If you have found Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch to be missing from your local store, then fear not. With this copycat recipe, I've got you covered. With a handful of pantry items you too can make this at home and tailor it to your liking.
I can't tell you how many posts via social media I've seen of people looking to buy Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch, but their local stores have run out of it. I've even heard tales of people driving for hundred of miles to try to find some.
But this is one of those items that is relatively easy to replicate at home. There is nothing weird or commercial about the shopping list on this one. Just things that are going to make you shop outside of Trader Joe's.
Tips for Making This Recipe
Here are my best tips for making my Copycat Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch:
- Use only dehydrated spices and do NOT rehydrate them.
- Do NOT substitute granulated for the minced, it won't have much texture and it will be overwhelming in flavor.
- For best flavor, you'll need to heat the oil to infuse the heat of the chili pepper flakes and get the color from the paprika.
- Store in an air tight jar or container
- If you are on a reduced sodium diet, feel free to omit or adjust the salt as you see fit.
- If you like it spicier, then add more red chili flake.
- All my spices came from Penzey's in creating this recipe.
Where to Find the Spices for This
Now resist any temptation to use anything fresh in this recipe. It won't be shelf stable and most olive oils solidify in the refrigerator. So you need dehydrated spices. I personally use Penzey's Spices. I'm not an affiliate for them (and nor are the links in this section).
Yes, you could get some of these off of Amazon, but they do offer really good coupons and deals. If you live close to a store its an amazing place to go to sniff everything and experience it for yourself.
Now, it is possible that another brand has something similar, but I haven't tried it out to compare.
But here are the items you'll need to make this recipe (again these are NOT affiliate links) exactly the way I made it:
- Minced White Onions
- Minced Garlic
- Dried Red Bell Pepper Minced
- Toasted Minced Onions
- Medium Hot Chili Pepper Flakes
- Salt (Coarse or Flake style)
- Paprika
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- not sold at Penzey's but odds are you probably already have this on hand.
So why would you want to buy any of this?
I can't tell you how many times it's been easier to reach for the dehydrated item, than fresh. I sometimes misjudge or my plans of making a certain recipe don't come through. Once in a while a fresh item is past its prime when I get to making a certain dish. These items can be used in a wide variety of dishes and aren't one trick ponies. These are all great items to keep on hand.
Why Does This Recipe Work?
As I noted in my review of the original product, the magic is in the fact that the spices are dehydrated. Even though you are adding oil, you aren't actually adding any hydration in therefore they retain most of their crunchy nature.
Watch Me Make This (58 Seconds)
How To Make a Copycat Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch
Step 1. In a jar add dehydrated minced white onions, dehydrated minced garlic, dehydrated toasted minced onions, and salt. Add the dehydrated minced peppers and dehydrated minced garlic to a spice grinder and grind for about 10-15 seconds). Pour in to the jar. If you don't mind the larger garlic and peppers, then add them straight to the jar and skip using a spice grinder.
Step 2: In a pan, add EVOO, paprika, and chili pepper flakes. Heat until oil is about 250F or when you can smell the pepper flakes.
Step 3: Carefully add olive oil mixture to jar. When pouring into the jar the oil will be hot. Stir to combine. Take care to not touch the edges of the jar. When combined it is ready to use. If you aren't using it right away, then allow it to cool to room temperature and place a lid. Serve with pasta, potatoes, veggies, and even eggs (or some way that you are welcome to share in the comments).
Other Trader Joe's Inspired Recipes You Might Like
Copycat Oven Baked Cheese Bites
Spicy Jalapeno Limeade Margarita
I hope you enjoy this Copycat Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch Recipe below!
If you try this, would you mind hitting the “Rate” button? I’d love to know what you thought of it. If you modified the original recipe here, please let me know how it turned out. I love comments!
If you’ve tried this Copycat Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch Recipe or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to see what I’m up to.
Copycat Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Dehydrated Minced Onion White
- .5 Tbsp Dehydrated Minced Toasted Onion
- ½ tsp Salt Flake or Kosher
- 1 Tbsp Dehydrated Minced Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Dehydrated Mined Bell Pepper Red
- ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ Tsp Red Chili Pepper Flake
- ½ tsp paprika
Instructions
- In a clean and dry jar add the following dehydrated spices: onion, toasted onion, and salt. If your minced garlic and minced red bell pepper are a satisfactory size to you, then add it in also. If they are too large then, run them through a spice grinder for 5-10 seconds and add to the jar. I found these to be a bit large from Penzeys.
- In pan on low heat add olive oil, red chili pepper flakes, and paprika. Heat until you can smell the chili pepper flakes. You are looking to infuse the flavors, but not cook them. When oil turns red from the paprika and you can smell the chili flakes it is done.
- Carefully pour oil mixture into jar. Stir to combine spices.
- This is ready to use immediately or keep in a container.
Video
Notes
- Use only dehydrated spices and do NOT rehydrate them.
- Do NOT substitute granulated for the minced, it won't have much texture and it will be overwhelming in flavor.
- For best flavor, you'll need to heat the oil to infuse the heat of the chili pepper flakes and get the color from the paprika.
- Store in an air tight jar or container
- If you are on a reduced sodium diet, feel free to omit or adjust the salt as you see fit.
- All my spices came from Penzey's in recreating this recipe.
Just stopping by to say that I recently discovered the Chili Onion Crunch and I am absolutely obsessed. I've put it on everything. I am in the process of eating at TJ salmon patty in a wrap with the crunch slathered on top. I've put it on bread, cheeses, wraps of all kinds, stuffed shells, etc. It's so versatile!
Thank you for the recipe. I am going to recreate this when I am done with my stock piled jars!
Awesome! Can't wait to hear how it turns out! Thanks so much for sharing.
I just made this recipe and I have to tell you I think it tastes better than the trader joe’s! Thank you!
Hey Vallynn! So glad to hear. Your comment made my day.
Hey, thanks for posting this! How long did you heat the oil, paprika, and chili flakes for? I think I did about 45 seconds and it burnt.
Just long enough to get warm and incorporate into the paprika. If the chili flakes seem like they are popping or cooking then it is time to remove. Keep the oil low. I hope that helps.
I used smoked hot paprika and used some smoked salt...it is way better than the original, especially since it isn't sold anymore. I make a quadruple batch of this and is lasts a few months. It goes well on anything! Pizza, noodles, shrimp, soup (loses its cruch, but adds all the flavor), deviled or fried eggs, and probably a million other things. Thanks for the ground work, this is easily customizable for heat level and flavors!
Thanks M.E! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing how you made this too!
It is still sold just runs out often due to popularity and production/manufacturing issues
That's the exact reason I posted this copycat recipe. Thanks for stopping by!
I'm saving this recipe to give it a try. Sounds great!