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This very Salsa Roja recipe is out to upstage the stuff you love from the table at your favey local Mexican restaurant. When you don't want a crazy hot salsa, but just a great tasting one to drizzle into your tacos, and smash tortilla chips with, this recipe is gonna make you so happy. No fancy gadgets or hard-to-find ingredients-just a straightforward, flavor-packed salsa that's consistently perfect every single time.
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Not all salsa roja recipes are the same, and while many just use dried chiles, as I do with my popular habanero salsa recipe, I pack some fresh jalapeños in here too to give it a more lively, diverse flavor. It's gosh-darned amazing on vegan fajitas, or added to your jackfruit carnitas. This homemade salsa is: hella-easy to make, packed with authentic flavors, quick, and does't require any obscure ingredients or cooking gear.
This recipe made a generous amount and looks great in the jar. Tastes really good and we enjoyed the little bit of smokiness. Nice to have on hand for a quick snack.
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🤷♀️ What is Salsa Roja?
As it does in Italian, in Spanish, Salsa translates to sauce and Roja translates to red. Simple enough, right? Like salsa verde, and pico de gallo, this traditional Mexican salsa has become a staple on the tables of Mexican restaurants all around the world.
The key ingredients in this red salsa-dried arbol and ancho chiles-bring a depth of flavor that's hard to beat. Didja you know that "arbol" translates to "tree" in Spanish, referring to the chile's long, slender shape? And "ancho" means "wide" a perfect description of the dried poblano pepper used in this recipe.
Ready to transform your kitchen into a salsa-making paradise? This recipe ensures you nail it on your first shot. Let's get it.
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🥰Why you'll adore this salsa roja recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan Mexican recipes, this salsa roja is made without any animal-based ingredients, and has no cholesterol. Looking for gluten-free vegan recipes for salsa? Your search ends here, m'love.
🌶️ Perfectly Balanced Heat: This is not a melt-your-face-off hot sauce. The combination of arbol and ancho chili peppers, along with a tiny bit of jalapeño, creates a well-rounded spice level that's bold but not overpowering. Toasting the chiles before blending brings out their natural oils, making the red sauce extra-tasty, more than it is just straight-up fire.
🕒 Quick and Easy: Your new favorite Mexican salsa recipe is ready in under thirty minutes, and relies on no wacky gear or hard-to-find ingredients.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all the vegan recipes I share, this salsa roja has been tested and perfected by a team of recipe testers around the globe. You can trust that this recipe will turn out great, no matter where you are!
🌶️ What is salsa roja made of?
Dried Arbol Chilies (Chiles de Árbol)
These small-but-mighty chiles bring a significant heat level to the salsa (which is why I don't have too much of them in the recipe). If you can't get arbol chilies, you can use dried Thai chilies like I use in my nam prik pao and tom yum paste recipes.
If you want a milder salsa, you can substitute the Arbol chiles with dried guajillo chiles (like I use for making salsa macha), or byadagi chilies, which are awesome to use for making tadkas in vegan Indian recipes like peerkagai kootu, and arhar dal tadka.
Dried Ancho Chile (Chile Ancho)
Ancho chiles are dried poblano peppers, known for their mild heat and sweet, smoky flavor. They are so much more about flavor than heat, which is why I use them in the jackfruit filling in my vegan tamale recipe. Pasilla chiles can be used as a substitute if you can't find anchos.
Tomatoes
Fresh tomatoes are the star of the salsa, and that's why this recipe is best made when fresh local tomatoes are in peak season. I love using dark, sweet heirloom tomatoes, but roma tomatoes are frequently used too. The salsa can be canned to last you all winter, so don't make this recipe in the winter when tomatoes are mealy and terrible.
I want to stress (I mean, I am not stressed, but you know what I mean) that this recipe is formulated to work with fresh ingredients. If you must use canned tomatoes, just use whole peeled tomatoes and drain them in a strainer first. You can save the tomato juices (you can even freeze them) to add to your next batch of escarole and bean soup, or vegan tomato sauce.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Swap out the tomatoes for roasted tomatillos to create a tangy and slightly smoky salsa verde. This green salsa is particularly awesome to have over a bowl of vegan refried beans and vegan Mexican rice.
Chipotle Salsa
Add one or two canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to the blender for a rich, smoky flavor. These are the canned chilies I am talking about. The kind I use in my vegan nacho cheese recipe. But if you want to use the dried chipotle chiles, you can seed them and roast them with the other dried chiles.
📖 How to make salsa roja
Make the salsa of your dreams by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Seed Between the Lines:
Remove the stems and seeds from the dried arbol and ancho chiles.
✅ In most cases, once you cut the stems off, you can just shake out the seeds. But if the seeds are acting stubborn, you can cut the chiles in half lengthwise, which will make the seeds easier to get out.
Step Two
Casper the Friendly Toast:
Heat a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the chiles for two to three minutes until they become fragrant but not darker in color or bitter.
Step Three
Chile Spa Time:
Place the toasted chiles in a container and cover with hot water, letting them hydrate for 10 minutes.
Step Four
For Sizzle, M'bizzle:
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the diced onion, jalapeño (or serrano peppers), and whole cloves of garlic, cooking for 4-5 minutes until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
✅ Do not use cast-iron for this project, because it will react with the acids in the tomato, potentially giving the salsa a metallic taste.
✅ White onion is traditionally used, but yellow onion, or really just about any onion you've got on hand can be used.
Step Five
Mr. Tomato Head:
Add the diced tomatoes, salt, and lime juice, then lower the heat to medium and cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato skins appear wrinkled.
Step Six
Blend Me Your Ears and I'll Sing You a Song:
Drain the dried chiles and put them along with the cooked veggies from the stove and fresh cilantro, into a blender or food processor.
Process on low speed for ten to twenty seconds in a blender or for forty seconds in a food processor, aiming for a nicely ground consistency, not a completely smooth puree.
Step Seven
Second Sizzle:
In the same pan you used before, heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat.
After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, pour the blended salsa into the skillet and bring it to a simmer, cooking for 5-6 minutes and stirring occasionally to allow the flavors to develop, the consistency to thicken, and the color to deepen.
Step Eight
Cool It:
Remove from heat and let the salsa cool to room temperature before serving. Once cool, you may transfer it to a sterile glass jar for storage in your refrigerator for up to five days.
✅ This salsa also cans like a dream. Pour it into a sterilized mason jar, seal it, and steam the jars for 15 minutes, and now the salsa can last for you all year round! That's basically how they make store-bought salsa shelf-stable too. So now ya know!
💡Serving Ideas
I am all about dipping vegan taquitos into this Mexican salsa roja. My recipe for 'em is stuffed with tofu chorizo, and it makes a crazy easy, delicious weeknight meal.
I am also all about using these as a layer in my vegan 7-layer dip, and it makes a killer base for vegan chiles rellenos too. But by golly, my mommy, this isn't just a great recipe to mess with on Mexican cuisine!
Obviously, salsa rosa is just stupid-perfies for nachos for game day alongside some vegan fried chicken, vegan jalapeno poppers, or vegan buffalo wings, right?
👉Top tips
- Hydrate Those Chiles Well: Soaking your dried chiles thoroughly is crucial. If they're not fully hydrated, you'll probably end up with large pieces of dried chile in the salsa. Make sure they're soft and pliable before blending.
- Spice Control to Major Tom: Jalapeños vary quite a lot in their spiciness. If you don't want a very hot salsa, feel free to leave them out entirely, and if you are a spice freak, you can add more, or even add a spoonful of shatta, or New Mexican red chili sauce to the recipe.
- No Mr. Burns. No Weekend at Bernies: Keep an eye on your skillet when toasting the chiles and cooking the vegetables. Too high of heat can burn the ingredients, leading to a bitter salsa. Medium heat is your friend here.
- Let It Rest: Allow the salsa to cool to room temperature and sit for at least an hour before serving. This resting period lets the flavors develop, giving you a richer, more complex salsa. 'Sideswhich, no one wants to eat your hot-ass fresh salsa, am I right?
🤷♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Store salsa roja in a sterile glass jar in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Yes, you can freeze salsa roja in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator before use.
Want shelf stable salsa? This salsa roja recipe can be canned by ladling the hot salsa into sterilized jars, leaving a bit of headspace, and processing them in a boiling water bath for about fifteen minutes. This method makes it possible to store the salsa for up to a year at room temperature.
Yes, traditionally salsa recipes are made in a molcajete (a coarse mortar and pestle used in Mexican cooking). The recipe also works great in a food processor, though if you are going to multiply the recipe, you may need to grind it in more than one batch depending on how juicy your tomatoes are.
Bitterness can occur if the chiles or garlic are over-toasted. Toast the ingredients just until fragrant and no longer.
✌️This salsa roja recipe goes great with:
Don't let sucky dips run your taco nights. You're about to master 6 salsas that upgrade your hosting chops overnight.
The Best Salsa Roja Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 arbol chiles
- 1 dried ancho chiles
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- ½ jalapeno diced (or serrano pepper)
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 4 cups fresh tomatoes diced
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 4 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 cup cilantro chopped
- 4 teaspoons olive oil additional
Instructions
- Remove the stems and seeds from the dried arbol and ancho chiles.
- Heat a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the chiles for two to three minutes, or until they become fragrant, but not darker in color or bitter.
- Place the toasted chilies in a container and cover with hot water. Allow the chile peppers to hydrate for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small pot or dutch oven (not cast-iron) over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds when the oil is hot, add the diced onion, jalapeño, and whole garlic cloves, cooking for 4-5 minutes until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the diced tomatoes, salt and lime juice, lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes until the tomato skins appear wrinkled.
- Drain the dried chilies and put them along with the cooked veggies from the stove and fresh cilantro into a blender, or food processor process (10-20 seconds on low speed in a blender, or 40 seconds in a food processor). You are looking for a nicely ground consistency, not a completely smooth puree.
- In the same pan you used before, heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds when the oil is hot, pour the blended salsa into the skillet and bring it to a simmer. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the flavors to develop, consistency to become thicker and color to deepen.
- Remove from heat and let the salsa cool to room temperature before serving. Once cool, you may transfer it to a sterile glass jar for storage in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
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Rochelle Huber says
This was a lot of fun to make! I used a serrano pepper and, even though I only used a half pepper with the seeds removed, the salsa was a bit spicy for me. I drained the tomato/onion mixture before putting it in the food processor. I'm glad I did, as I think it would have been too "liquidy" otherwise. Great recipe - very flavorful - that I would love to make again. Thank you for sharing it! 😋
Jwiltz says
Wow! This is so delicious! I need to make a second batch right now since I ate half of what I made, and it didn’t even have a chance to cool down!
Kimbi Walton says
This recipe made a generous amount and looks great in the jar. Tastes really good and we enjoyed the little bit of smokiness. Nice to have on hand for a quick snack.
hg says
Made a double batch to fulfill my almost daily, after dinner snack of chips and dip, while watching a movie. Great way to use veggies from the garden.