This Creamy Jalapeño Salsa is addictive, so be ready with lots of tortillas chips.
This is my first year with a vegetable garden here in Texas, and I’m a little surprised with how good my pepper plants are growing; it seems like they really like the hot summer weather here! So far, I have harvested Habanero peppers, piquin peppers, serrano peppers, and jalapeño peppers.
Creamy Jalapeño Salsa
In fact, the jalapeños in this Creamy Jalapeño Salsa came from my small garden. Next year, I hope to plant Poblano peppers, given the success I’ve had with my harvest this year!
In Mexico, we have a huge variety of peppers, some of which are only known and used in the same region where they are grown. The agriculture and farming department reports that we have 64 types of peppers, giving Mexico the largest diversity of peppers in the world.
The State of Oaxaca is the state with the greatest reported variety of peppers, boasting 25 different types! The most commonly produced types of peppers in Mexico are Serrano, Jalapeño, Guajillo, and Ancho.
This creamy jalapeño salsa is really easy to make, it lasts for several days in your fridge, and can be used for tacos, grilled meats, and even on top of fried eggs! And of course with tortilla chips.
How to make Creamy Jalapeño Salsa
DIRECTIONS:
- Cut the jalapeños lengthwise and remove the stems, veins, and seeds. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- Place peppers and peeled garlic clove into a saucepan and cover with 1½ cups of water.
- Turn the heat up to bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Place a lid on without completely covering the saucepan, allowing some space to release the steam. Cook like this for about 12-15 minutes.
- Once the peppers and garlic are cooked and cooled, place them in your blender with about 1/3 cup of the cooking water and the vegetable oil. Process until you have a very fine and creamy sauce.
Season with salt and enjoy your Creamy Jalapeño Salsa!
For this recipe, I used my Vitamix Blender, a pairing knife to remove the seeds.
CREAMY JALAPENO SALSA
Ingredients
- 8 Jalapeño peppers
- 1 medium-size garlic clove
- 1½ cups of water
- 1 /3 cup vegetable oil*
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut the jalapeños lengthwise and remove the stems, veins, and seeds (if you want a rather mild salsa). If you want your salsa very spicy, leave the veins and just remove the seeds.
- Place peppers and peeled garlic clove into a saucepan and cover with 1½ cups of water.
- Turn the heat up to bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Place a lid on without completely covering the saucepan, allowing some space to release the steam. Cook like this for about 12-15 minutes until the peppers are cooked. If needed, add more water while cooking, just enough to cover the peppers.
- Once the peppers and garlic are cooked and cooled, place them in your blender with about 1/3 cup of the cooking water and the vegetable oil. Process until you have a very fine and creamy sauce. Sometimes, I process the salsa just with the water and then pour the oil slowly through the hole in the small cap on the lid.
Season with salt and enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t have Jalapeños, use Serranos (about 12 regular size Serranos).
- Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, so if you plan on using another type of oil, like olive oil, keep in mind that it will affect the final flavor of the salsa.
Nutrition
Buen provecho!
If you like this recipe maybe you will like to check the recipe for Creamy Habanero Salsa or check more salsa recipes ionour blog in Spanish, Mexico en mi Cocina.
Yolanda
Muchas Gracias por la receta, Se puede congelar?
La quiero hacer aprovechando que nuestra xosecha dio mucho jalapeño.
mmartinez
Hola Yolanda,
Puedes congelar los jalapeños enteros, nunca he congelado esta salsa. Pero puedes tratar.
Saludos!
Yolanda
Gracias!!
Gissie
So so good , Gracias from a Belgium fan
mmartinez
Hello Gissie,
Thank you for visiting Mexico in my Kitchen, and for trying the Creamy Jalapeño salsa. So glad to know you like it!
Genell LeBoeuf
Good Morning!! I am writing to you to ask how do you eat this? Is this a soup?
I want to make it tonight but didn’t know if I am buying chips or getting a spoon!
Thank you!!
mmartinez
Hello Genell,
This Jalapeño salsa is used with chips, tacos or grilled meats.
Red
Love this! I’ve made it several times… everyone likes it, and so easy to make!😘
mmartinez
Hello Red,
So glad you like it. I can’t stop eating it too! So good with chips!
Esther
me encanto esta receta …. La ise y mmmm esta riquísima… Muchas gracias
mmartinez
Hola Esther,
que gusto saber que te encanto la receta de la salsa cremosa de chile jalapeño.
Guero Collins
I’ve been trying to find a recipe like this that is close to a green sauce at my favorite local taqueria. The family doesn’t reveal their secret :). I added a habanero and a couple of serranos since I only 4-5 jalapeños when I made this. I substituted avocado oil in place of the vegetable oil since I’m on keto, tossed in half an avocado fo thicken the texture just a little. Oh my goodness! ¡Maravillosa!
Thank you so much!
mmartinez
Hello Guero, that is the good thing about salsas, you can adjust them to the peppers you have in your kitchen. Thank you for trying the creamy jalapeño salsa.
David
Mely,
I have a creamy green salsa version that is basically the same ingedients but a slightly different preparation method.
A different version that has a darker color and somewhat richer flavor can be made by heating the 1/3 C vegetable oil to low 300 F and then fry the jalapeno’s whole until their skins blister a bit. Add the whole garlic cloves and cook maybe 5-7 minutes total. Let peppers cool in the oil, transfer everything to the blender jar and add water while blending to make a creamy sauce. I also add lime juice or vinegar to sharpen the salsa taste. If blending whole jalapenos, a coarse strainer can be used to remove bits of seeds and charred skin. I was told this recipe by some Mexican resto workers and they also said that some restos add a small amount of Worcestershire sauce for extra flavor although it darkens the color.
mmartinez
Hello David,
Yes, you are right, That is another way to make this salsa. It gives added flavor to the salsa. Happy cooking!
Amy
Thank you so much for this easy recipe!! I’m still trying to perfect it to taste more like my favorite restaurants salsa but this is very close! I add a few cloves of garlic, half an avocado (or a little less if it’s a big avocado) a half handful of cilantro and extra salt-follow the rest of your recipe exactly and it tastes so phenomenal!!! My husband from El Mogote, Mexico loves it too!!
Mindy
Mine came out very creamy… but after a night in the fridge, it separates every time. What am I doing wrong? How do you keep it from separating, and how do you keep it creamy out of the fridge? Thanks!
mmartinez
Hello Mindy,
Maybe you are processing too much in the blender. Try to reheat it and stir to have a homogenous sauce again.
Mindy
Thank you! I’ll try that 🙂
Kara
Making this for the second time today. It’s absolutely incredible! I add a small capful of vinegar to mine for just the slightest touch of acid. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! ❤️
Judy Peacock
I just made this but it’s not spicy. Can I add some of the uncooked veins and seeds to the blender?
Mely Martínez
Hello Judy,
Yes, you can. Many times jalapeño peppers are not spicy, that depends a lot about the way they were harvested.
Daniella
Thank you soooo much and this recipe helped me feel so much closer to my home state Texas! I’m living on the east coast so, it has been rough trying to piece together what I know and what my parents and cousins can tell me through phone calls and social media messages. I’ve just found your website on pinterest and it has been a gift I’ve been looking for! This recipe was pretty sweet and it made my meals so much better!! (Your meals aren’t complete if you don’t have any sort of chile or salsa on the side.)
Mely Martínez
Hello Daniella,
You are right, the salsa has to be at the table with your meals. Happy Cooking!