Serrano Salsa
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This easy Serrano Salsa recipe packs some serious flavor! Sautéed serrano peppers and aromatics are blended with lime juice and simple spices to give you a 20-minute condiment to serve with tacos, tortilla chips, and more.
Just like healthy caesar dressing and cherry tomato pasta sauce, salsa is a condiment I’d rather make from scratch than buy from the grocery store. The homemade version is not only quick and easy but always tastes much more zingy and fresh! Plus, I can’t get over the endless flavor combinations to play with.
You wouldn’t typically see this serrano pepper salsa in a grocery store but I’m practically obsessed with it! Spicy serrano peppers are sautéed with onion and garlic before being blended with simple flavor boosters like lime juice, cilantro, and cumin. After only 20 minutes of hands-on work, you’re left with an exciting condiment you’ll always want in your fridge.
Recipe features
- The star of this spicy green salsa is fresh serrano peppers, AKA jalapeno’s spicier cousin!
- It’s an easy 20-minute recipe that blends simple yet flavor-packed Mexican ingredients into a smooth and fiery green sauce.
- Serve the spicy serrano salsa with tortilla chips for dipping or drizzle it over tacos!
Ingredients
Serrano peppers – These small Mexican chili peppers look a lot like jalapeno peppers, with their bright green skin, flesh, and small stems. You need a whopping 10 serrano peppers for this salsa recipe, so head to your local Latin market or farmer’s market to find the best peppers.
Onion and garlic – Yellow or white onion and fresh garlic cloves are sautéed with the serrano peppers to bring out their hidden flavors and give the salsa deeper savory notes.
Lime juice – Freshly squeezed lime juice brightens up this spicy salsa. Feel free to use bottled lime juice if that’s what you already have at home.
Cumin – Ground cumin lends a smokiness that compliments the spicy peppers really well.
Fresh cilantro – For a nice refreshing flavor. If you have the cilantro soap gene, use fresh flat leaf parsley instead.
Instructions
Step 1: Sauté the peppers. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the peppers and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the onion to the pan and once it’s soft, add the garlic. Take the pan off the heat once the garlic is fragrant.
Step 2: Blend. Add the sautéed peppers, onion, and garlic to a blender along with the water, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and cumin. Blend until smooth.
Step 3: Serve. Pour the salsa into a storage container or serve it right away. Enjoy!
Tips and FAQs
- Remember to scoop out the seeds and stems from the peppers ahead of time for a less spicy salsa. They hold most of the heat!
- For a more hands-off approach, place the peppers, onions, and garlic on a baking sheet and broil them in the oven for about 7 minutes. Flip them over and broil on the other side for another 5 minutes or until they’re fragrant and lightly charred.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tip
Sautéing the peppers, onions, and garlic in a hot, oiled pan is the secret to unlocking their hidden savory-smoky flavors and giving you a restaurant-quality salsa.
Variations
- Make tomato serrano salsa instead – Roast about 15 Roma tomatoes in a 400ºF oven until they’re soft and juicy, then blend them into the salsa (in batches) for a tangy, spicy, and refreshing tomato and serrano salsa.
- Add tomatillos – Peeled and broiled tomatillos will turn this into a spicy salsa verde recipe. Check out this guide on roasting tomatillos from Chili Pepper Madness for extra help.
- Can’t find serrano peppers? Replace them with an equal amount of jalapeno peppers instead.
Serving suggestions
One taste and you’ll want this spicy condiment in your fridge at all times! It’s delicious as a dip for tortilla chips or vegetables, but also adds a bold kick of flavor to almost everything, like:
- Rice: Stir a few tablespoons of the salsa into a batch of cilantro lime brown rice or plain cooked white or brown rice to give it an exciting burst of flavor and a refreshing green color.
- Tacos: You can drizzle the salsa over slow cooker chicken tacos, crockpot beef tacos, blackened shrimp tacos, chickpea tacos, and more!
- Steak: Use the salsa as a steak sauce for carne asada or grilled skirt or flank steak.
- Enchiladas: Drizzle it over chicken or beef enchiladas, tofu enchiladas, or green chicken enchilada soup for an exciting finishing touch.
- Salads: Thin some of the salsa with a little water and drizzle it over a taco salad, southwest chicken salad, BBQ chicken salad, or any other leafy green salad.
- Grilled chicken: Brush the salsa over pan-seared chicken breasts, grilled chicken thighs, or air fryer chicken drumsticks while they’re grilling for a bold kick of flavor.
- Quesadillas: Enjoy it as a flavor-packed dipping sauce for bean and cheese quesadillas.
- Eggs: Just like hot sauce, a little serrano salsa drizzled over your eggs in the morning is so tasty!
What’s the difference between serrano peppers and jalapeno peppers?
Serrano and jalapeno peppers have a lot in common! They’re both small green spicy peppers you can enjoy raw, pickled, or cooked in many different dishes, from salsas to soups to drinks. Both peppers have a sweet and spicy flavor, but serranos are about 5 to 10 times hotter than jalapenos.
Are serrano peppers spicy?
Think of serranos as a jalapeno pepper’s somewhat spicier cousin. According to Chili Pepper Madness, serrano peppers have 10,000 – 23,000 Scoville Heat Units, meaning they have a mild to medium level of heat depending on your heat tolerance.
Storage
Refrigerator: The leftover serrano salsa will keep for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. Store it in a sealed glass container to maintain freshness.
Freezer: You can also freeze the salsa in a large ziplock bag for about 3 or 4 months.
More easy salsa recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Serrano Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 10 serrano peppers, stems and seeds removed
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 cup water, or more as needed
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp cumin
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the peppers. Saute the peppers for 4-5 minutes, then add the onion. Continue sauteing until the onion is soft, 3-5 minutes, then add the garlic and saute for 1 more minute; remove from the heat.
- In a blender, add the water, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and cumin. Then, add the peppers, onion, and garlic and blend until smooth.
- Transfer salsa to a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to 30 days. Serve with tortilla chips or your favorite chopped vegetables. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Just recently picked 10 Serranos from my new Serrano plant and came here to see the recipe called for 10 Serranos. Perfect! So I gave this recipe a try. The salsa is delicious! Had to come here to give it a review since there weren’t any yet. Thanks!
Thanks so much for the review — I’m glad you enjoyed the salsa!