Pure Jalapeño Salsa
Updated April 29, 2025
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4jalapeños, stemmed
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
16 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 1 gram protein; 71 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup water and the jalapeños and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the jalapeños have softened and are just holding their shape, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool; reserve the cooking liquid.
- Step 2
Working in batches, use a molcajete or mortar and pestle (or a medium bowl with a potato masher, large spoon or forks) to smash and grind the jalapeños until a chunky paste forms. (Alternatively, use a blender and purée on low speed until the salsa is almost smooth but some pieces remain.)
- Step 3
Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in ¼ cup of the reserved cooking liquid, the garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Taste and season with more salt if desired. (To store, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.)
- If you’d like, allow the salsa to sit out at room temperature to ferment for 3 to 4 days, depending on how warm your house is. (The ferment mellows the heat of the jalapeños and brings a hint of acidity.)
Private Notes
Comments
Rick Martinez explains precisely why he prefers garlic powder to raw garlic ".... the chiles become the perfect backdrop for garlic powder, which deepens as it sits, taking on a warm, almost toasty edge you’d never get from raw garlic." I don't generally keep garlic powder on hand but when someone like Rick Martinez explains why to use it, I think I'll give it a try.
Botulism is anaerobic. It’s not going to grow in an unsealed bowl of mashed jalapeños.
Why would one need to use garlic powder, when a clove or two of real garlic, peeled and smashed with a knife on a cutting board, then finely chopped, would add its own tasty complexities? There is no substitute!
Delicious. Double the recipe. Put it in a grilled cheese sandwich.
I have made this 3 times now, following the recipe exactly as written. I love it as is, but I have made it at times when I had a couple tomatoes laying around, I've used the soaking water from all my various chillies i use in other sauces, its a great base recipe to build on, I've really grown to love taking the leftover salsa and recreating it, making it more of a roja/taqueria sauce, my favorite type of sauce. It's a staple recipe good for so many things
When you say stemmed, do you mean just cut off the stems and leave the rest, or are we also supposed to remove the white inner core? It says they should keep their shape after cooking so I assume they should not be cut in half…
Cut the top off, the inside is up to you, that white flesh can be bitter and thats where most of your heat is found. I'll usually leave a quarter of the seeds and flesh to make sure we still get some heat. A pairing knife is a good took to get down in the cavity without breaking the pepper in half. I have a tiny spoon that came with a set of edible glitters and I use that little guy to get down in there, it's perfect for the job and so many others, it's quite handy.
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