Jamie Oliver’s green chilli salsa is a three-ingredient blender salsa of jarred jalapeños, fresh mint and honey, blitzed smooth in about a minute. It makes a jarful, enough for 10-plus servings, and keeps for a week.
In Simply Jamie (2024) he calls it a “dirty little secret” he makes at home, turning a shop jar of jalapeños into something far more useful. You tip the whole jar into a blender, brine and all, add mint and honey, and blitz. He uses it himself to power his Punchy Prawns.
The knack is the three-way balance. Heat and sharp acidity come from the jalapeños and their pickling liquor, mint brings a cooling freshness, and honey rounds off the vinegar edge. Blitz it really smooth so it pours, and adjust the honey to your taste.
Jamie Oliver Green Chilli Salsa
Course: SidesCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy10
servings5
minutes250
kcal5
minutesJamie’s store-cupboard hack from Simply Jamie: a whole jar of jalapeños blitzed with mint and honey into a smooth, zingy salsa that keeps a week in the fridge.
Ingredients
Directions
- Blitz:Tip the jalapeños, liquor and all, into a blender. Pick in the mint leaves, discarding the stalks, add the honey, and blitz until really smooth.
- Store:Use as much as you want, then pour the rest back into the jar. It keeps happily in the fridge for up to a week, ready to lift your meals.
FAQs
Do I really blitz the jalapeños with the brine?
Yes, the whole jar goes in, liquor and all. That pickling brine is pure acidity and flavour, not something to pour away, and it’s what gives the salsa its loose, pourable texture. Drain it off and you’re left with a thick paste that’s lost its tang.
So don’t strain the jar first. Tip the lot straight into the blender with the mint and honey. If your jar is on the large side and the salsa comes out thin, just blitz in a few extra jalapeños or a little more mint to thicken it back up.
How hot is it, and can I adjust the heat?
Jarred jalapeños are moderate rather than fierce, and the mint and honey soften them further, so this salsa is punchy but not brutal. It suits most tables, kids included, in small spoonfuls.
If you want more kick, blitz in a fresh green chilli or a few extra jalapeños. To take the edge off, add a little more honey, or stir a spoon of the salsa through yoghurt or soured cream when you serve it. That also turns it into a cooling dip.
Why mint and honey?
Mint is the surprise that makes it. Its cool, green freshness lifts the pickled chilli and stops the salsa tasting flatly of vinegar. Without it you’d just have blitzed jalapeños, which is a different, harsher thing.
The honey balances the sharp acidity of the brine, rounding the whole thing so it’s savoury and bright rather than mouth-puckering. Start with the one tablespoon and taste, adding a touch more if your jalapeños are especially sour. Coriander or basil can stand in if you’ve no mint.
What do I use it on?
Jamie’s own suggestions are cheese on toast, scrambled eggs and baked feta, and it’s the base of his Punchy Prawns. It works anywhere you’d want a hit of bright heat: tacos, grilled meat or fish, roast veg, soups, even stirred into mayo.
A spoonful lifts almost anything savoury. It’s especially good dolloped over sweet potato and black bean tacos, where the fresh heat cuts through the sweet, earthy filling. Keep the jar in the fridge door and you’ll reach for it constantly.
How long does it keep, and can I make more?
Poured back into its jar, it keeps for up to a week in the fridge. The vinegar in the brine acts as a natural preservative, so it holds its colour and punch across those days. Give it a stir before each use.
It scales up with no effort at all, so blitz two or three jars at once if you use it a lot. This is exactly the keep-it-ready, grab-and-go approach Jamie takes with bases like his secret veg sauce, made ahead so a fast meal is never far away.
Is it vegan, and can I swap the honey?
It’s vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free as it stands, but the honey means it isn’t vegan. That’s the only thing standing in the way.
Swap the honey for maple syrup or agave and it becomes fully vegan, with the same job of balancing the acidity. Use the same amount and taste as you go, since some syrups are sweeter than others.
