This ancho chile sauce recipe is bold, smoky, and unbelievably quick and easy to make. Made with dried ancho chiles and a few simple ingredients, it's perfect for tortilla chips, tacos, enchiladas, bowls, and more!
❤️ Why You'll Love My Recipe
- Incredible Smoky Flavor: This traditional ancho chile sauce has the most amazing smoky, earthy flavor with a hint of sweetness.
- Easy Peasy Recipe: You don't need any fancy cooking skills or hours of time. Just a quick soak of the chiles and puree.
- Super Versatile: Ancho chile salsa is great on tacos, pupusas, bowls, with tortilla chips, and even mixed into homemade enchilada sauce.
Ingredient Notes
- Ancho Chiles: Ancho chile peppers, which are just dried fresh poblanos, give the salsa its smoky depth and spice. You can find them in any Mexican grocery store or online.
- Fresh Garlic: Adds a pungent kick that complements the chiles and tomatoes. You can also use a pinch of garlic powder.
- Fire-Roasted Tomatoes: I use canned fire-roasted tomatoes to add a little acidity and flavor. Regular canned diced tomatoes work too.
- Salt: A bit of salt is added to season and highlight the sweetness of the other ancho chile sauce ingredients.
- Olive Oil: I like to mix in just a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil to round out the sauce and add richness. You can totally omit the oil if you like.
How To Make Ancho Chile Sauce
This salsa tastes like it came straight from a Mexican kitchen, but it’s surprisingly simple to make. What makes this ancho chile sauce recipe easy is that it only takes a few ingredients and a blender.
To start, place the dried peppers in a medium bowl and cover them with boiling water. Put a plate on top to keep them submerged and let them soak for about 25 minutes or until soft.
Next, drain the soaking water and remove the stems. I always leave the seeds in since they add flavor and a little kick, but you can remove them if you prefer a really mild salsa.
Now, put the chiles, raw garlic, and fire-roasted tomatoes with their juice into a blender or food processor and blend on high until the mixture is nice and smooth. Then pour the red chile sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a small saucepan, pressing it through with the back of a spoon to catch any bits of skin or seeds.
Once the chile mixture is in the saucepan, stir in a quarter teaspoon of salt, the olive oil, and 2 to 4 tablespoons of water, depending on how thick or thin you like it. Warm the sauce over medium heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes to bring the flavors together.
Finally, take it off the heat and let the chile ancho sauce cool before serving or pop it in the fridge to use later.
🌟 Top Expert Tip
It's important that you use enough water and soak the dried ancho peppers until they’re completely soft. If they’re still tough, even the most powerful blender won’t break them down properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
The ancho sauce will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge when stored in an airtight container.
Yes! It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Just let it thaw overnight in the fridge or gently warm on the stove.
Not really! Ancho sauce has more of a smoky, earthy, deeper flavor than a hot sauce spicy kick. Ancho chiles are actually dried poblano peppers, which are fairly mild heat level.
If your salsa chile ancho turns out too thin, you probably added a little too much water. Just let it simmer a little longer on the stove, and it will thicken up.
Of course! Guajillo chiles are a good alternative with a slightly tangier note. Pasilla chiles also work well. For more heat, toss in a dried chile de árbol or chipotle.
If you haven't made the sauce yet, you can remove the seeds from the chiles, and it will turn out really mild. If it's already made, you can try mixing in some tomato paste and a splash of water or a little tomato sauce to balance it out.
How To Serve
This ancho chile sauce is incredibly versatile. You can drizzle it over tacos, tamales, or burrito bowls for a bold flavor with a smoky finish. It will work with all Mexican recipes and Tex-Mex dishes.
It's also wonderful with tortilla chips, roasted vegetables, or baked tofu. I've even added it to broth when cooking beans or lentils, and stirred it into soups, stews, and red enchilada sauce.
⭐️ One Last Thing! If you make my ancho chile sauce recipe, please leave a review and rating to let me know how you liked it! Doing so helps other readers and me too! Your feedback makes a difference.
Ancho Chile Sauce (Salsa Chile Ancho)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 large ancho chiles
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 15oz can fire roasted tomatoes
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt (to taste)
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 to 4 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Place the dried ancho chiles in a large bowl and cover them with boiling water. Now, let them soak for 25 minutes until softened. You may need to put a plate on top of them to keep them submerged.
- Drain the chiles and remove the stems, keeping the seeds intact. The stems should pull out easily.
- Add the soft soaked chiles, garlic, and roasted canned tomatoes (with juice) to a blender or food processor. Then blend on high until smooth.
- Strain the mixture with a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan to remove any large bits.
- Stir in the salt, olive oil, and 2 to 4 tablespoons of water to thin the sauce.
- Cook over low heat for 5 minutes to let the flavors come together.
- Let cool and serve or store in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
- The soak time is not included in the total recipe time. Allow an extra 25 minutes to soften the ancho chilis.
- Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary based on the specific ingredients and brands used.
- If your sauce thickens too much, add a splash of water during cooking to loosen it up.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months.
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