🫑 Jalapeño Burger Sauce
This sauce leans on both fresh and pickled jalapeños so you get green, vegetal chili flavor plus a tangy pickled bite. Blended with mayo, lime, and cilantro, it turns bright green and lively — spicy but genuinely fresh-tasting.
🧾 Jalapeño Burger Sauce — Recipe Card
From I Love Hamburger — ilovehamburger.com
Ingredients
- 0.5 cup mayonnaise (115 g)
- 1¾ fresh jalapeño, roughly chopped (seeds removed for less heat) (about 20 g)
- 2¾ tbsp pickled jalapeños, drained (25 g)
- 2¾ tbsp fresh cilantro leaves (5 g)
- 2¾ tsp fresh lime juice (10 ml)
- 0.5 tsp ground cumin (1 g)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the fresh jalapeño, pickled jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice, and cumin to a blender or small food processor.
- Pulse until finely chopped, then add the mayonnaise and blend until smooth and pale green.
- Taste and season with salt; leave some seeds in the fresh jalapeño if you want more heat.
- Chill 15–20 minutes to let the flavors settle before spreading on toasted buns.
🫙 Storage
Airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. The fresh herbs and chili are brightest in the first two or three days. Do not freeze.
🔁 Substitutions
- No blender? Mince everything very finely by hand and stir into the mayo.
- Swap cilantro for flat-leaf parsley if cilantro is not your thing.
🍔 What to put it on
Pair it with pepper jack, avocado, and pickled red onion. It especially shines on these burgers:
Burger HQ Picks Handy for sauce-making
Heavy-Duty Stainless Smash Burger Press
A flat, weighty press is the difference between a real lacy-edged smash burger and a sad steamed puck. Round, broad face for full patty contact.
Check price →Instant-Read Digital Meat Thermometer
Pulls a reading in 2–3 seconds so you can hit 160°F on ground beef every time without cutting into the patty and losing juices.
Check price →Pre-Seasoned 12" Cast Iron Skillet
Holds screaming-hot heat for the deep, even crust that makes a steakhouse-style burger. Lasts a lifetime.
Check price →Outdoor Gas Flat-Top Griddle
A big flat top cooks a dozen smash burgers at once with room for onions and buns. The backbone of burger night for a crowd.
Check price →Thin Flexible Stainless Turner (Smash Spatula)
A stiff, thin, bevelled edge slides under the crust and scrapes up every bit of the browned fond instead of tearing the patty.
Check price →Steakhouse Burger Seasoning Blend
For nights you do not want to measure. Salt-forward with garlic, onion, and pepper — exactly what a burger wants.
Check price →Stainless Grill Accessory Kit
Long tongs, a wide spatula, and a basting brush so you are not fighting your own tools over a hot grill.
Check price →As an affiliate site, I Love Hamburger may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This does not affect our recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make it less spicy?
Remove all the seeds and white ribs from the fresh jalapeño (that is where most of the heat lives) and cut the pickled jalapeños in half. You will keep the flavor with far less burn.
Why use both fresh and pickled jalapeños?
Fresh gives you green, grassy chili flavor while pickled adds tang and a rounder, mellower heat. Together they taste more complete than either one alone.