17 Best Mexican Recipes for Sauces and Spicy Salsas

In Mexico, there is a great variety of sauces, as many as there are different chiles, and especially the combination of these with other condiments. On a Mexican table, the sauce is indispensable.

Mexican sauce

Ingredients

3 large tomatoes
5 serrano chiles
1 onion
1 branch of cilantro
3 spoonfuls of olive oil salt and pepper

How to make it

The chiles are roasted, that is, they are rubbed and roasted. The raw tomato, onion, cilantro, and chiles are chopped; all this is mixed and the oil, salt, and pepper are added.

Tomato sauce

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes
1 tablespoon of chopped onion
2 green serrano chiles
1 bunch of cilantro

How to make it

Roast and peel the chiles and tomatoes. Grind them in the molcajete together with the onion and garlic, adding a little water. Sprinkle the finely chopped cilantro on top.

Green tomato sauce

Ingredients

20 green tomatoes
5 green serrano chiles
2 cloves of garlic
I small onion
1 bunch of cilantro

How to make it

Boil the chiles and tomatoes in a small amount of water, taking care not to boil them too much. Peel and grind them with the onion, garlic, and salt and sprinkle the finely chopped coriander on top.

Salsa de la güera ("The woman's sauce")

Ingredients

6 chilacas
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of chopped onion
1 teaspoon oregano

How to make it

Roast the chilacas and grind them with garlic, onion, and a little water. Season with salt and sprinkle with oregano.

Mocha sauce

Ingredients

15 tomatoes
Onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 chipotle chiles

How to make it

Preferably canned chipotle chiles should be used, but if they are dried they should be boiled for half an hour, the tomatoes are boiled in the water taking care not to boil them too much, and they are ground together with the garlic, the onion, and the chile.

Pek sauce

Ingredients

3 habanero peppers
100 grams of pumpkin seeds
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 onion

How to make it

Once the peel is removed, the pepitas are lightly toasted. The chiles are roasted, and all together are ground in a mortar or blender with a little water and salt to taste. Fry and boil for 10 minutes.

Salsa chilorito de árbol

Ingredients

1 cup of chiles de árbol
3 tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion

How to make it

Fry the chiles, roast the tomatoes, and grind both with the garlic cloves and onion. Salt to taste.

Chimalistac sauce

Ingredients

10 ancho chiles
1/4 onion
1 clove of garlic
100 grams of piloncillo
1 teaspoon of salt

How to make it

Boil the ancho chiles and grind them with the other ingredients. It is necessary to grind well and several times to achieve a homogeneous flavor.

Guajillo chili sauce

Ingredients

200 grams of guajillo chili
2 tomatoes
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 pinches of thyme
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion

How to make it

Boil the guajillo chile, devein it and let it soak in the water where it is boiled with the tablespoon of vinegar and the thyme. Roast the tomatoes and garlic cloves and grind them with the chili. The onion is finely chopped and stirred into the sauce.

Pasilla chili sauce

Ingredients

8 pasilla chiles
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tomatoes

How to make it

The chiles are deveined and soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes, the tomatoes are roasted. Everything is ground together and fried with very little oil.

Tepozteca sauce

Ingredients

10 green serrano chiles
1/2 onion
1 avocado tree leaf
10 green tomatoes

How to make it

Roast the chiles and tomatoes and grind them with the onion and avocado leaf. Salt to taste.

Guaje sauce

Ingredients

10 green serrano chiles
1 bunch of guaje peppers
1/4 onion

How to make it

Roast the chiles. In the molcajete, grind the onion with a little water and salt, and then grind the chiles and guajes.

Jumiles sauce

Ingredients

1 handful of live jumiles, as many, as will fit in your hand
15 green tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
2 epazote leaves
1/4 onion

How to make it

Everything is ground together in the molcajete. For this sauce, the tomatoes are ground green.

Salsa borracha

Ingredients

200 grams of pasilla chili
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
6 green chilies in vinegar
1/2 liter of pulque
100 grams of aged cheese

How to make it

Toast the chiles, devein them, soak them for half an hour and grind them with the garlic. Add the oil and the pulque to make it thick, season with salt, and add the pickled chiles, finely chopped onion, and grated cheese (Note: This sauce is not served after a few hours because it ferments quickly).

Mixtec guacamole

Ingredients

3 large avocados
2 tomatoes
1 onion
4 serrano green chiles
3 sprigs of cilantro

How to make it

The avocados are pitted, the pulp is removed and the avocados are mashed with a wooden spatula. Roast the tomatoes and grind them in the molcajete along with the chiles, onion, and garlic. Season with the oil, salt, and pepper and sprinkle with the finely chopped cilantro, pour into a bowl, and leave the bones to prevent the tomato from turning black.

Green guacamole

Ingredients

3 large avocados
8 green tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
6 green serrano chiles
3 sprigs of cilantro
1 medium onion salt to taste

How to make it

The avocados are pitted and their pulp is broken up with a wooden spatula. In the molcajete grind the raw green tomatoes, garlic cloves, cilantro, and salt. The serrano chiles and onion are finely chopped. Everything is stirred very well.

Chiles in vinegar

Ingredients

1 kilogram of serrano or jalapeño peppers
2 liters of vinegar
1 liter of oil
2 kilograms of carrots
1 kilogram of onion
4 heads of garlic
a quarter of a cauliflower
1 tablespoon of peppers
3 cloves
8 bay leaves
3 sprigs of thyme
2 branches of marjoram

Preparation of the ingredients

The heads of garlic are cut in four; the onions in eight wedges; the cauliflower is cut into small florets and the carrots are cut into slices. The chili peppers are cut crosswise only at the tip.

How to make it

Fry ten cloves of garlic in the oil and when they are golden brown, take them out. Add the carrots, cauliflower, onion, chilies, and garlic; add the vinegar and the spices and herbs; add a cup of water, cover and let it boil until everything is soft. It is bottled and is ready after resting for a day.

How to prepare classic spicy chili peppers for the table

Green serrano chiles

These can be served plain, or roasted after roasting, splitting, and seasoning with lemon and salt. Serrano chiles in vinegar are very common throughout the country.

Jalapeño peppers

Same as the serranos.

Manzano peppers

They are roasted, chopped, and combined with finely chopped onion, lemon juice, and salt.

Habanero peppers

Roast, chop, and combine with finely chopped onion, sour orange juice, and salt.

Cascabel chile

You can make sauces similar to those of the pasilla and guajillo chiles, but the most common is that the rattlesnake chile is used in broths by letting it boil in them. It has the particularity that, being a ball chile, when boiling its interior it fills with broth without filling the broth. Whoever wants it spicy, bursts it into his dish, obtaining a very spicy natural juice.

Chile pepper veins

Dried chili peppers are usually deveined and the seeds are removed, which are usually kept for use as a condiment or simply served in the center of the table in a small dish for those who like it spicy. They can be veins and seeds from a single chile or several species.

Ancho chile

Roast, sweat, remove the skin, wash and devein. Cut into very thin slices and season with salt, pepper, and a little vinegar.

Picardía

This is the name given to jicama chopped into squares and soaked in a lot of lime juice and green serrano chile chopped in large quantities. The jicama is separated and only sprinkled with the same spicy broth.

Piquín peppers

When still green it is prepared in vinegar. Because they are very small they are known as munitions. When it ripens taking red tones, it is dried and ground. The powder is widely used to eat fruits and vegetables.

Recipes by Adela Fernandez