This simple, basic chili powder blend consists of garlic powder, cumin, oregano, salt along with smoked paprika and cayenne pepper for heat. If you’re in a hurry, this is a great mix to add flavor and kick to your favorite Mexican dishes, beans, soups, and chili. Spice up those casseroles, curries, dips, and rice dishes, too. I love adding a teaspoon or so to my hummus in place of cumin. Wow! Let’s talk about seasoning!
The Basics of Chili Powder
Chili Powder Origins
Chili powder sold in America is an American spice. We (Americans) associate it with Mexico because it contains a mix of traditional spices commonly found in Mexican cuisine. However, it was “invented” to make Mexican dishes easier to cook for an American thus giving us what we call Tex-Mex food. Originally, it was used to season chili con carne (a meat and bean chili), but over the decades, it has branched out to season everything from grilled meats, beans, veggies, dips, roasted seeds, to popcorn and even chocolate!
Chili Powder from Chili Pepper
Chili powder can be found in many savory dishes outside of Mexican cuisine thanks to Christopher Columbus! That’s right, so we think?! Mr. Columbus is thought to have introduced the chili pepper to Europe after acquiring it from Mexico during exploration. Although, it’s believed that Asian countries, through independent exploration, introduced it to Asia long before Columbus imported it to Europe. Who’s to say? All we know is that somewhere in South America (likely Bolivia around 7500 BC) is the birthplace of the chili pepper with Mexico receiving credit for first cultivating it over 6000 years ago. And that gave us the chili powder we use to season our food today!
What’s in Chili Powder?
Chili powder is actually a loaded, misleading spice. Most chili powder store brands today are chili powder blends that contain dried, ground chili peppers along with other spices and herbs like garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, and sometimes coriander, allspice, and cloves for more complex flavors.
A simple chili powder only has dried ground chili peppers, more specifically ancho chili peppers native to Mexico and Mexican cuisine. Depending on where you are in the world and the type of chili powder you buy, there are different types of chili peppers that make up chili powder. Check out some of these hot chili peppers grown and used in cuisines around the world.
- Northeast India: ghost pepper
- Mexico: jalapeño, ancho, poblano peppers
- French Guiana: cayenne pepper
- Peru: lemon drop chili pepper
- Turkey: isot pepper (red pepper)
- Korea: Cheongyang pepper (Korean green pepper)
- Central to Southern Africa: fatalii yellow pepper
- Cuba: habañero pepper
- Jamaica: scotch bonnet pepper
- Thailand: Thai chili (bird’s eye chili pepper)
- Kenya & Mozambique (other tropical African climates): piri piri or peri peri (African bird’s eye red chili pepper)
- China: tien tsin (Chinese red pepper)
- Hungary: paprika (Hungarian red chili pepper)
Why Not Make Your Own Chili Powder Using YOUR Favorite Chili Pepper?
Technically, you can make your own pure chili powder using your favorite chili pepper and nothing else!! You would need to dry out the pepper completely (minus the seeds) and pulverize it to powder form. That’s it! Then, use it as any hot pepper spice in your favorite dishes.
My Chili Powder Recipe
The chili powder recipe I’m sharing with you mimics what you would find in Tex-Mex cuisine. I don’t tolerate a lot of spice, so I created a basic recipe with additional herbs and flavors that can easily be added to enhance dishes like soups, chili, stews, and dips. Instead of drying out and pulverizing peppers, I went for the quick and easy paprika and cayenne powders… no work needed! I like the color of paprika as it resembles the traditional red color chili powder. Paprika is a ground red chili pepper that tends to be milder in flavor thus lending itself well to spice blends where heat is not the primary goal. In my recipe, I opted for smoked paprika for an added smokey flavor and beautiful dark red color. The best part of making your own spice is that you can adjust quantities to fit your preferred flavor profiles.
Chili Powder Blend Ingredients
For this simple and easy spice blend, you need paprika (smoked or regular), garlic powder, ground cayenne pepper, dried oregano, ground cumin, and salt.
Combine the Ingredients
In a small bowl, add all the ingredients. You’ll need 1 tablespoon (8 grams) of smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons (8 grams) of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon (3 grams) of ground cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon (1.5 grams) of oregano, 1 teaspoon (2.5 grams) of ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon (6 grams) of salt. Rub oregano between your fingers to crush prior to adding it to the bowl. Give the mix a good stir until well combined. Be sure to use the back of a spoon to break up any powder lumps that might be present. Taste the mixture and increase slightly any preferred spice or herb. This recipe makes ¼ cup which is enough fill a small spice jar.
Final Product!
Can you pick out any of the individual seasonings? The oregano flakes are pretty clearly defined along with large flakes of salt. The garlic powder lightens the red color of the paprika, cayenne, and cumin.
Storing Chili Powder Seasoning
Store the Chili Powder mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to year. Keep in mind that the seasoning mix should keep as long as the expiration dates on the individual seasoning bottles. Thus, the newer and fresher the individual seasonings, the longer the mix will keep.
TIP: Stir the mixture well before adding it to a dish, particularly after the mixture has settled.
Usage Suggestions
Use homemade chili powder to flavor your favorite meat and vegetable Mexican dishes like tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, chili con carne, beans, and chili. Add it to curry based dishes, soups, stews, and casseroles for a spicy kick. Rub it on meat and vegetables before grilling or roasting. Personally, I like it in bean dips like a Mexican black bean or traditional hummus in place of cumin.
Final Thoughts
The individual components of this seasoning blend are commonly found in most pantries (at least in North America and if you cook). There is a nice mix of flavors without a lot of heat, but you could certainly add more if that’s your preference. This spice blend is a good seasoning blend that add lots of flavor to your favorite Mexican (Tex-Mex) dishes. The smoked paprika is a defined flavor, so if you’re not a fan, you could always sub with regular paprika. Either way, you’ll get a flavorful seasoning.
Check out my short YouTube video on the visuals of making this seasoning blend. “Simple Mexican Chili Powder Spice Blend: The Easiest Basic Mix of Simple Pantry Ingredients”
Simple Homemade Chili Powder Blend
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp (8 g) ground paprika (powder), smoked or regular
- 2 tsp (8 g) garlic powder
- 1 tsp (3 g) ground cayenne pepper (powder)
- 1 tsp (1.5 g) dried oregano
- 1 tsp (2.5 g) ground cumin
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add all the ingredients. Rub oregano between your fingers to crush prior to adding it to the bowl. Give the mix a good stir until well combined. Use the back of a spoon to break up any lumps. Taste the mixture and increase slightly any preferred spice or herb.TIP: Stir the mixture well before adding it a dish particularly after the mixture has settled.
Video
Notes
Check out some of these other recipes that use seasonings.
Everything Bagel Seasoning (Trader Joe’s Copycat)
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