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This spicy tomatillo red chili salsa is a perfect homemade version of everyone’s favorite hot Chipotle salsa. Charred tomatillos, spicy red chile powder, lime juice, and a little Tabasco create a delightfully flavorful side perfect for tortilla chips, taco salads, or burrito bowls.

A woman's hand holding a tortilla chip with a corner dipped into a deep blood red tomatillo red chili salsa in a bowl.

What We Love About This Recipe

Tomatillo red chili salsa is a thin, liquidy salsa, as opposed to a thick, chunky one. It’s perfect for chips and salsa, or use it on tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, or even on a Mexican salad. If you really want the Chipotle experience at home, try this salsa with these Chipotle copycat carnitas bowls!
It’s incredibly easy to make! Aside from roasting the tomatillos in the oven, there’s no cooking involved – just toss the salsa ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth!
Roasting the tomatillos adds so much depth and complexity to this salsa. If you’ve been making this without roasting the tomatillos first, we’re about to change your life!
You can easily double or triple the recipe for salsa all week long! Refrigerate any leftover salsa in an airtight container and it’ll keep up to 7 days. You can also freeze it in an airtight container up to 3 months.

Chef’s Tips

For a hotter salsa, add a guajillo pepper or two, or add a chile de arbol.
Make your own New Mexico red chile powder if you want! Just pick up a few New Mexico chili pods, cut the stems off, and remove the seeds. Grind the pods with a mortar and pestle, a spice grinder, or a blender. You could also buy fresh New Mexico chilis and dehydrate them yourself, then grind them into a powder.
Never crushed garlic before? It’s easy! Place a clove of garlic (peeled or unpeeled) on a cutting board or another flat surface. Lay the blade a large kitchen knife on top of the clove, then quickly & firmly hit or “smash” the flat side of the blade with the heel of your hand. Press down with the heel of your hand and use a rocking motion back-and-forth if needed to crush the garlic more.

A bowl of tomatillo red chili salsa on a platter surrounded by tortilla chips.

Other Dips and Salsas You’ll Love

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Tomatillo Red Chili Salsa

Prep: 10

Cook: 30

Total: 40

Charred tomatillos, spicy red chile powder, lime juice, and a little Tabasco create a delightfully flavorful side perfect for tortilla chips, taco salads, or burrito bowls.

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4 servings

Ingredients

▢ 2 pounds whole tomatillos
▢ 5 cloves garlic peeled, crushed
▢ 2-3 tablespoons New Mexico red chile powder
▢ 2 teaspoons ground cumin
▢ 2 tablespoons lime juice
▢ Tabasco to taste
▢ salt to taste
▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Get Recipe Ingredients

Equipment

Oven
Baking sheet
Food processor or blender

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
Place 2 pounds whole tomatillos and 5 cloves garlic on baking sheet. Place in oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until charred.
Transfer tomatillos and garlic to food processor bowl or blender. Add r2-3 tablespoons New Mexico red chile powder, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Process until smooth.
Add Tabasco to taste and process again. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Nutrition Information

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Tomatillo Red Chili Salsa

What We Love About This Recipe

Chef’s Tips

Other Dips and Salsas You’ll Love