Tasty Oven

  • Browse All Recipes
  • Instant Pot
  • Air Fryer
  • Slow Cooker
  • Breadmaker
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Browse All Recipes
  • Instant Pot
  • Air Fryer
  • Slow Cooker
  • Breadmaker
  • Subscribe
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Browse All Recipes
  • Instant Pot
  • Air Fryer
  • Slow Cooker
  • Breadmaker
  • Subscribe
×
Home » Blender Recipes

Chile de Arbol Salsa

Published: Aug 5, 2022 by Kristina Tipps · This post may contain affiliate links for which I earn a small commission.

Jump to Recipe

Make versatile Chile de Arbol Salsa to go with all your favorite Mexican dishes. Drizzle it on tacos, dip salty tortilla chips into it or add it to soups and stews. Make in a cooking blender, traditional blender, or food processor.

chile de arbol salsa in a white bowl surrounded by chips and peppers

Chile de Arbol Salsa is a spicy tomato and pepper salsa that can be added to many Mexican dishes, like tacos, enchiladas, nachos, chili, or just to dip your chips. It's made using one of the spicier peppers (chile de arbol) and tomatoes. Depending on the recipe, onions, garlic and seasonings are also added.

It's a delicious hot salsa that can be used just like any other salsa. Use it instead of salsa roja, salsa verde made with tomatillos, and mango habañero salsa in any of your favorite recipes or to serve at your next gathering.

I make my chile de arbol salsa in my Instant Ace cooking blender. It's truly a 1 step recipe in a cooking blender! All you do is add your ingredients and the blender will cook the peppers, crush the tomatoes, and blend it all together to create a smooth restaurant quality salsa.

Chile de arbol salsa can easily be made in a traditional blender or food processor, too. With traditional blenders, the chiles de arbol need to be soaked first but using a cooking blender eliminates this step.

The instructions below include how to use a cooking blender and a traditional blender. Both are simple and require little preparation and time.

What Is Chile de Arbol?

Chile de arbol peppers are small and skinny Mexican peppers about 2 inches long. They are dark reddish brown in color and very spicy at 15,000 to 30,000 Scoville heat units. To put that in context, chiles de arbol are slightly milder than cayenne pepper at 30,000 - 50,000 heat units but much hotter than a jalapeño at 2,500-8,000 heat units.

Chile de arbol peppers are used in many Mexican dishes to add heat and spice. They are a great addition to sauce, salsa, chili, and stew. A small amount of peppers goes a long way in adding heat to your dish. It takes just 1 or 2 peppers to really spice things up. One of the most popular ways to use these little spicy peppers is to make chile de arbol salsa- the reason you're here!

chile de arbol salsa in a white bowl surrounded by chips and peppers

Ingredients

  • Dried chile de arbol
  • Tomato sauce: plain without any seasonings.
  • Fresh tomatoes: your favorite kind!
  • Onion: sweet onion is my preference but yellow onions work too.
  • Garlic cloves

Instructions

PREPARATION: Cut the tops off the chiles de arbol. Remove the seeds and discard (or use for extra spice). Roughly chop the tomatoes and onion.

COOKING BLENDER METHOD: Add the teaspoon of olive oil, chiles de arbol, tomato sauce, onion, tomatoes, garlic cloves, and salt. Set to the puree mode for 16 minutes. When done, carefully transfer the salsa to a mason jar or bowl. Allow to cool and then taste, adding more salt if desired.

TRADITIONAL BLENDER METHOD: Fill a small pot with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat when it begins to boil and add the chiles de arbol. Let sit for 10 minutes in the hot water. Put all ingredients into your blender, including the chiles. Pulse on high speed until the salsa is smooth, about 1-2 minutes depending on the strength of your blender.

Cover and store in the fridge. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

chile de arbol salsa in a white bowl surrounded by chips and peppers

Tips and Tricks

This salsa is meant to be very spicy. If it's too spicy for you, add more tomato sauce to dilute the heat. If you're looking for a mild salsa, classic salsa roja may be a better option.

If you're unsure about the heat factor, use half the peppers and remove all of the seeds. If that's not spicy enough use more the next time and use some seeds.

But if you love very spicy foods, add those seeds! Don't deseed the chiles de arbol for the most significant spiciness.

