• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Wheat by the Wayside
  • Home
  • All Recipes
  • About
  • Free Mini-Series
  • Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
menu icon
go to homepage
  • All Recipes
  • Christmas
  • About
  • Free Mini-Series
  • Work with Me
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • All Recipes
    • Christmas
    • About
    • Free Mini-Series
    • Work with Me
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Appetizers & Snacks

    Restaurant-Style Chipotle Salsa

    Published: Feb 12, 2019 · Updated: Feb 3, 2021 by Katie Olesen · This post may contain affiliate links, through which I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

    Save or Share this Post!

    449 shares
    • Share10
    • Reddit
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Restaurant-Style Chipotle Salsa comes together in as little as five minutes! It uses canned tomatoes combined with a few fresh ingredients for to make a fresh and spicy salsa! Sure to be your new favorite!

    Chipotle salsa in a bowl surrounded by chips.

    I've been making this quick and easy restaurant-style chipotle salsa for quite a while. It's so fast and easy to make and tastes like a restaurant salsa! You just pop the ingredients into a blender or food processor, give it a whiz, and voila! Amazing salsa!

    Have you ever bought chipotle chiles in adobo? I always seem to have a little jar of it in my fridge. They're just so good in everything from tacos to chili, and well, this salsa. I'm telling you, once you fall in love with that little can of chipotle peppers in adobo, there's no way out. You start putting them in everything! Side note: did you know a chipotle pepper is just a dried jalapeño? I bet you didn't!

    Ingredients in Restaurant-Style Chipotle Salsa

    Ingredients for easy salsa: canned tomatoes, lime, chipotles, onion, garlic, and cilantro.

    The star of this show, much to the chagrin of the chipotles, is canned tomatoes. That's the base for this salsa and also what makes it so easy and so accessible! You don't have to wait until those beautiful ripe tomatoes are bursting from your garden to have fresh salsa. I always opt for fire-roasted diced tomatoes. They add an extra layer of flavor that I really like, especially since this salsa isn't cooked.

    Next, the fresh ingredients:

    • onion, the sweeter the better.
    • garlic
    • jalapeno pepper, remove the seeds! Or don't, but I do.
    • fresh lime juice from an actual lime. Please and thank you.
    • and cilantro, unless you think it tastes like soap. Lucky for me, it doesn't!

    Lastly, the back-up MVP. The ingredient that maybe should get the trophy but didn't because even though he scored the winning goal, he wasn't the QB:

    Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce! These guys are seriously one of the most underrated ingredients. Period. If you've never used them, then just trust me and try them in this salsa. They can be spicy, BUT you can tame them down by removing the seeds!

    Here's how:

    With a sharp knife, cut a slit lengthwise in the pepper and open it up. You’ll likely see a bunch of seeds.  Use the back of the knife to scrape them out. Then use the remaining flesh of the pepper in the salsa.

    To store the leftover chipotle peppers in adobo: keep them in a jar in the fridge. They will last for weeks! Toss them in your cooking wherever you need a little smoky, spicy flavor!

    Making the Salsa

    I make this salsa in the food processor. Admittedly, I'm a crazy foodie that's always in the kitchen. I use my food processor all the time so it lives on my counter. I know that's not normal. You might not have a food processor or like lugging it out. In that case, you could use a blender or just chop everything up by hand. The salsa will be delicious no matter the method. The food processor, though, is what makes this salsa come together so quickly and easily!

    steps to make salsa in the food processor

    To make this 5-minute salsa, first put everything but the tomatoes in the food processor and pulse a few times. Then dump in the tomatoes and pulse a couple more times. That's it! It really is that quick and that easy. I find that this salsa will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator. I just keep it in a mason jar with a lid!

    Chipotle salsa in a bowl surrounded by chips.

    Since you made it this far, why not check out some more of my Mexican-inspired recipes?!

