Hello Fresh Tex Mex Paste Recipe: Get a Taste of Mexico at Home

Hello Fresh meal boxes provide a convenient way to make many dishes from beloved global cuisines in the comfort of our homes. The meal ingredients arrive in one box, along with cooking instructions, allowing us to enjoy our favorite dishes at home even during our busiest days.

Tex Mex cuisine has a special place in Hello Fresh menus, offering many meal options that showcase this fusion cuisine's flavors. The Tex Mex paste comes with the Tex Mex style meal boxes. Now you can make it with ingredients in your kitchen pantry with our recipe.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Pro Tips
• Hello Fresh Tex Mex Paste Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

1. Spice Mixture

• Chili powder — 2 tbsp.
• Unsweetened cacao powder — 2 tbsp.
• Garlic powder — 2 tsp.
• Smoked paprika — 1 tsp.
• Ground coriander — 1 tsp.
• Ground black pepper — ½ tsp.
• Ground cumin — ½ tsp.
• Dried oregano — ½ tsp.

2. The Paste

• Fire-roasted tomatoes — 1 can, about 1 pound.
• Onion — 1 pc., medium-sized.
• Tomato paste — 4 tbsp.
• Chili sauce — ¼ cup.
• Rice vinegar — 3 tbsp.
• Olive oil — 2 tbsp.
• Brown sugar — 2 tbsp.
• Salt — 1 tsp.

Instructions

1. Start by preparing the spice mix. Put the spice mixture ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

2. Peel and roughly chop the onion, then puree it in a food processor or blender. Once the onion is pureed, add the tomato puree and blend until smooth.

3. In a saucepan, combine the tomato and onion puree, tomato paste, chili sauce, vinegar, olive oil, sugar, and salt. Stir until the ingredients are well combined.

4. Add the spice mix to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, occasionally stirring, until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Let the sauce cool to room temperature. Let it rest for at least an hour before serving.

Substitutions

• Garlic powder — To enhance the garlic flavor in the sauce, you can use five cloves of garlic instead of garlic powder. If you wish to substitute garlic powder with garlic cloves, add it to the sauce ingredients rather than the spice blend. To deepen the garlic flavor and enhance the smoky taste of the sauce, we recommend fire roasting the garlic ahead.

• Cacao powder — Unsweetened cacao powder is an essential ingredient that adds depth to this recipe. It's possible to achieve a similar depth of flavor with dark chocolate. Instead of cacao powder, you can use up to three ounces of dark chocolate. The chocolate should contain at least 70% cocoa. Break the chocolate into large chunks and add it to the saucepan, rather than the spice mix.

• Rice vinegar — You can substitute rice vinegar with apple cider, white, or grape vinegar that you have at home.

Variations

• Make it 100% homemade — Instead of using canned tomato puree, you can enhance the homemade quality of your sauce by using tomatoes. Take three to four medium-sized tomatoes, cut an "X" on the bottom of each tomato, and roast them in the oven or over a flame until the skins are charred. Peel the skin off and puree the tomatoes in a food processor.

• Make it more citrusy — To enhance the tangy flavor that vinegar brings to the Hello Fresh Tex Mex recipe, you can add one tablespoon of lemon or lime juice and the zest of one lemon or lime to the sauce.

Equipment

• Measuring spoons.

• Mixing bowl.

• Saucepan.

• Food processor or blender.

• Stove.

• Airtight containers or zipped food bags.

Storage

• You can store Hello Fresh Tex Mex Paste in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It’s best to use an airtight container or zipped plastic food bag for storage.

• You can store the paste in the freezer for up to three months. Divide the paste into zipped plastic bags, flatten them, and put them in the freezer for later use.

Pro Tips

• It’s best to use mild-hot chili powder and sauce for this recipe. The extra hot ones can affect the taste balance and override other flavors.

• If you store Hello Fresh Tex Mex Paste in ice molds in the freezer, you will have little paste cubes at hand to use at any time. You can use them for cooking pasta, pizzas, stews, etc.