A little salsa goes a really long way here. Just a little drizzle over your tacos, eggs, etc. will add a lot of heat. You can always add more so don't add much in the beginning.

This salsa has a thin, sauce-like consistency. To make it chunkier, blend it for less time, use less tomato sauce, or use more fresh tomatoes. The best way to make a chunkier salsa is to eliminate some of the water that the tomatoes produce when blended. Do this by removing their pulp before adding them to the blender. Another way to make it chunkier is to use a food processor to chop the ingredients rather than blend them.

How To Use Chile de Arbol Salsa

There are so many ways to use chile de arbol salsa. Some of them include:

  • using it as a dip for tortilla chips
  • drizzled on tacos, nachos, and chilaquiles
  • as a sauce atop enchiladas and taquitos
  • add a few tablespoons to slow cooker chile rojo to spice it up a notch
  • in Mexican-style rice bowls
  • to dip your quesadillas into
  • drizzle it over taco pasta or jalapeño cheddar chicken
  • add to your favorite burrito stuffings
  • add to scrambled eggs and breakfast burritos
chile de arbol salsa in a white bowl surrounded by chips and peppers

Recipe FAQs

Is Chile de Arbol Spicy?

Yes! Chiles de arbol peppers are one of the spicier peppers used for cooking.

How Long Does Chile de Arbol Salsa Last?

In the fridge, fresh salsa will last for 5-7 days. If it has been cooked it will last for longer at 14-21 days. So if you used your cooking blender, expect the salsa to last about 2 or 3 weeks since the ingredients were cooked. If you used a traditional blender, expect it to last about 1 week.

Can Salsa Be Frozen?

Salsa is a very freezer friendly food! Use freezer storage bags or freezer safe containers. It will keep for up to 6 months, for optimal quality.

Can I Make It Without Soaking The Peppers?

If using a cooking blender, there is no need to soak the peppers as long as you use the soup mode or another mode that heats and cooks them for you. But if using a traditional blender it is necessary to soak the peppers in hot water. This softens their skins and makes them much easier to blend to create a smooth salsa. It will be more flavorful with well blended peppers!

Can I Use Fresh Chiles de Arbol Instead Of Dried?

Of course! Dehydrated chiles de arbol are much easier to find in many locations so they are a popular choice. But if you have access to fresh chiles, lucky you! Go ahead and use them, but skip the soaking step. Use the same amount of fresh chiles de arbol as you would dried.

If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to give it a star rating and let me know what you thought in the comments! And follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for more delicious recipes!

Recipe

chile de arbol salsa in a white bowl surrounded by chips and peppers

Chile de Arbol Salsa

Kristina Tipps
Make versatile Chile de Arbol Salsa to go with all your favorite Mexican dishes. Drizzle it on tacos, dip salty tortilla chips into it or add it to soups and stews. Make in a cooking blender, traditional blender, or food processor.
5 from 46 votes
Bookmark RecipeSaved!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes minutes
Total Time 21 minutes minutes
Course Appetizer, Sauce
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 12
Calories 22 kcal

Equipment

  • Instant Ace Cooking Blender (or traditional blender)

Ingredients

  • 15 chiles de arbol *see notes
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil only if using cooking blender
  • ⅓ cup tomato sauce
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1 small sweet onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Cut the tops off the chiles de arbol. Remove the seeds and discard (or use for extra spice). Roughly chop the tomatoes and onion.
  • Cooking Blender: add the teaspoon of olive oil, chiles de arbol, tomato sauce, onion, tomatoes, garlic cloves, and salt. Set to the puree mode for 16 minutes. When done, carefully transfer the salsa to a mason jar or bowl. Allow to cool and then taste, adding more salt if desired.
  • Traditional Blender: fill a small pot with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat when it begins to boil and add the chiles de arbol. Let sit for 10 minutes in the hot water. Put all ingredients into your blender, including the chiles. Pulse on high speed until the salsa is smooth, about 1-2 minutes depending on the strength of your blender.
  • Cover and store in the fridge. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Notes

