This roasted red Hatch chile sauce recipe is made with fresh, not dried, roasted Hatch chile peppers from New Mexico. It is thick and slightly creamy and ideal for many different meals. You can make it as spicy as you want it.
I got myself some Hatch peppers in the mail today, my friends. If you've never tried Hatch peppers before, you owe it to yourself to get yourself a batch, no matter what you have to do to get them.
Hatch peppers are unique in that they are grown in the Hatch region of New Mexico, where the locals claim the soil is rich and unlike anywhere else. Hatch peppers aren't actually a single type of pepper, but a variety, so named because of the region where they are grown.
The reality is that "Hatch Chili Peppers" actually belong to the broader category of New Mexican peppers, and there are many types. You can learn more about Hatch Chili Peppers here, including types and history. Hatch peppers typically range in heat levels from 1,000 - 8,000 Scoville Heat Units, which is quite mild to about jalapeno pepper level heat.
I ordered mine online because I do not live near New Mexico, and the harvesting season runs from August through September. You can grow New Mexican types in your own garden, but my peppers are just now harvesting and I didn't grow any this year. Luck you can order anything online!
I got a mild variety - they are New Mexico 6-4 types to be more specific - and they are DELICIOUS. They were delivered already roasted, frozen. All I had to do was thaw them out and I'm ready to get cooking!
Let's talk about how we make this fabulous chili sauce, shall we?
Roasted Red Hatch Chile Sauce Ingredients
- Roasted Red Peppers. Skins and innards removed.
- Red Onion. Chopped.
- Garlic Cloves.
- Spicy Chili Flakes.
- Cumin.
- Salt.
- Olive Oil.
- Chicken Broth.
How to Make Roasted Red Hatch Chile Sauce - The Recipe Method
Remove the charred skins from your roasted red peppers.
Remove the seeds and innards.
Toss the peppers into a food processor, along with some onion, garlic, and seasonings. I used a bit of spicy chili flakes, cumin and salt. Keeping it simple here.
Process the mixture until it smooths out, then drizzle in some olive oil and process it. The olive oil will emulsify and thicken up the sauce to an almost fluffy texture.
Transfer the sauce to a pot and add in a bit of chicken broth to thin it out. Simmer it for about 10 minutes to let the flavors mingle. I used about a cup of broth, but you can use more or less, depending on your preference. Some people like a thinner sauce, where I enjoy a thicker one, depending on what I'm using it for.
Adjust for salt and you're good to go.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- You can use other liquids to thin out your sauce. I used chicken broth, but beer would be interesting, as well as beef broth. Water works as well, or a soup base.
- You can strain the sauce once it is done if you'd like as well. It may be slightly chunky, depending on your food processor. Straining it will give you a much smoother sauce.
Adjusting the Heat Factor
If you order or grow a milder variety of Hatch or New Mexico chile peppers, you can easily up the heat by incorporating a spicy chili powder or spicy chili flakes. I added some chili flakes to mine for a bit of zing.
Or, either order or grow a hotter variety of New Mexican peppers, such as the Sandia pepper, which is about as hot as a jalapeno pepper.
Can You Make This Recipe with Other Peppers?
Absolutely. If you do not have access to Hatch or New Mexico peppers, you can make this with any larger, thicker walled pepper, such as the Anaheim, large Italian sweets (think Corno di Toro), and yes, even sweet bell peppers.
Try poblano peppers for this recipe as well. They're great.
Serving Up Your Red Chile Sauce
I use this chili sauce in a number of ways. Admittedly, it's a very simple sauce, but oftentimes simple is perfect. Toss it with some noodles for a chili pepper take on pasta. Who needs tomato sauce?
Spoon it over grilled chicken or pork. If you have pulled pork on hand, mix it with the finished pulled pork for a juicy, saucy mixture. It is GREAT like this for pulled pork sandwiches.
It also works nicely as a base for making soup, which I believe I am going to do very soon!
Where Can You Buy Hatch Chile Peppers?
I have a list of online resources where you can buy Hatch Chile Peppers.
Other questions I receive.
Which is Hotter? Red or Green Chile Sauce?
Green chile sauces are usually hotter than most red chile sauces, though you can find exceptions. In most cases, though, if you're looking for heat, it is best to go with green.
How Long Does Red Chile Sauce Last in the Fridge?
Red chile sauce will last a week in the refrigerator if stored in a sealed container.
Try Some of My Other Popular Sauce Recipes
Try Some of My Popular Hatch Pepper Recipes
- Hatch Chile Salsa
- Pork Chili with Roasted Red Hatch Peppers
- One Pan Hatch Chile Cheese Dip
- Roasted Hatch Chile-Beer Mustard
- Spicy Pork-Hatch Chile Casserole
- Caribbean-Style Flame Roasted Pepper Bisque with Seared Shrimp
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.
Roasted Red Hatch Chile Sauce - Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds roasted red peppers skins and innards removed
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon spicy chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Remove the charred skins from your roasted red peppers. Toss the peppers into a food processor, along with some onion, garlic, and seasonings. I used a bit of spicy chili flakes, cumin and salt.
- Process the mixture until it smooths out, then drizzle in some olive oil and process it. The olive oil will emulsify and thicken up the sauce to an almost fluffy texture.
- Transfer the sauce to a pot and add in a bit of chicken broth to thin it out. Simmer it for about 10 minutes to let the flavors mingle.
- Adjust for salt.
