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.
- 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
- 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.
I hope you love this copycat version of Chuy’s popular Creamy Jalapeno Dip! It’s a family favorite. Happy Eating, my friends!
How long will this Chuy’s creamy jalapeno dip stay good in the fridge.
Hi Stacie! Sorry, I am so late in the ball game getting back to you. This can store in the refrigerator for probably at least 3-4 weeks. Just place it in a jar and shake before you use it. I hope this helps!
Do you think this would work well to be used as enchilada sauce? To be cooked on top of them?
Hi Amy! That is a such a great question. I haven’t tried it yet so I am not sure how it would hold up under such high heat. If you try it, cover the enchiladas with foil while cooking so it doesn’t get too hot. Bake at 325 degrees. Good luck! 🙂 Let me know if you try it. Thanks!
It’s yummy, but i would use less mayo. The flavor was a bit too noticeable for me.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Frances for sharing! Thank you for trying my recipe!
Made this cilantro/jalapeno dressing to go with some beef fajita tacos. It was very tasty, but next time I would use less ranch dressing mix. I added additional cilantro, buttermilk and some lime juice to boost the other flavors. It makes quite a bit of dip/dressing, so I’ll be able to use this on a salad this week.
Love the addition of more cilantro and lime juice. Those are some great suggestions. Thank you for trying my recipe, Nancy!
So easy to make and so flavorful! I would definitely recommend using half an ounce (half a sachet) of the ranch dressing mix. It was far too salty. I added more buttermilk, cilantro, and sour cream to take some of the saltiness out. It still had a good kick to it with the jalapeños.
Thank you for trying my recipe! Those are some great suggestions. Thanks for sharing.
Maybe substitute the garlic salt with garlic powder in lieu of cutting back on the ranch dressing mix to balance out the salty taste? Never tried it yet but just a suggestion.
Hi – thanks so much for posting your recipe (your site is beautiful). Chuy’s jalapeno dip has been my favorite for more than 20 years! One question though: your images all show a lime, but there’s no lime juice in your list of ingredients. Was that more for propping or was it accidentally omitted?
Hi Diana! Thank you so much for the kind compliment. I appreciate you visiting my site! The lime is just used as a garnish. It isn’t in the recipe; however, I love the addition of lime juice. If you are a fan, I would suggest adding 1 teaspoon of fresh lime juice. Have a great day! — Melissa
We tried making your Chuy’s Creamy Jalapeño Dip. Absolutely love it just as you presented it. It won’t be the last time we make it.
By far the best copycat creamy jalapeno I’ve tested. I tweaked a little my second round- a little less cilantro, 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup jalps, everything else the same. Literally tastes like I just dipped my chip in the creamy at the restaurant. Thanks for this!
I remember when Chuy’s creamy jalapeño was only ordered off the menu. Best kept secret and made me a little sad when they put in the menu. Now everyone can enjoy it. Sometimes it would be hot sometimes it would be more creamy sometimes more “raunchy” but this is what made it so fun to eat. Anyone can change up the recipe to their tastes. Now I can eat and maybe even bathe in it in the privacy of my own home. Will continue to make over and over. Thank you!
Just made this, and it is delicious. I had a bit of Chuy’s dip left over, so I was tasing them side by side, it isn’t quite the same but it’s close enough that I will definitely make it again in the future. Thank you!
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!
how long does this store?
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!
Excellent job of recreating this recipe! I had been trying for months and you gave me what I was missing !! Thank you! ❤️
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!
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.
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!
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.
How much is a “serving”.
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!
Omg this recipie is spot on it taste exactly like chuys jalapeno ranch! I used only half a cup of mayo and half a pack a ranch and it came out delicious!
I brushed some on some corn prior to putting it on the grill!!! It was wonderful!! The cilantro flaver was a great addition to the roasted corn!
I make this recipe so often, and it helps us get our Chuy’s fix out of state! I do everything in a blender and don’t seem to have any issues with consistency. Love it!
THis sounds perfect but I NEED to know how much is one serving. I’m going to add avocado in place of mayo.
Can you use fresh jalapenos instead of pickled? I have some in the fridge so have pickled jalapeno juice but need to use the fresh ones from the garden. Has anyone tried this?
I really dislike the taste of cilantro, any ideas for a substitute?
Best copycat recipe for Chuy’s Creamy! I used 2 fresh tomatillos and a squeeze of fresh lime. Tastes just like the real deal!
Texan living in Europe really missing my Chuys. I looked at multiple recipes and felt most confident about this one. The one thing I changed was garlic powder instead of salt. We also don’t have buttermilo but a sour milk called Fil and I used it as a replacement at the same amount. It turned out delicious, almost spot on to Chuys, and even better after spending an hour in the fridge. This will be my go to recipe now.