Mexican Adobo Sauce

Open jar of red Adobo Sauce on a wooden surface, surrounded by dried chili peppers, a garlic bulb, a cinnamon stick, and two sealed jars filled with the same sauce.

5 from 7 votes

Mexican Adobo Sauce made with dried ancho chiles, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, and apple cider vinegar. Use it as a marinade for chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: cups

Calories: 94kcal

Author: Maggie Unzueta

Ingredients

4 ancho chile dried
4 cups water (to rehydrate the chiles)
2 cups water (to blend)
8 garlic cloves
¼ piece cinnamon stick
pinch cumin either whole or ground
pinch oregano either whole or ground
3 tbsps apple cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Cut the stem from the ancho chiles.
Cut lengthwise and remove the seeds.
Place the chiles into a stock pot with 4 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.

Nutrition