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Rick Bayless Sauce Recipes

Independent adaptations of Rick Bayless' publicly published recipes. Not created by, affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Rick Bayless.

Rick Bayless is a Mexican and Mexican-American chef based in Chicago, where he runs Frontera Grill and the Michelin-starred Topolobampo. He holds the James Beard awards for Outstanding Chef and Best Chef in the Midwest. PantryFlex adapts recipes Rick Bayless published and cites Rick Bayless as the source for each one.

Bayless has spent more than 4 decades researching regional Mexican cooking, work that runs through both restaurants' menus. Topolobampo carries Michelin recognition alongside his James Beard honors, tying that research directly to the dishes served at each address. PantryFlex adapts recipes Rick Bayless published and cites Rick Bayless as the source for each one.

By the numbers

33

recipes

15%

pour-and-shake ready

3:1 fat to acid

field median 2.7:1

6.5

ingredients per recipe, field average 6.8

Lime juice is Rick's acid of choice, showing up in 13 of 33 recipes.

Compared with the whole catalog, Rick reaches more often for garlic (70% vs 35%), cilantro (45% vs 6%), and lime juice (39% vs 11%).

How Rick builds a sauce

Rick Bayless's 33 sauces in the catalog lean toward 16 salsas, 5 hot sauces, and 4 vinaigrettes. Of that total, 6 are jar-ready as a pour-and-shake or simmer sauce, 20 need a blender, and 7 are cooked fully on the stove. Recipes cited to Rick Bayless include Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, Salsa Macha, and Chipotle Steak Sauce.

Recipes

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Roasted Tomatillo SalsaOn the jar: ROASTEDRick Bayless' roasted tomatillo salsa for tacos, eggs.Salsa MachaOn the jar: SALSA MACHARick Bayless' salsa macha for tacos, eggs, vegetables.Chipotle Steak SauceOn the jar: CHIPOTLEBayless' chipotle steak sauce, a smoky table condiment.Chipotle Peanut SalsaOn the jar: CHIPOTLEBayless' chipotle peanut salsa for grilled vegetables, tacos.Avocado-Tomatillo SalsaOn the jar: AVOCADO-TOMABayless' avocado-tomatillo salsa for tacos, chips.Mexican-Garlic-Chile Hot SauceOn the jar: BOLD REDBayless' bold árbol chile salsa for tacos, very hot.Mexican-Garlic-Habanero Hot SauceOn the jar: ROASTEDBayless' roasted habanero salsa, an extreme-heat condiment.
Pico de Gallo
Pico de GalloOn the jar: PICORick Bayless' pico de gallo for tacos, chips.Rustic Roasted Tomato SalsaOn the jar: RUSTICBayless's table salsa for tacos & everyday meals.Classic GuacamoleOn the jar: CLASSICRick Bayless' classic guacamole for chips, taco night.Morita SalsaOn the jar: MORITA SALSABayless' morita salsa for tacos, sweet-smoky heat.Roasted Tomatillo GuacamoleOn the jar: GUACAMOLEBayless' roasted tomatillo guacamole for chips, tacos.Roasted Tomato SalsaOn the jar: ROASTEDBayless' roasted tomato salsa for chips, fish, rice.Garlic-Serrano Tomato SauceOn the jar: ROASTEDBayless' roasted tomato-serrano sauce for enchiladas.Salsa HuevonaOn the jar: TOMATO SALSABayless' salsa huevona for a grilled taco bar.
Salsa Mexicana
Salsa MexicanaOn the jar: MEXICANABayless' salsa Mexicana for a guacamole bar.Chipotle-Roasted Tomatillo SalsaOn the jar: CHIPOTLE-ROABayless' chipotle-tomatillo salsa for tacos, chips.Peanut-Avocado SalsaOn the jar: PEANUTBayless' tangy peanut-avocado salsa for seafood, chips.
Orange-Tomatillo Salsa
Orange-Tomatillo SalsaOn the jar: ORANGE-TOMATBayless' orange-tomatillo salsa for a guacamole bar.Lime Zest VinaigretteOn the jar: LIME-CILANTRBayless's dressing for Mexican salads & grilled vegetables.Cilantro-Honey VinaigretteOn the jar: CITRUS-HONEYBayless' grilled lime vinaigrette for Yucatán-style salads.Garlic-Cilantro DressingOn the jar: CREAMYBayless' creamy jalapeño-garlic dressing for salads, tacos.Avocado-Cilantro MayonnaiseOn the jar: AIOLIBayless' avocado-cilantro mayonnaise for sandwiches, shrimp.Queso Añejo DressingOn the jar: QUESO ANEJOBayless' queso añejo dressing for Mexican salads, vegetables.Garlic-Chile Lime DressingOn the jar: GARLIC-CHILEBayless's dressing for romaine & grilled chicken salads.Garlic-Chipotle VinaigretteOn the jar: CREAMYBayless's smoky chipotle-crema dressing for squash salad.Mexican-Garlic-Ancho Chile SalsaOn the jar: RED CHILEBayless's ancho adobo - a Mexican red chile sauce.Red Enchilada SauceOn the jar: RED ENCHILADRick Bayless's classic red enchilada sauce.Creamy Jalapeno SalsaOn the jar: CREAMYRick Bayless' creamy jalapeño salsa for tacos & chips.Garlic Green Chile DressingOn the jar: TOMATOROASTEBayless's roasted garlic dressing for chayote salad.Green Chile AdoboOn the jar: GREEN CHILEBayless's roasted green chile adobo, a pantry marinade.Slow-Roasted Garlic MojoOn the jar: SLOW-ROASTEDBayless's slow-roasted garlic mojo, a warm condiment.Green Garlic MojoOn the jar: GREEN GARLICBayless's green garlic mojo, simmered with lime.

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One glass jar · five sauces as fill lines. Starts with 3 recipes adapted from Rick Bayless. Recipe pages keep the credit. Build it and name it for them.

1 kitchen · 1 star · 2 national awards

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Kitchens

  • Frontera Grill · Chicago
  • Topolobampo · Chicago

More from Chicago →

Awards

  • James Beard Outstanding Chef
  • James Beard Best Chef: Midwest
  • Michelin

Common questions

Which of Rick Bayless's sauces need a blender?
20 of the 33 sauces cited to Rick Bayless in the PantryFlex catalog need a blender rather than a jar shake, including Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, Salsa Macha, and Chipotle Steak Sauce.
Where does Rick Bayless cook?
Bayless runs Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, both in Chicago.
Are these Rick Bayless's actual recipes?
The sauces are adapted from recipes Rick Bayless published, with Rick Bayless cited as the source on every recipe page. PantryFlex is independent and not affiliated with Rick Bayless.

Citations

Every recipe lists its source and original title in the Provenance section of the recipe page.

Build a jar from Rick's recipes