Best Substitutes for Chili Powder

Chili powder is a spice blend that is a staple of southwestern cooking. You've probably had chili powder in, well, chili, but also things like tortilla soup, taco meat, and even baked beans. Chili powder isn't the same across all brands; it can be a blend of just chilies or a spice blend more similar to taco seasoning that includes things like onion powder, cumin, and more.

The bulk of most chili powder is a medley of mild to medium chilies, primarily paprika, but can often include chilies de Arbol, pasillas, chipotle, and cayenne.

What Does Chili Powder Taste Like?

The flavor of chili powder depends on the brand. Different brands have different blends; some are spicy, while others are smokey or sweet. One thing they all have in common is dried peppers. Usually, chili powder contains a lot of paprika, so if you like that flavor, you'll probably be a fan of chili powder.

If you're a big fan of chilies, grab a few different brands of chili powder and give them all a taste. Because chili powder is made from various peppers, it can sometimes get a bit bitter, so anytime you get a new container of chili powder, give it a quick taste on its own so you know what kind of flavors it will bring to your cooking.

Chili powder is sometimes manufactured to be the only seasoning you need to make chili soup, so it can include cumin, coriander, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cinnamon, and more. Take a peek at the ingredients list before you buy to see what type of chili power you're getting into.

How to Make Your Own Chili Powder

Like most spice blends, homemade is best. This way, you can customize your flavors exactly how you want. Follow this basic recipe to make chili powder that's perfect for chili soup, enchiladas, tortilla soup, taco meat, and more:

Combine three parts sweet paprika with one part each of cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and finally, a pinch of cayenne. Like it smokey? Add in chipotle powder or smoked paprika. Like it spicy? Add extra cayenne. Other ground chilies like Aleppo, chile de Arbol, Urfa biber, crushed red pepper, and guajillo are also great additions if you want some added heat and flavor in your blend.

Best Chili Powder Substitutes

Taco Seasoning

Similar to chili powder, taco seasoning contains many different spices and can vary widely from brand to brand. If your recipe calls for chili powder, taco seasoning might be a sufficient stand-in for some Mexican-American dishes like ground beef for burritos or nachos. Taco seasoning might not be the best for chili soup or other dishes that don't lean more towards the classic American "taco" flavors.

In order to make this swap, glance at your recipe and the ingredients in your taco seasoning, and omit any spices from the recipe that are in your taco seasoning packet. Additionally, many taco seasonings include salt, so go easy on the added salt to account for this.

Paprika

Sweet Hungarian paprika is usually the number one ingredient in chili powder, so if that's all you have on hand, it works just fine; swap it in equal amounts for chili powder. If you happen to have multiple types of paprika on hand, like spicy Spanish or smoked paprika, these blended with the sweet variety can create a more dimensional flavor. It depends on your tastes and how much heat you like, but if a recipe calls for, say, two teaspoons of chili powder, try one teaspoon of sweet paprika and half a teaspoon of each of the spicy and smoked stuff.

a high angle looking down at a bowl of the best damn chili with a dollop of sour cream

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Chile Powders

Chile powder with an "e" is a powdered version of one specific chili, like guajillo, pasilla, or the one most often included in chili powder, cayenne. In recipes where you want the pepper flavor to come through and you don't mind a little heat, like stewed Mexican-style beans, reach for a chile powder.

Depending on what you have on hand, the flavor will be different. These powders are usually much spicier than chili powder, so use half a teaspoon of chile powder for every teaspoon of chili powder a recipe calls for.

Hot Sauce

In a pinch, hot sauce can bring the dimensional spice to recipes like slow cooker Texas pulled pork, which normally calls for chili powder. Hot sauce, unlike chili powder, contains lots of vinegar, so if you choose this route, know that it will change the dish's balance and bring more acidity. This can easily be tempered with a pinch of sugar. Substitute two dashes per teaspoon of chili powder depending on your hot sauce's heat level and your preference.

Sauces like Valentina, Tapatio, and Cholula have pronounced chile flavors without being too spicy or overly vinegary and work best for this swap.

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