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Ancho Powder Substitutes, Ranked by the Job Ancho Is Doing

By · Reviewed · 16 sources

ancho pepper substitute

Out of ancho powder? Reach for another mild, dark Mexican chile. An ancho is a dried poblano, and most recipes use it for body, color and raisin-like sweetness, not heat. Mulato powder is the closest swap, since a dried poblano can be sold under either name. Pasilla gets you a darker, slightly more bitter mole, guajillo works in enchilada sauce, and plain chili powder often puts ancho right back into a pot of chili.

Quick answer

What ancho is doingBest substituteStarting amount, per 1 part anchoTreatment
Body and dried-fruit flavor (mole, red sauces)Pasilla or mulato powder1 partAttributed
Mild red chile flavor and color (enchilada sauce, adobos, rubs)Guajillo powder1 partAttributed
Chile base in chili or taco meatChili powder1 part, plus ¼ part crushed red pepper if you want more heatAttributed
Color with almost no heatPaprika1 partAttributed
A gentle smoky noteSmoked paprika½ part, plus ½ part plain paprikaMethod

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Every ratio carries one of four labels.

  • Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
  • Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
  • Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
  • Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

How hot are ancho and its substitutes?

The figures below come from different kinds of sources and describe different things, so we list them side by side instead of combining them.

ChileHeatScopeSource
Ancho1,000–2,000 SHUPepper type; general figure, no lot or method statedNMSU Chile Pepper Institute1
Ancho1,000–1,500 SHUPepper type on a heat scale its author calls “necessarily approximate”Dave DeWitt, 20082
Ancho1,000–1,500 SHUPepper type; no method statedPepperScale3
Ancho powder500–4,000 SHUOne merchant’s own product; no method statedThe Spice House4
Pasilla1,000–1,500 SHUSame approximate scale as anchoDave DeWitt, 20082
Pasilla“Mild heat level” (no number)Pepper typeNMSU Chile Pepper Institute5
MulatoNo published figure found
Guajillo, also called mirasol62,500–5,000 SHUDeWitt lists “Mirasol”; general ratings, no method statedDave DeWitt, 2008;2 Lisa Sorg, INDY Week, 2015;7 PepperScale3
Anaheim, which PepperScale says New Mexico chili powder is often made from500–2,500 SHUPepper type; no method statedPepperScale3
ChipotleUsually 5,000–10,000 SHUChipotle in general; no samples or method statedMick Vann, The Austin Chronicle, 20128
Chipotle2,500–8,000 SHUChipotle in general; no method statedPepperScale3
Chipotle powder (morita)13,000–28,000 SHUOne merchant’s own productThe Spice House9
Cayenne30,000–50,000 SHUPepper type; no method statedPepperScale3
Paprika (category)480 SHU or lessA category boundary in the international standard, not a measurementCodex CXS 353-202210

How to read this:

  • The ancho figures overlap but don’t match. CPI, DeWitt and The Spice House each describe something different: a pepper type, a rough spot on a scale, and one merchant’s powder. None of them is shown to be wrong.
  • You’ll also see about 9,000 SHU for ancho. We found no source that supports it, and every named figure above is far lower.
  • Chipotle is the outlier. The three chipotle figures differ several-fold, and all of them sit above every ancho figure.

If ancho is the body and dried-fruit flavor of a sauce

This is ancho’s main job in mole and red chile sauces, where it’s a key ingredient. Here you want a dark, mild, fruity chile.

1. Mulato powder

A dried poblano may be sold as an ancho or as a mulato,11 so a mulato starts from the same fresh chile. That makes it the most natural stand-in. Ancho, mulato and pasilla are the “holy trinity” of chiles that flavor mole poblano.

Ratio (Attributed): Mashed says to swap mulato powder for ancho one-to-one.12

2. Pasilla powder

Pasilla is a different chile, the dried form of the dark green chilaca, and the third member of the mole trinity.11 It’s mild, and its name comes from a resemblance to raisins in texture and smell.5 DeWitt’s scale puts ancho and pasilla in the same heat band.2 Expect a darker, slightly more bitter sauce.

Ratio (Attributed): Mashed says to swap pasilla powder for ancho powder one-to-one.12

If the jar says “pasilla de Oaxaca”, that’s a different, smoked chile. It’ll add smoke that ancho doesn’t.

If ancho is mild red chile flavor and color

In enchilada sauce, adobo marinades and rubs, ancho is there more for red color and rounded chile flavor than sweetness.

1. Guajillo powder

Mexico’s agriculture ministry groups dried ancho, mulato, mirasol, guajillo and pasilla as the chiles that mostly go to the mole industry,13 so guajillo already shares ancho’s place in the pot. It’s brighter and a little tangier than ancho, with less of that dried-fruit depth. The heat figures that exist for guajillo are higher than ancho’s (see the table above), so taste as you add.

Ratio (Attributed): Mashed says guajillo powder can be swapped one-to-one for ancho powder, tasting as you go.12 PepperScale also calls guajillo a very good one-to-one match, with a similar smokiness and a little more sweetness.3

2. New Mexico chile powder

Ratio (Attributed): Mashed, citing the reference site Gourmet Sleuth, suggests an equal amount of New Mexico chile powder.12 PepperScale recommends it too, without a ratio, as the pick if you’re worried about over-spicing a dish. It says the powder is often made with Anaheim chiles and has a mild spiciness comparable to ancho’s.3

If ancho is the chile base in chili or taco meat

Chili powder

American chili powder is a blend. USDA’s purchasing specification says it should include ground chili pepper, cumin, oregano, salt and garlic powder,14 and Saveur says the chile in it is usually ancho.15 So chili powder often puts ancho right back into the dish, along with cumin, oregano, garlic and salt.

