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You are here: Home » Recipes » Salsas

Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper Salsa

Published: Aug 14, 2018 · Updated: Oct 4, 2019 by Mely Martínez

JUMP TO RECIPE

This Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper Salsa is excellent for those that love spicy sauces. You can adjust the spiciness by adding more Ancho peppers and reducing the amount of Arbol peppers. It is an easy recipe, and it lasts up to 4 days in your fridge. This salsa freezes very well, too.

ancho-arbol chile pepper salsa -A delicious and easy Ancho-arbol pepper salsa done in a matter of minutes.

Enjoy this amazingly easy Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper salsa 

Sometimes, when we work with dried peppers, we wonder what to do or cook with them, but you should think of them as a meal enhancer, especially Ancho chile peppers.

Ancho chile peppers are one of the most practical peppers in the Mexican cuisine, they are actually dried Poblano Peppers; they are used to give flavor and also color to dishes. They are also known in some regions as Chile Color because Ancho chile peppers are not hot or spicy but add a lot of color to salsas and stew.

What does an Ancho Chile Pepper look like?

Ancho Pepper - Mexican Dried Peppers

Ancho chile peppers are soft and with a dark brown reddish color and a slightly sweet flavor, if you don’t find Ancho peppers a good substitute is Mulato Peppers. Mulato peppers are a little similar to ancho peppers, they are the same variety of pepper but with a darker color, with some spiciness and chocolate flavor.

Ancho-Arbol chile pepper salsa sauce. This Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper Salsa is excellent for those that love spicy sauces. You can adjust the spiciness by adding more Ancho peppers and reducing the amount of Arbol peppers. It is an easy recipe, and it lasts up to 4 days in your fridge. This salsa freezes very well, too.

Serve your tasty Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper Salsa in a Ceramic or a colorful bowl. 

Besides making this Ancho-Arbol Chile pepper salsa, there are many uses for ancho pepper in the Mexican Cuisine, like the ancho-guajillo pepper salsa for red enchiladas, in the recipe for Pozole, Menudo, Tamales, and many other delicious meals.

I want you to know that cooking with dried peppers render impressive results not only in Mexican dishes and that many of them are not hot at all. You will need to add the dried hot peppers to a sauce to make it spicy. Like this Ancho-Arbol Chile Salsa that can be used on grilled meats, for tacos, over fried eggs, or any other dish you want to add some spiciness.

One last note about the Ancho chile peppers. When buying Ancho or Mulato peppers, make sure they look clean, soft, with a shiny and pliable skin. That tells you that the peppers are of good quality.

How to make Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper Salsa

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS

DIRECTIONS:

Ancho-arbol chile pepper salsa recipe mild

Be careful when toasting the peppers, this step takes just a matter of seconds.

  • Place the peppers in a warm skillet, make sure the heat is at medium high. Slightly toast them turning one for about 45 seconds. Allow them to release their aroma. If you place the chile peppers in a very hot skillet, the peppers will burn, and your salsa will have a bitter taste.
  • Soak peppers in a bowl with 1-½ cup of hot water for about 25 minutes or until they are soft.
  • Once the peppers are soft, drain the water and place into the blender; add the garlic clove and ⅔ cup of water. Process until you have a very smooth salsa, I use a Vitamix, and this step takes about a minute.
  • Heat the vegetable oil in s medium-size frying pan at and pour the sauce. Sometimes, blenders do not process dried peppers to a very fine texture, in that case, use a strainer to pour the sauce into the saucepan.  Reduce heat once it starts boiling and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Just before serving, season with salt and enjoy your Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper salsa.
ancho-arbol chile pepper salsa recipe

If you make this salsa combining Ancho & Arbol peppers, and made any modifications, please come back to share about it.

Provecho!

Mely,

📖 Recipe

ancho-arbol chile pepper salsa recipe

Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper Salsa

Mely Martínez
This Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper Salsa is excellent for those that love spicy sauces. You can adjust the spiciness by adding more Ancho peppers and reducing the amount of Arbol peppers. It is an easy recipe, and it lasts up to 4 days in your fridge. This salsa freezes very well, too.
5 from 20 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course Salsas
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 12 Tablespoons
Calories 20 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Ancho Pepper
  • 10 Arbol Pepper
  • 1 Garlic Clove
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Place the peppers in a warm skillet, make sure the heat is at medium high. Slightly toast them turning one for about 45 seconds. Allow them to release their aroma. If you place the chile peppers in a very hot skillet, the peppers will burn, and your salsa will have a bitter taste.
  • Soak peppers in a bowl with 1-½ cup of hot water for about 25 minutes or until they are soft.
  • Once the peppers are soft, drain the water and place into the blender; add the garlic clove and ⅔ cup of water. Process until you have a very smooth salsa, I use a Vitamix, and this step takes about a minute.
  • Heat the vegetable oil in s medium-size frying pan at and pour the sauce. Sometimes, blenders do not process dried peppers to a very fine texture, in that case, use a strainer to pour the sauce into the saucepan.  Reduce heat once it starts boiling and cook for 5 minutes. 
  • Just before serving, season with salt and enjoy your Ancho-Arbol Chile Pepper salsa.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoonCalories: 20kcalCarbohydrates: 2gFat: 1gSodium: 99mgPotassium: 62mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 885IUVitamin C: 1.2mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Ken Schreiber

    August 07, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    Thank You Mely, for being so generous with your family recipes.

    Reply
  2. Christopher R. Caranna

    February 02, 2021 at 5:36 pm

    5 stars
    I made this being strict accordance with this recipe. What was yielded was fantastic.

    Thank you very much.

    Reply
  3. Jennifer

    January 16, 2021 at 8:55 pm

    Could I use just Hatch ancho peppers?

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      January 18, 2021 at 1:25 pm

      Hello Jennifer,
      Yes, you can.

      Reply
  4. David Mariano

    December 13, 2020 at 8:53 am

    5 stars
    Great tasting salsa. Follow the recipe and you won't be disappointed.

    Reply
    • Brian K.

      November 10, 2021 at 11:14 pm

      Looks great and simple! Seems with those ingredients that this salsa shouldn't spoil. Is there a reason it's only good for 4 days in fridge? If so, can it be frozen?

      Reply
      • Mely Martínez

        November 11, 2021 at 12:56 pm

        Hello Brian,
        Believe it or not, it does get spoiled. It can be frozen.

  5. Mariana Alarcon

    June 13, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    5 stars
    I loved the earthy ancho flavor with the arbol chile kick. And it was surprisingly creamy! I did add the tiniest splash of orange juice just to give it a dash of fruitiness and acidity, but it doesn't really *need* it.

    Reply
  6. Barb gibson

    May 15, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    I have a bag of roasted dried ancho can I use those instead of the fresh ones?
    Barb

    Reply
    • mmartinez

      May 16, 2019 at 11:33 am

      Hello Barb, this salsa recipe uses dried Ancho peppers. Enjoy the salsa!

      Reply
  7. Raymond

    August 18, 2018 at 11:17 am

    Hi.....I just needed to double check regarding your recipe. There is a picture on this recipe showing a strainer and a frying pan, However I can not seem to find anywhere in your recipe the use for these two things. Is there a step missing in your recipe? Please check and advise. Gracias

    Reply
    • mmartinez

      August 28, 2018 at 10:38 am

      Hello Raymond,
      Yes, you will need to strain it in case your blender leaves little pieces of pepper skins.

      Reply

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About me

Hi, I'm Mely Martinez, a former Mexican school teacher, home cook, and food blogger. I moved to the United States about ten years ago, after living in Mexico my whole life. Now I love to share home-style recipes for authentic Mexican food.
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