This red taqueria salsa is absolutely delicious on steak or pork carnitas tacos. You need only a few ingredients to make it at home, and it lasts several days in the fridge. The roasted peppers give a robust flavor to the salsa and the addition of the granulated chicken bullion complements it very well. I've been hooked on it since the first time I tried it at my local taqueria, but it can also be used over your breakfast fried eggs or that fried chicken you love for dinner. If you love spicy salsas, like I do, this one is for you!
Red Taquería Style Salsa Recipe
One of the essential ingredients for a good taco is to have a good salsa. The types of salsas used for tacos changes from every region of the country due to the ingredients available, or to the type of meat used in the tacos. Some people love to have green salsa for their barbacoa (Stewed Beef) tacos, others must have a good tomatillo and avocado salsa for their carnitas tacos, and then there is the "Pico de Gallo" or Mexican salsa for the fish tacos.
You can have endless conversations deciding which salsa is best for each type of dish, and maybe never agree on the same salsa. But one thing's for sure, we love our tacos with a good salsa on them! Check this other Taqueria Style Salsa with roasted tomatillos and arbol peppers!
How to make Red Taquería Style Salsa
Notes:
- This is a spicy salsa, so to reduce the spiciness use fewer Arbol peppers.
- If you prefer not to use the granulated chicken bullion, make sure to adjust the salt to taste.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Fill a saucepan with 4 cups of water, and set aside.
- Slightly roasted guajillo peppers and garlic cloves on a warm griddle. You can flatten the peppers to have an even roasting by gently pressing them down with a wooden spatula. Remove promptly to avoid burning the peppers. Place roasted peppers and peeled garlic cloves in the saucepan.
- Now, roast the arbol peppers. Arbol peppers will roast quite faster than guajillo peppers, that is why we're roasting them separately. Once roasted, place them in the saucepan with the rest of the peppers.
- Turn heat to medium-high and turn off once the water starts boiling. Cover the saucepan and wait for 20 minutes. This soaking time will help to soften the peppers.
- Place peppers and garlic into your blender jar along with ½ cup of water. Discard any leftover soaking water. Process until you have a smooth sauce. Pour the sauce back in the saucepan, stir in the granulated chicken bouillon, taste to check if more salt is needed according to your own taste, and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes, just enough time to allow the chicken bouillon to dissolve and for the flavors to blend.
Provecho!
Mely,
More recipes:
Pan Scrambled Eggs with Poblano Peppers and Green Salsa
Shrimp in Chipotle Sauce Recipe
Receta en español Salsa Roja para tacos.
📖 Recipe
Red Taqueria Style Salsa
Ingredients
- 4 Guajillo Peppers cleaned, seeds removed, and deveined.
- 16 arbol peppers stems removed.
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons granulated chicken bullion powder.
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Fill a saucepan with 4 cups of water, and set aside.
- Slightly roasted guajillo peppers and garlic cloves on a warm griddle (this step takes only seconds). You can flatten the peppers to have an even roasting by gently pressing them down with a wooden spatula. Remove promptly to avoid burning the peppers (burned peppers render a bitter taste). Place roasted peppers and peeled garlic cloves in the saucepan.
- Now, roast the Arbol peppers. Arbol peppers will roast quite faster than guajillo peppers, that is why we're roasting them separately. Once roasted, place them in the saucepan with the rest of the peppers.
- Turn heat to medium-high and turn off once the water starts boiling. Cover the saucepan and wait for 20 minutes. This soaking time will help to soften the peppers.
- Place peppers and garlic into your blender jar along with ½ cup of water. Discard any leftover soaking water. Process until you have a smooth sauce. Pour the sauce back in the saucepan, stir in the granulated chicken bouillon, taste to check if more salt is needed according to your own taste, and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes, just enough time to allow the chicken bouillon to dissolve and for the flavors to blend.
Notes
- This is a spicy salsa, so to reduce the spiciness use fewer Arbol peppers.
- If you prefer not to use the granulated chicken bullion, make sure to adjust the salt to taste.
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Bobi
I made this again for the second time and it is soooo good! I still only used 1 Arbol pepper. It was so thick, I used a couple of Tablespoons of water to rinse my blender into the pot. I didn't want to waste any of that mixture.
If you haven't made this, please try it. The powdered chicken bullion makes it! This is EXACTLY the taco shop red salsa I've been looking for!
Thank you so much for posting this. I can't wait to see your other recipes.
