Mexico & Salsas in Puerto Vallarta. There is a point in every Mexican meal when the table shifts from “we are waiting” to “we are living,” and it is the exact second that the salsa tray lands in front of you. Sometimes it arrives in elegant hand-painted clay, sometimes in a plastic container older than your aunt’s secrets, and sometimes in a bowl so tiny you wonder why anyone even bothered. But the effect is always the same: suddenly everyone sits up. Salsas do not enter quietly, they announce themselves.
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I have always been pulled in by Mexico’s salsa spectrum. Someone declares a favorite like it is gospel, someone else shakes their head because “that is not the real one,” and if you are new to the game, you end up doing the classic tasting flight with all the sounds that come with it: mmm… yes… oooh spicy… oh that one is trouble… and wow, I need more of that.
Salsas are not condiments here, they are identity. They are history. They’re a personality test disguised as a bowl of blended chiles.
A little history, because salsa has receipts.
Salsas go all the way back to the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas, long before blenders and Instagram. Tomatoes, tomatillos, and chiles were already culinary royalty. The first “recipes” were simple: mash chiles, seeds, herbs, and tomatoes in a molcajete, the volcanic stone mortar still used today. (Fun fact: a well-seasoned molcajete is practically an heirloom and can outlive several generations.)
Even the word “salsa” comes from the Spanish word for “sauce,” but make no mistake, the spirit of it is purely Indigenous. When the Spanish arrived, they added their own ingredients and methods, and over time Mexico created the wild, beautiful salsa universe we know now.
Traditions? Mexico has plenty.
In many families, salsa is made fresh every morning. In others, Sunday is “big pot salsa day,” where a whole batch is roasted, blended, and stored for the week (if it lasts that long). On the coast, seafood taquerías swear by their own salsa recipes like it is a matter of national security.
And of course, there is the unspoken rule:
The thinner the salsa, the more dangerous it is.
If it looks watery and innocent, pray.
Fun facts to spice up the truth:
Mexico has over 60 types of chiles, and each one has a different personality.
“Chile addiction” is not a joke, capsaicin literally releases endorphins.
Salsa is one of Mexico’s oldest foods that has stayed almost completely unchanged for centuries.
I have always been pulled in by Mexico’s salsa spectrum. That little tray lands on the table, sometimes in elegant clay, sometimes in a humble plastic container, and suddenly the whole table wakes up.
Someone claims a favorite, someone else swears theirs is the real deal, and if you’re new to the lineup you dive into a tasting flight complete with the universal soundtrack: mmm… yes… oooh spicy… oh that one’s trouble… and oh wow I need more of that. Consider this my small offering to the grand, unending university of salsas:
Salsa Roja
Tomato, chile de árbol or guajillo, garlic, salt.
Salsa Verde
Tomatillo, serrano, cilantro, onion.
Pico de Gallo
Tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, lime.
Salsa Taquera
Tomato, chile de árbol, vinegar, garlic.
Salsa de Molcajete
Tomato or tomatillo, roasted chiles, garlic, salt.
Salsa Macha
Dried chiles, garlic, nuts, seeds, oil.
Salsa Chipotle
Tomato, chipotle in adobo, garlic.
Salsa Ranchera
Tomato, serrano, onion, garlic.
Salsa Borracha
Chiles pasilla, pulque or beer, garlic.
Guacamole Salsa
Tomatillo, jalapeño, avocado, cilantro.
Salsa Habanero
Habanero, lime, sometimes carrot or mango.
Salsa de Tamarindo
Tamarind, chile de árbol, sugar, salt. Sweet heat.
Choosing a salsa is choosing an attitude, if it is bold, bright, soothing, chaotic… sometimes all at once. (Me!). I hope this was helpful.
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