Salsa Macha substitute

Best substitute

Chinese chilli crisp

Use the same amount as the salsa macha you are replacing

Best for tacos

Different taste

Chinese chilli crisp is the closest thing on a supermarket shelf and swaps one for one, because it is the same idea of crunchy solids suspended in flavoured oil. Stir a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika and a few crushed roasted peanuts into every two tablespoons and it moves distinctly towards Mexico. Otherwise, plain chilli oil plus a tablespoon of chopped roasted peanuts and two teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds per quarter cup gets you most of the way. What salsa macha is doing on a plate is supplying fat, crunch, toasty nut and sesame aroma, moderate smoky heat and salt, and notably no acidity at all, which is the thing that separates it from every tomato or tomatillo salsa. If you swap in something sour, the dish will taste wrong in a way that is hard to place.

Other salsa macha substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Homemade fifteen-minute salsa macha
Close match
Makes about ¾ cup, use 1:1
Warm half a cup of neutral oil with four dried arbol and two morita or chipotle chillies torn open, a quarter cup of peanuts, two tablespoons of sesame seeds and three sliced garlic cloves over low heat for ten minutes, then salt and pulse coarsely.
What changes
Best for
everything salsa macha is for, gifting, keeping in the fridge, eggs and tacos
This is the real thing rather than a substitute, and it is genuinely easy, which is why it belongs near the top. The only skill involved is heat control. What can go wrong: if the oil gets hot enough to sizzle aggressively, the chillies and garlic scorch and the whole batch turns bitter, and there is no fixing it. Keep the oil barely shimmering, around the temperature where a garlic slice bubbles lazily, and pull the pan off if anything darkens past deep brown. Salt after blending, and pulse in short bursts so it stays gritty rather than becoming a paste.
3Plain chilli oil plus toasted peanuts and sesame seeds
Different taste
¼ cup chilli oil plus 1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds, used 1:1
Any bottled chilli oil, Asian or Italian, given back the nut and seed content that makes salsa macha what it is.
What changes
Best for
eggs, noodles, grilled fish, roast potatoes, quick fixes
A very practical build if you keep chilli oil in the cupboard. What changes: you get the fat, the heat and the crunch, but you lose the smoky morita note and the deep fried-garlic sweetness of the real thing, so it tastes brighter and simpler. Toast the peanuts and sesame in a dry pan for a minute first if they are raw, since untoasted nuts in oil taste chalky. Add them just before serving, because they soften if they sit in oil for days.
4Chipotle in adobo blended with oil and peanuts
Taste and texture differ
1 chipotle chilli plus 3 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon peanuts, used 1:1
A tinned chipotle pulsed with oil and nuts into a smoky spoonable sauce.
What changes
Best for
tacos, grilled meat, sandwiches, mixing into mayonnaise or crema
This nails the one flavour that other substitutes miss, which is the smoky dried-chilli depth. What changes: the adobo sauce clinging to the chilli brings tomato, vinegar and sugar, so the result is tangier, softer and darker, and it is smooth rather than crunchy. That means it works beautifully spooned over tacos and poorly as a crunchy finishing condiment. Rinse the chipotle briefly if you want less tang, and add the peanuts at the very end with only two or three pulses so some crunch survives.
5Mild version with smoked paprika and no chillies
Different taste
¼ cup warm oil, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon crushed peanuts, 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
The aroma and texture of salsa macha without any real heat, for children or people who cannot eat chilli.
What changes
Best for
family meals, eggs, roasted vegetables, anyone heat-sensitive
Useful and often overlooked. Smoked paprika supplies the smoky red-chilli aroma and colour that people actually recognise, and the nuts and sesame do the textural work, so the condiment still tastes like something rather than like plain oil. What changes: no heat and no lingering warmth, so it reads more as a nut and sesame oil than as a salsa. Stir the paprika into warm rather than hot oil, because paprika burns very quickly and turns acrid.
6Plain chilli oil on its own
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
The least-bad answer when all you have is a bottle of chilli oil and no nuts or seeds.
What changes
Best for
eggs, soups, noodles, drizzling
Honest assessment: this covers the fat, the heat and the red colour, which is maybe half of what salsa macha contributes, and it misses the two things people love about it, the crunch and the toasty nuttiness. Spooned over eggs it is perfectly good and it is not salsa macha. If there is a jar of peanut butter in the house, half a teaspoon stirred into two tablespoons of chilli oil adds back some of the nutty richness even though it does nothing for the texture.

