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Preparing a taqueria-style salsa at home is much easier than you think. I have been preparing salsa like this for years and really had no idea that is was a taqueria “thing”
I have prepared it with boiled ingredients, dry roasted, grilled, fried and even fresh! And if you want to take it to a whole other flavor level, try smoking your salsa ingredients with a little wood smoke next time you fire up your grill. Tasty! What’s the hardest part about preparing this taqueria-style salsa? Deciding which chile pepper to use first!!
Serrano Peppers Are First Choice!
My first choice of chile pepper would be serrano! The salsa preserves well in the refrigerator for weeks due to the oil added. The serranos I used were extra long, so look for the larger ones when preparing the recipe using serrano peppers.
To see a variation on the recipe see recipe card below
All of these recipes are delicious. I have personally tasted every one of them, lol! The hard part is deciding whether to cook your ingredients in water or oil. Both yield a creamy salsa, but in my honest opinion, I believe the oil poached version is more flavorful.
Taqueria-Style Salsa Recipes
Preparing an authentic taqueria-style salsa is easier than you think!
5 from 6 votes
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Course: Salsa/Sauces
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Resting Time: 1 hour hour
Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 6 large serrano peppers stems removed
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/8 section of medium white onion
- handful of fresh cilantro adding cilantro is optional
- Juice of 1 large lime
- 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
- Salt to taste
For Oil Poached Version Taqueria-Style Salsa
- 8-10 large green jalapeño or 15 serrano FOR GREEN VERSION
- 4-6 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 section white onion
- 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 1/2 cups grapeseed or avocado oil flavorless and natural oils
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt to taste
Instructions
For Taqueris-Style Cooked in Water
Remove stems from serrano peppers Transfer peppers, garlic and onion to a sauce pan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Drain the water from sauce pan and transfer ingredients to the blender. Add juice of 1 lime, cilantro, oil and salt to taste. Blend on high until very smooth! Enjoy!
For Oil Poached Taqueria-Style Salsa
Remove the stems from the peppers and transfer to a sauce pan. Add the onion, garlic and oregano. Pour in the oil and heat to medium.
After a few minutes the oil will begin to simmer lightly and the ingredients will become aromatic. If it begins to boil, turn the heat down. You want a light simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
When ready, using a slotted spoon, transfer all of the ingredients to the blender. Add lime juice and salt to taste. Blend on high for 1 minute. Slowly begin to stream in some of the oil as you blend until the salsa becomes extra creamy. If you add too much oil, it will separate and not become creamy. Salsa should become light and very creamy.
Notes
To prepare the salsa using other hot pepper varieties, use the same formula and substitute with the same amount of peppers. You can use green jalapeño, red fresno, red jalapeño, yellow chile guero and even chipotles in adobo. If using chipotles in adobo, you do not have to boil them in the water.
I do not suggest using olive oil because it will change the flavor of your salsa.
I prepared three fairly quickly in one afternoon. On this day I used serranos, chile guero and red chile fresno.
I always loved this picture from a few years ago. The yellow chile guero is difficult to find where I live. Once in a while I get lucky though! And when I find them, I buy them all! Lol!
The picture above was from my recent trip to Austin, Texas. I prepared the serrano version for my sister in law. She was hooked! Since that day, she has prepared it 2 or 3 times.
I really enjoy the red fresno version, but if I can find red jalapeño or red serranos, I would prefer those. The red always adds a nice touch of color too! You could also use dried chile de arbol or chile japones. You would soften them in the simmering water until they were soft.
The chile guero version doesn’t really have a lot of color. I actually added a few drops of a yellow vegetable coloring that I have so the salsa wouldn’t look so white. Out of the three, this was the mildest.
The taqueria-style salsa’s above with chile manzanero and serrano just follow the same recipe as above. The other salsa recipes are all on my blog. The links follow below.
