What Is Chipotle chili peppers and How Can I Use It?

Wondering what to do with chipotle chili peppers? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 134 recipes to put it to work.

Key Points

A chipotle is a ripened red jalapeno that has been smoked and dried for deep flavor.
Medium heat, roughly 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville, the same as a fresh jalapeno.
Sold canned in adobo (ready to use) or dried as meco and morita.
Use sparingly: one minced pepper flavors a whole pot, and heat builds as it sits.
Freeze leftover canned peppers in single portions so a half-used can never goes to waste.

What are chipotle chili peppers?

A chipotle is a jalapeno that has been ripened to red, then smoked and dried. That double process turns a bright, grassy pepper into something deep and woody, with a slow medium heat most people can handle.

On the Scoville scale a chipotle lands around 2,500 to 8,000 units, the same range as the jalapeno it came from. The smoke is what makes it different, not the burn.

You will find chipotles two main ways. Canned in adobo, a tangy tomato and vinegar sauce, they are soft and ready to use. Sold dry, often labeled meco or morita, they need a soak in hot water first.

Cooking With Chipotle

Reach for canned chipotles when you want smoke and heat without lighting the grill. One pepper, minced fine, carries a whole pot. Mash it with a fork and the adobo clinging to it does half the work.

That smoky depth is why chipotle turns up far beyond Mexican food. A Chipotle Grilled Cheese leans on a single mashed pepper to wake up the cheese, and Corn & Tomato Smoky Penne Pasta uses it to give a quick weeknight sauce the taste of something braised for hours.

Blend chipotles into a Chile Garlic Wet Marinade Paste for chicken or pork, or whisk a spoonful into mayo or a vinaigrette. A little goes a long way. Start with half a pepper in a dish for four, then taste.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Chipotle loves anything sweet or rich enough to push back against the smoke. Think corn, black beans, roasted squash, tomatoes, mango, lime, and dark honey. The Roasted Corn, Black Bean & Mango Salad is a textbook match: smoky chile against sweet fruit and charred corn.

The usual mistake is dumping in the whole can. The adobo sauce is potent on its own, and the heat builds as a dish sits. Add cautiously, simmer, then judge.

The other slip is wasting the leftovers. A recipe rarely needs a full can.

Substitutes

No chipotles on hand? Chipotle powder is the closest swap, about 1 teaspoon for one canned pepper, though you lose the adobo tang. Add a splash of vinegar to make up for it.

Smoked paprika plus a pinch of cayenne pepper gives you the smoke and a little burn without the fruitiness. For straight heat with no smoke, a fresh jalapeno pepper works, but the character changes. Ancho or guajillo chiles bring dried-chile depth if smoke is not the point.

Buying and Storing

Canned chipotles in adobo keep for years in the pantry. Once opened, that is where most people lose them.

Transfer leftovers to a container and they hold about two weeks in the fridge. Better yet, do what the Freezing Leftover Chipotle Peppers method shows.

Spoon single peppers with a little sauce onto a lined tray, freeze them solid, then bag them. You get one pepper at a time, ready whenever a recipe calls for it.

Dried chipotles want a cool, dark cupboard in a sealed jar, where they stay pliable for a year or more. If they snap like a twig they are past their best, though a hot soak can still coax some flavor out.

Dried chipotle peppers

Quick facts

Where to find chipotle chili peppers: Chipotle chili peppers are usually found in the mexican section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese: 的Chipotle辣椒
British (UK) term: Chipotle chili peppers
en français: piments chipotle
en español: chiles chipotles

Recipes using chipotle chili peppers

There are 134 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Applesauce Chipotle Cornbread

Chipotle cornbread bakes in a hot cast iron skillet with puréed chipotles, applesauce, and buttermilk for smoky heat and a crisp crust. Low-fat Southwestern twist on classic cornbread.

Chipotle Mayonnaise

Creamy, smoky chipotle mayonnaise made with just 4 ingredients: mayo, sour cream, canned chipotles in adobo, and oregano. The ultimate spicy condiment for burgers, tacos, fries, and more.

Chipotle Shrimp

Plump shrimp tossed with smoky chipotle butter and piled onto warm corn tortillas. Mexican-style shrimp tacos with creamy avocado and ranchero sauce in 40 minutes.

A Very Tasty Chili

Smoky beef chili with toasted dried chiles, habanero heat, and kidney beans. Toast, blend, and simmer for deep chile flavor that'll ruin you for canned chili powder forever.

Smoky Black Bean, Corn & Cheddar Quesadillas

Smoky chipotle pepper in adobo sauce adds delicious smokiness and slightly heat to the cheesy and tasty quesadillas. Easy to make, and these warm quesadillas are great for a quick lunch or supper.

Marinated Mushroom, Black Bean Couscous Salad with Cheddar

This tasty couscous salad has layers of delicious flavors and great textures. Chipotle chili in adobo sauce adds some smokiness, a touch cumin gives extra tang. Serve it as a side dish or a light and refreshing main course.

