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This Chili’s Salsa Recipe is so easy to make at home and tastes just like the restaurant favorite appetizer. So grab a bag of tortilla chips and a bowl and get ready for the tastiest copycat recipe ever!
Featured with this recipe
I love a good copycat recipe and this Chili’s Restaurant Salsa Recipe is hands down one of the best! It has all the best flavors of homemade salsa but without a lot of time and fuss. Serve with some Chili’s chips or your favorite thin corn tortilla chips and you have a perfect appetizer for Mexican meal night, game day, or whenever snack time strikes. This can also be made in big batches so you can have it on hand for a crowd.
Ingredients in Chili’s Salsa Recipe
This Chili’s copycat salsa comes together with just a few ingredients, mostly pantry staples, so you can whip up a batch any time you like. Your kids can make this as a snack with very little instruction. Here’s all you need:
- Petite diced tomatoes – one can (or about 14.5 ounces). Canned tomatoes are perfect to use in this salsa, because they’re easy to puree. You can use whole tomatoes and just give them a quick chop.
- Original Rotel Diced Tomatoes – One can. I like to use the kind with diced green chiles.
- Diced jalapeño peppers – two teaspoons jalapenos, or more if you like a little more heat. Remember the spice lives in the seeds, so be cautious as you dice and add these to the salsa.
- Yellow onion – about half an onion, thickly sliced. It won’t matter how chunky you slice the onion, since you’ll be blending it all together anyway
- Garlic powder – about one teaspoon
- Sugar – just about half a teaspoon to balance out all the acidity of the tomatoes and spices. Add one tsp sugar if you like a little ore sweetness to your salsa.
- Salt – one and a half teaspoons
- Cumin – one teaspoon cumin gives your batch of homemade salsa a nice, smoky flavor without being too hot.
- Dried cilantro – one teaspoon. You can definitely use fresh cilantro if you like. You can find fresh cilantro in the produce section of your grocery store.
- Lime juice – two teaspoons
Simple Instructions to this Copycat Chili’s Salsa Recipe
Faster than you can pop open a bottle of store bought salsa, you can have fresh, restaurant quality salsa at home to beat those snack cravings.
- First, add all the ingredients together into a blender or food processor.
- Blend for about 20 seconds, and then pulse until you’ve reached the desired consistency. Some people like it a little chunky while others prefer a smooth salsa.
- Pour the salsa into a mason jar or other quart jar, then pop it into the refrigerator. It tastes better after a couple of hours of chilling.
What to Serve with Chili’s Salsa
While this Chili’s copycat salsa is perfect with just a bowl of your favorite chips, you can use it in all sorts of ways!
- Make salsa chicken, by pouring this salsa over chicken breasts and baking in the oven.
- Serve on top of cheese quesadillas, and add some extra green chilies as a garnish. Serve with sour cream and guacamole.
- Create a nacho platter with tortilla chips, melted cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, and guacamole, with Chili’s salsa as a topping.
- Use the salsa to top your favorite tacos or burritos for a zesty, homemade flavor.
- Mix the salsa into Mexican rice or use it as a topping.
- Turn regular stuffed peppers into a Mexican dinner by adding the salsa into the bell pepper stuffing.
How to Store Homemade Salsa
This Chili’s salsa needs to stay refrigerated. It should chill at least two hours before serving. Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to a week in a tightly covered jar. Of course, if you want to increase the shelf life, you can freeze this salsa too. Place the salsa into a freezer-safe container and store for a couple of months. Thaw in the fridge until ready to use.
Frequently Asked Questions
This simple recipe is made with rich, savory tomatoes, spicy jalapenos and yellow onion with bursts of lime juice and cilantro. The flavor combination makes the perfect dip for chips, tortillas and more.
The flavors blend together the longer it sets, so it’s best to store in the fridge overnight before serving. You can keep it fresh in the refrigerator for about a week.
An open jar of store-bought salsa will last about 4 weeks in the fridge. However this homemade salsa doesn’t have as many preservatives so it’ll only stay fresh for about a week. Check for any signs of spoilage before serving. You can also freeze the salsa in an airtight container for up to two months.
READ MORE: 75+ Cinco de Mayo Recipes
More Salsa Recipes
If your family loves dips as much as we do, you know there are dozens of salsa recipes worthy of dipping chips, veggies and more! Try some of these favorites (hint: you get enough dips together it can constitute as a whole meal!)
How to Make Chili’s Salsa
Chili’s Salsa Copycat Recipe
Video
Equipment
- blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 (10-ounce) can Original Ro*tel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
- 2 teaspoons diced jalapeno peppers canned or fresh (add more if you like it hot)
- ½ small yellow onion, thickly sliced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor.
- Blend for 20 seconds or until desired chunkiness.
- Pour into a quart jar, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
Ways to Use Chili’s Salsa
- Make salsa chicken, by pouring this salsa over chicken breasts and baking in the oven.
- Serve on top of cheese quesadillas, and add some extra green chilies as a garnish. Serve with sour cream and guacamole.
- Create a nacho platter with tortilla chips, melted cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, and guacamole, with Chili’s salsa as a topping.
- Use the salsa to top your favorite tacos or burritos for a zesty, homemade flavor.
- Mix the salsa into Mexican rice or use it as a topping.
Made this for the “big game” on Sunday and forgot to leave a review. The first thing hubby said after tasting it was “Save that recipe!”. It is delicious! And it rivals Chili’s salsa. Also tastes even better a few days after making it. Bravo!