Adobo Sauce is a reddish brown, rich and earthy sauce. It is a staple in Mexico and made of ancho chile, vinegar, and herbs. Intensely delicious and makes anything taste amazing.

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You will see adobo sauce in the kitchens of Mexican abuelitas all over Mexico.

The texture is thick like a BBQ sauce. Use it on pork, chicken, or beef. It is extremely versatile, and its flavors will blow your tastebuds away.

What does adobo sauce taste like?
Adobo sauce ranges from garlicky to spicy and deep.
This recipe uses a lot of garlic and is not as spicy but extremely flavorful.

What is adobo sauce made of?
In a nutshell, ancho chile, vinegar, garlic, and herbs. Some people will use it to preserve or extend the shelf life of meats and other foods because of the vinegar.

Note: This recipe calls for dried ancho chile.
However, you can substitute for ½ cup (or 2 oz) ancho chile powder.

Is adobo sauce spicy?
It depends on what ingredients are used. If the recipe calls for lots of chiles and chipotle, then yes, expect a spicy sauce.

Other Recipes Using Ancho Chile: Chile Colorado, Red Pork Tamales, Chueltas Adobadas.

How to remove the seeds from a dried chile:

Cut off the stem.
With kitchen scissors, cut lengthwise and open the dried chile.

The seeds and veins will make your adobo sauce extra spicy. Remove as many seeds as you can and any veins that are attached to the chile.

Pro Tip: You will not be able to remove all the seeds. That’s ok. This sauce gets strained, and that will remove the remaining seeds.

How to tell if a dried chile is old:
A newer dried chile will be shiny and bend easily. If the dried chile is crunchy and has lost its shine, it might not be good to use.

Add the dried ancho chile to a pot.
Add water. Enough to cover the chiles. About 2 cups.
Bring to a boil. Turn off heat.

Do not rinse the chile before adding to the pot. Rinsing them will take away some of the flavor.

If they are dusty, take a damp paper towel and pat them down.

Great Idea!
Save yourself a pot to wash and rehydrate dried chile in cold water. It takes longer. About an hour. No boiling necessary.

To a blender add:

Rehydrated chile
Water
Onion
Garlic
Cinnamon Stick, Cumin, Oregano
Salt
Apple cider vinegar

Here are some swap options:

You can use ground cinnamon.
Whole or ground cumin and oregano work just fine in this recipe.
Instead of apple cider vinegar, you can use white distilled vinegar.

Blend all the ingredients until smooth.

The color of the sauce should be a deep red. Much deeper in color than a guajillo sauce.

What can I substitute for adobo sauce?
Mix 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 tablespoon vinegar, ½ teaspoon chipotle powder, pinch of cumin, a pinch of oregano, ½ teaspoon garlic, ½ teaspoon salt.

Strain the sauce.
This will remove any extra chile pieces and leave you with a smoother sauce.

To make it spicier: Add 1 chipotle pepper or ½ teaspoon dried chipotle powder.
Adjust as you see fit.

Is chipotle sauce the same as adobo?
Adobo Sauce is not Chipotle Salsa. There are different chiles used in each. Chipotle salsa is thinner than adobo.

Mexican Adobo vs. Filipino Adobo:
This is the Mexican version of the sauce. Filipino Adobo is a dish which also involves marinating. It usually made with chicken.

This recipe will produce 2 ½ cups of sauce. Store them in airtight jars until ready to use. The sauce lasts up to 2 months in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer.

How to Use Adobo Sauce: Add to chicken, pork, beef, shrimp. Let sit for 10 minutes up to overnight. Cook and enjoy.

Did you make this recipe? Please rate the recipe below!

Table of Contents

1 Adobo Sauce

Adobo Sauce

Adobo Sauce is a reddish brown, rich and earthy sauce. It is a staple in Mexico and made of ancho chile, vinegar, and herbs. Intensely delicious and makes anything taste amazing.

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 30

Servings: cups

Calories: 94kcal

Author: Maggie Unzueta

Ingredients

Instructions

Cut the stem from the ancho chiles.
Cut lengthwise and remove the seeds.
Place the chiles into a stock pot with 2 cups water.
Bring to a boil. Turn off heat.
Let sit for 5 minutes, or until pliable.
Discard the water used in the rehydration process.
To a blender, add the rehydrated chiles, 2 cups water, and all of the remaining ingredients.
Blend until smooth.
Strain.
Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Notes

Make it quicker: Instead of dried ancho chile, use 2 oz. (or ½ cup) ancho chile powder.

Here are some swap options:

You can use ground cinnamon.
Whole or ground cumin and oregano work just fine in this Adobo Sauce recipe.
Instead of apple cider vinegar, you can use white distilled vinegar.

What can I substitute for adobo sauce?
Mix 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 tablespoon vinegar, ½ teaspoon chipotle powder, pinch of cumin, a pinch of oregano, ½ teaspoon garlic, ½ teaspoon salt.