The BEST Roasted Guajillo Salsa
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Forget everything you know about salsa-making because this guajillo salsa is going to become your new go-to recipe! No shade to our other favorites, like this boozy serrano salsa, but there has to be one supreme salsa to rule them all and it’s this guajillo chile salsa!
I’m not being hyperbolic when I tell you that I’ve poured more time and energy into this salsa guajillo than any of my other recipes. Hours upon hours of research went into it over the course of several years, all in pursuit of the perfect salsa.
Rooted in both personal nostalgia and Mexican tradition, this guajillo chile salsa is inspired by both my family’s favorite restaurant—where I practically grew up—and by the fresh, smoky flavors of Sonora and Jalisco.
🐷 Easy Dietary Swaps To Make It Your Way
Vegan
This recipe is already vegetarian, but to make it vegan you can either omit the chicken bouillon or use a vegan bouillon alternative.
Gluten-Free
Confirm that the chicken bullion you’re using is gluten-free (most brands are) and serve with gluten-free tortilla chips!
Less Spicy
This salsa is pretty spicy, so if you want to tone it down you can reduce the quantities of each pepper by half, or omit arbol chiles.
🥄 Why This Recipe Works
- This guajillo salsa is vegan & gluten free, so everyone can enjoy it!
- You can easily adjust the spice level of this salsa, if you wish.
- Guajillo chile salsa tastes great when it’s fresh, but even better after a few hours in the fridge, so you can totally prepare it in advance!
- This salsa is very versatile and can be enjoyed with tortilla chips or drizzled over quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, and more!
🧄 Regional Salsa Variations
As I mentioned, this salsa guajillo is largely inspired by the regional traditions of Jalisco and Sonora.
Jalisco-style salsas, in general, feature roasted ingredients such as tomatoes and tomatillos, which provide a balance of sweetness and acidity. The heat usually comes from dried chiles such as chile de arbol, pascilla, ancho, or guajillo chiles. Vinegar is often added in lieu of citrus. The texture is sometimes slightly chunky but is often blended into a smooth, consistent salsa.
Sonora-style salsas, on the other hand, tend to focus on fresh, raw ingredients like tomato, onion, and cilantro, though they can sometimes deviate from this. Lime juice is usually added to provide acidity, and fresh chiles such as serranos or jalapenos are often favored. Chiltepín, a small but fiery chile native to Sonora, is sometimes used as well. Sonora-style salsas are sometimes hand-chopped, rather than blended, which can leave them with a chunkier texture.
In short, Jalisco-style salsas tend to lean towards roasted, balanced flavors, while Sonora-style salsas are often fresher, chunkier, and sometimes spicier. This guajillo chile salsa combines the best of both worlds, making for a spicy salsa that’s both fresh and smokey, and extremely flavorful!
🛒 What You Need To Make This Recipe
📝 Recipe Modifications And Substitutions
- Peppers: You could stick with guajillo chiles, but why stop there? I like to add arbol chiles for spice, an ancho chili for its slight smokiness, and 1-3 whole pickled jalapenos for depth of flavor.
- Veggies: White onion is traditional, but you can substitute it with yellow onion if you must. I also like to use a combination of fresh roma tomatoes and tomatillos, but you can substitute tomatillos with more tomatoes if you don’t have access to tomatillos. Alternatively, you could use canned fire roasted tomatoes, but I think roasting them fresh is worth the effort in terms of flavor.
- Vinegar: I think distilled white vinegar is the best option for adding acidity to this guajillo salsa but you can use lime juice if you prefer.
- Sazón Goya seasoning: This is the ultimate secret ingredient you can add to any salsa to take it from ordinary to extraordinary, so don’t skip it! I like to add one packet of the coriander & anatto flavor and one of the cilantro and tomato flavor, but you can use 2 of the coriander & anatto if you prefer.
- Optional ingredients: Nopales (tender cactus)
*See above image or recipe card for full list of ingredients.
🥣 Recommended Equipment
I recommend using a food processor or blender to achieve a smooth texture. You’ll also need a large nonstick skillet for roasting the veggies, and a pair of tongs for flipping them. I recommend using silicone-tip tongs so as not to scratch the nonstick. You could use a pot to boil the water, but I prefer to use an electric tea kettle because it’s quicker.
🌶️ How To Make Guajillo Salsa
Step 1: Remove stems and seeds from larger dried chiles and discard. Add all chiles to a hot pan and toast over high heat until fragrant (about 1 minute). Cut chiles into smaller pieces with kitchen shears and add to a bowl along with chicken bouillon, both Goya packets, bay leaf, and dried oregano. Boil 2 cups of water, then pour over ingredients and cover bowl to keep steam from escaping.
Step 2: Add roma tomatoes, peeled tomatillos, half of the white onion (quartered), and 3 unpeeled garlic cloves to the pan and roast over high heat, turning as-needed until all the ingredients are charred.