Sauteed Mushrooms, Onion, & Chipotle Chile with Corn Tortillas

Smoky chipotle mushroom tacos: sauteed mushrooms and onion cooked down with chipotle in adobo and garlic, piled into warm corn tortillas with queso fresco and salsa. A quick, vegetarian taco night winner.

Chipotle Potato Salad

Chipotle potato salad swaps mayo for tangy yogurt and roasts the potatoes until golden, then folds in smoky chipotle, lime, cilantro, and Dijon. A lighter, bolder no-mayo potato salad for any cookout.

Barbecued Flank Steak Sandwiches

Barbecued flank steak sandwiches pile thin-sliced steak tossed in a quick smoky-sweet chipotle BBQ sauce onto hoagie rolls with grilled red onion. Bold, saucy, and built for a fast cookout lunch.

Southwestern Burgers

Southwestern burgers, ground sirloin patties seasoned with cumin and smoky chipotle, grilled with Monterey Jack and stacked with avocado, bacon, tomato, and pickled jalapenos on a toasted Kaiser roll.

Chicken Tomatillo Sauce with Mole Chile

Wok-seared chicken in a smoky tomatillo-mole sauce with roasted garlic, chipotle, and coffee. Served over egg noodles with jalapeño Jack cheese and a fresh platter of jicama, cucumber, and radishes.

Refried Black Beans

The flavor was great. Made a few dishes with these refried black beans, burrito and two different multiple-layer dips. Homemade is always the way to go. If you have never tried refried black beans, certainly should add this one to "to-do" list.

Chipotle Coleslaw

Super quick, easy to make, and it's creamy and delicious with some nice crunch and freshness.

Black Bean-Chipotle Chili with Seitan

Vegan black bean chili with smoky chipotle and chewy seitan stand-in for meat. A 45-minute one-pot chili that delivers serious depth and heat without animal protein.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Yogurt Dip

Instead of potato fries, try these oven baked sweet potato fries. They are sweet and creamy in the inside, golden and crispy on the outside. Dip them into this creamy and tangy chipotle yogurt dip, delicious.

Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa

Smoky chipotle tomatillo salsa with charred tomatillos, pureed chipotles in adobo, red onion and cilantro. Tart, smoky and vegan, with a deep building heat that's a world above any jar.

Bon Appetit Vegetarian Chili with Chipotle Chilies

Bon Appetit Vegetarian Chili with Chipotle Chilies recipe

Quinoa, Edamame & Roasted Corn Salad with Apples & Maple Walnuts

This delicious and nutritious quinoa salad can be served as a side dish, or it can be a tasty yet wholesome meal all by itself.

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

Creamy avocado white bean wrap mashes white beans and avocado into a protein-rich spread, then layers in a smoky chipotle slaw of red cabbage and carrot. A no-cook, high-fiber vegetarian lunch.

Feta & Mint Bulgur Salad

A Mediterranean bulgur salad with crumbled feta, fresh mint, roasted red pepper, and black olives tossed in red wine vinaigrette. Bright, herbaceous, and ready in 30 minutes.

Quinoa, Toasted Corn & Cherry Tomato Salad with Toasted Walnuts & Feta

Sweet cherry tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, smoky toasted corn, toasted walnuts, black olives and feta cheese are tossed together with extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, parsley and mint, a tasty and flavorful salad that can be served as a side dish or a nutritious and delicious main dish!

Freezing Leftover Chipotle Peppers

Chipotle peppers are getting more popular and many recipes call for only one or two chipotle peppers. Here's a step by step tip on how to not waste the whole can for one pepper.

Corn & Tomato Smoky Penne Pasta

Sweet corn and juicy cherry tomatoes are combined with a quick, easy and smoky cheese garlic sauce. You can have it as a side dish or a simply delicious main course. Next day the leftover tastes even better.

Avocado Multi-Layer Party Dip

A refreshing twist on a multi-layer tortilla dip great for serving a crowd.

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Have to give this recipe 5 star. It was quite easy to make, and it came out delicious.

Chipotle Grilled Cheese

Kick it up a notch! Smokey chipotle, cheese, tomato, onion and cilantro. A Mexican inspired twist to a boring grilled cheese.

Roasted Corn, Black Bean & Mango Salad

Last Wednesday we took this colourful and delicious salad to a pot-luck, everyone loved it and a few of them even asked for the recipe. It was such a refreshing salad that's also packed with goodness.

Chile Garlic Wet Marinade Paste

Chile garlic wet marinade paste, a blended rub of jalapeno, chipotle in adobo, garlic, scallion, and olive oil. Smoky, spicy, and garlicky, it tenderizes and flavors beef like flank steak before grilling.

Rubio's Fish Tacos

Say goodbye to bland tacos with this Rubio’s-inspired fish taco recipe. Crispy beer-battered cod, fresh corn tortillas, and zesty salsa create succulent bites that’ll leave you craving more! Great recreation of the incredible Rubio's Fish Taco. Most people get this wrong, but not this one. The CORN tortilla is vital to the flavor. Get them as fresh and thick as possible.

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