Creamy jalapeno sauce is a copycat recipe of Taco bell’s quesadilla sauce. Drizzle this over burritos, quesadillas, tacos, or any Mexican recipe! You will be in for a real copycat treat!
This is tangy, mildly zesty, and delicious- just like the one you enjoy at Taco Bell in their chicken quesadillas! It’s perfect for the upcoming Cinco de Mayo and a must-try recipe if you like the heat!
This 5-minute, the easy copycat recipe will show you how to make Creamy Jalapeno Sauce with step by step process and video.
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The Mexican national holiday of Cinco de Mayo is just around a few weeks away.
If you are celebrating and throwing a party, then this creamy jalapeno dip is a must-make Mexican dip!
About this recipe
Ok so if you are a Taco Bell fan, you must know about their very popular sauce Creamy Jalapeno sauce. The restaurant uses it on their chicken quesadilla, and they used to sell it bottled at Walmart and Amazon.
This sauce is their signature quesadilla sauce. Being a vegetarian, when we order from Taco Bell, we ask them to put this sauce in our crunch wrap supreme and Chalupa. It’s our favorite sauce.
So thought let me try recreating this recipe at home. I tried making this recipe multiple times to get it right and in my 7th attempt, I finally nailed it.
To be honest with you, I like this homemade creamy jalapeno sauce more than Taco bell’s version. After all, it doesn’t have any artificial flavors or colors.
Making this creamy jalapeno sauce is very easy, you can put this dip together in less than five minutes. I like to leave let it in the fridge for at least an hour before serving for the best flavors.
This sauce is perfect for spicy food lovers, and I think you’ll find it as addictive as we do.
Just give it a try once, I guarantee it’s going to be your new favorite sauce.
Why do I love this recipe?
- It requires only 5 minutes to make this sauce.
- This is such a recipe that hardly requires any effort at all!
- Requires Easy-to-find and simple ingredients.
- Very versatile. It’s perfect for tacos, burritos, and quesadillas or as a jalapeno dip with a crispy tortilla. You can even use it as a salad dressing.
- You can adjust the spice level by increasing or decreasing the number of jalapenos, and cayenne pepper.
Ingredients required
- Sour cream – works as the base of the sauce. It makes the sauce creamy. To make this healthier, substitute sour cream with Greek yogurt.
- Mayonnaise – It is also used to give the body and creaminess to the sauce. I have used vegan mayo, you can use any.
- Pickle juice from canned jalapenos – This ingredient makes a huge difference in this dressing use just enough to thin it to desired consistency and taste.
- The pickled jalapeno peppers – These are very important. These peppers are perfect for recipes. The pickling process seems to take away the sharp heat that jalapenos can often have. Sure you can use fresh Jalapenos instead of pickled ones. Make sure to adjust according to your spice level.
- Cocoa powder – It adds richness, deeper flavor, and umami.
- Spices – We have used Smocked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, sugar, cumin powder, onion powder, and garlic powder.
Step by step process
- In a blender jar, take Sour cream, Mayo, Pickled jalapenos, pickle juice, Cocoa powder, Smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, sugar, cumin powder, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Blend it into a smooth sauce.
- Take the sauce to a bowl. Cover the bowl and let the sauce rest for an hour in the fridge.
- Take out the sauce and enjoy it in your favorite Tex-Mex recipes like Chalupa, Crunchwrap supreme, tacos, etc.
We enjoyed it in Tofu quesadilla. It was so good.
Let me know in the comment section if you want a Tofu Quesadilla recipe.
Notes, pro-tips, and quick FAQs
- Make sure to keep the sauce in the fridge for at least an hour. The longer the sauce sits the better the flavors get.
- You can half the recipe if you don’t think you can enjoy this jalapeno salsa in a week.
- You can store the leftover sauce in the fridge for a week and up to a month in the freezer.
- If you like sweet sauce, adjust to taste and add more sugar or sweetener.
- Fresh jalapenos can also work with this recipe. Use 2 Tablespoons of fresh minced jalapeno pepper.
- You can also use fresh onion and garlic for this sauce. Just make sure to finely grate them and use them.
- You can use sweet paprika instead of smoked paprika.
- Substitute sugar with honey, agave, or maple syrup.
- You can skip cocoa powder if you don’t have it on hand.
No. This creamy jalapeno sauce is not vegan. To make it vegan, use vegan yogurt instead of sour cream.
Place the creamy jalapeno sauce into an ice cube tray (a silicone one is best for easy removal.) Freeze, then pop out a cube or two to thaw and enjoy. It stays good for up to a month.
This sauce is medium spicy. The spice level is ⅗ I would say. That may differ in comparison to your pallet. If you think you won’t be able to handle the spice, omit the cayenne, or start with a very small amount of it.
No, Baja Sauce is more of a spicy Ranch version.
It can be because you added too much pickle juice, or the jalapeno pickles had too much liquid when you added it. In this case, you can add more mayonnaise to make it thicker.
More homemade dipping sauce recipes
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Taco Bell Copycat Creamy Jalapeno Sauce
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Sour cream
- ¼ cup Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon Pickled Jalapenos Juice drained
- 3 tablespoon Pickle juice from the pickled jalapenos jar
Spices
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- In a blender jar, take Sour cream, Mayo, Pickled jalapenos, pickle juice, Cocoa powder, Smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, sugar, cumin powder, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Blend it into a smooth sauce.
- Take the sauce to a bowl. Cover the bowl and let the sauce rest for an hour in the fridge.
- Take out the sauce and enjoy it in your favorite Tex-Mex recipes like Chalupa, Crunchwrap supreme, tacos, etc.
- We enjoyed it in Tofu quesadilla. It was so good.Let me know in the comment section if you want a Tofu Quesadilla recipe.
Video
Notes
- Make sure to keep the sauce in the fridge for at least an hour. The longer the sauce sits the better the flavors get.
- You can half the recipe if you don’t think you can enjoy this jalapeno salsa in a week.
- You can store the leftover sauce in the fridge for a week and up to a month in the freezer.
- If you like sweet sauce, adjust to taste and add more sugar or sweetener.
- Fresh jalapenos can also work with this recipe. Use 2 Tablespoons of fresh minced jalapeno pepper.
- You can also use fresh onion and garlic for this sauce. Just make sure to finely grate them and use them.
- You can use sweet paprika instead of smoked paprika.
- Substitute sugar with honey, agave, or maple syrup.
- You can skip cocoa powder if you don’t have it on hand.
- For quick FAQs, scroll the page up.
Nutrition
Warm regards,
Dhwani.
I am a huge fan of Taco Bell and this sauce in particular. I’ve tried to recreate the sauce for years with no luck. I tried a different recipe a few weeks ago that used ranch instead of mayo and sour cream and it was good but this recipe of yours is DELICIOUS! It is spot on exactly like the restaurant one. I changed the recipe for my spice level and used regular paprika instead of smoked because I just don’t like it and it was fantastic. I’ve shared it with friends and family and highly recommended your page and recipes. Thank you so much for sharing!
It’s great to hear your feedback, Emily! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts about the recipe. I am thrilled to know that you loved it!