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Guajillo Sauce in a bowl, ready to serve
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4.97 from 27 votes

Guajillo Sauce Recipe

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.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Soaking Time15 minutes
Course: Main Course, sauce
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: chili peppers, guajillo, Mexican, recipe, sauce
Servings: 10
Calories: 12kcal

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

Makes about 2-1/2 cups.
Serving = 1/4 cup.
Keeps about 1 week in the refrigerator. Freeze it for longer storage.

Nutrition

Calories: 12kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 466mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 132IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg