Pumpkin Spicy AF Salsa + Homemade Chips

You’re probably reading this and thinking “Pumpkin salsa?! People just try to force pumpkin into anything this time of year.” and I feel you on that. Some things just shouldn’t be but this salsa is NOT one of those things! It promise you that I am not Gretchen Weiners trying to make “fetch” happen. This salsa combines two Fall produce favorites: hatch chile pepper and pumpkin, with two other kinds of peppers for a four-flame-emoji mouth party. It’s lit, as the kids would say.

I’m talking nose-and-possibly-eyes-running spice level, y’all. For. Real. I’m not a fan of mild salsa (what is even the point?) so if you are afraid of heat, this is not the salsa for you. Of course, you could modify this recipe to suit your tolerance. The pumpkin, garlic, and cilantro contribute great flavors so that this is not just a bowl of heat! The pumpkin also subdues the color a bit and, of course, adds a bit of orange.

To accompany this salsa, I made some homemade tortilla chips using the LA Tortilla Factory corn tortillas I found in this month’s Degustabox. These chips could not be any easier because they are oven-baked but if you want to fry them, I found an easy tutorial here. In case you aren’t familiar with Degustabox, check out this post for my rundown. If you want to try it, I have a discount code for half off + free shipping here!

Let me know how this salsa turns out for you when you try it. Thanks for reading!

Pumpkin Spicy AF Salsa Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 hatch chile pepper, roasted (instructions below)
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1 habanero pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• Handful of cilantro leaves
• Sea salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons water (optional)

For the chips:

• 8 corn tortillas
• Sea salt to taste

Makes 32 tortilla chips.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each tortilla into four equal pieces.
2. Place in one layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.
3. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping after the first five minutes.
4. For the salsa:
5. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until completely mixed. It may be necessary to add a splash of water to your blender to get it going.

*To roast the hatch pepper: Turn oven to broil setting at highest temperature. Place pepper on top oven rack and leave oven door cracked to monitor. Once the skin of the pepper has charred (just a minute or so), turn it and repeat on other side. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes then peel off charred skin.

My Degustabox is provided in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.