This homemade guajillo sauce recipe is perfect for any Mexican dishes, from tamales and enchiladas to soups, tacos, meats and more. It's so easy to make.
We're making homemade guajillo sauce in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen today, my friends. You are going to love this recipe, so get the print button ready. It may become your next go-to sauce.
Guajilo sauce is slightly earthy and rich with flavor, and it's ideal for any number of recipes and Mexican food. I like to swirl it into soups and stews for a big flavor burst, and just let it simmer a while in the pot. I also heat it up and spoon it over all of my quick taco dinners and lunches, or use it in place of taco seasoning.
It's really easy to make so you can make a big batch on Sunday and use it all throughout the week for quick and easy, yet flavorful, meals.
The key, of course, are the guajillo peppers, so grab yourself some of these wonder peppers and get cooking.
About Guajillo Peppers – Why They are so Great!
The Guajillo is one of the most popular chili peppers in Mexican cuisine. It is the dried form of the mirasol pepper. The peppers are grown then dried, and are then called guajillo peppers. It is a mild to moderately hot pepper with dark red skin, with a flavor described as either fruity or green-tea like, with hints of berries.
Guajillo chilies are very common in Mexican cooking for making mole sauce, salsas and sauces, like this wonderful guajillo sauce that goes great on anything.
I often buy them in bulk, as I can find them in large plastic bags at my local grocery store. I make tons of sauces from them.
Learn more about guajillo peppers here.
Let's talk about how to make guajillo sauce, shall we?
Guajillo Sauce Ingredients
- Dried Guajillo Peppers. Stemmed and seeded.
- Olive Oil.
- Small Onion. Chopped.
- Garlic Cloves. Chopped.
- Coarse Sea Salt.
- Cumin.
- Water.
How to Make Guajillo Sauce - the Recipe Method
First, dry toast the dried guajillo peppers in a skillet over medium high heat. Toast them a couple minutes per side, until they start to puff up slightly.
Cool, then set them into a heavy bowl with enough hot water to cover them. You shouldn't need more than a few cups of water.
Let them soak for 20 to 30 minutes, or until they become very soft. Some dried chiles can soften in 15 minutes or less. Remove them and place them in a blender or food processor. Reserve 1 cup of the dark soaking water, if desired.
Heat the olive oil in the same heated pan. Cook the onion about 3 minutes, or until it becomes translucent.
Add the garlic and cook another minute, until you can smell the garlic.
Add them to the food processor along with the sea salt and cumin.
Pour in the reserved soaking liquid and process to form a sauce or smooth puree. It will be very thick at this point. Or, use water to thin it out.
Add in more water, a half cup at a time, until you achieve your desired consistency.
Strain, if desired, and serve as needed.
Boom! Easy enough, my friends! Use it to add zest and zing and HUGE flavor to so many different meals.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Spice It Up. Recipes can vary from kitchen to kitchen, mostly depending on the different spices used. I use simple cumin and sea salt, along with fresh garlic, and let the guajillo peppers shine, as they have a wonderful flavor on their own. Feel free to use this as a base recipe, and adjust with other herbs and seasonings you prefer, such as spicy chili powders, Mexican oregano, dried basil, cloves. You can also add a touch of sweetness by adding honey or brown sugar.
- Add an Acid. Consider adding vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, or a combination of any of these ingredients. Guajillo sauce is very tasty with a nice pop of tang and citrus. The acid can also help to preserve the sauce so you can keep it longer in the refrigerator.
- Soaking Water. You’ll notice that the soaking water used to soften up the dried guajillo chiles becomes very dark. This is because some of the nutrients from the peppers seeps into the water. You can use this steeped water to thin out your guajillo sauce, though some people consider it to be slightly bitter. Give it a taste for yourself and if you feel it is too bitter, use fresh water to thin your sauce instead.
- Freeze It. Guajillo sauce freezes nicely. You can freeze it in freezer friendly containers, or freeze them in ice cube trays, then bag them to use smaller portions as needed.
How are you serving yours? Here are some ideas.
Recipe Ideas for Guajillo Sauce
- Enchiladas. Use guajillo sauce in place of red enchilada sauce the next time you make chicken enchiladas. Delicious!
- Tamales. This sauce is outstanding for making homemade tamales.
- Soups and Stews. Spoon some of this sauce to add great Mexican flavor to soups like Mexican chicken posole or taco soup.
- Flavor Meats. Use it to season meats for dishes like beef barbacoa, carne asada, easy shredded chicken, or pulled pork carnitas.
- Salsa. Serve it in a bowl along with tortilla chips and you have an instant guajillo salsa!
See my Mexican Recipes for even more ideas.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know how yours turns out, and how you wind up serving it. I'd love to hear!
Try Some of My Other Popular Sauce Recipes
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.
Guajillo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 10-12 dried guajillo peppers stemmed and seeded
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- Water as needed
Instructions
- Dry toast the dried guajillo peppers in a heated pan over medium heat. Toast them a couple minutes per side, until they start to puff up slightly.
- Cool, then set them into a heavy bowl with enough hot water to cover them.
- Let them soak for 20 minutes, or until they become very soft. Remove them and place them in a blender or food processor.
- Reserve 1 cup of the dark soaking water, if desired.
