How to Make Your Own Adobo Paste from Scratch

What Is Adobo and Why Should You Make It?

If you have ever opened a tin of chipotles in adobo and marvelled at that dark, smoky, complex sauce clinging to the chillies, you have already encountered adobo. But that tinned version - as useful as it is - is merely one expression of a far more versatile and ancient preparation. Adobo is, at its core, a paste or sauce made from rehydrated dried chillies, vinegar or citrus, garlic and spices. It is one of the foundational preparations of Mexican cooking, as essential to the cuisine as stock is to French cooking or soffritto to Italian.

Making adobo from scratch is surprisingly straightforward, requires no specialist equipment beyond a blender, and produces a paste so flavourful and versatile that you will wonder how you ever cooked without it. A single batch keeps for weeks in the fridge and months in the freezer, and it transforms everything it touches - grilled chicken, slow-roasted pork, braised beef, roasted vegetables, even scrambled eggs.

The word "adobo" comes from the Spanish "adobar" - to marinate or season. When the Spanish arrived in Mexico, they found that indigenous cooks had been making chilli pastes for millennia. The Spanish contribution was vinegar (the indigenous versions used fruit acids), and the resulting hybrid - dried chillies, vinegar, garlic, spices - became the adobo we know today.

Understanding Your Dried Chillies

The character of your adobo depends entirely on which dried chillies you use. Each variety brings different flavours, heat levels and colours. Here are the most common and most useful, all available from Mexican shops across the UK and increasingly from Sainsbury's and Waitrose:

• Ancho (dried poblano): Mild, sweet, fruity, with notes of raisin and plum. The backbone of most adobos. Dark reddish-brown. Heat: 1-2/5.
• Guajillo: Bright, tangy, slightly berry-like flavour. Produces a vivid red colour. The second most-used chilli in Mexican cooking. Heat: 2-3/5.
• Chipotle (dried, smoked jalapeño): Intensely smoky, moderately hot, with a deep, almost meaty flavour. Heat: 3-4/5.
• Pasilla (dried chilaca): Dark, almost black. Flavour is complex - herbal, slightly bitter, with notes of dried fruit and cocoa. Heat: 2-3/5.
• Árbol: Thin, bright red, very hot. Used sparingly for heat rather than flavour complexity. Heat: 4-5/5.
• Morita: A smaller, smokier chipotle variety. More heat than standard chipotles, with an intense smoky character. Heat: 3-4/5.

The Classic Red Adobo: Step by Step

This is the most versatile adobo - the one you will use most often. It combines ancho and guajillo chillies for a balance of sweetness, fruitiness and moderate heat. This recipe makes about 300ml of paste - enough for 6-8 meals.

Ingredients

• 6 ancho chillies
• 4 guajillo chillies
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1 small white onion, quartered
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tsp dried oregano (Mexican if available, Mediterranean works fine)
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Method

1. Prepare the chillies: Remove the stems from all chillies. Tear them open and shake out the seeds (reserve a tablespoon of seeds if you want extra heat). Tear the chillies into flat pieces.
2. Toast the chillies: Heat a large, dry frying pan over medium heat. Press the chilli pieces flat against the pan with a spatula for 10-15 seconds per side. They should become fragrant, slightly pliable, and darken slightly. Do not burn them - burnt chillies taste acrid and bitter. This step is essential; it develops the chillies' flavour enormously.
3. Rehydrate: Place the toasted chillies in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Press them down with a plate to keep them submerged. Soak for 20-30 minutes until soft and pliable.
4. Toast the garlic and onion: While the chillies soak, place the unpeeled garlic cloves and onion quarters in the same dry pan. Cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until charred in spots - about 8-10 minutes. Peel the garlic when cool enough to handle.
5. Toast the spices: In the same pan, briefly toast the cumin seeds, peppercorns and cloves until fragrant - about 1 minute. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind to a powder.
6. Blend: Drain the chillies, reserving the soaking liquid. Place the chillies in a blender with the garlic, onion, ground spices, oregano, vinegar, salt, sugar and about 100ml of the soaking liquid. Blend until completely smooth - this takes 2-3 minutes of sustained blending. Add more soaking liquid if needed to achieve a thick, pourable paste (roughly the consistency of ketchup).
7. Strain (optional but recommended): For the smoothest result, push the paste through a fine sieve, pressing with the back of a spoon. This removes any remaining skin fragments. If you prefer a rustic texture, skip this step.
8. Store: Transfer to a clean jar. The paste keeps for 2-3 weeks in the fridge or 3-4 months in the freezer. Freeze in ice cube trays for convenient individual portions.

