You Should Be Adding Nut Butters To Jarred Salsa. Here's Why

When you're craving Mexican food, there's one ingredient that ties it all together — salsa. However, perfecting homemade salsa is no easy feat. There are nuances and subtleties that go into crafting the perfect batch, and store-bought can be just as good when you don't have the motivation to conjure up award-winning jars of salsa.

However, you don't have to limit yourself to the ingredients found in a store-bought jar. You can still dress them up and give the salsa your own spin without the trouble of making anything from scratch. Enter nut butter. You heard that right — peanut butter, almond butter, and cashew butter are just a few of the nut butters you might consider adding to your jarred salsa.

Although it sounds unconventional, nut butter provides an earthy, nutty depth to salsa that can enrich your favorite store-bought jar. Nut butter also imparts a rich, buttery creaminess to salsa that gives it a smooth, velvety mouthfeel and helps temper the spice in a fiery batch for a more well-rounded taste. Crunchy nut butter can also add texture and a more pointed nut flavor to your salsa.

When it comes to versatility, you're in luck — there are dozens of nut varieties to pick from. If you can't find your favorite nut in butter form, you can easily make your own from home by simply blending roasted nuts with water.

The easiest way to make nut butter–kissed salsa is by adding a spoonful of your favorite store-bought nut butter to a jar of salsa and shaking it up to evenly spread the butter throughout the sauce. It's best to add a small amount of nut butter first, then introduce more once you get a feel for just how creamy and nutty you want the salsa. If your nut butter is too thick to evenly emulsify into the salsa, add a dash of oil or water to loosen it up.

This unique mixture can add warmth, earthiness, and a touch of creaminess to your favorite recipes, which means there are plenty of creative ways to put nut butter salsa to use. Chicken tacos with nut butter salsa offer your palate a tasty contrast between tender chicken and nutty, tangy salsa — bonus points for adding chopped nuts for a little extra crunch. Or, keep it painless and dip your favorite tortilla chips or protein-filled taquitos into your creamy, nut-laced salsa.

Don't limit yourself to Mexican food, either. Nut butter salsa drizzled over a Buddha bowl with cooked quinoa and roasted vegetables introduces layers of flavor that complement the earthy grains and folksy flavors of your favorite veggies. Add the salsa to your morning eggs with everything seasoning for a spicy, creamy breakfast that's boosted by dried herbs and toasty seeds. Whichever way you use your nut butter salsa, have fun with it!