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Spices & seasonings · Dried chillies

Chipotle chile (dried)

Smoke-dried ripe jalapeño: leathery, wrinkled and hot, with a strong wood-smoke flavour.

Also called: chipotle, dried chipotle, chipotle morita, morita chile, chipotle meco, chipotle powder, ground chipotle

A kind of dried whole chillies

Read the full spice guide: flavour, history and how to use it

What it is

Chipotle is a ripe red jalapeño that has been dried slowly over wood smoke. Two main types are sold: morita (smaller, dark red-purple, softer and fruitier) and meco (larger, tan-grey, tougher and smokier). It is also sold ground, and canned in a tangy tomato sauce as chipotles in adobo, which is a separate product.

Capsicum annuum (jalapeño type)

How it’s used

  • Salsas and chipotle cream sauces
  • Tinga de pollo
  • Bean and lentil pots
  • Barbecue sauces and rubs
  • Marinades for pork and beef

Characteristics

Taste
Smoky, sweet-hot and earthy.
Sold as
whole, dried, powder
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Mainly a seasoning
Common in
Mexican, Tex-Mex

Storage

Cool, dry and dark. Airtight jar in a cool, dark place for up to a year; ground chipotle loses its smoke within months.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Wash hands with soap after handling, and don't touch your eyes.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
281 kcal
Protein
11.86 g
Carbohydrate
51.42 g
Fat
8.2 g
Fibre
21.6 g
Sugars
— g

USDA FoodData Central: Peppers, ancho, dried (a close stand-in).

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Chipotles in adobo — One canned chipotle per dried pod; skip the soaking step.
  • Smoked paprika — 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika per chipotle, plus a pinch of cayenne.

Related ingredients

Recipes with chipotle chile (dried)

No recipe in the catalogue uses it yet.

More dried chillies