- Strain, if desired, or serve it as is.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Marc says
your recipe is the only Red Chili sauce recipe that uses Fresh roasted Red chili on line. Every other recipe uses dried chili. I roasted 5 lbs of Red Hatch Chili, peeled it, put it in the blender, added the spices and veggies and vegetable broth, blended it, pressure canned it straight away. It doesn't get any better than that. Thank you. Marc
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Marc. I agree, fresh is best when you can get them! I just roasted 20 pounds of fresh Hatch chilies and froze them so I can use them throughout the year. So good!
Art Wynne says
Can this be made with vegetable broth?
Mike H. says
Hey, Art. Yes, it can definitely be made with vegetable broth. Let me know how it goes!
Diane PEDERSON says
looking forward to trying your recipe. I just cleaned out my freezer and found an unexpected red batch from last year's harvest. Hopefully it's not too old. We went down in late October to pick up. We will see.
Mike H. says
Very intrigued now. Let me know how it goes, Diane. Enjoy!
Diane Pederson says
Made your recipe today. It was wonderful. We used some tonight as a spread on the portobello mushrooms then we topped with roasted vegetables and couscous. It really brightened the dish. Thanks for the recipe.
Mike H. says
You are very welcome, Diane. Enjoy!
Aurora says
Thank you for sharing, excited to make it,
Joyce Pendleton says
I'm growing my own red and green Hatch peppers this year and they are almost ripe (Mesa AZ). I'm grateful to find a recipe to try with fresh red rather than dried. Hoping to dry some as well to experiment with the dried peppers in a recipe. My husband is from NM so we always have green in the frig (usually 505). I've been roasting a few green so far that are ripe and will freeze for future use. It's my goal to create more recipes for him that remind him of home. Thank you.
Mike Hultquist says
Enjoy, Joyce. You can use your fresh Hatch chiles in many of recipes as well. Happy cooking!
brent says
I appreciate your website the more I visit.
It IS Hatch season where I live and I have bought several pounds. I'm roasting them tomorrow. It occurred to me to me to let a bunch ripen red and make a red hatch sauce.
Guess how many recipes there are for fresh red ripe hatch chile sauce? Only you so far!!
(The rest are for dried. We both can make dried chili sauces in our sleep, I'm sure....)
Here's why I'm writing. This isn't thickened like green sauce. It's not preserved with vinegar or citrus like red sauce. So how do I use your recipe? All you really suggest was meat. Would you recommend for burro filling sauce? Or enchilada-style sauce? Or taco sauce? Use like Tabasco or tapatio? On eggs and potatoes? Salmon? Sandwiches? It's an easy sauce to make. How versatile can you get with this sauce?
Thanks for any response.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Brent! To me, this is a super versatile sauce, as you've mentioned. I personally use it like a hot sauce, a little bit here, a little bit there, just to add some flavor to whatever I'm making. You can also use it in place of a tomato sauce in recipes, so something like a shakshuka, with eggs poached in the sauce. So good! I hope this helps. Let me know how you wind up enjoying it. I'd love to hear.
brent says
Thanks for those suggestions. I know you mail ordered your red hatch (you said so I think) and the pros ripened them. I read your ripening page. My fear is they will get too soft, wrinkly, and un-pliable for roasting by the time they are red. I have about 6-7 laying out in the kitchen near some bananas. I really want to try this recipe. Wish me luck! And thanks for a great web site. Will come back and rate this after if succeed!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sure thing, Brent. Let me know how it goes. Enjoy.
brent says
Added a charred tomato and a little charred white onion, and it was heavenly. You are right that when they turn red they give some "sweet back heat"--totally different than green. I'm glad I did this. Much of it is currently in the crockpot over country-style pork ribs. Thanks.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome. I love your additions and think this would be GREAT with some ribs. Nice! Jealous, haha.
Brandon says
Do you have any hot sauce recipes for green Hatch peppers? Hatch peppers are in all my local grocers right now but there are very few red peppers. Thank you.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Brandon -- There are many different recipes on my Hot Sauce Recipes page that you can use to incorporate Hatch peppers. Take look there and let me know if any of them jumps out. I’m happy to help you adapt any of them.
RisaG says
I made this with thawed out roasted Green Chile that I got at a Hatch Festival. They roast them right there, fresh, in one of those big roasters. They freeze beautifully. It is terrific. Put it on a cheeseburger. You won't be sorry.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Risa! Now I want a cheeseburger. =)
MPaula says
I love trying new versions of hot sauce and, of course, the cheapest and healthiest versions are ones I make at home. I can control both the heat and the quality of the ingredients. I live in a town in a rural area of southern Ontario, Canada, and can't always get the ingredients I need. Amazon.com might not ship to Canada and they may not be available at Amazon.ca. Other times they pretend to be available but, where they might cost US$20 on Amazon.com. on Amazon.ca they will be CDN$400. I'm not lying! I do the best I can, though, being not only a chili-head but vegetarian. I pinned this recipe - just in case!
That is quite the elephant-sized food processor you have there. I wonder if I could even pick it up?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks. It does get frustrating when some ingredients are hard to find. Yep, this is one heavy food processor! It's how I get my workout. =)
Debbie Torrez says
Hi, We just retired and relocated to Albuquerque. We are enjoying all the new foods and tried a new restaurant El Pinto last night. They use and make salsas and sauces with the hatch chilis and have all of their recipes on line (delicious)! I have made a few of them. Google them and enjoy. I will make your red sauce (mole) today. I make an old Aztec red sauce, very delicious too. Google is wonderful!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Enjoy, Debbie. This is different from a sauce made with dried chilies, which is GREAT, but still quite delicious. I also made a soup with them recently (on the site soon). Such outstanding peppers. I hope you like it! Good luck in your new home!