Store-bought salsa is a flavor-packed shortcut for savvy home cooks

It’s hard to even say the word “salsa” without prefacing it with “chips and.” But treating salsa as just a snacky condiment to mindlessly devour while watching sports does this versatile staple a huge injustice.

Salsa is the Spanish word for “sauce,” and once you start to think about it in the same vein as your favorite marinara or pesto, you’ll see endless possibilities for how to turn it into a full meal.

The salsa aisle at the grocery store can be overwhelming. “I would advise people to try a few different brands to find which ones they like,” says cookbook author Pati Jinich, whose latest, “Foods of La Frontera,” publishes later this year. If you don’t like the salsa on its own, it’s unlikely you’ll enjoy it in a recipe. Jinich is partial to La Costeña, the brand she grew up with in Mexico. A 2020 taste test of medium-spice brands crowned Green Mountain Gringo the winner, followed closely by Frontera. If salsa verde is more your thing, Herdez is my go-to.

Pay attention to the labels. Brands often come in more than one spice level, so make sure you’re not grabbing anything hotter than you can handle. (Most dishes you use it in will at least somewhat dilute the heat.) Sodium levels can also vary considerably. If that’s important to you, compare the nutrition information. And if you’re swapping in salsa in a recipe that originally called for a plainer tomato product (sauce, puree, etc.), you may need to cut back the salt and spices to account for the built-in seasoning.

And, of course, you can always start with homemade salsa.

Now, here are some of our favorite ways to use store-bought salsa in a complete meal.

Soups

Salsa is already packed with spices, herbs and aromatics, making it a handy shortcut for cutting back on both the ingredients and steps for soup. Often all you need to do is thin it with broth, add your protein and vegetables of choice, and simmer away. That’s the strategy you’ll find in Red Lentil Salsa Soup, a 30-minute recipe that stars the quick-cooking legumes along with bell pepper, corn and red salsa. To make a tortilla soup, supplement a jar of salsa verde with chicken broth, fresh cilantro, white beans and cooked chicken (a great use for a store-bought rotisserie bird).

Enchiladas

You can use salsa on its own as an enchilada sauce or gussy it up with additional ingredients. For a creamy enchiladas verdes, add Mexican crema, cilantro, garlic and a hot pepper to a jar of salsa verde. (For traditional enchiladas verdes, skip the dairy.) A basic red sauce is amped up with lime juice and hot sauce in Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas.

If you don’t feel like going to the trouble of rolling enchiladas, there are casserole-adjacent dishes that hit the same vibes. Jinich says her Cazuela Azteca (Chicken and Tortilla Aztec Casserole) — “Mexican lasagna,” as she calls it — would work very well with premade salsa. A retro Mexican-style shrimp casserole also makes use of jarred salsa, which can be paired with your preferred beans, cheese, vegetables and protein.

Braises

I credit my sister-in-law with first introducing me to the concept of “salsa chicken,” which you’ll find versions galore of online and in cookbooks, more than a decade ago. Somehow, I never got around to making it until very recently for my take on Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken. All I can say is, what took me so long?

At its core, this is a two-ingredient recipe, though I liked the addition of a small can of diced green chiles. If needed, season the chicken with salt, pepper, lime juice and hot sauce after cooking, and serve it over rice (or other cooked grains) or nachos, or in tacos or burritos. You can use this as a template for other proteins that benefit from low-and-slow cooking, such as pork shoulder or butt, or chuck roast.

Jinich suggests using salsa in a cheater’s chicken tinga by shredding the meat from a store-bought rotisserie bird, adding it to the salsa along with some chipotles in adobo, and simmering until everything is heated through and the flavors meld. Or try braising chunks of brisket or skirt steak in water with onion, garlic and bay leaves until tender; shredding; and simmering in salsa verde with cooked potatoes until the mixture thickens and comes together.

Fish can also be cooked in salsa. If it’s very fresh, Jinich recommends covering it in salsa and baking or gently poaching it on the stovetop in a covered skillet. For frozen, she likes to first season it with salt and pepper before searing and adding the sauce to finish cooking the fillets.

With chips

A few classic dishes can actually turn chips and salsa into a filling meal. One of my favorites is chilaquiles. Briefly simmer the salsa, add tortilla chips, and cook for a few minutes, just until the chips absorb some of the sauce but still retain crunch. “It’s one dish that can go from breakfast to dinner,” Jinich says, because you can adorn it with such toppings as eggs, beans and your choice of meat, not to mention cheese, pickled vegetables and fresh herbs. Of course, there’s always good old, reliable nachos.

With eggs

Eggs and salsa are a natural pairing that you can take in several directions. Jinich suggests huevos ahogados, or drowned eggs, in which, similar to shakshuka, eggs are cracked and dropped into the sauce to cook. In huevos rancheros, sunny-side-up eggs are set atop corn tortillas and ladled with salsa. (Leave those nice yolks exposed, though.) For a kind of saucy migas, Jinch likes to sauté onion, tortilla chips and eggs, then add the salsa just as the eggs begin to set into a scramble.

