Birria sauce is a bold, smoky chili paste made from toasted dried peppers, sautéed aromatics, and warm spices. Use it as a marinade or simmer it with beef stock to make rich birria consomé. Ready in 20 minutes.
Birria sauce is the soul of every great authentic birria dish, a bold, big-flavor chili paste made from toasted dried peppers, juicy tomatoes, and warm Mexican spices. Make it once and you'll use it constantly. Blend it thick and it's a marinade for your next pot of birria. Simmer it with beef stock and it becomes consomé, that rich, addictive dipping broth that makes birria tacos so crave-worthy.
This is the base recipe I use for every birria dish on this site. Learn this, and the rest gets easy.
What Is Birria Sauce?
Birria sauce starts as a blended chili paste with toasted ancho and guajillo peppers rehydrated and processed with sautéed onion, tomatoes, garlic, Mexican oregano, warm spices, apple cider vinegar, and a splash of beef stock. It is thick, earthy, and adds rich, deep flavor to your dishes, not just heat, but layers of dried fruit, smoke, and spice.
In its paste form, it's used as a marinade, rubbed into beef, lamb, or goat before a long braise. What's left in the pot after cooking is the consomé, the braising liquid turned into a deeply savory dipping broth.
If you want consomé without cooking meat, you can do that, too. Simmer the sauce with beef stock until it comes together as a broth. It won't have the same depth you get from hours of braising, but it's still bold and loaded with flavor, and it works great as a dipping sauce, soup base, or cooking liquid.
The difference is simple: consomé made with meat is off-the-charts extraordinary. Made with just stock, it's excellent. Either way, the sauce is where it all starts.
Ingredients
The full ingredients list with measurements is listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Dried Chiles
- Ancho peppers. Dried poblanos. Mild heat with raisin-like flavor.
- Guajillo peppers. Slightly fruity, medium heat, reddish color.
- Chiles de arbol. Optional, but recommended if you want real heat. Add 2-3 and adjust from there.
- Aromatics. Onion, tomatoes, and garlic are sautéed first before going into the blender. Cooking them down first brings out their sweetness and builds more developed flavor.
- Spices. Mexican oregano, cumin, cinnamon, ground ginger, and black pepper. Cinnamon and ginger are what separate birria sauce from a generic chili sauce. Don't leave them out.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. It's subtle once blended, but you'd notice if it wasn't there.
- Beef Stock. Used in the blend to get the sauce to the right consistency, and again if you're making consomé without meat.
How to Make Birria Sauce (Consome)
1. Toast the dried chiles. Heat a dry pan to medium and add the chiles in a single layer. Toast 1-2 minutes per side until the skins darken slightly and become fragrant. Don't walk away. They can go from toasted to bitter fast.
2. Rehydrate. Transfer the toasted chiles to a large bowl and cover with hot water. Steep for 20 minutes until softened. Reserve the soaking liquid, if you'd like, to make a consome. It has a lot of flavor and nutrients.
3. Sauté the aromatics. In the same pan, heat oil over medium. Add the onion and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring.
4. Blend. Add the onion mixture to a food processor or blender. Pull the softened chiles from the soaking liquid and add them. Add the dried spices, apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup beef stock. Process until smooth. The sauce should be thick. It will thin when you use it for marinating or simmering.
5. Strain (optional). For a smoother sauce, push it through a fine mesh strainer. For a more rustic texture, skip it. Both work. I tend to strain it when using it as a consomé dipping sauce and leave it as-is for a marinade.
How to Turn It Into Consomé (Without Meat)
If you want to make birria consomé without braising meat, this is how to do it:
Pour the finished birria sauce into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 to 4 cups of beef stock depending on how thick or thin you want the final broth. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld and the broth deepens.
Taste and adjust. Use more stock for a thinner dipping consistency, less for a sauce you could spoon over rice or use as an enchilada sauce base.
Honest note on the tradeoff: Consomé made this way is bold and genuinely tasty. But cooking birria meat in this sauce for 2-3 hours brings it a whole new flavor level. The fat from the meat, the collagen from the bones, and the long braise give the consomé a richness that beef stock alone can't fully replicate.
If you want that version, make my full birria recipe and use the reserved braising liquid.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Don't burn the chiles. Bitter chilies make bitter sauce. Toast until fragrant and darkened, not charred.
- Save the soaking liquid. It carries chili flavor. Use it to thin the sauce or add to your consomé for extra chili flavor. Note that it can be bitter.
- Heat level. The anchos and guajillos give mild-moderate heat. The arbol chiles are where real spice comes from. Add or skip based on your preference.
Ways to Use Birria Sauce
- As a dipping sauce. Thin it slightly with beef stock and serve it hot with birria tacos or quesabirria. This is the most iconic to serve it.
- As a marinade. Coat beef, lamb, or goat and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Overnight is better. Then make birria.
- Base for soups and stews. Add it to broth for a quick Mexican-style beef soup.
- Enchilada sauce substitute. Use it anywhere you'd use red enchilada sauce for enchiladas with a flavor spin.
- Eggs. A spoonful in scrambled eggs or spooned over fried eggs is worth trying.
All my other birria recipes use this sauce as the foundation:
- Birria Recipe - the full braise, beef or lamb
- Slow Cooker Birria
- Birria Tacos - the classic
- Quesabirria - crispy, cheesy, dipped in consomé
- Birria Ramen - consomé as ramen broth
- Birria Nachos
- Birria Pizza
Storage
Keeps in the fridge up to 5 days, freezes well up to 3 months. Freeze in smaller portions for easy use.
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More Chili Sauce Recipes to Try
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Birria Sauce Recipe (Birria Consomé)
Ingredients
- 5 ancho peppers stems and seeds removed
- 5 guajillo peppers stems and seeds removed
- 2-3 chiles de arbol optional, for spicier
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 large white onion chopped
- 3 large tomatoes chopped
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon sea salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup beef stock or more as needed - see Recipe Notes
Instructions
- Heat a dry pan to medium heat and add the chilies in a single layer. Toast 1-2 minutes per side until the skins darken slightly and become fragrant. Do not burn, as they can become bitter.
- Transfer the toasted chilies to a large bowl and cover with hot water. Steep 20 minutes until softened. Reserve the soaking liquid if you wish. See Recipe Notes.
- In the same pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and tomatoes and cook 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring.
- Add the onion mixture to a food processor or blender. Pull the softened chilies from the soaking liquid and add them.
- Add the dried spices, apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup beef stock. Process until smooth. The sauce should be fairly thick. Strain for a smoother sauce, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between birria sauce and birria consomé?
Birria sauce is the blended chili paste. It is thick, concentrated, used as a marinade or sauce base. Consomé is what it becomes after simmering with beef stock, or after braising meat in it. The consomé is the thinner, broth-style liquid you see served with birria tacos for dipping.
Can I make birria consomé without meat?
Yes. Simmer the finished birria sauce with 2-4 cups of beef stock over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. It won't have the same depth of consomé made from a full birria braise, but it's still bold and full of flavor, great for dipping, soups, or cooking liquid.
Can I freeze birria sauce?
Yes, and it freezes extremely well. Store in smaller portions and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
What peppers are in birria sauce?
This recipe uses ancho peppers, guajillo peppers, and optional chiles de arbol for heat.
How do I make it less spicy?
Leave out the chiles de arbol entirely. The ancho and guajillo base is flavorful without being overly hot.
Can I use this sauce with chicken?
Yes. It works well with chicken thighs for a faster version of birria. Reduce the braising time accordingly for chicken birria.
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