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Chuy’s Copycat Version Creamy Jalapeno Dip
I lived in Texas for about 2 days before everyone and their dog was telling me all about this famous Chuy’s creamy jalapeno dip that I must try asap. Of course, I ditched unpacking in my quest to do some culinary research. Was it really as good as everyone said? I wanted to be the judge.
Dean and I chose a weekend night and drove straight to Chuy’s. There was a line out the door and a long wait. That is always a good sign! People seemed to love this place — even if it was for the star of the show, the creamy jalapeno dip.
We sat down and within minutes, the creamy jalapeno dip was sitting right in front of me. A basket of hot chips, fresh out of the fryer were beckoning me. I took the tortilla chip and dipped it into what looked more like a cilantro jalapeno dressing than anything and took the first bite. Wow. This stuff was straight up addicting.
Before I knew it, Dean and I had devoured an entire basket of chips and he was asking for more. Trouble. I was hooked on this creamy jalapeno dip and there was no turning back!
We just flew back to San Antonio last week for my darling niece’s wedding (hi Amanda!). I married into such a wonderful family and loved being with the Stadler crew.
We had a Mexican feast on Sunday and another darling niece (I have a lot of them), Haley, was bringing it! She is a little whiz in the kitchen and shared her version of Chuy’s famous creamy cilantro jalapeno dip. Once she put it out on the table, it was like watching vultures. It was a huge hit and I begged her for the recipe!
This is our version of the Chuy’s famous creamy jalapeno dip is super simple to make and can be whipped up in less than 10 minutes. I without a doubt could drink this stuff….all day long. It is also reminiscent of Cafe Rio or Costa Vida’s cilantro ranch dressing. You can use this dressing to drizzle on a salad, a burrito bowl, or just as an appetizer.
How do you make this famous Chuy’s creamy jalapeno cilantro dip dressing? You start with jarred jalapenos and cilantro pureed in a blender. You can use fresh jalapenos as well but I prefer the jarred jalapenos as I can control the heat. The jarred jalapenos are much milder than fresh ones but give off a crazy amount of flavor. Fresh cilantro brings the freshness and balances out the heat.
Both sour cream and mayonnaise are used as the base of this creamy cilantro ranch dressing. A packet of dry ranch dressing dip brings that ranch flavor that everyone seems to love. If you want to add more freshness, throw in a couple of tomatillos. You can use fresh tomatillos or canned tomatillos. Buttermilk makes a huge difference in this dressing and use just enough to thin it to desired consistency and taste.
The jalapenos and cilantro are pureed in a blender or food processor. My favorite inexpensive food processor can be found HERE.
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Chuy's Creamy Jalapeno Cilantro Dip Dressing
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Sour Cream
- 3/4 cup Mayonnaise (if you prefer less mayonnaise, you may use 1 cup of sour cream and 1/2 cup mayonnaise)
- 1 packet 1 oz Dry Ranch Dip
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
- 1/2 cup Cilantro (tightly packed, may add more for fresh flavor)
- 3/4 cup Pickled Jalapenos (plus juice from a jar (may add up to 1 cup depending on heat preference)
- 1/2 cup Buttermilk (if you want it to be thinner, add more buttermilk)
- 2 Tomatillos optional
- 2 teaspoons Fresh Lime Juice optional
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, ranch dip packet, and garlic salt.
- In blender or food processor, puree cilantro and pickled jalapenos with a little juice. (If using tomatillos, blend with jalapenos and cilantro).
- Add cilantro jalapeno puree to mayo mixture.
- Stir in buttermilk until you reach desired consistency. Add fresh lime juice, if using.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hope you love this copycat version of Chuy’s popular Creamy Jalapeno Dip! It’s a family favorite. Happy Eating, my friends!
I was wondering if anyone has ever added avocados to this recipe? Some other green sauce recipes I’ve seen use avocado and I really like avocado so I was wondering how this would taste if I added avocados.
I wonder if you could substitute some mayo for avocados? Both are fat and creamy?
Try it however you use them and report back!
Yes I I have used avocados on mine and it’s awesome do not add Mayo youvwull love it if u like avacadoes I world use 2 medium size for this recipe
How much is a “serving”.
YUM! Just made this for a party – we served tacos & used this as the sauce. Was a big hit! However, like some suggested, I used half sour cream and half mayo but did use a full packet of Ranch mix. Was a bit salty, but as a sauce not too bad. As a dip with salty chips, would want less saltiness, so would try less Ranch (although that’s a conundrum cuz that’s a lot of the flavor). Wonder if they make low-sodium Ranch dip mix? Also I used garlic POWDER instead of garlic SALT. And used tomatillos, which are tart, so didn’t add lime juice. I did add jalapeno juice when blending, but came out pretty spicy. Next time, I’ll skip that & just use buttermilk to thin in blender.
I love this recipe so much, it tastes just like Chuy’s to me! I think adding the tomatillos is a must as I’ve done it both ways and don’t think it tastes the same without it (I used fresh)! Thank you for sharing- I put this on everything!
Is everyone using the tomatillos? Do you use fresh and raw, or canned?
I used fresh. Very easy – just pull off the outer dry-leaf layer, cut it into fourths & pop in the blender. They are tart, so didn’t use lime juice too. Have only made it once, so can’t compare to otherwise.
Perfecto!!! I will add that I throw 6-8 garlic cloves in the blender with the peppers and cilantro, also I just used 1/2 of a standard size jar of jalepenos and half the juice. Doubled the amount of cilantro and go easy on the lime. I will say this needs to sit for at least a day for the flavor to come out. It seems kinda bland at first, optimally two days after making it, the flavor is amazing!
Excellent job of recreating this recipe! I had been trying for months and you gave me what I was missing !! Thank you! ❤️
OMG I will forever keep this recipe. I used this for everything! Thank you so much!
Awww thank you, Katey! I love to hear that! We put it on everything too. SO GOOD!
how long does this store?
As a true Austinite, I must say that this recipe tastes exactly like the dip at Chuy’s! I think I put a little too much lime juice but that was my own doing. I already shared the recipe with everyone!