Roasted Tomatillo Habanerohttps://pinaenlacocina.com/roasted-tomatillo-habanero-salsa/
Salsa Negrahttps://pinaenlacocina.com/salsa-negra/
Tomatillo Avocadohttps://pinaenlacocina.com/tomatillo-avocado-salsa-the-green-sauce/
Salsa Machahttps://pinaenlacocina.com/costillas-de-res-braised-beef-ribs/
Tomatillo Chile de Arbolhttps://pinaenlacocina.com/barbacoa-de-cachetebeef-cheek-tacos/
Spicy Taqueria-Style Salsa For Barbacoahttps://pinaenlacocina.com/dried-chiles-staples-of-a-mexican-kitchen/
Spicy Taqueria-Style Salsa With Tomatohttps://pinaenlacocina.com/spicy-taqueria-style-salsa/
Taqueria-Style With Vinegarhttps://pinaenlacocina.com/habanero-hot-sauce/
Serrano Taqueria-Style Salsa on a taco of Asado de Puero(Chile Colorado).https://pinaenlacocina.com/asado-de-puerco-chile-colorado/
Chile Guero Taqueria-Style Salsa over shredded pork flautas.
Chile Fresno Taqueria-Style Salsa over smoked brisket tacos.https://pinaenlacocina.com/brisket-tacos-tacos-everday/
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Diane CowellYour photo of the bottles and jars of salsa is beautiful! Thank you for the wonderful recipes, instructions and inspiration!
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- Sonia
You’re welcome Diane! Thank you for stopping by the blog. I appreciate your feedback.
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I am so excited that I have stumbled across this page! I now have so many recipes right at my fingertips. I’ve had most of these growing up, and could master cooking a few of them, but it has been a couple years.
Reply
- Sonia
I am very excited you stumbled onto my page as well. Thank you!
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- Veronica
What other oil would you use
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- Sonia
Canola oil. Olive oil has flavor, so I avoid olive oil.
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- Robert Fox
peanut oil or canola oil?
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- Sonia
Robert, I don’t cook with canola or peanut oil. Canola only when I fry chips in big batches. I use grapeseed or avocado oil for most of my Mexican recipes. They are natural oils and are flavorless. You can use those other oils if you like.
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- Christopher
Do you put cilantro in the oil poached versions?
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- Sonia
Christopher, you can add cilantro, if you like. I typically only add it to the serrano or jalapeño versions.
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- Christopher
Sorry, also another question howblong will these keep?
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- Sonia
The oil based salsa last for a few months in the refrigerator. I advise people to just take out what they think they are going to eat. The constant temperature change can cause it to spoil faster.
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- Robert Fox
Well, I made the serrano salsa one evening and stored it in the refrigerator and went to bed. The next afternoon I thought I would have some chips and salsa. My wife had eaten almost all of the salsa the night before. She is not a large woman. She told me that it was the best salsa she had ever had and could not quit eating it. I guess that would be a thumbs up!
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- Sonia
That’s wonderful Robert! Lol! Seal of approval for sure!
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- Christopher
I made a fresno and serrano version and also made your hatch salsa verde…all sooo delicious!! Will be a staple for tacos from now on, can’t wait to try more pepper types…the serrano style didnt get hom*ogenized right but i think i let it cool too long in the freezer before i blended it(it was the last one and i was trying to hurry so i put it in the freezer to cool) so the oil separated after i put it in jars! Oh well, these are so delicious and authentic, so glad I found your site!
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- Jordan Horton
Do you blend the oil with the salsa? Or only take out the cooked veggies and blend those without the oil?
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- Sonia
Yes, blend with the oil. That is what will make the salsa creamy. If the oil separates, it’s because there is too much oil for the peppers used.
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- BOCC
Is it okay to add water to the oil version to thin it out? I’ve made it before and added water, but the sauce started to ferment in the refrigerator after a few days, so I didn’t know if it affected it. Did it ferment because I didn’t add enough oil or lime juice?
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- Sonia
It will start to ferment, yes. I add enough oil to adjust the thickness of the salsa. I also like to add white vinegar most times if I want to preserve it a little longer. Not everyone likes adding vinegar though. It’s up to you.
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[…] Taqueria-Style Salsa Recipes […]
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[…] Crispy Fish Tacos garnished with cabbage, carrots, cucumber, lime, cilantro and chile guero taqueria-style salsa. See link below.The salsa pictured that is almost white in color is a Taqueria-style Salsa prepared with chile guero. It’s pale yellow in color and resembles the shape of a jalapeño. Click the link https://pinaenlacocina.com/taqueria-style-salsa-recipes/ […]
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[…] Garnished with cilantro, onion, lime and Taqueria-Style Salsa using red jalapeños. Click the link to see many variations of Taqueria-Style Salsa. https://pinaenlacocina.com/taqueria-style-salsa-recipes/ […]
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