What is Salsa Macha?

Salsa Macha is Salsa macha is an oil-based Mexican salsa from Veracruz made by frying dried chillies, peanuts or almonds, sesame seeds and garlic in oil and then blending them coarsely, so it is a crunchy nutty chilli oil rather than the fresh wet salsa the name suggests.

Cooking tips

Low and slow is the whole technique. Salsa macha is made at a temperature where the garlic bubbles gently rather than sizzles, somewhere in the region of a bare shimmer, and it takes ten minutes rather than two. Let the oil get properly hot and the chillies will go black and the batch will be irreversibly bitter, which is the single most common failure and the reason people give up on making it.
Pulse, do not blend. The point of salsa macha is the grit and crunch of broken nuts, sesame seeds and chilli skins, so three or four short bursts in a food processor is the target. Blend it smooth and you have made a chilli nut paste, which is tasty and completely different, and it will no longer give you the textural contrast that makes it work on a soft taco or a fried egg.
The oil is not a carrier, it is half the product. Spoon the oil along with the solids when you serve it, because that is where the chilli and garlic aroma actually lives. Storing the jar so the solids stay submerged also keeps them from going stale, and it is why traditional jars always look like they have too much oil.
Anything with garlic sitting in oil must be refrigerated, not left on the counter. Garlic in oil at room temperature is a botulism risk, which is why commercial garlic oils are acidified. Keep your jar in the refrigerator, use a clean dry spoon each time, and eat a homemade batch within a couple of weeks. It will solidify slightly when cold, which is normal, and it loosens in a few minutes on the counter.
Salt at the end, after blending. The nuts, the chillies and the oil all absorb salt differently and the mixture tastes noticeably saltier once the solids are broken up, so salting the pan while it cooks almost always leads to overshooting. Taste a spoonful on a piece of bread, since tasting oil on its own is misleading.

Frequently asked questions

Is salsa macha the same as chilli crisp?

They are separate traditions that arrived at almost the same thing. Both are crunchy solids suspended in flavoured oil, both are used as a spoonable condiment, and they substitute for each other well. The differences are in the details: salsa macha uses Mexican dried chillies such as morita, arbol and guajillo along with peanuts or almonds and sesame seeds, while chilli crisp typically uses Chinese chillies with fermented soybeans, sometimes Sichuan pepper, and often crisp fried onion. Salsa macha tastes smokier and nuttier, chilli crisp tastes more soy-savoury.

Can I just leave it out?

Yes, since it is a condiment rather than a cooking ingredient in almost every recipe that mentions it, and nothing will fail. What you lose is meaningful though: it is contributing fat, crunch and heat all at once, so a taco or a bowl of beans without it can taste soft and a bit flat. If you skip it, a drizzle of good olive oil with a pinch of chilli flakes and some toasted seeds on top does a surprising amount of the same work.

Is salsa macha spicy?

Moderately, and it varies hugely between makers. Arbol chillies bring real heat while morita and guajillo are mild and smoky, so a batch heavy on arbol will be noticeably hot and a guajillo-led one will be gentle. Because the heat is dissolved in oil it also builds slowly and lingers rather than hitting immediately, which catches people out. If you are making it, start with fewer arbols than a recipe suggests and add more next time.

How long does salsa macha keep, and can I leave it on the counter?

Keep it in the refrigerator, where a homemade batch is good for a couple of weeks and the flavour actually improves for the first few days. It should not be stored at room temperature, because garlic held in oil without acidification is a botulism risk. Use a clean dry spoon every time so you are not introducing water or crumbs, and if the nuts have gone soft rather than crunchy it is still safe but past its best.

Which nuts and chillies should I use?

Peanuts are the most traditional and the most forgiving, almonds give a sweeter and finer result, and pumpkin seeds work well if you need it nut free. For chillies, a mix is better than any single one: arbol for heat, morita or chipotle for smoke, guajillo for fruity depth. If your shop only stocks one dried chilli, arbol plus a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika covers both the heat and the smoke reasonably well.

Related substitutes

More sauces & condiments substitutes

Salsa Macha substitute

Other salsa macha substitutes

2Homemade fifteen-minute salsa macha

3Plain chilli oil plus toasted peanuts and sesame seeds

4Chipotle in adobo blended with oil and peanuts

5Mild version with smoked paprika and no chillies

6Plain chilli oil on its own