Pro Tip: Roasting will take about 10-15 minutes. I recommend rotating ingredients every 3 minutes or so to ensure they’re evenly roasted. Don’t be scared of the char! More char = more flavor!
Step 3: Meanwhile, roughly chop remaining onion, cilantro, garlic, and pickled jalapenos, and add to a food processor. Remove bay leaf from bowl with softened chiles, then pour contents (including liquid) into the food processor and blend until smooth.
Step 4: Once veggies are charred, add them to food processor as well, along with vinegar, salt, black pepper, cumin, and sugar. Blend until a smooth texture is achieved. For best results, cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
Pro Tip: As always, remove & discard garlic skins before adding cloves to the food processor!
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Serve this salsa with Mexican dishes such as tamales, carne asada, tacos de cameron, chilaquiles, lobster enchiladas, and more!
You can also serve it with fresh tortilla chips or alongside vegetarian crunchwraps, eggs, steaks, or anything else you typically serve with salsa.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Jalapeños typically fall within a Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) range of about 2,500 to 8,000, which makes it a moderately spicy pepper. Guajillo chiles, on the other hand, are around 2500-5000 Scoville units. In short, jalapeños tend to be the spicier of the two.
Chipotles and guajillo chiles are two distinct peppers. Though they both have a sweet, smoky flavor profile, chipotles tend to be spicier than guajillos.
Ancho and pascilla chiles have a flavor similar to guajillo chiles, and are similar in terms of heat level as well. Arbol chiles can sometimes work as a guajillo substitute, but are significantly spicier.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Don’t skip the roasting process! The combination of both charred and fresh vegetables is what gives this salsa such complex flavor!
- As an alternative to roasting the vegetables in a skillet, you can place them on a sheet pan under the broiler for 5 minutes or until charred.
- Want a chunkier texture? Pulse the ingredients, rather than puree, until the desired texture is achieved.
- Cooling the salsa guajillo in the fridge for 2 hours (overnight would be even better) allows the ingredients time to mingle, deepening the flavor.
- Store leftover salsa in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
Love this guajillo salsa recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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The BEST Roasted Guajillo Salsa
Equipment
- Electric kettle (optional)
Ingredients
- 4 large guajillo chiles
- 1 ancho chile
- 10 arbol chiles
- 1 chicken boullion cube
- 1 packet Sazón Goya coriander annatto seasoning
- 1 packet Sazón Goya cilantro tomato seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 2 cups water
- 6 small roma tomatoes
- 4 small tomatillos
- 1 large white onion (divided)
- 4 garlic cloves (divided)
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 3 whole pickled jalapenos
- 1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
- 2 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp sugar
Instructions
- Remove stems and seeds from larger dried chiles and discard. Add all chiles to a hot pan and toast over high heat until fragrant (about 1 minute). Cut chiles into smaller pieces with kitchen shears and add to a bowl along with chicken buillon, both Goya packets, bay leaf, and dried oregano. Boil 2 cups of water, then pour over ingredients and cover bowl to keep steam from escaping
- Add roma tomatoes, peeled tomatillos, half of the white onion (quartered), and 3 unpeeled garlic cloves to the pan and roast over high heat, turning as-needed until all the ingredients are charred.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop remaining onion, cilantro, garlic, and pickled jalapenos, and add to a food processor. Remove bay leaf from bowl with softened chiles, then pour contents (including liquid) into the food processor and blend until smooth.
- Once veggies are charred, add them to food processor as well, along with vinegar, salt, black pepper, cumin, and sugar. Blend until a smooth texture is achieved. For best results, cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- Roasting will take about 10-15 minutes. I recommend rotating ingredients every 3 minutes or so to ensure they’re evenly roasted. Don’t be scared of the char! More char = more flavor!
- As always, remove & discard garlic skins before adding cloves to the food processor!
- Don’t skip the roasting process! The combination of both charred and fresh vegetables is what gives this salsa such complex flavor!
- As an alternative to roasting the vegetables in a skillet, you can also place them on a sheet pan under the broiler for 5 minutes or until charred.
- Want a chunkier texture? Pulse the ingredients, rather than puree, until the desired texture is achieved.
- Cooling the salsa guajillo in the fridge for 2 hours (overnight would be even better) allows the ingredients time to mingle, deepening the flavor.
- Store leftover salsa in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
This salsa is the best! It is so flavorful and delicious! I know the restaurant salsa well that you are replicating. Great job, you really picked up on all the flavors. We tried it with chips, carnitas burritos and carne asada quesadillas. It goes deliciously with everything!
Yay!! So glad you think so! 🙂
This is an amazingly authentic Southern California restaurant style salsa. Fantastic and easy! Thank you.
Yesss, that’s what I was going for! Glad you liked it!