It's quick and easy to learn how to make Taco Bell Baja sauce at home. This creamy, slightly spicy sauce only takes 5 minutes to make and is a great condiment for Mexican seafood, chicken, and veggies dishes.
Baja sauce is the perfect condiment for fish tacos. Whip up a batch of Lemon Butter Tolopia, then place it in flour or corn taco shells. Next, fill your taco with crunchy Mexican Coleslaw. Drizzle on the creamy Baja sauce and top with candied jalapenos. You can have the perfect fish tacos dinner in less than 30 minutes.
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😊 Why make this recipe
- When you make this yummy Bjah sauce at home, you can avoid adding the preservatives that are usually in the commercial product.
- Taco Bell Baja Sauce is a delicious condiment for fish, chicken, shrimp tacos, and veggies.
- Copycat Taco Bell Baja sauce only takes a few minutes to make.
- You can control the amount of heat when making your creamy Baja sauce from scratch at home. Add a little heat or a lot.
🛒 Ingredient notes
The recipe is easy to make with everyday ingredients you probably have on hand in your fridge and pantry.
- Red bell pepper: this is a sweet pepper that is seeded and chopped
- Pickled jalapeno pepper: you can use a fresh jalapeño pepper if you prefer a hotter sauce. The sweet-spicy pickled jalapenos give this recipe a more authentic flavor, however.
- Onion: I like to use a sweeter variety of onions.
- Mayonnaise: Be sure to use real mayo, not "salad dressing type" like Miricle Whip. They are too sweet.
- Mustard powder: Be sure to used dried mustard powder, not liquid yellow mustard
- Crystalized lime powder: I like using crystalized lime powder for this recipe. Citrus juice tends to curdle other inderedents. If you don't have lime powder, then use fresh lime juice not the kind from a green bottle.
See the recipe card for a complete list and quantities.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Place bell pepper, pickled jalapenos, onion, and the rest of the ingredients into a Vita-Mix blender.
Note* If you do not have a good blender, add all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. You will need to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times to be sure the sauce is creamy and smooth.
Blend on high for 1 minute or until sauce is smooth and creamy. The puree peppers and onion should be so small they emulsify into the sauce.
Place the sauce in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator for the best flavor.
💭 Tips for making the recipe
Baja sauce is best if allowed to sit a couple of hours in the refrigerator before serving. This ensures the flavors are infused thought-out the sauce. You can keep it in the fridge for 4 or 5 days.
Serving Ideas using Baja sauce recipe
You can make all sorts of homemade Mexican masterpieces when you layer in this sauce into everyday Mexican dishes.
Tacos: The best tacos have layers of flavor, so pile on something unexpected to kick you your simple tacos.
Chicken Quesadilla: Drizzle a little Baja sauce over your quesadilla for a quick kid-friendly dinner.
Beans: Drizzle a few teaspoons of this puree over refried beans or black beans. It's a delicious way to add a bit of creaminess to beans.
Salad: This sauce could be used as a spicy ranch salad dressing.
Soup: Swirl in a little bit of this sauce in Mexican Tomato Soup.
❓ FAQ
Soybean Oil, Water, Vinegar, Egg Yolks, Jalapeno Peppers, Parmesan Cheese (Part-skim Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Sugar, Contains Less Than 2% of Salt, Red Bell Peppers, Xanthan Gum, Mustard Flour, Garlic, Onions, Lactic Acid, Buttermilk, Citric Acid, Butter (Cream, Salt), Spice, Sodium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate, With Sorbic Acid, Potassium Sorbate and Calcium Disodium EDTA as Preservatives.*Dried.
Around 2014 Taco Bell stopped serving their original Baja sauce. The restaurant states that their spicy ranch has taken the place of the Baja. However, Taco Bell customers do not seem to agree. We have to make a clone of taco bell Baja sauce at home if we want the original flavor.
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Recipe
How To Make Taco Bell Baja Sauce (Authentic Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 2 teaspoons pickled jalapeno Be sure and visit my Cowboy Candy Pickled Jalapeno recipe to make your own. You can use a fresh jalapeño pepper if you prefer a hotter sauce. The sweet-spicy pickled jalapenos give this recipe a more authentic flavor, however.
- 2 tablespoons onion diced
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/4 teaspoon crystalized lime powder or fresh lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- Place bell pepper, pickled jalapenos, onion, and the rest of the ingredients into a Vita-Mix blender. Note* If you do not have a good blender, add all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. You will need to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times to be sure the sauce is creamy and smooth.
- Blend on high for 1 minute or until sauce is smooth and creamy. The puree peppers and onion should be in small pieces that they emulsify into the sauce.
- Place the sauce in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator for the best flavor.
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