Ratio (Attributed): Mashed, citing Cooking Light, says to replace each teaspoon of ancho with 1 teaspoon of chili powder and ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper.12 The flakes add heat that ancho doesn’t have, so leave them out if you want ancho’s mildness. PepperScale is less keen on this swap: since chili powder is a mix of spices, it suggests using it only in a pinch.3 Cut back on the recipe’s own cumin, oregano and salt, and taste before adding more.

If ancho is there for color, with little heat

Paprika

Under the international standard, paprika is dried Capsicum at 480 Scoville units or less,10 so it adds red color with very little heat. It has none of ancho’s dried-fruit depth.

Ratio (Attributed): Mashed says to swap paprika one-to-one.12

Smoked paprika, for ancho’s smoky edge

Ancho has a smoky side. Spanish Pimentón de la Vera is smoke-dried, and its specification describes a smoky, intense and penetrating flavor and aroma; its sweet type is “completely sweet”.16

Ratio (Method): Pimentón de la Vera’s smoke is much stronger than ancho’s, so start with half the ancho amount in sweet smoked paprika, make up the rest with plain paprika, and taste.

If you only need some chile heat

These are all hotter than ancho by every figure we found, and none of them brings ancho’s sweetness. Use them when ancho is a minor ingredient and heat is what you’re after.

SubstituteStarting amount, per 1 part anchoTreatment
Chipotle powder⅓ to ½ part, then tasteDisputed (see below)
Chile de árbol powder1 part, tasting as you goAttributed12
Cayenne pepperA pinch per teaspoon of ancho, then tasteDisputed (see below)
GochugaruAbout ¼ part, then tasteAttributed12

Chipotle is a smoke-dried jalapeño. Most chipotles sold in the US are the morita type,8 and it brings strong smoke along with the heat.

Chipotle and cayenne ratios (Disputed): the two sources that publish amounts for these swaps disagree.

Swap, per 1 part anchoMashed12PepperScale3
Chipotle powder1 part if mild, ½ part if hotterOne third of the amount to start
Cayenne pepperAbout ¼ part, then tasteA pinch gives roughly the heat of a teaspoon of ancho

Start with the smaller figure in each row (⅓ part chipotle; a pinch of cayenne per teaspoon of ancho), taste, and build. Every heat figure here puts both chiles well above ancho, and neither brings its sweetness. Treat that as a starting point, not a measured equivalent.

Chile de árbol. Katzer groups de árbol with chipotle as less aromatic, more pungent chiles,11 and DeWitt’s scale puts it at 15,000–30,000 SHU.2 Mashed’s one-to-one starting point is its own call. You’re safer starting at a quarter of the ancho amount, as Mashed suggests for cayenne, and building up.

What isn’t known

  • We didn’t find a published heat figure for mulato, the closest substitute botanically.
  • You’ll sometimes read that ancho and pasilla differ only in shape. The sources say they’re different chiles: ancho is a dried poblano, pasilla a dried chilaca.111

Footnotes

  1. Ancho recipe card, Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University. cpi.nmsu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩2

  2. Dave DeWitt, Heat Scale Updated, Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central, 2008. fieryfoodscentral.com · Publication ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Matt Bray, What’s The Best Ancho Chili Powder Substitute?, PepperScale. pepperscale.com · Publication · PepperScale is also owned by Matt Bray, the editor of this site. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  4. Ancho Chile Powder, The Spice House (product page). thespicehouse.com · Merchant ↩

  5. Pasilla recipe card, Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University. cpi.nmsu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩2

  6. Santiago-López, Ramírez-Meraz and Méndez-Aguilar, HMG14E, híbrido de chile guajillo para el Altiplano de San Luis Potosí, México, Revista Fitotecnia Mexicana, 2020. revistafitotecniamexicana.org · Peer-reviewed ↩

  7. Lisa Sorg, DISH: Tips on which peppers suit which dish, INDY Week, 2015. indyweek.com · Publication ↩

  8. Mick Vann, Chipotle Chiles, The Austin Chronicle, 2012. austinchronicle.com · Publication ↩ ↩2

  9. Ground Chipotle Chiles, The Spice House (product page). thespicehouse.com · Merchant ↩

  10. Standard for Dried or Dehydrated Chilli Pepper and Paprika, CXS 353-2022, Codex Alimentarius. fao.org · Standard ↩ ↩2

  11. Gernot Katzer, Paprika and Mexican chiles (Capsicum annuum), Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  12. Lisa Curran Matte, 10 Best Substitutes For Ancho Chile Powder, Mashed, 2021. mashed.com · Publication ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  13. Chile seco, Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural, Government of Mexico. gob.mx · Regulator ↩

  14. Commercial Item Description A-A-20001C, Spices and Spice Blends, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, 2023. ams.usda.gov · Regulator ↩

  15. Chili Powder, Saveur, 2009. saveur.com · Publication ↩

  16. Pimentón de la Vera PDO product specification, Consejo Regulador. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk · Regulator ↩