- In the same heated pan, add the olive oil. Cook the onion about 3 minutes, or until it becomes translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook another minute, until you can smell the garlic.
- Add them to the food processor along with the sea salt and cumin.
- Pour in the reserved soaking liquid and process to form a sauce. It will be very thick at this point. Or, use water to thin it out.
- Add in more water, a half cup at a time, until you achieve your desired consistency.
- Strain, if desired, and serve as needed.
Video
Notes
Serving = 1/4 cup.
Keeps about 1 week in the refrigerator. Freeze it for longer storage.
Nutrition Information
Jade says
Hi Michael! Would this sauce work on plain, Mexican, or Spanish rice? I have a rather large bag to use up... Thanks for any tips!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Absolutely, Jade. It's great for adding guajillo flavor to all sorts of dishes, like rice, purees, veggies, sauces, soups, etc. Perfect for rice!
Chili Pepper Fan says
I really enjoyed this recipe! There's a depth of flavor in the guajillo as well as a medium level of heat. Great with chicken and rice, have yet to try other things. Thinking of trying it with some roasted tomatoes, maybe mix in some habaneros, or even some cashews.
To avoid bitterness and make the sauce smoother, I removed the seeds and peeled the guajillo peppers. Peeling took some time, because the skins are so thin; after soaking them I scraped the flesh off the inside of the peppers, leaving the thin, tougher skin out of the sauce. Probably there's a better way to do this 🙂
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks so much!!
Diane says
When drying/toasting chilli's to grind, can you use a dehydrator instead of toasting on stove?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Diane, not really, as you won't get enough heat. Some people use a toaster.
Correen says
I just bought an Evol chicken and cauliflower bowl with guajillo sauce. Found your homemade easy, peasy recipe and will be trying as soon as I can get my hands on some peppers. ✌Peace Out!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Enjoy!
Denni says
Taking the seeds out was time-consuming, but allows the sauce to be left chunky by eliminating the straining of it. It wasn't bitter to me at all, but I also scraped off any 'ribs' inside the peppers. Will definitely make this again! Using your recipe for guajillo chile sauce (which is DELISH, by the way), I made a "fresh" sweet bell pepper sauce in the same manner. I roasted the yellow & orange peppers I had, sweated, cooled & peeled them, then proceeded with the recipe. It's a nice mix with the quajillo sauce or as enchilada sauce for those UN-spicy pals! Since the peppers weren't dried, it does need to be cooked, as in with your enchiladas.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks for the feedback, Denni!
Brian says
I haven't made it, yet but I'm about to because this sauce truly looks and sounds amazing. Love the site!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Brian! I hope you enjoy it.
Bruce Stangeland says
Michael,
I'm hoping to try your guajillo sauce but need to know the potassium content of these peppers. I can't find any nutritional information on the Internet.
I've recently been restricted to a low-potassium diet to protect my kidneys.
Thanks,
Bruce
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Bruce, the potassium content is estimated in the bottom of the recipe card. I don't have the exact information for guajillos, but you can find a good nutrition calculator. Good luck.
David says
I followed a different recipe that called for straining and simmering to reduce.... more of a sauce than a salsa. The recipe said the Chili skins are the bitter part and need to be strained. I should have looked at more recipes as I figured this was a common recipe but clearly there’s a million variations. Also my peppers are quite spicy even without the seeds or veins
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks for the comments, David. Yes, some people find the skins bitter. You can still strain after the fact. Or, try to adjust with other ingredients for balance, like honey. Let me know how it goes.
Scott says
I like to use a guajillo/habanero mix for my chili. Gives it a great flavor and good back burn.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes, thanks, Scott. Wonderful peppers for making chili.
Sally says
What should I add to make this last longer in the refrigerator ?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sally, you can freeze it no problem. For longer lasting in the fridge, add in an acid, like vinegar or citrus. This will help to prevent spoilage, though can affect flavor.
Kathy Robinson says
How to make it hotter? The seeds?
Thanks
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Kathy. The heat from peppers isn't really in the seeds, but within the whitish innards, or pith of the peppers. These peppers aren't very hot to begin with, so the best way to add some heat would be to incorporate hotter peppers or, better yet, some hot chili powder. Maybe toss in a teaspoon or more of cayenne powder, or ghost pepper powder for some real heat! Let me know if this helps.
Eric says
I made this and it was horrible. I think it was my fault as the chilis got too toasted and made it very bitter. The color was very dark compared to your photos. I'll try again tomorrow (out of Onion)
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sorry to hear, Eric. There is an inherent bitterness in guajillos sometimes. Try adding a bit of honey or sugar to balance that out. Tomato also works as a nice addition.
Dog Lover says
Would like to make this. I noticed in the video that you removed the seeds but it doesn't state this anywhere in the recipe? Should we remove the seeds or will it make it super hot with the seeds?
Can I use this recipe with any other types of Mexican chiles?
Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hello, you don't have to remove the seeds, but most people do. The seeds don't always break down and can be bitter. If you strain the sauce, the seeds will come out. Yes, you can make this with any dried peppers, actually. Flavor will vary! Let me know how it turns out for you.
Kathi Carlson says
Made this for dinner tonight, it’s fantastic! I’ll have plenty of leftovers and some to freeze!! Will certainly make this dish again….