David Burch
WOW! I am 60 yo. Anglo. I have a go-to Mexican market in town that has some of the best taqueria salsa. For years, spice gave me heartburn and I could not take it. Now, thank goodness I can. I was missing out on so much flavor! I used this recipe to "give it a try" and make it myself. This was out of this world! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this. I am making more tonight. My número uno!
patrick alan weathers
this is the best red sauce i have found, nice heat not to spicy, great flavor
love this on my barbacoa tacos.
Bobi
Tastes JUST like my favorite taco shop salsa! I only used one chile de arbol though and it was plenty hot for me! I don't know who some of you people are who can add 16 of them to a salsa that doesn't even make a cup of salsa. lol Also, do not skimp on the chicken bouillon powder. Two teaspoons is the perfect amount. Thank you so much for posting!
Pete
We've lived many places and tasted many cuisines. One of our favorite places is southern California where we'd frequently go to Mexico and get tacos. After moving away, we tried countless times to replicate some of the best salsas we've had through our travels. This is the only recipe that we keep coming back to. This salsa is spicy, but it's amazing. We put it on everything from burritos to tacos to eggs. If we're getting sick of it, we'll add a different type of pepper to give it a little bit of a different taste, but the original recipe is the best.
Abigail
Taste is good but be prepared to sh*t fire. 🔥
Kat
This was so spicy but delicious!
Lauren
This is so delicious! How long will it keep safely in the refrigerator? Does it freeze well? I always worry a bit about keeping things with fresh garlic in them.
Mely Martínez
Hello Lauren,
It will keep well in the fridge for about 3 days. and 2 weeks in the freezer.
Happy cooking!
Mely
David Jordon
Add some apple cider vinegar and distilled vinegar to reach a ph of 3.5 then can in a hot water bath and it can be shelf stable for over a year!
Mely Martínez
Hello David,
Thank a lot for sharing that tip! I know some readers will find it very useful.
Mely
patrick alan weathers
it will keep for a long time in the refrigerator
it just keeps getting better everyday
I've had it along as two weeks in the frig with no problems
Brooke
So this salsa uses no tomatos correct? Also how do you deveine the guajillo peppers?
Mely Martínez
Hello Brooke,
To devein the dried peppers, make a slit with a knife or kitchen scissors along the length of each pepper. Open the pepper and remove the seeds and the light-colored veins where the seeds are attached. Not everyone removes the veins — that’s a personal preference — since it is believed that the veins add spiciness and flavor to the dish.
Mely
Shari Pullen
I made pork carnitas, they were delicious, but this sauce put it over the top, thanks so much for the recipe!!!
Alicia
Muy Bueno!!!!!
Bill J Rogers
!!This is a spicy salsa, so to reduce the spiciness use fewer Arbol peppers.
Xochitl Gonzalez
Made this last night. I was looking for a recipe to make salsa using some leftover chicken broth. I used broth in place of the bullion and cooked it down for a much longer time. Delicious!!! Will definitely make this again!
GillBFishin
What a great find. Put this on my Lengua tacos tonight and it absolutely kicked it up a notch Thank you for sharing.
Mely Martínez
Hello Bill,
Thank you for trying the Taqueria Style salsa! Enjoy!
Elma
Mely, great recipe!! I think I know why it is coming out a watery consistency for some people, they are adding all of the soaking water. Maybe on step 5 it might be a good idea to say “add the peppers and only 1/2 cup of either fresh water or soaking water. Discard the remaining soaking water.” I added only 1/2 cup of fresh water and it turned out at a perfect thickness. Thank you for sharing!
Mely Martínez
Hello Elma,
You could be right, thank you for the tip! I'll check the recipe. Happy cooking!
Dave
Mely, Muchas gracias! I have been looking for a spicy salsa recipe that I first tasted on the local food truck. I talked to the owner and he shared the recita with me but I have no idea if I understood him correctly. He used about 15 toasted arbol chilies. Nice spice. You could even add a ghost pepper or two to really light it up. Great on carnitas.
This gives me a great starting point. Perdona mi espanol. Gracias.
Kat
Simply amazing. Just a little drizzle of this adds a nice punch and tons of flavor. Thank you for sharing this.
I did cut back on the Arbols a little and it came out perfect for us.
John Albert Rivera
I'm gonna put this on my chilaquiles next time I make them!
Lara
Is it ok to use dried chile peppers?
Mely Martínez
Hello Laura,
The peppers in this recipe are dried peppers. Happy cooking!
Shana
So simple and so easy
Jeanna
This sauce is perfect and a real crowd pleaser. We couldn't put it down!
mmartinez
Hello Jeanna,
Thank you for trying the recipe. Happy cooking!
Celia Rocha
Can you use this sauce for tamale filling g?
mmartinez
Hello Celia,
Yes, you can, it will be a little spicy.
Lily Chow
How long can you keep this in the fridge?
mmartinez
About 3 days.
Susan
I no sooner found this recipe and made it that afternoon. It transported us to a Mexican restaurant without leaving the house. I would recommend only 1/2 cup water in the final step. Thank you for sharing.
mmartinez
Hello Susan,
Thank you for trying the recipe, I appreciate your suggestion about reducing the amount of water. I hope other readers find this tip helpful. Provecho!
Trino
Well Mely I cooked up some pork which I sprinkled with flour as it cooked and added the salsa to it and let simmer. The outcome was delicious!! It was rich and thick like a mole.
mmartinez
Hello Trino,
That is such a great idea. Look forward to trying it myself!
Trino
Can I add flour to thicken sauce.
mmartinez
Hello Trino,
You are welcome to add it and make it your own personal version.
Tonya
This is my go to salsa now thank you Mely! I absolutely love this, although this last time I doubled the batch and was disappointed because it just wasn't spicy enough. Maybe the brand of Chile's I bought this last time we're just not as spicy. I'll have to increase the peppers next time. Again thank you so much I love this recipe!
Tonya
For the other person who's salsa came out too watery, I add little by little until I get the consistency I prefer. I also had that same issue the first time I made it as well. Hope that helps.
Rich
A very nice salsa recipe though I found it too salty for my tastes. On my 2nd batch, I found that using 500ml liquid chicken stock with 500ml water as the soaking liquid in lieu of the bullion adds enough flavour, and it can be salted to taste at the end.
That said, lazy me usually buys the La Costeña jars, but nothing beats the sauce made at home.
mmartinez
Hello Rich,
That is a clever idea, some cooks in Mexico add the chicken stock too. And, yes, some brands of chicken bouillon can be salty. Happy cooking and enjoy your salsa!
saycheeseorelse
This salsa is amazingly good but mine came out so spicy it hurt lol. It there anyway I can fix it?
mmartinez
Hello,
Yes you can fix it. You will need to add more guajillos, repeat the same process that you did, roast, cook and then blend.
Thank you for trying the recipe!
Marcia Garcia
Am i supposed to use fresh peppers or the dehydrated ones
Mely Martínez
Hello Marcia,
Dried peppers
Rose
I actually enjoy watery salsas because that’s how they are at most taquerias I’ve been to. This one came out delicious! I even added a bit more water and sieved it for extra red hot spicy liquidness. I only had 1tsp of bouillon on hand but I adjusted with salt and it was very tasty.
Geiselle Stafford
I made this recipe. It was absolutely a crowd-pleaser however mine did it come out thin so my suggestion is to add the soaking liquid a half cup at a time until you get the correct consistency. Thank you Mely , it's delicous!
mmartinez
Thank you for trying the recipe. I hope you recommendation helps other cooks.
Happy cooking!
Geiselle Stafford
I already have
Barbara J Rivera
You discard all cooking liquids and use 1/2 cup of fresh water, correct?
Mely Martínez
Hello Barbara,
Yes, some people would use the same cooking water. That is up to each cook choice.
Carri
Beautiful!! Love Mexico in mykitchen, always the very best Mely!!
mmartinez
Thanks Carri!
Have fun cooking!
Chepe Ruvalcaba
Hi
Unknown
Is it supposed to be liquid? Mine came out very liquid, not at all thick. Thanks for the input.
mmartinez
Hello,
It shouldn't be too liquid.
Carolyn
Does this recipe use fresh or dried peppers?
Mely Martínez
Hello Carolyn,
This red taqueria style salsa uses dried peppers. You can see a picture of the peppers above. Some other recipes use a mix of fresh and dried peppers.
Nora Ceccopieri
Qué rica! me encanta esta salsa Mely
Tengo que publicar salsas yo también!
Kimberly H
Oh Yum!! Thank you so much for this recipe!! We get la lingua tacos at a taqueria in a near by town and they serve this type of salsa with them. Sometimes if we're lucky, we get some to go and I keep it in my freezer. Now I can make some thanks to you. I just need to go get some chili arbol.. Thanks so much! Blessings!
Alice Downing
Hi Mely, I made this today, it was exellent! I did cut down the arbol peppers to 8 as I was cooking for my gringo friends, and it turned out pleasantly warm.I got many compliments on this salsa.The only problem was that I didn't make enough..I should have at least tripled the recipe when cooking for 30 people..yes, even gringos! haha.Thanks for your wonderful recipes