Mojo Rojo (Quick Canarian Red Sauce)

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

With only seven simple ingredients, this smoky tangy creamy mojo rojo can be made in just a few minutes and will transport you to the Canary Islands in no time!

A thick orange sauce in a tapas dish on a gray backdrop surrounded by garlic, red pepper. spices and wrinkly small potatoes.

Mojo rojo is traditionally served with papas arrugadas (small wrinkly salty potatoes) or freshly baked bread at the start of a meal.

It’s one of the most popular mojos (sauces) from the Canary Islands, along with mojo verde (green sauce) and mojo picón (spicy sauce).

Some people add bread to their mojo to thicken it, but I’m not a fan so we’re keeping it traditional.

Jump to:

⭐Why you’ll love it
🛒Ingredients and substitutions
👩‍🍳How to make it
💡Expert tips
🍽️Serving suggestions
❄️Storage
❓Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

⭐Why you’ll love it

It’s super tasty!
It’s “accidentally” vegan and also gluten-free so it will be suitable for most people.
It’s incredibly quick and easy to make.
It’s a great dish for entertaining.

If you like Spanish food then you might also want to try a tasty traditional tapa like these Spanish fava beans or cook up some easy salsa brava to make patatas bravas.

🛒Ingredients and substitutions

A red bell pepper, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, cumin and smoked paprika.

Red bell pepper: Use half a small or medium-sized fresh red bell pepper (not roasted). If you don’t have a red bell pepper, in theory, you could replace it with an orange or yellow one but the flavor will be slightly off and the color won’t be as vibrant. Don’t use a green pepper.

Red wine vinegar: If you don’t have red wine vinegar you can substitute it with white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

Olive oil: Use virgin, refined, or pure olive oil. You want a nice hit of flavor, but extra virgin is too strong and overpowering, and pomace is too weak.

Garlic: Use fresh garlic, not frozen or jarred paste. This is not a spicy sauce but it should have enough garlic to give it a bit of a kick. If you’re sensitive to garlic, reduce accordingly.

Salt: I use sea salt to keep it authentic but you can swap it out for kosher salt or half the amount of table salt.

Cumin: Make sure your ground cumin is fresh and strong and hasn’t dried out and lost most of its flavor.

Smoked paprika: Do not use sweet or regular paprika, and if you can get it, I highly recommend using Pimentón de la Vera (dulce). It’s a very high-quality sweet smoked Spanish paprika.

See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact quantities.

👩‍🍳How to make it

Making mojo rojo is incredibly easy. You just need a chopping board, a sharp knife, and a food processor or blender. You can also use an immersion blender, or go old school and use a mortar and pestle for a chunky sauce.

You can make your sauce chunky or smooth, it’s enjoyed both ways, but I prefer smooth as it clings to whatever you’re dipping it in better.

Peel the garlic. Cut the bell pepper in half and remove the seeds pith and stem. Add them with all the other ingredients to a small blender or processor bowl. If using an immersion blender, add the ingredients to a narrow container with a high neck.

A blender jar with garlic, red pepper. and paprika.

Blend or process until smooth and emulsified.

A blender jar with a red sauce in it on a white background.

Taste and adjust salt and vinegar (add up to half a tablespoon more vinegar if you like it extra tangy).

Decant or spoon out and use straightaway or cover and chill until ready to use. Best served at room temperature.

Hint: If your blender or processor is not the strongest, chop the pepper and garlic up to make it easier to blend, and drizzle the oil in the feed chute while the motor is running to make sure your mojo gets really creamy.

💡Expert tips

Add some water to the blender or processor bowl once you’ve gotten as much sauce out as possible. Blend or process until clean and keep the water to use when cooking rice for added extra flavor.
If using a mortar and pestle, finely mince the garlic and pepper and grind with the salt before adding everything except the olive oil. Grind some more until as smooth as possible and then add the olive oil a tablespoon at a time. Keep in mind your sauce will still be fairly chunky if you make it this way.

🍽️Serving suggestions

A small wrinkly potato being dipped into a thick orange sauce in a brown bowl on a gray background.

Mojo rojo goes best with papas arrugadas or fresh crusty bread for mopping the sauce up, but it’s also amazing served:

As a dip for fried breaded cheeses.
With sweet potato wedges or fries.
Alongside grilled vegetables.
As a dip for artichokes or grilled or fried plantains.

❄️Storage

This sauce will keep tightly covered in the fridge for up to four days or can be frozen for up to three months. After defrosting, you may need to blend the sauce again as the oil could separate.