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Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

One (16-ounce) jar red salsa, preferably chunky*

One (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, preferably Hatch (optional)

Fine salt (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Fresh lime juice or hot sauce (optional)

Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

Rice, tortillas or tortilla chips, for serving

Set the chicken inside the insert of a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the salsa, spreading it over the chicken and letting some drip down the sides of the meat. Scatter the chiles, if using, over the top. Cover, and slow-cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. (The timing may vary depending on your appliance. With the thighs, you don’t need to worry as much about overcooking.) The meat should be very tender, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the chicken should read at least 165°F.

Taste the sauce and the chicken, and season with salt, pepper, lime juice or hot sauce, if desired. (Store-bought salsas are plenty salty as is, so you may not need to add much, if any.) Shred or tear the chicken into smaller pieces, as you like. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve, with rice, tortillas or tortilla chips.

Servings: 6-8 (makes 4 cups)

Active time: 5 minutes; total: 3 hours, 5 minutes

Substitutions: For boneless, skinless chicken thighs, use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. For red salsa, use salsa verde. Don’t want the chiles? Omit them. Don’t like cilantro? Use parsley instead, or omit.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

* Notes: The amount of salsa needed may vary according to the shape of your slow cooker. In testing, we found that a round slow cooker in which the chicken was more tightly packed only required 1 cup (though 2 cups was fine, if slightly saucier). In a more oblong appliance, 2 cups will give you the most tender, fall-apart chicken. Either way, the dish is on the saucy side, so if you’re serving the chicken in tacos or burritos, for example, you may wish to drain off a bit of the excess liquid for a neater meal.

Nutritional facts per serving (½ cup), based on 8: Calories: 154, Fat: 5 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Carbohydrates: 4 g, Sodium: 430 mg, Cholesterol: 107 mg, Protein: 23 g, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 2 g.

— Becky Krystal, based on a variety of online sources.

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Red Lentil Salsa Soup

1¼ cups dried red lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

½ packed cup diced red bell pepper (from ½ large pepper, seeded)

1¼ cups smooth/pureed red salsa (with your preferred heat level)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (pimenton; sweet or hot)

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup frozen sweet corn

Salt

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for garnish

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, plus more for garnish

Flesh of 1 ripe avocado, sliced

Combine the lentils, water, bell pepper, salsa, chili powder, oregano, smoked paprika and black pepper in a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover and cook until the lentils are barely tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the corn; cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and add salt, as needed. (Depending on the salsa you used, you might not need salt.) Stir in the lime juice and ¼ cup chopped cilantro.

Divide among individual bowls and top with sliced avocado and cilantro. Serve hot, with lime wedges.

4 to 6 servings (makes 6 cups)

Nutrition: Per serving (based on 6): 220 calories, 12 g protein, 34 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 220 mg sodium, 9 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar

— Adapted from “The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less,” by Brandi Doming (Oxmoor House, 2018).

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CHEESY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

3 cups homemade or store-bought enchilada sauce, such as Frontera or Hatch

Hot sauce

Fresh lime juice

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (excess fat trimmed)

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (2 cups)

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)

½ cup cilantro, finely chopped, plus more for garnish (about 24 stems)

Twelve 6-inch corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking oil spray.

Pour the enchilada sauce into a medium saucepan. Taste it and stir in a little hot sauce and lime juice, as needed. Bring the sauce just to a boil over medium-high heat, then nestle the chicken thighs in the pot so they are mostly submerged. Reduce the heat to medium; partially cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, turning the thighs over halfway through, so the chicken cooks evenly. (Their internal temperature should register 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.) Remove from the heat.

Use tongs to transfer the chicken to a cutting board. When it's cool enough to handle, use your fingers or two forks to shred the chicken, placing it in a mixing bowl as you work. Add half the Monterey Jack, all the cheddar and the cilantro, tossing until well incorporated. This is your enchilada filling.

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease both sides of the tortillas with cooking oil spray (hold them over the sink for easy cleanup). Heat 3 at a time in the skillet just long enough to make them pliable, 15 to 20 seconds per side, then transfer to the cutting board. (If you have a smaller skillet, you can do them 1 or 2 at a time.)

Place ⅓ cup of the chicken mixture at the center of each pliable tortilla. Roll tightly into cylinders and arrange them seam side down in the baking dish, touching side by side. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling. The baking dish will be filled.

Pour the sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas. Scatter the remaining Monterey Jack over the top. Bake (middle rack) for 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and just started to brown in spots. Sprinkle more cilantro on top; serve warm.

Servings: 4 to 6

Nutritional facts per serving: Calories: 420; Total Fat: 23 g; Saturated Fat: 14 g; Cholesterol: 125 mg; Sodium: 1370 mg; Carbohydrates: 23 g; Dietary Fiber: 2 g; Sugars: 4 g; Protein: 29 g.

— Becky Krystal, loosely based on an America's Test Kitchen recipe, The Washington Post, 2018