Chipotle Salsa
This chipotle salsa recipe is fresh and delicious, with extra depth from smoky chipotle peppers. It's easy to make with pantry ingredients!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
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Brighten your day with this chipotle salsa recipe! Make it for an afternoon snack with tortilla chips, or serve it alongside your favorite Mexican recipes. This chipotle salsa is a little smoky, somewhat spicy (or downright spicy, if you wish), and totally irresistible.
This salsa is based on my go-to red salsa recipe, with the addition of smoky chipotle peppers. Chipotle peppers are vine-ripened jalapeños that are smoked and dried, so they offer great depth of flavor. For this recipe, we’ll use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, so they’re ready to blend into the salsa.
This chipotle salsa requires only seven basic ingredients, and the end result tastes so fresh. You’ll need canned tomatoes, onion and garlic, fresh cilantro, jalapeño and chipotle peppers, and fresh lime.
This chipotle salsa is easy to make and comes together in about 10 minutes. Keep reading for a few more tips and the full recipe. I hope you love this one as much as I do.
Chipotle Salsa Tips
To save some time, just roughly chop the garlic and onion. We’ll use the food processor to chop them more finely. I love shortcuts that work!
Fire-roasted tomatoes offer greater depth of flavor than regular canned tomatoes, but not all brands taste good. Muir Glen’s fire-roasted tomatoes never disappoint. We’ll drain off a portion of the tomato juices before adding the tomatoes to the food processor, which prevents the salsa from being too watery.
You’ll find canned or jarred chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the international aisle of well-stocked grocery stores. To store leftover peppers, transfer the peppers and some of the adobo sauce to a small freezer bag. Squeeze out the air, seal it fully, and flatten the peppers in the bag. Place the bag flat in the freezer and store for up to 6 months. Whenever you need chipotle peppers, simply tear off what you need.
This salsa is inherently a little spicy, and you can make it extra spicy if you’d like. You could omit the jalapeño altogether to make it closer to mild. Since each pepper varies in its spicy level, start with the lower recommended amount of fresh jalapeño and chipotle pepper, then taste and add more chipotle if desired.
Watch How to Make Chipotle Salsa
What to Serve with Chipotle Salsa
Chipotle salsa with tortilla chips will be a welcome snack with any Mexican-inspired recipe, like my Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas or Easy Black Bean Tacos.
For a full spread of appetizers, serve chipotle salsa with Guacamole, Queso, Esquites (Mexican Street Corn Salad) or Elote (Mexican Street Corn) if you’re firing up the grill.
More Homemade Salsa Recipes to Try
Here are a few of my top salsa recipes. Find even more salsas here.
Please let me know how your salsa turns out in the comments! I’m always eager to hear from you.
Chipotle Salsa
This chipotle salsa recipe is fresh and delicious, with extra depth from smoky chipotle peppers. It’s easy to make with mostly pantry ingredients! Recipe yields 2 cups; double the recipe for a big crowd.
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 ounces) diced fire-roasted tomatoes*
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ cup roughly chopped white onion (about ½ small onion)
- ¼ cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ medium jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, and roughly chopped
- 1 to 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice, more if needed
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Drain off about half of the tomato juice from the can (about ⅓ cup) and discard it.
- In a food processor, pulse the garlic to chop it more finely. Add the tomatoes and all of the remaining juice from the can. Add the onion, cilantro, jalapeño, 1 chipotle pepper, lime juice, and salt.
- Process the mixture until it is mostly smooth and no big chunks of tomato or onion remain, scraping down the sides as necessary. Taste, and add another chipotle pepper or 2 if you prefer spicier salsa. Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt, if necessary.
- Serve the salsa immediately or store it for later. This salsa keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 10 days.
Notes
*Tomato notes: I like Muir Glen brand fire-roasted tomatoes for reliably great flavor. You can use regular diced tomatoes, but your salsa won’t have the same depth of flavor.
Can I can this salsa? This recipe has not been validated for canning safety. Please do not can this salsa. I recommend this recipe instead.
Leftover chipotle peppers? Transfer the peppers and some of the adobo sauce to a small freezer bag. Squeeze out the air, seal it fully, and flatten the peppers in the bag. Place the bag flat in the freezer. Whenever you need chipotle peppers, tear off what you need!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
You know what beats having a leftover can of chipotle that you have to find some way to use or save for later?
La Costeña diced chipotle peppers! It’s so great. Just spoon out as much as you need, shove it back in the fridge.
https://www.lacostena.com.mx/en/products/diced-chipotle-peppers/
Thanks, Karen! I forgot about that option!
This is exactly what I’m looking for! Most store-bought salsa’s don’t excite me….
Could you tell us how long this will keep in the fridge?
And after it’s made, can you freeze it?
Much appreciation from Jennifer
Hi Jennifer! Glad to hear it. Homemade salsa—even when it’s made from canned tomatoes—tastes far superior to the store-bought salsas. This one will keep for up to 10 days in the fridge. I haven’t frozen it but I do believe that would work well. Just let it defrost in the fridge. You could even freeze it in an ice cube tray for smaller portions that would defrost quicker.
A fantastic mix of flavors with a deep rich color kept people going back for more. A must for this football season.
Thank you, Vanessa! So glad you enjoyed it.
I made this today, and it was a big hit!! I used two chipotle peppers and about 1/2 tablespoon of the adobo sauce; I added just the right amount of smoke and heat. This was also very easy to make, and I will make it again.
That’s great to hear! Thank you, Carrie!
Hi there, I live in Italy and cannot get fire roasted canned tomatoes. Maybe you can provide a homemade way to make these sometime. Just a thought!
Thank you and I appreciate your lovely site.
Regards
Andie
Hi Andie! Can you get chipotle peppers over there? If so, I’d make this recipe with your favorite canned tomatoes. I also have a recipe for roasted tomato salsa in my cookbook, to which you could add chipotle peppers.
Simple and delicious. Will definitely be making again — and that might have to be tomorrow because today’s salsa is half gone already. ;-) Thank you for a great recipe.
You’re welcome, Janna!
Excellent salsa, I love that you specified white onions, they have a sharper, cleaner flavor making the salsa sing a bit. We like it hot, so I fire burned one whole jalapeno over the gas stove (love my gas stove) before chopping.
Your version sounds fantastic! Thank you, Karen.
I love the everyday red salsa recipe, make it all the time, and this is a great variation! Thanks!
You’re welcome, Elizabeth!
Forgot to post star rating! 5. Wonderful fresh and smoky blend of flavors!
Thanks for sharing this perfect recipe. My four teens can’t get enough, it’s on repeat in our house. Xx
Great to hear, Tara!
Great salsa that’s easy to make! Perfect chip dip for parties; I use it as a cooking sauce as well. Just dump it onto chicken (or fish, with a squeeze of lemon) and cook in a covered saucepan. Toss in frozen chopped spinach for a complete and very low-cal meal.
If you have a Mexican grocery nearby, you can probably buy moritas, which are smoked & dried jalapenos, for a fraction of the cost of the jarred adobo product. They keep for a long time (probably forever in the freezer), and just need to be soaked in water (or some of that juice from the canned tomatos) to make them recipe-ready.
Thank you for sharing, Jim! I’m happy you enjoy this salsa.