Creamy Jalapeño Quesadilla Sauce
Taco Bell’s creamy jalapeño sauce is a fan favorite, and making it at home means you can enjoy that spicy, tangy flavor any time, no drive-thru needed! This quick and easy copycat version delivers the same creamy texture, balanced heat, and irresistible flavor that take your TexMex favorites to the next level.
This sauce takes your TexMex meal to the next level! 🔥
It’s creamy and zippy with a great (mild) kick that’s easily adjustable.
It’s designed for quesadillas, but is delicious on tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, or simply as a dip for tortilla chips. I have yet to find something that I don’t love this sauce on! It’s…
🌶️ Seriously delicious: Rich, tangy, and creamy with the perfect kick of jalapeño, this sauce adds delicious flavor to your meals.
🛒 Made with simple ingredients: You’ll need staples like mayonnaise, sour cream, jarred jalapeños, and seasonings.
🥗 Versatile: I’ve yet to be disappointed in this sauce! It’s delish on tacos, burritos, tostadas, chips…
🍴 Quick prep: This sauce takes just 5 minutes to make, plus some chill time in the fridge.
🔥 Customizable heat: Add more or fewer jalapeños to match your family’s taste or if you want extra heat, try adding cayenne, hot sauce or fresh jalapeños.
You’ll also want to try my roasted corn salsa, shrimp ceviche, and cheesy street corn dip.
Love this sauce! I make it for my shrimp quesadillas and mushroom and spinach quesadillas and also for fish tacos. It’s easy and tasty and you can control the amount of heat! Thank you for sharing. –Judi
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need some fresh ingredients and pantry staples to make this sauce: sour cream, mayonnaise, pickled jalapeños, jalapeño brine, chili powder, sugar, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Sour cream: Use full-fat for the best flavor, or whatever type you prefer. You could also use full-fat Greek yogurt if you prefer, though it does have a slightly tangier flavor than sour cream.
- Jalapeno brine: This is the liquid or jalapeño juice from the jar of pickled jalapeños, not something you need to buy separately.
- Sugar: I’ve used granulated sugar, but you could use any sweetener. Honey, agave, or a sugar alternative will all work well.
Emily’s Tips & Tricks
- Pro tip: Let it chill! To really let the flavors come together, make the sauce at least 30 minutes before you want to use it so you can chill it in the refrigerator and let the flavors meld.
- Additions: Want to add a little heat to this sauce? It’s relatively mild as the recipe is written. Add some cayenne pepper, hot sauce, or fresh jalapeño.
Taco Bell Copycat Creamy Jalapeño Quesadilla Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: ~1 3/4 cups
- Category: Sauce
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Love the Taco Bell quesadilla sauce? Now you can make it at home! This quick and easy recipe is made with just 3 ingredients plus spices.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños
- 2 Tbsp. jalapeño brine from pickled jalapeños
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, jalapeños, jalapeño brine, chili powder, sugar, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Blend or process until smooth.
Notes
- Nutrition facts are an estimate based on 2 tablespoons per serving
- Storage: Store easy quesadilla sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Prep ahead: This is best prepped at least 30 minutes in advance so you can let the flavors come together.
- Special tools: The 2-in-1 immersion blender and mini chopper that I love is perfect for this job!
- Serve with: If you’re mixing up something TexMex, be sure to try street corn, refried black beans, or roasted corn salsa on the side.
How to Use this Sauce
Quesadillas are an obvious one, but there are so many other ways you can use this sauce!
- Quesadillas: Crispy baked, chicken fajita, ground beef, steak, shrimp, black bean
- Tacos: Ground beef, ground turkey
- Tostadas: Black bean, chipotle chicken
- Salads: Thin this out a bit with milk or extra jalapeño brine for a flavorful salad dressing on Taco salad and/or SouthWest salad.
FAQs
Taco Bell serves the creamy jalapeño sauce on their quesadillas, but you can also add it to other items like tacos or burritos.
No, these are two different sauces! Taco Bell has a variety of sauces that you can add to many different items on the menu. They have a spicy ranch, nacho cheese sauce, guacamole, red sauce, creamy jalapeño sauce, avocado ranch sauce, chipotle sauce, and Mexican pizza sauce. It’s a lot of sauces.
About the Author
Emily Dingmann is a recipe developer, nutrition expert, and founder of My Everyday Table. She specializes in creating easy, healthy recipes that help busy parents feed their families well every single day, without the stress. With a degree in Nutrition and over 20 years of experience, Emily shares family-friendly meals that are practical, nourishing, and full of flavor. Learn more about Emily’s approach to everyday cooking and nutrition here.
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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Love this sauce! I make it for my shrimp quesadillas and mushroom and spinach quesadillas and also for fish tacos. It’s easy and tasty and you can control the amount of heat! Thank you for sharing.
Yummy, I want a mushroom & spinach quesadilla! Thanks for sharing, Judi.