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A small, decorative earthenware bowl holds a vibrant, reddish-orange Mexican hot sauce, garnished with a spoon, and is surrounded by a generous pile of light, crispy tortilla chips, ready for dipping.

Mexican hot sauce: How to Make It Right

By Nancy
Don't ruin your dinner! Avoid common mistakes when making Mexican hot sauce. Our troubleshooting guide has the solutions. Learn the tips.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Sauce, Condiment
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 6
Calories 23 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • Dried chili peppers like guajillo or arbol
  • Garlic cloves
  • Vinegar
  • Salt
  • Water or broth
  • Tomatoes
  • Onions

Instructions
 

Step 1: Toast the Chilies

  • Roast the dried chili peppers, tomatoes, and a little onion and tomato in a dry frying pan for a few seconds.

Step 2: Soak the Chilies

  • Place everything in a pot of boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes. Leave to soak until the peppers swell with water. Do not completely submerge them in water.

Step 3: Blend Everything

  • Add the chili peppers, garlic, onion, tomatoes, vinegar, salt, and some of the water used to soak the chili peppers to a blender. Blend the ingredients until smooth.

Step 4: Simmer the Sauce

  • Pour the mixture into a pan and leave it on low heat for 10 minutes. It will darken in color and the flavors will blend perfectly.

Step 5: Cool & Store

  • Let it cool, then transfer to a glass jar. Place it in the refrigerator. Believe it or not, the flavor of this spicy Mexican sauce gets even better after a day or two.
Keyword spicy, homemade, easy, quick, traditional, smoky, chili, summer, taco topping, Latin American, authentic