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 and this Copycat Chipotle Spicy Salsa does not disappoint!
We probably do this at least once a week. Sometimes we use store-bought salsa and sometimes we make our own like this one or our Copycat Chipotle Sweet Corn Salsa.
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.
How Long Does Salsa Last
While several factors come into play, homemade salsa will last 4 to 6 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze salsa in an airtight container or bag for up to 4 months.
What is Chipotle
If you are not familiar with Chipotle, it’s a chain of fast-casual restaurants specializing in tacos, burrito bowls, and Mission-style burritos.
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.
Gather your Ingredients
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 1/4 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.
Recipe Video
Copycat Chipotle Spicy Salsa
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Ingredients
- 16 medium Tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
- 6 Garlic Cloves, unpeeled and lightly crushed
- 3 Tbsp New Mexico Red Chilies, ground
- 2 Tsp Ground Cumin
- 2 Tsp Lime Zest
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
- Tabasco Sauce, to taste
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Tortilla chips , for serving
Instructions
- 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 1/4 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.
Recipe Video
This was soo good and very easy to make. Since it makes so much I divided the sauce in single use servings and froze it. Tasted just as yummy!
Is this a safe canning recipe.
I have sealed some in mason jars before without any issues.
I am excited to try this recipe. It seems less involved than other salsas I have made. I am very allergic to handling some food items (spicy) and was wondering if I could substitute pure ancho chili powder instead of grinding the chiles myself. Thoughts? Thank you.
I don’t see why you couldn’t use the ancho chili powder instead. Great idea!
Thanks for weighing in, Rodney. I will report back once I find the tomatillos and make the salsa. I appreciate you taking the time.
Mine turned out more brown than red, and tastes off somehow. What should I do? I didn’t deviate at all. Is it likely that I jus didn’t add enough Tobasco?
What kind of chili pods did you use? I list Tabasco for the hot sauce as that is the most common but you can technically use whatever hot sauce you prefer.
For the red chili are you using the already ground red chili (like the powdered kind)
I use dried chili pods as pictures above.
How many dried red chili’s did you use?
I have 3 tablespoons listed on the recipe card. The number of chilies you will need totally depends on their size. Figure on 3 or 4 ground chilies.
Hi I am living in the Uk I seem to be able to find tinned tomatillos, would that work?
You sure can use tomatillos from a can. Just keep in mind that those are usually cooked ahead of time so you will need to adjust for that when doing the veggies. I would add them once the veggies are tender. And don’t forget to drain them from the can before putting them in the skillet.