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Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!! 🥳
Today, I have for you a super easy Jalapeno sauce that can be used in so many different ways.
I first tried this sauce last summer on our family vacation when my cousin made it. He said he had it at a Mexican, or Tex-Mex restaurant, in Texas, where he lives – of course, Texas has delicious Mexican food, so good! Anyways, when he was describing it to me, that all it is is jalapenos blended with avocado oil and lime juice…. I was skeptical.
Then I tried it. It was so good! It’s so fresh tasting, spicy, light, creamy, and so addicting. He served it with tortilla chips for dipping, but also suggested drizzling it on our fajitas he had made for our dinner.
I was hooked, and knew I must make my own version!!!
Ingredients for jalapeno sauce:
- jalapenos – For some spicy goodness! (I will discuss later how to adjust the spice level to your liking)
- poblano peppers – a less spicy pepper that adds complex fresh flavor to the sauce.
- garlic cloves – for garlicky goodness.
- cilantro leaves, and stems – For some herb-y goodness. I can’t resist adding cilantro to anything I can!
- Juice of a lime – for some much needed brightness and tang.
- kosher salt – to bring out the flavors
- agave nectar (optional) – only a little. If you need to cut the acidity and the heat just a skosh.
- avocado oil – or another neutral tasting oil. This helps to create an emulsion, which creates a creamy, smooth sauce/dip.
That’s all you need to make one tasty jalapeno sauce….or dip.
Gah! I love a good versatile recipe! 🖤
How to make jalapeno sauce:
- Add everything to a blender and blend!!! Literally that’s all there is to it!!
- Chill – for at least 2 hour. – This is especially nice if you are serving the sauce as more of a dip with tortillas. But, it is not 100% essential.
- Grab some tortilla chips. Or a taco…and start dipping!
Is this jalapeno sauce super spicy?
Yes and no.
You can adjust the heat level by removing all of the seeds and ribs from the jalapenos, or adding some of them in, or all of them in. The seeds and membrane is where the heat lives – the fresh pepper flavor is in the actual fruit of the pepper.
Since the spice level of jalapeno peppers can vary quite a bit from jalapeno pepper to jalapeno pepper…
Here is what I suggest:
Remove all of the seeds and membranes from all of your jalapenos, but reserve them. Blend all the ingredients together and taste for spice level. Then you can add the jalapeno seeds and membranes into the sauce, one at a time so that you can add more heat as you like it.
What can I serve jalapeno sauce with?
So many things! Here are some ideas:
- Serve it as an appetizer, or side dish with tortilla chips for dipping. We LOVE!
Or serve it alongside your favorite Mexican dishes for a dipping/drizzling sauce. Hers are suggestions:
- tacos
- quesadillas
- burritos
- enchiladas
- tamales
- fajitas
I also think this sauce would be great with:
- chicken dishes
- scrambled eggs
- breakfast tacos
- Mexican, or Western inspired omelets
Here are some of my favorite recipes for you try jalapenos sauce with:
- shrimp tacos with jalapeno sauce – (features this very jalapeno sauce. SO GOOD!)
- easy chipotle black bean burgers
- lentil quesadillas
- sofritas burrito bowls
- taco stuffed zucchini boats
- 30 minute sheet pan chicken fajitas
As you can see this jalapeno sauce, or dip, is like gold. It can be served with a number of dishes, anytime you need a little somethin’ somethin’, weather it’s for dipping chips into, or for drizzling onto a meal.
Don’t you just love recipes like this?!?!
Reasons you will love jalapeno sauce:
- it’s easy to make – 10 minutes and done!
- it goes with so many things (see above)
- it’s beautifully green
- it’s fresh tasting, a little spicy and so delicious
- It’s a great way to make use of excess jalapenos. (If you grow them in your garden, you know what I’m talking about lol.)
- it’s vegan and vegetarian
- it’s dairy free
- it’s gluten free
- it’s made entirely with vegetables!!!
I hope you enjoy this simple, but fun recipe as much as we did.
So far we only ate it as a dip with tortilla chips, but I am excited to eat it drizzled on top of all those Mexican dishes I suggested above.
As always, if you make his recipe don’t forget to leave a comment below, along with a star rating.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This helps to support my blog. Also, I love hearing from you. Thanks for being here! 😀
More dips and sauces recipes for you to love:
Easy Jalapeno Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- optional, but recommended chill time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: about 2 cups 1x
- Category: appetizer, side, dip, sauce, healthy, easy, 10 ingredients or less
- Method: blender
- Cuisine: gluten free, dairy free, vegan, egg free, nut free
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A fresh tasting, spicy sauce that is great for dipping tortilla chips into, or drizzling onto your favorite Mexican dishes, or so many other recipes. Jalapeno sauce is super easy to make and bursting with flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 jalapenos
- 2 poblano peppers
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup cilantro, tender stems included
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- optional: 1/2 to 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon avocado oil (See notes)
An option for dipping:
- tortilla chips (see notes for more options for serving this sauce)
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients: Slice the stem end of you jalapenos off discard, slice the jalapenos in half. At this point you can remove all, or some of the seeds and membrane from the jalapenos, or keep them in. This is where the spice lives. Since jalapenos can vary quite a bit in how spicy they are here is my suggestion: remove the seeds and membrane, but reserve them. Proceed with making the sauce, taste, and add the seeds and membrane into the sauce to increase the heat, as you like it. This way you don’t end up with a super spicy sauce if you don’t want it. At this time, also remove the stem end, and slice the poblanos in half, removing their seeds, discard the seeds. Peel the garlic cloves, you can leave them whole.
- Blend: Transfer all of the ingredients (except for the jalapeno seeds, if you want to wait to see how spicy your sauce is) to a blender. Blend on high, scraping down sides as needed. The sauce should be mostly smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, or add those jalapeno seeds in to make the sauce more spicy. Also, at this time add the agave nectar if you need to round out the acidify of the lime juice a little – it’s not so much that it will make the sauce sweet.
- Optional Chill: You can use the jalapeno sauce immediately if you’re in a rush, but it is best if it’s chilled for at least 2 hours. This is especially nice when you are serving it as a dip with tortillas. It’s less important to chill the sauce if you are drizzling it over an entrée.
- Serve: There are so many ways you can use this jalapeno sauce. We really love it as a dip with tortilla chips for an appetizer, or a side dish. However, I know it would be delicious as a sauce drizzled on almost any Mexican dishes: tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos etc. I also think it would be good on eggs and chicken. There are so many possibilities! (See links to recipe ideas in the post above).
Notes
Variations: You can use all jalapenos and omit the poblano peppers, if you want. I would use about 3 or 4 more jalapenos in place of the poblano peppers. This will result in a spicier sauce, but again, you can adjust the spice level a little by not using all of the seeds, if you want. I have had this sauce made using all jalapenos, it was really good.
Avocado oil: You can use any neutral tasting oil here. The purpose of the oil is to create an emulsification to make the sauce creamy. However, I really like avocado oil because it’s a nice clean oil that I always have on hand for cooking.
Cilantro: if you aren’t a fan of cilantro, you can omit it from the recipe. However, it isn’t a super strong flavor in the sauce either.
Tips for using a low powered blender: Make sure to add the avocado oil and lime juice to the blender first. Then, add half of the ingredients to the blender at a time. You may have to stop the blender and use a spoon to push the peppers down a few times.
Leftovers: This sauce is best eaten within 4 days. However, it never lasts quite that long in our house lol!
This recipe was adapted from a recipe my cousin made for us on vacation. He said he had it at a Mexican, or Tex-Mex restaurant in Texas, where he is from.
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