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Made with only 5 ingredients, this Chile de Arbol Salsa is the perfect taco salsa. It’s spicy, goes well with Mexican favorites like tacos, tostadas, and gorditas, and is freezer friendly!
This Chile de Arbol Salsa recipe is my family’s version of the quintessential Mexican taco salsa.
It’s the salsa that’s always on the table when we’re serving tacos, tostadas, flautas, sopes, and gorditas. It’s my dad’s number one favorite condiment and will forever remind me of my family.
If you’re not a fan of spicy food, this salsa probably isn’t for you. Instead, you may want to try making my homemade salsa or this easy salsa verde.
But if you love spicy food as much as I do, this recipe is for you!
What is Chile de Arbol?
Chile de Arbol is a type of red chile that’s commonly used in Mexican cuisine. The chiles themselves are quite small, but they’re very spicy, ranging from 15,000-30,000 on the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) scale.
For reference, the average jalapeño pepper ranges between 2,500-8,000 SHU.
How to Make Chile de Arbol Salsa
- In a medium pot, add the arbol chiles and enough water to cover them completely. Bring to a boil over high heat, remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the chiles soak for 10 minutes to soften.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles to a blender. Add ¾ cup of fresh water, the tomatoes, garlic, and salt. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and add more salt as needed.
Tips and Tricks
- This salsa is meant to be spicy. That being said, if it’s way too spicy for you, add one or two more plum tomatoes to the blender and puree until smooth.
- This salsa should be fairly smooth. Depending on the power of your blender, it can take anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes of blending time.
Ways to Use Chile de Arbol Salsa
Aside from eating this salsa with homemade tortilla chips (which I love), here are a few of my favorite ways to eat it.
- drizzle it on easy chicken tacos, breakfast tacos, or ground beef tacos
- have it with your chorizo and eggs for breakfast
- mix it into soups like chicken tortilla soup, black bean soup, and pozole rojo to add a little spice
If you’re anything like my dad and absolutely LOVE spicy food (the spicier, the better), then you may want to completely omit the tomatoes.
I modified this recipe to my taste, but when my dad makes it, he doesn’t ever add tomatoes! So if that’s you, go for it! You can always add in more tomatoes later.
Storing and Freezing
To store: Transfer the salsa to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 1 to 2 months.
To freeze: Let the salsa come to room temperature. Place it in a freezer-safe storage bag or container and freeze it for up 6 months. When ready to eat, remove the salsa from the freezer a day before and thaw it in the fridge.
More Mexican Salsas
Chile de Arbol Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 ounce árbol chiles, rinsed and stemmed
- water, as needed
- 2 large plum tomatoes, halved
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium pot, add the chiles de arbol and enough water to completely cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the chiles soak for 10 minutes to soften.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles to a blender. Add ¾ cup of fresh water, the tomatoes, garlic, and salt. Blend until completely smooth.
- Taste and add more salt as needed.
Video
Notes
- Spice level: This salsa is meant to be very spicy. If it’s way too spicy for your liking, add in an extra tomato or two to help dilute the heat.
- Storage: This salsa will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 1 week.
- Freezing: To freeze, let the salsa come to room temperature. Place it in a freezer-safe storage bag or container and freeze it for up to 6 months. When ready to eat, remove the salsa from the freezer a day before and thaw it in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The salsa es mut picoso, but I like it!!!!
My husband is from Mexico and he absolutely loves for me to make this salsa for him! It way too spicy for me but I make it for him. I can follow the recipe and not have to taste it to make sure the flavor is good enough for him!
I have been looking for this type of salsa recipe. perfect. I drink this instead of coffee. I may be addicted to it. reminds me of a place I ate at growing up in Oakland
You know how to cook! You keep it simple and that’s the best way! That’s how my mom cooks!
A pinch (1/4 tsp) of coriander (ground cilantro seeds) takes this up a notch!
Yes! Yes! Yes! This is the only recipe I make when making chile. I am a California girl stuck in the Midwest. No one understands the importance of “spicy” out here without using vinegar. This recipe is 100%
Super good!
I just made the salsa. Great way tousee huge bag of Arbols I have. I used 3 Campari tomatos and 1 tbsp tomato paste to thicken. Really good with chips! Next time I make tacos I’m putting this on top. Hot but not killer.
This recipe is fine, except a word of warning: the Chile de Arbol I got online was Scotch Bonnet/Habanero hot! 😳. And I even deseeded them- didn’t matter. I don’t understand, because I have eaten this type of salsa in restaurants in New Mexico, and while it was indeed hot, I was able to enjoy it. It was serrano pepper hot. I guess my point is be careful from whom you get your dried peppers. I had to take a couple tablespoons of this and make tomato/garlic puree and add it to that. But I can tell this is a good recipe, given the texture and what flavor I could taste through the extreme capsaicin burn.
The hottest part of a chili pepper is not the seeds. It’s the placenta, the spongy layer in the middle the seeds are attached to. Hope that helps you next time you want to remove some heat from a chili pepper.
I went the dad hot route. My tongue is still hanging out of my mouth. I want to eat more though. Very easy. Very yum !