
- 6 large whole jalapeño peppers approximately 1-2 ounces each
- 3 large cloves garlic peeled
- ½ cup avocado oil or other neutral-flavored oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt more or less to taste
- 1 small white onion approximately 4 ounces, optional
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves optional
Instructions
- Fill medium pot with 10 cups water. Adjust amount of water as needed based on size of pot and size of jalapeños.
- Place pot on stovetop over high heat. Heat pot until water begins to boil rapidly.
- Once water begins to boil, add 6 large whole jalapeño peppers to pot. Immediately reduce heat under pot to low.
- Simmer jalapeños until peppers are very tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
- When peppers are tender, carefully pour water and peppers into colander. Drain well, then transfer jalapeños to cutting board.
- Carefully cut off stems of jalapeño peppers and discard. If desired, slice jalapeño peppers open and remove core and seeds.
- Place peppers in blender. Let peppers cool slightly, then add 3 large cloves garlic, ½ cup avocado oil, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 1 small white onion, and 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves.
- Secure lid on blender and blend ingredients until fully combined into smooth, creamy mixture. Pause blender and scrape down sides of bowl with silicone spatula if needed. Note: If salsa is too thick, blend in additional avocado oil in 1-tablespoon increments until desired consistency is achieved.
- Once all ingredients are combined and mixture is completely smooth, transfer salsa to airtight container. Let salsa cool completely, then secure lid on container and place salsa in refrigerator.
- Chill salsa 1 hour or until ready to serve. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
- Leftovers: Refrigerate salsa in an airtight container up to 4 days.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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