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This smoky guajillo salsa recipe is deep and flavorful, full of toasted, dried guajillo chiles, garlic, and fresh tomatoes. It’s the perfect smoky salsa recipe to keep in the fridge (at all times, pretty sure) so you can put it on all the things. Inspired by my favorite local taqueria salsa, you’ll love this smoky salsa recipe, especially during warmer weather! Buy dried guajillo chiles here.
“Todas las salsas, por favor,” I croak out, hoping my Spanish isn’t too offensive. “Tambien la picosa.”
Gimme all the salsas, please. Even the spicy one.
The servers know what I’m talking about, even though they’re likely rolling rolling their eyes on the way back to the salsa bar. They know I’m in desperate need of the sinfully spicy, deep, dark red salsa, full of smoky dried chiles. The bright red variety alone won’t do; no, I need them all.
(Oh, and that roasted tomatillo one and the fresh avocado-tomatillo one, too, please? OK, thanks, I promise we tip well...)
I’ve always claimed to be a “sauce person,” as kind of admittedly gross as that sounds. What I mean by that is this:
Gimme way less of those noodles and like three times the normal amount of pasta sauce.
Keep the extra tortilla chips for yourself, and double me up on that guac, my friend.
I’m cool with having burgers tonight, so long as there are nine homemade aiolis to go on them.
Now that you’ve peeked a little deeper inside my ever dysfunctional soul, you’ll understand my obsession with salsa just a little bit better. I need garlicky purées with tomatoes and chiles on everything, and I won’t rest until I’ve bombarded the internet with the very best homemade versions! And this smoky guajillo salsa recipe? It totally counts.
Like most of us, I grew up thinking “salsa” meant chunky canned tomatoes with a couple little green specks in there. Pace was acceptable to most around me, and I was pretty happy with what I was handed in a little carafe each time we hit the local Texmex joint. It was until I fully investigated taquerias that I uncovered the depths of my obsession…
It started in L.A. at a tiny taqueria near Silver Lake named Las Ranasavo. We went there for hangover burritos and dunked our rolled remedies in smooth, opaque green sauce. Years later, I was still jonesing for the stuff, so I created my avocado salsa recipe to keep in the fridge at all times. It keeps surprisingly well, what with the main ingredient and all, but it’s a good thing, since, well… you know.
My smoky salsa addiction blossomed when we started exploring the taquerias of Memphis, usually relegating ourselves to the fantastic Summer Avenue that bisects the city. They were almost too much to start, with their unapologetic smokiness and spiciness that’s quick on the tongue. I drizzled the dark red salsa lightly over my carne asada, knowing full well I’d be complaining of the pain in minutes but with a salsa spoon in hand.
This smoky guajillo salsa recipe is my everyday answer to the ubiquitous dried chile salsa of taquerias. Blended with plenty of dried chiles, lots of pan-roasted garlic, and fresh tomatoes, it’s spicy but not so overwhelming that you can’t, you know, drink it. It’s smoky but not one-sided, thanks to the garlic and tomatoes. It’s just as good with chips as it is drizzled on nachos or carne asada.
Skip the bottled sauce: even the good kind! This smoky guajillo salsa recipe is just so much better.
Smoky Guajillo Salsa Recipe
Equipment
- Large cast-iron skillet
- stovetop
- Tongs
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- medium saucepan
- Slotted spoon
- Food processor
- Silicone spatula
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dried guajillo chiles approximately 18 peppers
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 whole roma tomato approximately 2 ounces
- 4 large cloves fresh garlic whole, unpeeled
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 whole roma tomato approximately 2 ounces
- 2 large cloves fresh garlic peeled, plus 1-2 more if desired
Instructions
- Place large, cast-iron skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot, add 4 ounces dried guajillo chiles to skillet, arranging chiles in single layer without stacking or overlapping.. Work in multiple batches if needed.
- Toast chiles 15 to 20 seconds or until fragrant and slightly puffy. Transfer toasted chiles to cutting board and set aside to cool. Repeat process with any remaining dried chiles.
- Once all chiles have been toasted and cooled, cut off and discard stems of chiles. Slice chiles into strips.
- Place guajillo strips and seeds in medium saucepan. Add 2 cups hot water and place saucepan on stovetop over high heat.
- Bring water to rolling boil. Boil chiles 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, add 1 whole roma tomato to saucepan. Boil tomato 30 seconds, then immediately transfer chiles, tomato, and 50% of seeds to food processor bowl using slotted spoon. Set saucepan of water aside.
- Place large, cast-iron skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot, add 4 large cloves fresh garlic to pan.
- Toast garlic, flipping cloves frequently, approximately 8 minutes or until cloves are tender and skins are lightly charred.
- Transfer charred cloves to cutting board and set aside. Once cloves have cooled, peel cloves and discard skins. Trim and discard ends of cloves.
- Transfer toasted garlic to food processor bowl with guajillo chiles and boiled tomato. Add 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 whole roma tomato, and 2 large cloves fresh garlic.
- Pulse ingredients in food processor until puréed into thick paste.
- Add reserved water to food processor in small increments, pulsing mixture to fully incorporate water after each addition. Repeat until desired consistency is achieved.
- Once salsa is thinned as desired, taste salsa and add additional garlic and/or salt if desired. Pulse mixture to fully incorporate any added ingredients.
- When satisfied with flavor of salsa, transfer prepared salsa to serving bowl and serve as desired.
- Storage: Refrigerate salsa in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Overall very good – definitely lives up to it’s name! It did start out a bit bitter for my taste (I’ve made roasted guajillo salsas several times so I know this can be an issue with these…), so I added some sweet onion, lime juice, and cilantro, and used some plain water in addition to some of the cooking water. Like all salsas, I’m looking forward to how it develops in a day or two. I think it would be great on grilled chicken, enchiladas, etc with something to balance out the rich smoky flavor. A few chips in and I can tell this will be addictive.
Glad you enjoyed it, Dorothy! 😊
Hi, I had a question about how many tomatoes are meant to be used in this recipe? In the instructions, I’m seeing that the recipe calls for 2T of roma tomatoes; however, in the instructions, I am seeing to add a whole boiled tomato plus the 2T of chopped tomato? Is this correct? Thank you for your wonderful recipe! 🙂
Sorry about that confusion, Katherine! We used two Roma tomatoes 🙂 disregard the two tablespoons.
Is the recipe supposed to say 2 Roma tomatoes rather than 2 tablespoons?
Yes 🙂 Sorry about that confusion. We have updated the recipe!
I look forward to trying this! Just to clarify, do you mean 2 roma tomatoes as opposed to 2 tablespoons of romas? And 6-8 garlic cloves instead of 6-8 T of garlic cloves? I make a similar guajillo/arbol salsa and I use 2 full romas and around 6 garlic cloves. It’s also my favorite salsa! 🙂 Have you tried throwing a little oregano in this? I swear it makes a huge difference but it’s really a personal preference. I have some spicy Mexican oregano growing this spring and I plan to use it as much as possible! 🙂