This salsa is meant to be very spicy. If it's too spicy for you, add more tomato sauce to dilute the heat.
If you're unsure about the heat factor, use half the peppers and remove all of the seeds. If that's not spicy enough use more the next time and use some seeds.
But if you love very spicy foods, add those seeds! Don't deseed the chiles de arbol for the most significant spiciness.
A little salsa goes a really long way here. Just a little drizzle over your tacos, eggs, etc. will add a lot of heat. You can always add more so don't add much in the beginning.
This salsa has a thin, sauce-like consistency. To make it chunkier, blend it for less time, use less tomato sauce, or use more fresh tomatoes. The best way to make a chunkier salsa is to eliminate some of the water that the tomatoes produce when blended. Do this by removing their pulp before adding them to the blender. Another way to make it chunkier is to use a food processor to chop the ingredients rather than blend them.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ozCalories: 22kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 1gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.3gSodium: 230mgPotassium: 139mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 448IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 0.3mg
Did you try this recipe?Give a shout out to @tastyovenrecipes or tag #tastyovenrecipes! Scan the QR code to check for any recipe updates, including tips, answers to FAQs and to ask me a question!
QR Code

RELATED POSTS

  • mango pico de gallo in a coconut bowl
    Mango Pico De Gallo
  • slow cooker pepper steak over rice in a black bowl
    Crockpot Pepper Steak
  • Pineapple Mango Salsa
  • white pasta sauce tossed with noodles in a serving bowl
    White Pasta Sauce

Recipes To Try Next

  • blender hummus with crackers in a bowl
    Authentic Hummus (Blender Recipe)
  • mango shake in 2 glasses
    Mango Milkshake
  • peach milkshakes in small glasses garnished with mint leave
    Peach Milkshake
  • coffee milkshake in a glass mason jar drizzled with chocolate sauce
    Coffee Milkshake
  • Facebook
  • Flipboard
  • X
  • Threads

Comments

    5 from 46 votes (44 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Amy Liu Dong says

    August 07, 2022 at 4:08 am

    5 stars
    I have never tried to make this kind of sauce, but it looks delicious and easy to make. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Pete says

    August 05, 2022 at 1:55 pm

    5 stars
    I was looking for an Mexican recipe to make my food taste more authentic. This was the bomb! We drizzled it over our nachos and it was such a hit. Everyone was asking me where I got this sauce! I passed them your recipe!!

    Reply
profile image

Hello, I'm Kristina! I'm here to show you how to take your favorite recipes and adapt them to all your kitchen appliances!

More about me →

What's New

  • olive pizza on a pizza stone
    Olive Pizza
  • moroccan chicken stew and vegetables in a stock pot
    Moroccan Chicken Stew
  • veggie supreme pizza on a pizza peel
    Veggie Supreme Pizza
  • Italian herb and cheese bread on a cutting rack
    Italian Herb and Cheese Bread

Slow Cooker

  • slow cooker mashed sweet potatoes in a bowl
    Crockpot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
  • slow cooker loaded potato soup topped with chives, bacon and cheddar cheese
    Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup
  • apples, oranges and whole seasonings for apple cider in a crockpot
    Slow Cooker Apple Cider
  • slow cooker apple pie filling with ice cream topping
    Best Slow Cooker Apple Pie Filling Recipe

Instant Pot

  • instant pot pumpkin risotto in a serving dish
    Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto
  • instant pot pumpkin bread in a bundt pan
    Instant Pot Pumpkin Bread
  • instant pot cauliflower mac and cheese in a white bowl
    Instant Pot Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
  • instant pot garlic mashed potatoes in a white bowl topped with butter and black pepper
    Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Trending Now

  • mediterranean quesadilla stacked on a plate
    Mediterranean Quesadillas
  • slow cooker pepper steak over rice in a black bowl
    Crockpot Pepper Steak
  • slow cooker loaded potato soup topped with chives, bacon and cheddar cheese
    Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup
  • patriotic charcuterie board with red, white and blue foods
    Patriotic Charcuterie Board

Footer

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Newsletter

  • Sign Up for the latest recipes!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 TastyOven.com, LLC.

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




Stuck on what to say? Here are some suggestions:

This worked exactly as written, thanks!
My family loved this recipe! We can't wait to make it again.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. It turned out great!
I made a few modifications, but it still turned out wonderful.

Or write in your own words:

A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.