After tasting homemade taco sauce with fire roasted tomatoes you won’t want to purchase store-bought again. This easy zesty smoky flavored taco sauce has no high fructose corn syrup and includes only natural ingredients. Clean eating with my homemade taco sauce recipe will turn a dish that is bland and unexciting into something fantastically delicious!
There are many secrets to making your own sauce. Fire roasting or charring gives your tomatoes a smoky sweet flavor. This means less sugar in your sauce but with the same flavor. Using dried ancho peppers, in addition to flavor, will thicken your sauce sauce so it won’t be runny. Easy, right?
Taco sauce with fire roasted tomatoes Is a sauce you can whip up with just 10 ingredients and enjoy all year long. This sauce has a 3-week shelf life in your fridge, can be frozen or canned. I make enough to last all year long with a few extra jars to give away as gifts.
USES FOR TACO SAUCE
Drizzle over tacos and fajitas
Use on nachos
Dip for chips and vegetables
Substitute for ketchup
Add to Mexican or Southwestern dishes
Mix with eggs
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TACO SAUCE AND SALSA?
Taco Sauce is a cooked smooth sauce made from dried and fresh chilies, tomatoes, garlic, onions and spices. Taco sauce is sweeter than salsa. Salsa is generally an uncooked mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeño chilies, and cilantro.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE TACO SAUCE WITH FIRE ROASTED TOMATOES
Preheat broiler. Place plum tomatoes on baking sheet. Broil for 8-10 minutes, turning once, until skins are lightly charred.
Let tomatoes sit until cool enough to handle. Transfer tomatoes to cutting board, remove skins, seed, chop and place in large pot.
Add poblano peppers, onions, garlic and dried ancho chili peppers to pot. Mix in cumin, sugar and salt.
Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and let stand for 20 minutes.
Transfer mixture to food processor and pulse until well blended. Return to pot.
Bring sauce to boil. Add lime juice and white vinegar to mixture and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Canning
If canning, sterilize canning jars, lids and rings. See Recipe Notes for how to sterilize.
Ladle hot taco sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe rims and add lid and ring.
Place in canning pot filled with boiling water. Water should cover jars by 1-2 inches. Process jars for 35 minutes in boiling water bath. Remove jars.
Cool overnight. Before storing, make sure lids have sealed.
TIPS/RECIPE NOTES
Yield – 2 pints
Serving size – 2 tablespoons
Pulse the taco sauce in the food processor to your desired thickness.
Taco sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Taco sauce can be frozen for up to 6 months in an airtight container.
Shelf life for canned Taco sauce is 12 months.
Here is a good article about how to sterilize jars for canning-sterilize.
I use Tattler’s reusable lids instead of disposable lids for canning.
MORE SAUCE RECIPES TRY
Easy Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Homemade Taco Sauce with Fire Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 5 pounds plum tomatoes
- 8 ounces poblano peppers seeded and chopped
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 3 whole dried ancho chile peppers seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat broiler. Place plum tomatoes on baking sheet. Broil for 8-10 minutes, turning once, until skins are lightly charred.
- Let tomatoes sit until cool enough to handle. Transfer tomatoes to cutting board, remove skins, seed, chop and place in large pot.
- Add poblano peppers, onions, garlic and dried ancho chile peppers to pot. Mix in cumin, sugar and salt.
- Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and let stand for 20 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to food processor and pulse until well blended. Return to pot.
- Bring sauce to boil. Add lime juice and white vinegar to mixture and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- If canning, sterilize canning jars, lids and rings. See Recipe Notes for how to sterilize.
- Ladle hot taco sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rims and add lid and ring.
- Place in canning pot filled with boiling water. Water should cover jars by 1-2 inches. Process jars for 35 minutes in boiling water bath. Remove jars.
- Cool overnight. Before storing, make sure lids have sealed.