Mexican🥫 Sauces & condiments

Salsa Macha

Name: Salsa Macha
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: ~½ cup olive oil; 1 handful garlic cloves; ~3 cascabel chiles, dried; ~2 guajillo chiles, dried; ~2 arbol chiles, dried; ~3 tbsp sesame seeds, untoasted; ~1/3 cups roasted cashews; ¼ cups dried cranberries; ¼ cups water; 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 1 tsp Diamond Crystal salt

⏱ 20 min

Salsa macha is an outlier in Mexico's salsa world, celebrated for its oil-based blend of dried chiles, nuts, seeds, and garlic. Unlike traditional Mexican salsas, it contains no tomatoes or tomato puree. This version features cascabel, guajillo, and arbol chiles combined with toasted sesame, cashews, and dried cranberries, finished with balsamic vinegar and salt. The result is a toasty, versatile condiment with complex flavor that keeps for months in the refrigerator.

Adapted from a video by Rick Bayless

Let's Make Salsa Macha

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

olive oil~½ cupest.
garlic cloves1 handful
cascabel chiles, dried~3est.
guajillo chiles, dried~2est.
arbol chiles, dried~2est.
sesame seeds, untoasted~3 tbspest.
roasted cashews~1/3 cupsest.
dried cranberries¼ cups
water¼ cups
balsamic vinegar

Steps

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1
Heat olive oil over low heat and gently cook the whole peeled garlic cloves until they bubble slowly and start to turn light brown, about 10 minutes.
2
While the garlic cooks, prepare the dried chiles: carefully tear or cut open the cascabel, guajillo, and arbol chiles to remove the seeds. Remove the inner veins if you want to reduce heat.
3
Roughly chop all the prepared chiles into irregular pieces about 1 inch across and set them aside.
4
Once the garlic is light brown, add the untoasted sesame seeds to the oil. Watch carefully as they will begin to toast quickly.
5
Add the roasted cashews to the oil and toast briefly until fragrant.
6
When the sesame turns golden, add all the chopped chiles to the oil. Stir to submerge them and toast until fragrant, about 1–2 minutes. Use your sense of smell to judge doneness and avoid burning them.
7
Add the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of water. The water will help rehydrate the chiles and cranberries and help dissolve the salt.
8
Stir in 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
9
Add approximately 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal salt (slightly scant to heaping depending on the salt variety).
10
Pour the mixture into a blender jar and secure the lid. Start at low speed and gradually increase to medium, avoiding high speed. Blend until the nuts are uniformly chopped and the chiles and cranberries are broken up, but with a coarse texture rather than a smooth puree.
11
Pour the finished salsa macha into a container. Store in the refrigerator for up to several months.

Salsa Macha

Ingredients

Steps

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