Guajillo Sauce

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Guajillo Sauce is my favorite to make chilaquiles rojos. This Chile Colorado, aka, Red Chili Sauce brings many memories of the big round table at my abuelita’s home. Where we would have menudo, barbacoa, or chilaquiles for Sunday’s breakfast. Salsa de Guajillo is the base sauce of many Mexican recipes! This is the salsa you will use to make Mexican traditional meals such as Pozole rojo, menudo, chilaquiles rojos, and Tamales, even Huevos Ahogados!

Table Of Contents

Ingredients to make guajillo sauce recipe
How to make guajillo sauce?
Important Tip!
Have you seen my Authentic Mexican Sauce recipes?
Guajillo Sauce
Important Tip!

Chile colorado is very popular in the north of Mexico, especially in Durango and Chihuahua which is very desertic, and in the old times, people relayed on dried products to cook, such as guajillo pepper!

This guajillo chile salsa is also the base to make red enchilada sauce although you will need to add a couple of chilies anchos to make it more on the sweet side, that is another recipe! Check out my authentic enchilada sauce.

I must tell you that this salsa is used in Mexico for cooking or enhancing the flavor of many soups and traditional recipes, it is not the kind of salsa that you will be dipping your tortilla chips in it.

If you are looking for salsas for Tacos, burritos, or tortilla chips I have a great selection of authentic Mexican sauces.

The secret to a good sauce when you are using dried guajillo chilies is to toast them a little bit before hydrating them. It kind of works the same way it does with seeds. Have you ever toasted sesame seeds or almonds and can tell how different the flavor is? same with dried chilies! if you want to skip this step is perfectly fine the sauce will still have a great flavor.

Ingredients to make guajillo sauce recipe

2 ½ cups of water
½ teaspoon cumin
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano.
4 oz guajillo

How to make guajillo sauce?

Start by cutting off the chile stems and if the seeds come out that is great, but do not worry we are going to pass it through a sieve at the end of the process to get rid of the seeds.
Warm up a griddle and then place the chilies on top. Press for a few seconds with the cooking shovel and flip them over and press for another couple of seconds. The chiles will start smelling. Be very careful not to burn them or they will bitter the sauce. If they burn is better to throw them away and use new ones.
Submerge the peppers in hot water. You do not need to cook them, all you need to do is to rehydrate them. The chili will float so my secret is to place a bowl on top so I can keep the guajillos underwater. Let them stand in the water for 8 to 10 minutes.
In the blender add 2 ½ cups of water, ½ teaspoon cummin, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon oregano, and the guajillo.
Liquify.
Place a sieve on top of a pot and now pour the salsa and make sure the chile seed and skin stay in the sieve. Taste and add salt to taste and more cummin or oregano as you like it.
Now boil the sauce for 5 to 8 minutes stirring once in a while to make sure it does not stick in the bottom. You can add more water if you want to make it thinner.
Your Guajillo Sauce is ready to be used!

Here are some recipes that use this sauce and I am sure you will love it!

Important Tip!

It depends on the family recipe of every home but I will definitely not miss the sieve step to get rid of the guajillo skin or seed or you can end up with a guajillo skin piece stock on a tooth the same way cilantro does! not exactly the sexiest smile…

How can I substitute guajillo pepers?

Guajillo and chile Mirasol are very similar in taste although mirasol is usually a bit spicier than guajillo you can definitely mix them or substitute guajillo for mirasol. Another option close to guajillo is the New Mexico Chiles or New Mexican Chilies.

What is guajillo sauce made of?

Chile colorado, aka guajillo sauce is made of a reddish-brown dried chili of a silky bright texture known as guajillo chilies. The dried chili is toasted and hydrated and liquified with garlic, water, and a bunch of herbs such as cumin and oregano.

How spicy is Guajillo?

This is such a good question as it really depends on the batch of peppers you are using. Guajillo pepper is more on the mild side. In the early form guajillo is known as mirasol and it is when is spicier. As time pass and the chilies have been dried and stored for longer they kind of start losing the spiciness. Do now worry as this sauce is usually made to give flavor to other traditional Mexican cuisine recipes you can control how much of the salsa you want to use.

Can I substitute Chipotle for Guajillo?

Guajillo and chipotle taste very different and most important chipotle are very spicy, guajillo is more on the mild side for salsas. I would not recommend substituting chipotle for guajillo although you could always substitute for mirasol chili.

What does Guajillo Sauce taste like?

As with many dried chili Mexican sauces chile colorado has an earthy rich flavor with a sweet, spicy bitter twist. This sauce is primarily used to give more flavor and color to other recipes.

Are Guajillo Chilies spicier than serrano or jalapeno

No! they are not! serrano would be the spacier of those peppers.

Can I freeze Guajillo sauce?

Sure, you can separate it into batches and freeze it.

How long does this Guajillo recipe preserve?

Chile colorado can last up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Have you seen my Authentic Mexican Sauce recipes?

Mole Sauce
Enchiladas Rojas Sauce
Enchiladas Verdes Sauce
Barbacoa Sauce
Chilaquiles Rojos Sauce
Chilaquiles Verdes Sauce

Guajillo Sauce

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 8

Servings: cups

Calories: 125kcal

Author: Laura Muller

Equipment

1 Blender
1 sieve
1 Pot
1 Griddle

Ingredients

1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups water
4 oz guajillo chiles

Instructions

Start by cutting off the chile stems and if the seeds come out that is great, but do not worry we are going to pass it through a sieve at the end of the process to get rid of the seeds.
Warm up a griddle and then place the chilies on top. Press for a few seconds with the cooking shovel and flip them over and press for another couple of seconds. The chiles will start smelling. Be very careful not to burn them or they will bitter the sauce. If they burn is better to throw them away and use new ones.
Submerge the peppers in hot water. You do not need to cook them, all you need to do is to rehydrate them. The float so my secret is to place a bowl on top so I can keep the guajillo underwater. Let them stand in the water for 8 to 10 minutes
In the blender add 2 ½ cups of water, ½ teaspoon cummin, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon oregano, and the guajillo.
Liquify.
Place a sieve on top of a pot and now pour the salsa and make sure the chile seed and skin stay in the sieve. Taste and add salt to taste and more cummin or oregano as you like it.
Now boil the sauce for 5 to 8 minutes stirring once in a while to make sure it does not stick in the bottom. You can add more water if you want to make it thinner.
Your Guajillo Sauce is ready to be used!

Video

Notes

Here are some recipes that use this sauce and I am sure you will love it!

Important Tip!

It depends on the family recipe of every home but I will definitely not miss the sieve step to get rid of the guajillo skin or seed or you can end up with a guajillo skin piece stuck on a tooth the same way cilantro does! Not exactly the sexiest smile…

Nutrition

Author
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Laura Muller

Laura Muller is a trilingual Mexican mom living in the city of Chicago. Laura started her YouTube channel Las Recetas de Laura more than 10 years ago to teach people how to cook Mexican food in a healthier way. Laura's recipes are specialized for people with diabetes and high cholesterol. Laura promotes healthy eating for every body size and talks about her own experience dealing with being overweight and how people of any size can have an active and healthy life.

Laura creates content in Spanish and English for a community of over 3 million followers and has been recognized as one of the most influential Latinas in the US, Latinos 40 under 40 in Chicago.

Comments

Laura Muller says

March 01, 2023 at 3:14 am

In the north of Mexico we know the guajillo sauce as chile colorado. Chilaquiles rojos are made with this recipe and is the sauce that you add to pozole and menudo to enhance flavor and give that particular red color to so many Mexican recipes.