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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!
Can I use tomatillos salsa instead of tomatillos? If so how much do I use?
I made this for the first time and OMG!!! It’s so good.
Do you think you can freeze?
This recipe is AMAZING!!! With all the crazy virus stuff I can’t seem to find fresh cilantro. How would dried be?
Thanks
Hi! I’m a college student in TX but home in Chicago for quarantine! I was really craving this (no chuy’s in the north!) and so glad I found your recipe! I made it, loved it, posted a pic of it and TONS of my college friends asked me to send them the recipe! I took your suggestion on adding more sour cream than mayo and added the tomatillos and lime juice — didn’t even need the buttermilk. Thank you so much for sharing! tastes just like Chuy’s! I’m not much of a cook, but wanted to ask for the next time I make this — do I need to chop up the cilantro before the food processor step? Thanks!
We have Chuy’s in KY. Maybe check around you again.
where in KY? My husband from KY and we lived in Houston for 22 years and now live on East Coast so we are missing our Chuy’s. Thanks.
Former Texan looking for a match and found it!! We always had a quart of this Chuy’s sauce in our fridge it was a staple and we moved out of state and have been missing it! We have tried several copycat recipes. As soon as I tried this one I just excitingly exclaimed “This is it!” My family came running with the chips and we devoured it! I did do the 1 cup sour cream and 1/2 mayo because I don’t like mayo. I also halfed the buttermilk. I did not add the lime or tomatillo. Seriously I can’t taste the difference from the original Chuy’s version and this! Bravo!! Fantastic job y’all!
Does the tomatillo make a big difference? Did you use it in your recipe? When you say 8 servings how much per serving?
Delicious, I also added the fresh tomatillos and it really does taste just like Chuy’s! I refrigerated it a little bit after blending so it would thicken up a bit more but it is very tasty and will def make again.
It was replied to early on in the comments for 11/14/17, it says 3-4 weeks and shake well.
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Was skeptical but it was legit spot on!! I used I cup of full fat sour cream, 1/3 cup of light mayo, did everything else as written (plus added the tomatillos) and ended up putting it all in the vitamix at the end to get it nice and creamy smooth. Was shocked at how good and like the original it was.