# Mexican Red Chile Sauce

A versatile and delicious base sauce for dishes like enchiladas, tamales, and menudo, made from a blend of dried chiles, onion, and garlic.

- Servings: 1 batch
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Category: Sauce & Condiment
- Diet: vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 15 cascabel chile
- 2 ancho chile
- 4-5 chile de arbol
- 1 whole white onion
- 6 clove garlic
- 2 tsp table salt

## Instructions

1. Remove stems and seeds from the dried chiles, trying to keep the veins to retain heat.
2. Rinse the chiles.
3. Place the cleaned chiles, onion, and garlic in a pan, cover with water, and simmer.
4. Transfer the softened chiles, onion, garlic, and some of the cooking water to a blender; add salt and pulse to break down before blending until smooth.
5. Check consistency and add more water if needed, then blend again.
6. Strain the sauce to remove pulp and pepper flakes for a smooth texture.

## Equipment

- blender
- pan
- strainer
- mortar and pestle

## Tips

- You can use guajillo chiles or a mix of cascabel and guajillo.
- Ancho chiles make the sauce darker than using only guajillo chiles.
- You can freeze the sauce in Ziploc bags for short-term or vacuum-sealed mason jars for up to a year.
- Use a mortar and pestle to weigh down the chiles in the water while simmering to keep them submerged.
- Adjust the amount of onion used in the blender to balance the flavor; do not use the full onion if it's very large.
- Alternative to regular salt: use seasoned salt (such as OG brand) for garlic and pepper flavor, adjusting quantity as needed.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DLqNVGxtj/
- Creator: ArnieTex
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/69c7fbaf-b076-4cc5-ac54-3a2d11b82d16
- Extracted: 2026-10-22

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt