Pasilla Powder Substitute: Best Swaps

Out of pasilla powder? Reach for mulato or ancho, the other two chiles in mole poblano’s “holy trinity.” Pasilla is the dried form of the chilaca, a chile so dark it’s also called chile negro, and the Chile Pepper Institute says its name comes from a resemblance to raisins in texture and smell.¹ It’s a sauce chile, a staple for moles, table sauces and salsas. Most recipes use it for that dark color and deep, dried-fruit body, not heat, so a mild, dark chile is what you’re after.

Quick answer

What pasilla is doing	Best substitute	Starting amount, per 1 part pasilla	Treatment
Dark body and dried-fruit depth (mole, dark sauces)	Ancho powder	1 part by weight, plus a little extra for heat	Attributed (PepperScale)
Dark body with a cocoa note (mole)	Mulato powder	A little less than 1 part by weight	Attributed (PepperScale)
Mild red chile flavor in salsas, marinades and table sauces	Guajillo powder	1/2 part, then taste	Attributed (PepperScale)
Mild chile that is easy to find	California chile powder	1 part by weight	Attributed (PepperScale)
Chile base in chili or taco meat	Chili powder	1 part, and cut the recipe’s salt and cumin	Method
The smoke of pasilla de Oaxaca	Chipotle powder	1/4 part, then taste	Method

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.

PepperScale is the one source we found that publishes ratios for replacing pasilla, and it gives them by weight for the dried chiles.² Its comparison table also lists heat multiples worked out from the midpoints of its own ranges. Those are its arithmetic, not measurements, so we’ve left them out. Mashed gives the reverse swap, pasilla powder in place of ancho, one to one.³

How hot are pasilla and its substitutes?

The figures below describe different things, so they sit side by side, uncombined.

Chile	Heat	Scope	Source
Pasilla	“Mild heat level” (no number)	Pepper type	NMSU Chile Pepper Institute¹
Pasilla	1,000–1,500 SHU	Pepper type on a scale its author calls necessarily approximate	Dave DeWitt, 2008⁴
Pasilla	1,000–2,500 SHU	Pepper type, general rating; no method stated	PepperScale⁵
Pasilla	A listed varietal of chilli pepper; the chilli category starts at 900 SHU	A category boundary in the international standard, not a measurement	Codex CXS 353-2022⁶
Ancho	1,000–2,000 SHU	Pepper type	NMSU Chile Pepper Institute⁷
Ancho	1,000–1,500 SHU	Same approximate scale as pasilla	Dave DeWitt, 2008;⁴ PepperScale gives the same range²
Mulato	2,500–3,000 SHU	General rating; no method stated	PepperScale²
California chile	500–2,500 SHU	General rating; no method stated	PepperScale²
Guajillo (also called mirasol)⁸	2,500–5,000 SHU	General ratings, no method stated	DeWitt, 2008;⁴ Lisa Sorg, INDY Week, 2015;⁹ PepperScale²
Chipotle	Usually 5,000–10,000 SHU	Chipotle in general	Mick Vann, The Austin Chronicle, 2012¹⁰

How to read this: ancho and California chile are the substitutes whose figures overlap pasilla’s. CPI’s ancho range runs a little higher than DeWitt’s, but DeWitt puts ancho and pasilla in the same band,⁴ and PepperScale rates pasilla’s range higher than ancho’s.²⁵ So no source here shows ancho to be hotter than pasilla. The two pasilla ranges, DeWitt’s and PepperScale’s, share a floor and differ at the top, so we show both. Mulato’s single figure sits at the top of PepperScale’s pasilla range, and guajillo and chipotle are hotter by every figure we found.

If pasilla is the dark body of a mole or sauce

Gernot Katzer names ancho, mulato and pasilla as the “holy trinity” of chiles that flavor mole poblano,¹¹ and El Universal lists ancho, mulato and pasilla among the chiles in mole poblano.¹² If one of the three is missing, the other two are the natural replacements.

1. Mulato powder

Katzer notes that a dried poblano may be sold as an ancho or as a mulato.¹¹ So mulato isn’t pasilla’s relative but ancho’s, and it’s the spot in the mole trinity that makes it a good stand-in. PepperScale rates mulato a little hotter than ancho, at 2,500 to 3,000 SHU, and describes it as earthy and a bit smokier, with a hint of chocolate that makes it the closest match to pasilla’s cocoa note.² Whole dried mulatos are easier to find than the powder. Pull the stems and seeds and grind them yourself.

Ratio (Attributed): PepperScale says to use a little less than the pasilla’s weight, then taste as you go.²

2. Ancho powder

An ancho is a dried poblano, and CPI describes it as mild, with sweet, smoky flavors and hints of dried fruit.⁷ CPI calls ancho a key ingredient in Mexican mole.⁷ It’s the easiest of the three to find. PepperScale calls it the best bet among dried chiles for pasilla: both are earthy, the ancho a little smokier and the pasilla fruitier.² Expect a sweeter, slightly redder sauce than pasilla gives.

Ratio (Attributed): PepperScale says one for one by weight, plus a little extra if you want to match pasilla’s heat.² Mashed gives one to one for the reverse swap,³ and DeWitt’s scale puts the two chiles in the same heat band,⁴ so the figures all point the same way.

Check that the jar is pure ground ancho. Saveur notes that the chile in American chili powder is usually ancho,¹³ but chili powder is a blend (more below).

If pasilla is mild chile flavor in a salsa or marinade

Guajillo powder

Guajillo, also called mirasol, is the main ingredient for marinades, a 2019 study says.¹⁴ It’s brighter, redder and tangier than pasilla, with less of that raisin-like depth. PepperScale agrees that it’s tangier and a little less sweet, with hints of tea and cranberry, and warns that it won’t give a mole the same dark, deep base.² Its heat figures are higher (see the table).

Ratio (Attributed): PepperScale says to start with about half the pasilla amount and taste before adding more.²

California chile powder

PepperScale suggests California chiles as easy to find and close in heat, at 500 to 2,500 SHU. They’re sweet like dried fruit and gently earthy, though without pasilla’s cocoa notes.²

Ratio (Attributed): PepperScale says one for one by weight.²

Cayenne or crushed red pepper, only for heat

PepperScale lists both as a last resort. They match on heat only, not flavor, and shouldn’t go in one for one.²

Ratio (Attributed): PepperScale says a few pinches to start, then taste.²

If pasilla is the chile base in chili or taco meat

Chili powder

The USDA’s purchasing spec says chili powder should include ground chili pepper, cumin, oregano, salt and garlic powder.¹⁵ It’ll put a mild chile back into the dish, along with seasonings the recipe may already have.

Ratio (Method): Start one for one, then cut back the recipe’s own salt, cumin and oregano and taste before adding more.

If the recipe means pasilla de Oaxaca

Katzer describes the Mexican pasilla de Oaxaca as a chile that’s dried and smoked,¹¹ unlike ordinary pasilla. If a recipe names it, the smoke matters.

Chipotle powder

Chipotle is a smoke-dried jalapeño.¹¹ It’s far hotter than ordinary pasilla by every figure we found.

Ratio (Method): Start with a quarter of the amount in chipotle powder, make up the rest with ancho or mulato powder for body, and taste.

What isn’t known

We found no lab measurement of retail pasilla powder’s heat. The only mulato figure is PepperScale’s general rating.
You’ll sometimes read that ancho is a little hotter than pasilla. The figures we found don’t show that. DeWitt puts them in the same band,⁴ and PepperScale rates pasilla the hotter of the two.²⁵
Fresh poblanos are widely said to be sold as “pasillas” in some US stores. No source we opened documents that for a particular market, though Katzer notes in general that the same chile may be sold under different names.¹¹ PepperScale says dried pasillas and anchos often get mislabeled as each other in grocery stores.⁵ If your “pasilla” is fresh and green, it’s not the chile we’re talking about here.
Ancho and mulato are often said to differ by how ripe the poblano is at harvest. We found no source that says so.

Pasilla recipe card, Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University. cpi.nmsu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩²
Matt Bray, What’s A Good Pasilla Pepper Substitute?, PepperScale, 2026. pepperscale.com · Publication · PepperScale is also owned by Matt Bray, the editor of this site. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷
Lisa Curran Matte, 10 Best Substitutes For Ancho Chile Powder, Mashed, 2021. mashed.com · Publication ↩ ↩²
Dave DeWitt, Heat Scale Updated, Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central, 2008. fieryfoodscentral.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Matt Bray, Pasilla Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Pairings, And More, PepperScale, 2024. pepperscale.com · Publication · PepperScale is also owned by Matt Bray, the editor of this site. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Standard for Dried or Dehydrated Chilli Pepper and Paprika, CXS 353-2022, Codex Alimentarius. fao.org · Standard ↩
Ancho recipe card, Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University. cpi.nmsu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³
Santiago-López, Ramírez-Meraz and Méndez-Aguilar, HMG14E, híbrido de chile guajillo, Revista Fitotecnia Mexicana, 2020. revistafitotecniamexicana.org · Peer-reviewed ↩
Lisa Sorg, DISH: Tips on which peppers suit which dish, INDY Week, 2015. indyweek.com · Publication ↩
Mick Vann, Chipotle Chiles, The Austin Chronicle, 2012. austinchronicle.com · Publication ↩
Gernot Katzer, Paprika and Mexican chiles (Capsicum annuum), Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Nuestro mero mole…¡el mole poblano!, El Universal, 2017. eluniversal.com.mx · Publication ↩
Chili Powder, Saveur, 2009. saveur.com · Publication ↩
Martínez-Damián et al., Intensity of color and bioactive compounds in collections of guajillo chili from Northern Mexico, Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Agrícolas, 2019. cienciasagricolas.inifap.gob.mx · Peer-reviewed ↩
Commercial Item Description A-A-20001C, Spices and Spice Blends, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, 2023. ams.usda.gov · Regulator ↩

Pasilla Powder Substitutes, Ranked by the Job Pasilla Is Doing