Copycat Chipotle Spicy Salsa

This Copycat Chipotle Spicy Salsa is a must for all Salsa lovers. If you love Salsa with a serious kick, then this salsa recipe is for you.

We love eating salsa in our house. A nice bowl of Hot and Spicy Salsa served with Tortilla Chips makes a great snack or appetizer. We probably do this at least once a week. Sometimes we use store-bought salsa and sometimes we make our own like this Copycat Chipotle Spicy Salsa recipe.

What's different about this Chipotle Salsa Recipe (also called Chipotle Hot Sauce) is that it uses Tomatillos as its main ingredient as opposed to the more traditional red tomato-based salsas. The heat comes from the Red Chilies and the Tabasco Sauce, which can be controlled by adjusting the quantity of each. Personally I like it with the quantities listed below.

The bottom line is this Tomatillo Red Chili Hot Salsa is one of the best salsa recipes out there. Sure a little more work than your usual salsa recipe but well worth it. Once you try this salsa recipe you will never go back to your old salsa recipes.

🌶️ How to make Red Chili Powder

You should be able to find the New Mexico Chili Pods in most grocery stores. They usually come in a bag like in the picture below. Simply rinse them off, cut the stem off and remove the seeds. You can either use a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle to ground them into red chili powder.

⭐ Copycat Rating

Since the goal of a Copycat Recipe is for it to taste exactly like the original, it's only natural to rate this recipe against the original. This Copycat Chipotle Salsa recipe rates a solid 8 out of 10 in my opinion.

💭 Ingredient Substitutions

If you don't have access to New Mexico Red Chilies, you can substitute for California Chilies or Ancho Chilies. California Chilies are not as New Mexico Chilies while the Ancho Chilies are typically hotter than California Chilies. If you don't have any Tabasco Sauce, you can use Cholula, Sriracha or any other Hot Sauce. Since each has different heat levels you will need to adjust the quantities accordingly.

🔪 Equipment Needed

You will need a food processor to make this Copycat Spicy Salsa recipe from Chipotle.

For more great recipes like this one, I suggest you check these recipes out:

• Copycat Chipotle Sweet Corn Salsa
• Copycat Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice
• Spicy Tomatillo Salsa
• Copycat Chipotle Guacamole
• Spicy Chipotle Turkey Burgers

📋 What Ingredients do I need

You will need the following ingredients to make this Copycat Spicy Salsa Recipe from Chipotle (see recipe card for quantities): Tomatillos, Garlic Cloves, New Mexico Red Chilies, Ground Cumin, Lime Zest, Fresh Lime Juice, Tabasco, Salt & Pepper and Tortilla Chips.

🥣 How to make Copycat Chipotle Spicy Salsa

Preheat the oven to broil and set the oven rack to approximately 6 inches from the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place the tomatillos and crushed garlic on the baking sheet and place it in the oven. Broil until the tomatillos are charred, about 12 minutes, flipping halfway through. Peel the garlic.
In a food processor, combine the tomatillos, garlic, ground red chilies, cumin, lime zest and juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Process until the mixture is smooth.
Season to taste with Tabasco. I suggest starting with 1 teaspoon. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of extra ground red chilies if you would like it to a bit spicier. Add salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with tortilla chips or as a topping for your tacos or your breakfast eggs.