Trader Joes and the makings of Taco Night
I was at Trader Joe’s the other day and picked up a package of taco shells. I’m fairly certain that Dave and I haven’t had crunchy home made tacos in a while and it’s such a simple meal – it seemed time… And then I saw the TJ’s Corn and Chile Salsa and memories flooded back from making a knock off recipe a long while ago…
I went digging and I found my replicated recipe was from 2019 and it was high time to try it again – and get it onto the blog ! This corn and chile salsa obviously goes very well with tacos !
As a triple bonus – I also remember seeing this corn and chile salsa on one of the weight watcher lists. Meaning it’s mostly vegetables and low in calories / WW points. However, I think the problem is not so much the salsa, but perhaps the corn chips used to convey the salsa to your mouth ? 
Want to save $3.50 and reduce the sugar?
So – the trader joe’s stuff is good, quite good. But it’s $3.50 these days… It’s basically corn and a bit of Jalapeno and a bit of red pepper and some spice yumminess – and I figure I can make a double batch for about $3.50 – and reduce the sugar… Take a peek at the ingredients. Pretty sure sugar ought not be that high on the ingredient list…
Here’s what I did: I bought 2 cans of corn, a red pepper (used half) and a Jalapeno (use it all) and some onion and spices. So I figure the double batch cost about $3.50 in total… That means I’ll have to figure out a couple of additional Mexican / Southwestern dinners over the next couple of days to eat all of the corn and chile salsa!
Adjusting the Sugar and Updating the Spices
Since I am lowering the sugar content, adding incremental spices (how can I not add cumin?), and estimating how much vinegar etc. means my recipe won’t exactly match the flavor of TJ’s. But I think it’s close enough, better for you, and definitely saves a few bucks!
This recipe reduced the calories by a bit when compared with the TJ’s version. Presumably from the reduction in sugar. Only 34 calories in 2 Tbl – it’s safe to say you can eat as much of this as you want on your taco / in your taco salad / as a garnish on southwestern grilled chicken or with any other favorite southwestern dish.
Trader Joe’s Knock Off Corn and Chile Salsa
Ingredients
Prepare the Vegetables
- 30 Oz Corn – 2 Cans Corn, Drained
- ½ large Red Pepper – Diced very small (~½ C)
- ½ C Onion – Diced very small
- 1 medium Jalapeno – Diced very small (~6 Tsp)
Prepare the Marinade
- 5 Tbl White Vinegar
- 4 Tbl Sugar
- ¾ tsp Ground Mustard Powder – regular – Not Chinese
- 1 tsp Coriander
- ½ tsp Cumin
- ½ tsp Crushed Red Pepper
- ¾ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Organize your ingredients.
- Chop the vegetables and drain the corn. Place all veg into a medium sized bowl.
- Mix the marinade ingredients in a smaller bowl. Heat the marinade by microwaving for 1 minute on high. Make sure that the sugar dissolves. Heat again for 15 seconds and stir if sugar doesn't dissolve readily.
- Pour hot mixture over the corn/veg in the larger bowl. Stir it up. Stir every 5 min or so till cool. (15 min) Keep in fridge covered – for up to 5 days or a week.