    • Chicken Tinga Tostadas are the perfect Taco Tuesday Twist!
    • We love a good Chicken Fajita! You will too!
    • Don't forget the guacamole!
    Dipping a tortilla chip into a bowl of salsa.

    Recipe

    chipotle restaurant style salsa in a bowl surrounded by chips.

    Restaurant Style Chipotle Salsa

    Katie Olesen
    All you need is five minutes and a few ingredients to make fresh and spicy restaurant style chipotle salsa!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Save Saved!
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Total Time 5 minutes mins
    Course Appetizer
    Diet Gluten Free
    Servings 3 cups
    Calories 10 kcal
    Prevent your screen from going dark.

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 small onion, 1 cup chopped
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
    • ¼ cup cilantro
    • 1 lime
    • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo + 2 teaspoons of the sauce, seeds removed from pepper
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 2 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes

    Instructions
     

    • Put all ingredients except the tomatoes into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times until the ingredients are chopped.
    • Add in the tomatoes and pulse a few more times.  Refrigerate until serving.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 10kcal
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and star rating below!

    More Gluten-free Appetizer and Snack Recipes

    • Golden brown gluten free garlic bread on a baking sheet.
      Gluten-Free Garlic Bread: Quick & Easy Recipe
    • A bowl full of candy corn trail mix: candy corn, peanuts, and spice drops.
      Candy Corn Trail Mix
    • Melty cheese pull of broken open cheese curd.
      Gluten-Free Cheese Curds - Culver's Copycat - Air Fried or Deep Fried
    • A bowl of homemade (flower-shaped) cheez-it crackers.
      Best Homemade Gluten-free Cheez-It Crackers Copycat

    Save or Share this Post!

    449 shares
    • Share10
    • Reddit

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Kathy

      February 12, 2019 at 6:04 am

      5 stars
      I’ve made your salsa many times, but haven’t tried this recipe with the chipotle peppers. I’ll put them on my list. And, no, I didn’t know they are dried jalapeños! Great post!

      Reply
      • Katie

        February 12, 2019 at 6:08 am

        Try it! You’ll love it!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Katie Olesen headshot.

    Hi, I'm Katie! I'm the blogger behind Wheat by the Wayside. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2018 and have been following a strict gluten-free diet ever since. The goal of WBTW is to share tried and tested, easy, and delicious gluten-free recipes to give you confidence in the kitchen! 

    More about me →

    Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies

    • Gluten free sugar cookies on parchment lined rack, topped with frosting and sprinkles..
      Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies Recipe: Perfect for Cut Outs
    • Gluten free peanut butter blossom cookies on a vintage starburst metal tray.
      Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms
    • A row of thumbprints with red, white, and green buttercream icing.
      Gluten-free Buttercream Thumbprint Cookies
    • Gluten-free Jam-filled Thumbprint Cookies

    Popular Recipes

    • A stack of gluten-free double chocolate chip cookies.
      Gluten-free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Three gluten-free jiffy style corbbread muffins stacked on a white wooden plate.
      Gluten-Free Jiffy Cornbread Muffin Mix (Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Options)
    • A plate of gluten free Hawaiian rolls, one on it's side to show texture.
      Gluten-free Hawaiian Rolls
    • A stack of 3 ingredient gluten-free flatbread with parsley on top.
      Easy Gluten-free Flatbread
    • Gluten-free Hashbrown Casserole in a white dish, scoop removed on a plate.
      Gluten-Free Hashbrown Casserole
    • Gluten Free White Sauce Béchamel whisked in small saucepan.
      Gluten-Free White Sauce (Béchamel)
    Brand logos where wheat by the wayside has been featured.

    Footer

    Back to Top

    Quick Links

    • Recipe Index
    • Blogging Resources
    • Web Stories

    About

    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Accessibility Statement

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    This site contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

    Copyright © 2023 Katie Olesen | Wheat by the Wayside. Created with the Feast Plugin.