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As far as salsas are made with dried chilies, everyone and your mom knows that árbol is one of the spiciest. But, m'love, this chile de árbol salsa recipe right here adds not just heat, but legendary flavor to your tacos, burritos, fajita veggies, or let's be completely honest, your chips straight from the jar while you wild out on a flamingo-shaped pool float, sonnnn.
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This particular arbor salsa recipe gets depth from high-temperature roasted veg and some ancho chile that softens the sharp heat with its robust, slightly smoky sweetness. This is basically salsa with a strong character arc.
Make a batch in under 30 minutes, stash it in the fridge, and you've got a killer salsa ready to flex on your vegan fajitas, stuff into your vegan breakfast burrito, or splash all over your vegan taco bowl.
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🥰Why you'll adore this árbol chile salsa recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan Mexican recipes, this one throws animal products, cholesterol, and gluten in the friggin' twashcan where they belong. So, yes, you're going to be pumped to add this to your gluten-free vegan recipes list. I mean, after all, pumpers need to pump.
🌶️ Heat That Hits Right: The combo of chile de árbol and ancho chile gives it layered heat without torching your face off like Freddy Krueger.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this salsa has been battle-tested by hundreds of recipe testers from across the globe.
💣 Learn the bomb vegan Mexican recipes
This guide to my most popular vegan Mexican recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🌶️Chile de árbol salsa recipe ingredients
The Dried Chiles
Slim, bright red árbol chiles bring just the right amount of heat. I use 'em in my salsa macha and adobo sauce. Also in the recipe, ancho chiles are showing up to play the chill counterpart to all that árbol fire. If you have some leftover, use them to make my vegan tamales.
Ripe Tomatoes
Tomatoes add natural sweetness. Roma tomatoes are the traditional choice for salsas like this because they're a lot less watery than your average beefsteak, which means a thicker, more flavor-packed end result.
If you're using juicier tomatoes, just chop 'em and drain them in a colander for 12-15 minutes before roasting to avoid watering down your salsa too much.
Tomatillos
Tomatillos give this recipe its signature tang and that unmistakable brightness you love in salsa verde. They're also what makes chilaquiles verdes green. After husking, tomatillos should always be thoroughly washed to remove their sticky resin (that weird film is just there to help protect the fruits from insects). Anyway, roasting them deepens their flavor and helps mellow out the subtle bitter flavor.
Lime Juice
Your salsa wouldn't be the same without lime juice. Ideally, use fresh lime juice, not the semi-neon-colored bottled stuff with mysterious preservatives and broken promises of a Ken Kesey citric acid test. If your grocery store has limes that feel like stress balls or just aren't that juicy, you can absolutely sub in fresh lemon juice instead.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Salsa Roja
Swap the tomatillos for more roasted tomatoes and ramp up the garlic to echo the deeper, smokier vibes of my salsa roja recipe.
Habanero Salsa
My habanero salsa recipe is one of the most popular pages on my whole website. Buckle up for a ride, m'dear, because this is straight delicious fire.
50+ of my own family's fave recipes. Carefully concocted to win over even your most anti-vegan friends.
📖 How to make arbol chile salsa recipe
Skip to the recipe card if your chips are already in hand. But if you want to nail this, keep reading and bask in the glorious, Scoville-unit-rich photos…
Step One
For Goodness Shake:
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Remove stems and shake out seeds from all chiles.
Step Two
Sup-Arbol Sunday:
Toast chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, flipping constantly until they darken slightly. Don't let them burn.
Step Three
There's No I in Steam:
Place toasted chiles in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and top with a plate. Let them steam and rehydrate for 10 minutes.
Step Four
Bei Mir Bistu Drain:
Drain the chiles and discard the soaking water.
Step Five
Roast Malone:
Add drained chilies along with the tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, and onion to a parchment-lined baking pan. Roast at 450°F (230°C) for 15-18 minutes, until softened. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Step Six
A Wrinkle in Lime:
Add cooled veg to a food processor. Toss in cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
✅ You can alternatively use a molcajete for this. Just make sure it's super-clean first, and only grind until macerated and a little chunky.
