Red Chile Sauce
A comforting vegan built around dried guajillo chiles, dried ancho chiles and dried arbol chiles — roughly 65 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 7 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, every ingredient resolved to a plant source.
What you'll need
Shopping list (3)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
Diet: vegan — no meat, fish, dairy, egg or honey, based on every ingredient listed below.
Contains: none of the major allergens we track from the ingredients listed.
Allergen labels are informational and may not cover cross-contact; verify every package and consult a qualified professional for medical dietary needs. Diet labels are derived from the ingredient list on this page — how we verify diet and allergen labels.
Food-safety and allergen information is general, not medical advice. Follow current guidance from your local food-safety authority, verify product labels, and seek qualified advice for allergies or health conditions.
How to make it
- Wipe the dried chiles clean with a damp cloth, then slit each one open and remove the stems, seeds and inner veins to control the heat.
- Toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 30 to 45 seconds per side, pressing them flat, until they smell fragrant and pliable; do not let them scorch or the sauce will turn bitter.
- Place the toasted chiles in a bowl, cover with the hot water and weigh them down with a small plate, then soak for 20 minutes until soft.
- Transfer the softened chiles to a blender along with about 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid, the onion, garlic, cumin and oregano, and blend on high until completely smooth, adding a little more liquid if needed.
- Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with a spoon to extract the smooth sauce and leaving the tough skins behind.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then carefully pour in the strained sauce, which will sputter, and fry it while stirring for 5 to 8 minutes until it darkens slightly and thickens.
- Season with salt to taste and simmer 2 more minutes; use immediately or cool and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Saucepan · Pan · Blender
Tips & common questions
How long does Red Chile Sauce take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Red Chile Sauce vegan?
Every ingredient listed on this page resolved to a plant or mineral source in our ingredient ontology — no meat, fish, shellfish, dairy, egg or honey. Labels can still differ by brand, so check packaged items.
Related recipes
Adapted recipe — rewritten in our own wording from an open-licensed community cookbook, not yet independently kitchen-tested by Consomee. How we source, test & correct recipes.
Red Chile Sauce is adapted by Consomee from the Wikibooks Cookbook, rewritten in our own wording and used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo: Stuffed Carne Adovada Sopapilla with Red Chile Sauce (3611998790).jpg by Eugene Kim from San Francisco, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.