Smoky Chipotle Adobo

This version uses chipotle and morita chillies for an intensely smoky, moderately hot paste. It is essentially the sauce from a tin of chipotles in adobo, but fresher and better.

Ingredients

• 8 dried chipotle or morita chillies
• 2 ancho chillies (for body and sweetness)
• 4 garlic cloves, charred as above
• 200ml tinned chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar or piloncillo
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• Salt to taste

Follow the same method: toast, rehydrate, blend with all ingredients. The tomatoes add body and acidity. This version is spectacular on grilled chicken, stirred into mayonnaise for a chipotle mayo, or thinned with stock as a braising liquid for pork.

Ten Ways to Use Your Adobo

1. Chicken marinade: Coat chicken thighs or breasts with 2-3 tbsp adobo paste. Marinate for 2-24 hours, then grill, roast or pan-fry. The chillies create a gorgeous dark crust.
2. Pork shoulder: Rub a 1.5kg pork shoulder generously with adobo. Slow-roast at 150°C for 4-5 hours. The result is extraordinarily similar to cochinita pibil.
3. Adobo rice: Stir 1-2 tbsp of adobo paste into your rice cooking liquid. The rice absorbs the colour and flavour, turning a vivid red-orange.
4. Soup base: Stir adobo paste into chicken or vegetable stock for an instant Mexican-flavoured broth. Add shredded chicken, beans and tortilla strips for a quick tortilla soup.
5. Scrambled eggs: Add a teaspoon of adobo to your beaten eggs before scrambling. The smoky, spicy eggs are transformatively good, especially in a breakfast burrito.
6. Chipotle mayo: Mix 1 tbsp chipotle adobo with 3 tbsp mayonnaise and a squeeze of lime. Use on sandwiches, with chips, or as a dip.
7. Roasted vegetables: Toss cauliflower, courgette, peppers or sweet potato with adobo paste and olive oil. Roast at 200°C until charred and tender.
8. Braising liquid: Thin adobo with stock and use as a braising liquid for beef cheeks, short ribs or lamb shanks. The result is deeply flavoured and wonderfully rich.
9. Burger mix: Mix 1-2 tsp adobo into burger mince before shaping. The smoky, spicy flavour permeates the entire burger.
10. Pizza sauce: Use adobo thinned with a little tomato passata as a pizza sauce. Top with mozzarella, sliced jalapeños and fresh coriander for Mexican-inspired pizza.

Sourcing Dried Chillies in the UK

The dried chillies essential for adobo are increasingly available in Britain:

• Supermarkets: Waitrose stocks ancho and chipotle chillies. Sainsbury's carries chipotle flakes and sometimes whole dried chipotles. Tesco's world foods section occasionally has guajillo and ancho.
• Online: Specialist retailers like Cool Chile Co, MexGrocer and South Devon Chilli Farm offer comprehensive ranges of Mexican dried chillies, delivered to your door.
• Mexican shops: The best selection and the best prices. Visit a Mexican shop near you for the widest range.

When buying dried chillies, look for ones that are flexible rather than brittle, deeply coloured rather than faded, and fragrant rather than musty. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. They keep for 6-12 months.

Troubleshooting Your Adobo

• Too bitter: You may have burnt the chillies during toasting. They should be toasted, not blackened. Add a little more sugar to compensate.
• Too thick: Add more soaking liquid or a splash of vinegar. Adobo should be the consistency of thick ketchup.
• Too thin: Simmer in a pan over low heat, stirring frequently, until it reduces to the desired consistency.
• Not flavourful enough: You may have under-toasted the chillies and spices, or used old chillies. Toast more aggressively next time, and buy fresh chillies.
• Too hot: Use fewer árbol or chipotle chillies, and more ancho (which is very mild). Remove all seeds and membranes from the chillies before toasting.

For recipes that use adobo as a key ingredient, explore our recipe collection. For the best places to try adobo-marinated dishes prepared by professional chefs, check our UK Mexican restaurant guide.