Papalote is a taqueria in the heart of the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, CA. I first tried their salsa, which has its own website, in late 2020. It changed the way I thought about salsa. It’s creamy, full of flavor, and just the right amount of spicy. It’s also $7 a jar…so I set out to see if I could replicate it at home. After some online research I came across this page which claimed to make a similar salsa. I tried their recipe but it didn’t quite match my expectations. It was too acidic and not as creamy as I’d hoped. The recipe is over 10 years old and I believe that Papalote has since updated theirs. I also wanted to play around with replacing the pumpkin seeds with cashews. After about 10 attempts I’ve honed in on a recipe that tastes great.


WARNING: this salsa is highly addictive.

Recipe (makes about 4 cups)

  • 1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic, drained
  • 1 large dried pasilla chili (deseeded)
  • 3 medium dried chili de árbol (deseeded) for mild or 6+ for spicy
  • 1 bunch green onions (~1/2c chopped)
  • 1 bunch cilantro (~1/2c packed)
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2c cashews
  • 1/2c canola oil
  • 1c water

Steps

  1. Into large sauce pan add drained tomatoes, cashews, deseeded chilis, and water.
  2. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. Chop green onions and cilantro.
  4. Add cilantro and green onions and simmer for 1 minute.
  5. Remove from heat and blend until mostly smooth. (I use an immersion blender).
  6. Drizzle oil in while blending and blend until emulsified.
  7. Chill and serve next day.


I’ve tried using fresh oven-roasted roma tomatoes and fresh sauteéd garlic but I think the canned tomatoes taste about as good, with far less effort required.

I usually double this recipe and it lasts my partner and me about a week in the fridge. We eat it on chips, taco salad, and even our eggs.