Copycat Chipotle Corn Salsa Recipe

In a sea of fast-food options, Chipotle stands out as the one offering fresh ingredients, as well as the ability to customize your meal based on your mood or your dietary preferences. Whether you're a carnivore or a vegan, you can create a satisfying lunch or dinner loaded up however you like, and seeing it built right before your eyes gives you that added assurance that you know what you're eating. If you love to pile on the sweet and smoky corn salsa to your burrito or bowl, you're in luck, because now you can make it at home with our copycat recipe, and it's even cleaner and easier than you think. The key to this simple corn salsa is the charred poblano. It adds a deep smoky flavor with mild heat and a touch of silky sweetness. It pairs exceptionally well with the kick of fresh jalapeños and the bright flavors of lemon and lime juice.

Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "The corn salsa at Chipotle has always been one of my favorite things to add to my bowl. Because there is no oil in it, it feels light, even if you ask for an extra scoop."

To make this recipe, hit up the produce aisle and grab a poblano pepper, red onion, jalapeños, cilantro, lemon, and lime. Then visit the freezer aisle and pick up frozen corn. Check your spice cabinet for cumin and salt.

Preheat the oven to broil.

Place the poblano directly on the grate and cook it for 10-15 minutes on each side until the skin has blackened. Set it aside to cool.

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Add the corn and boil for 3 minutes.

Drain the corn.

Peel the black skin off the poblano and discard it.

Chop the poblano and discard the seeds.

Add the poblano, corn, onion, jalapeños, cilantro, juice of lemon and lime, cumin, and salt to a large bowl.

Stir well to combine the flavors.

Serve with chips or use as a topper for Mexican food.

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There are several ingredient swaps that you can make when preparing the corn salsa. First off, you can use a few different variations of corn. For frozen varieties, use yellow or white corn, or for charred flavor, use fire-roasted corn. Starting with fresh corn on the cob works too. Just boil it for 3-4 minutes in a large pot of water, or grill it for 10 minutes until charred. With either method, let it cool, then stand it upright, and slice downward with a sharp knife to remove the kernels.

If you can't find a poblano, an Anaheim pepper is very similar in terms of heat and can be used instead. For a simpler version that doesn't require you to roast the pepper, you could add in a can of mild or medium diced green chiles. For the jalapeño, you can substitute a serrano pepper, but they are much hotter, so use them sparingly unless you want to turn up the heat. Shallots can be used instead of the red onion — you'll want to use about ⅓ cup. Lime juice is key here to bring out all the flavors, and you can double up on it if you want to skip the lemon.

The roasted poblano pepper is an important flavor component in this recipe, and there are a few different ways to achieve the smokiness instead of using your oven. If you have a gas stove, you can place the whole poblano directly over the flame on medium-high heat. Use metal-tipped tongs to turn the pepper until it has blackened on all sides. You'll want to monitor closely as the charring will happen quickly.

You can also use the outdoor grill. Place the whole poblano directly on the grates and turn until it blisters. Set your grill temperature to medium-high. This will take longer than the open-flame method, but you'll still want to stay close to the grill.

If you have a smoker, preheat it to 225 F. Use a mild wood like apple or pecan and place the poblanos on the grate. If you use mesquite or hickory wood, it will change the flavor profile too much, and the smokiness will be too intense for this recipe. Smoke them for about 20 minutes, just until the skin blisters, and before they get too dried out.

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