We cannot think about Mexican food without thinking about our favorite homemade salsas. Most of us might already be familiar with guacamole, a green sauce made with avocado, and a great dip to enjoy with nachos. However, the Mexican cuisine is very rich in all kinds of different salsas, using a wide variety of ingredients, and covering the entire flavor spectrum, going from sweet to tangy to spicy. If you don’t know where to start, we are sharing our favorite 5 homemade Mexican salsas to help you break into this very delicious journey.
We want to start this list with one very delicious and versatile salsa that might not get the praise it deserves. Pico de gallo is a very delicious, fresh, and chunky sauce loaded with tomato, but that includes fresh ingredients like onion, cilantro, garlic, and jalapeno. This salsa’s texture might remind you of that of a chopped salad, as it goes great with an extra amount of lime to add to its already rich flavor.
Another not very common but very interesting and delicious salsa that not many have had the luck of trying is salsa negra. This salsa has a strong smoky flavor, as it’s made with roasted tomatoes and peppers, as well as dried chiles. You can get a bit creative with the recipe and try out different types of peppers until you find the perfect match. If you want to brighten up the flavor of this salsa, don’t forget to add fresh lime juice and as much cilantro as you feel necessary.
Salsa roja is probably one of the most popular Mexican salsas out there, as it offers the perfect spicy touch to almost every dish. This salsa’s recipe is similar to that of salsa negra as both are tomato-based. However, to prepare salsa roja instead of negra, you need to cook the tomatoes and then blend them with onions, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime. You can find this type of salsa in almost any taco place or Mexican-inspired restaurants.
Most of the times, you will find two different salsas whenever you go to a Mexican restaurant, salsa roja and salsa verde. For many, salsa verde is the best one to prepare chilaquiles, although salsa roja also adds a great taste to this dish. This salsa, though, is prepared using roast tomatillos and chiles instead of tomatoes. Then, we should put this into a blender and add cilantro, lime juice, and onion to get the job done, which will leave us wit a very tasty and interesting sauce.
Last but not least, we have the all-time-classic guacamole, the ultimate Mexican salsa, one that is the perfect portrayal of what a salsa must be to earn being called a true Mexican salsa. Whether we choose it for a dip, or as a way to top our tacos, there is no way to go wrong with guacamole. You can choose to add a chunky bit of texture, almost like that of pico de gallo, or going for a softer one. It all depends on what you’re having, from tacos or burritos to nachos or tortilla chips.