Today we are sharing a closely held family secret Belizean Red Recado Recipe. Also known as recado rojo or recado colorado in Spanish. Our recipe is intended to make a supply of red recado that could last several months. This authentic recipe was written by 80-year-old Mayan Granny. She grinds her spices in the Corozal District and will accept special orders. Red recado is the most popular variety — see our complete recado guide for how it compares to black and blanco.
Belizean Red Recado Recipe Ingredients
- 4 lbs fresh annatto seeds
- 1 cup black pepper
- 1 cup cumin seeds
- ½ cup whole cloves
- 1 cup dried oregano
- ½ cup allspice berries
- 3 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
- salt to taste
Alternative Ingredients:
- For a milder version, reduce the black pepper by half.
- Use ground spices for quicker preparation, though toasting and grinding whole spices will provide a fresher, more robust flavor.
Recado Rojo Recipe Instructions:
- For the most authentic recipe, you will need to acquire whole achiote seeds still in their pods. Husking the pods and removing the fresh seeds is a key step for the best results. The seeds should be semi-dried but not entirely dried. Knowing exactly how fresh vs. how dry can learned by trial and error.
- Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, grind the spices in batches until finely ground. My grandmother always uses a hand-cranked meat grinder with a spice grinder attachment.
- Test your spice grinder’s coarse vs. fine adjustments. You can see in the image above the consistency desired.
- Mix the ground spices with the annatto seeds in a bowl until well combined.
- Roll the recado paste into tablespoon-sized balls
- Put about 5 to 10 recado balls in small plastic bags
- Store the Red Recado in an airtight container, away from direct sunlight and heat. It will keep for up to 3 months to 18 months.
Serving Suggestions: Use Red Recado as a rub for meats or as a base for stews and sauces. It pairs exceptionally well with pork, chicken, and fish. For a traditional Belizean meal, marinate chicken in Red Recado, then slow-cook it with rice and beans.
Nutritional Information (per tablespoon, approximately):
- Calories: 20
- Protein: 1g
- Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Fiber: 2g
- Sodium: 5mg
Tips and Tricks:
- For the best flavor, grind the spices just before making the recado. Use organic ingredients.
- If you prefer a paste, blend the ground spices with vinegar to the desired consistency.
- Note: authentic red recado does not include paprika or turmeric, and neither is a good substitute.
- Black recado is not the same as red recado.
Discover more about the essential ingredients of Belizean cooking in our Belizean ingredients A to Z guide.
Shop This Recipe
Achiote Seeds
Four pounds of fresh annatto seeds are the base of this recipe – the post explains the seeds must be semi-dried rather than fully dried, a consistency diaspora cooks can only hit by sourcing whole pods.
Whole Allspice Berries
Half a cup of whole allspice berries go into this recado batch – whole berries grind to a fresher, sharper flavor than pre-ground, which the recipe notes directly as the difference between a robust and a flat paste.
Mortar And Pestle
The recipe instructs grinding annatto, cumin, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon in batches – unpolished granite grips dry spices so the paste builds rather than sliding around the bowl.
About Isela Post
Isela is a Belizean mother who has been cooking from memory and from markets her whole life. Her recipes carry the food of the Yucatec Maya tradition, the corner store ingredients of daily Belizean life, and the party table of every celebration she has ever fed people at. She writes for the Belize News Post.