Step Seven
The Blend Justifies the Means:
Pulse until you get a thick salsa with visible bits.
Step Eight
Jar of Fire:
Transfer to a serving bowl, jar, or airtight container. Use immediately, refrigerate for up to 4 days, or portion and freeze for up to 3 months.
💡Serving Ideas
This is the flavor punch your meals didn't know they needed, but now can't live without. Spoon it over vegan tostadas to instantly upgrade your crunch game, or let it rain fire on your vegan fajitas.
Level up your taco night by hitting this stuff up on your tofu tacos, vegan carne asada, or jackfruit carnitas. Got vegan taquitos with tofu chorizo in the oven? Dip those bad boys like you mean business, or I am calling the Better Business Bureau on you, you gosh darn hoodwink.
Splash some on your vegan Mexican rice, calabacitas, vegan picadillo, or as a side to your vegan refried beans, and you'll suddenly be that person who brings "just beans" to the party and leaves with zero leftovers. Basically, if it's mildly edible, this salsa wants in. And just like when Dracula comes to call, you must say yesssss.
👉Top tips
- Lightly Toasted: Keep chiles moving in the pan, and only for a short time, so they become more flavorful without becoming bitter and blackened.
- Roast Your Veg: Don't cut corners here. Roasting creates this salsa's signature depth. If you don't want to heat up your whole dang house in the summer by roasting them in your oven (or if you live in an igloo that you would prefer not to melt), you can roast them in a hot skillet or comal instead.
- Wear Gloves If You Are A Wus: If you've got sensitive skin (or big plans to rub your eyes), glove up when handling dried chiles.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, portion it, freeze it for up to 3 months, or can it.
Ladle your salsa into sterilized jars, leaving ½ inch (1.25 cm) of headspace. Wipe the rims, seal with sterilized lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Let the jars cool undisturbed for 4 hours, then check that the lids have sealed before storing.
Yes, just a pinch of brown sugar will help a lot if your tomatoes are very acidic (it happens sometimes, don't stress).
Actually, at the first restaurant I worked at, Ouest under Tom Valenti, he had bottles of vinegar and shakers of sugar at every prep station in the kitchen for us to balance the acidity of different recipes. He's a genius, and even though he's not vegan, I love him and learned so much from the guy.
✌️You'll love these salsa recipes too:
Master the art of vegan Mexican cooking in a super-fun recorded cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Chile de Árbol Salsa
Ingredients
- 10 dried arbol chiles
- 1 dried ancho Chile
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup ripe tomatoes diced
- 2 cups tomatillos husks removed and quartered
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- ½ cup red onion diced
- ½ cup cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Remove the stems from all chiles and shake out the seeds.
- Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. After about 2 minutes, when the pan is hot, toast the dried chiles for 2-3 minutes, turning frequently, until darkened but not burnt.
- Transfer the toasted chiles to a bowl and cover with hot water. Place a plate over the bowl so that the chiles steam and rehydrate fully.
- After the chiles have soaked for 10 minutes, drain them, discarding the soaking water.
- Place the drain chilies along with the tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic cloves, and red onion onto a parchment paper-lined baking pan, and roast them at 450°F (230°C) for 15-18 minutes until softened. Remove the tray of vegetables and let it cool for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the cooled vegetables to a food processor. Add the cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
- Pulse until the mixture is evenly chopped but not absolutely smooth.
- Transfer to an attractive serving bowl, or place in a jar or an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days if not using immediately.
Notes
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Nancy says
This was delicious and a bit spicy to my liking, but the heat cooled by the next day. It felt laborious to make, although the finished product was yummy. I would make this again.
Nancy says
Hi Adam! We really enjoyed this salsa ~ it was just a bit too hot for us. When I make it again, I'll try to bring down the heat. I can see using this in many dishes as well as straight on chips.
I'm always on the lookout for a REALLY good fresh tomato salsa with about medium heat; any suggestions?
Adam Sobel says
My salsa ranchera and salsa roja are probably more up your alley, Nancy. This one IS hot!
Nancy says
Thanks for the suggestions! I will definitely try them both!!