Chipotle Powder: Smoked Jalapeño, How It Is Made, Its Heat and Uses

The name says it all: chipotle comes from the Nahuatl chilpoctli, “smoked chile.” A chipotle is a ripe red jalapeño dried slowly over wood smoke, and the ground powder is smoky, a little sweet and moderately hot, though how hot depends on who measured what. Most chipotles sold in the US are moritas. The grayish meco, smoked longer for an earthier, more intense smoke, is the one most Mexicans prefer, according to Mick Vann.

At a glance

What a chipotle is

As used in Mexico, chipotle means a brick-red hot chile that’s used smoke-dried. Gernot Katzer notes that the word could in principle mean any smoked chile, but it’s come to mean smoked jalapeños almost exclusively.⁴ Mexico’s agriculture ministry groups chipotle and morita among the dried chiles that are smoked as well as dried.

How they’re made. The three sources we checked agree on the method and differ on the details:

Vann says it takes about 10 pounds of fresh red chile to make 1 pound of dried chipotle,² and PepperScale gives the same ten to one.³ None of our sources says smoking takes out all the moisture.

Morita and meco. Vann describes morita, Spanish for “small mulberry,” as grown mainly in Chihuahua State, and says most chipotles eaten in the US are moritas. He calls meco the chipotle most Mexicans prefer. PepperScale places meco in southern Mexico and spells out the difference. Morita is smoked for less time and tastes slightly sweet and fruity with a hint of smoke. The grayish meco is smoked longer, for an earthier, more intense smoke.³ The naming isn’t consistent: Mexico’s agriculture ministry lists chipotle and morita as two separate smoked chiles,⁵ while Vann treats morita as a kind of chipotle.²

Origin. Capsicum annuum is native from the southern United States to Brazil and the Caribbean, and four lines of evidence point to its domestication in central-east Mexico.¹ None of our sources says when people started smoking jalapeños, and we couldn’t trace the claims about chipotle’s popularity with the Aztecs.

Flavor

Katzer describes finished chipotles as combining good paprika aroma, significant heat and intense smoke flavor. Vann picks up subtle tobacco and chocolate flavors. PepperScale calls it earthy, sweet and slightly spicy. In a sauce, you get the smoke first, then heat that builds.

How hot is chipotle?

How to read this:

• Vann’s 5,000–10,000 is a journalist’s general figure, not a measurement of a particular lot. PepperScale’s 2,500–8,000 is also a general figure, borrowed from fresh jalapeño’s range. They overlap but don’t match, and we don’t average them.
• The 3,000–10,000 range is untraceable, not wrong. It may well be close. We just couldn’t find anyone showing where it came from.
• The Codex figure is a category boundary, the line between hot paprika and chilli pepper. It isn’t a measurement of chipotle.⁶
• The 2016 study shows why single figures mislead. In 100 fresh jalapeños from ten suppliers, heat varied a lot within one supplier and relatively little between suppliers.⁷ It measured fresh fruit, not chipotle powder.
• NMSU notes that HPLC is the most accurate way to measure chile heat; Scoville taste tests are subjective.⁸

Start with ¼ teaspoon of chipotle powder in a dish for four, taste, and add more from there.

How it is used

Mexican sauces and moles. Katzer writes that mole-type recipes commonly combine mild chiles like ancho, mulato and pasilla with less aromatic, more pungent ones “like the de arbol or the smoky chipotle.”⁴ El Universal lists chipotle among the chiles in mole poblano. See mole powder.

Chipotles in adobo. Katzer describes chipotles en adobo as whole chipotles stewed in a thin, well-seasoned tomato sauce. The dry blend sold as adobo seasoning is a different product.

Everyday uses. Try the powder in:

• Barbecue sauces, dry rubs and marinades for pork, chicken and beef.
• Chili, beans and stews; see best spices for chili.
• Salsas, mayonnaise and sour cream dips, where a pinch adds smoke without adding liquid.
• Roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes.

PepperScale adds smoky barbecue sauces, Tex-Mex dishes, and popcorn tossed with a dash of oil and the powder. Its list of good partners includes tomatoes, garlic, cumin, honey, chocolate, lime, onions, cilantro, beans, avocado, corn, and cheeses like queso fresco or cheddar.³

Technique. Like other ground chiles, chipotle powder scorches easily. Warm it briefly in oil over moderate heat, or add it along with liquid.

Buying and quality

• Check the label. Pure chipotle powder lists only chipotle chile. If the jar adds salt, garlic or sugar, it’s a seasoning blend.
• Smoking method. Vann reports that some producers dry chiles in big gas driers and spray them with liquid smoke instead of smoking them over wood.² None of the labels we checked says which method was used.
• Aroma. Good chipotle powder smells clearly of smoke and dried fruit. If it’s dull and dusty, it’s lost its aroma.

Storage

Keep it airtight, dark and cool. We found no shelf-life figure from a regulator or standards body for chipotle powder. When the smoky smell fades, replace it.

Nutrition and health

We didn’t check a nutrient analysis of chipotle or chipotle powder, so there are no vitamin or mineral figures here. In the small amounts you cook with, a chile powder doesn’t supply much of anything; see ancho powder and pasilla powder for USDA figures on related dried chiles.

Capsaicin. The strongest human evidence is for a prescription skin patch, not chile in food. A 2017 Cochrane systematic review found moderate-quality evidence that a high-concentration (8%) capsaicin patch gave moderate pain relief to a minority of people with postherpetic neuralgia.⁹ None of the sources we reviewed supports claims that chipotle prevents cancer, lowers blood pressure or cholesterol, manages diabetes or helps with weight loss. We make no claim that chipotle treats or prevents any disease.

Safety

• Mycotoxins (EU). EU law caps ochratoxin A at 20 µg/kg in dried Capsicum fruits, whole or ground, and sets 5.0 µg/kg for aflatoxin B1 and 10.0 µg/kg for total aflatoxins.¹⁰
• Handling. Wash your hands after handling chile powder, and keep it away from your eyes.

Substitutes and comparisons

• Chipotle powder substitutes
• Smoky alternatives: smoked paprika (and smoked paprika substitutes)
• The fresh chile, dried without smoke: jalapeño powder
• Other Mexican chile powders: ancho powder, pasilla powder, guajillo powder, chile de árbol powder
• Related: chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper