Mexican Name Finder
Salsa or sauceSpanishnationwide

Salsa roja

"red sauce"

Say it

SAL·sah ROH·hah

Built from

Spanish salsasauce+rojared

What Salsa roja means

Salsa roja is a Mexican salsa or sauce name of Spanish origin meaning "red sauce". It is built from Spanish salsa (sauce) and roja (red). It is pronounced SAL-sah ROH-hah, and it is most associated with the whole country.

The counterpart to verde on every taquería counter, red from ripe tomato and dried chiles. The pair is named purely by colour, which is why the same two words cover a hundred different recipes.

This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: Salsa simply means sauce. The interesting names are the older ones: mole from Nahuatl mōlli, guacamole from āhuacamōlli, and pico de gallo, "rooster's beak", whose name nobody can fully explain.

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Salsa roja means red sauce

Related Mexican food names

  • Pico de galloSalsa or sauce

    rooster's beak

    PEE-koh deh GAH-yohSpanish
    Spanish pico+de+gallonationwide
  • Recado rojoSalsa or sauce

    red seasoning paste

    reh-KAH-doh ROH-hohSpanish
    Yucatán
  • Salsa borrachaSalsa or sauce

    drunken sauce

    SAL-sah boh-RRAH-chahSpanish
    Spanish salsa+borrachaHidalgo
  • Salsa machaSalsa or sauce

    macho sauce

    SAL-sah MAH-chahSpanish
    Spanish salsa+machaVeracruz
  • Salsa verdeSalsa or sauce

    green sauce

    SAL-sah VER-dehSpanish
    Spanish salsa+verdenationwide
  • ChamoySalsa or sauce

    salted preserved fruit

    chah-MOYChinese (via Spanish)
    Sinaloa
  • EscabecheSalsa or sauce

    vinegar pickle

    es-kah-BEH-chehArabic (via Spanish)
    Yucatán
  • GuacamoleSalsa or sauce

    avocado sauce

    gwah-kah-MOH-lehNahuatl
    āhuacatl+mōllinationwide

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