17 ancho chile recipes

Smoky chipotle-ancho chili pesto with roasted red bell pepper, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil. A bold, vegan Mexican-inspired sauce for pasta, grilled meats, or sandwiches.

Mancha Manteles, the Mexican 'tablecloth stainer,' simmers turkey and chorizo in a rich mole of ancho, pasilla, and serrano chiles, almonds, and sesame, sweetened with pineapple, apple, and banana. Sweet, smoky, and spicy.

No-bean beef chili built on a puree of pasilla and ancho chiles, simmered low with beer, cumin, and a cinnamon stick. Thick, smoky, and unapologetically Texas-style.

There are many variations of classic Mexican tortilla soup. In this vegetarian version (feel free to substitute chicken for the tofu for a non-veg version) the rich broth is flavored with earthy ancho (New Mexican) chillies and made more filling by adding some kale that retains it's texture well in a hot soup.

This soup came out so tasty and flavorful. The pan-fried tortilla strips added some nice crunch, and I also served the soup with some sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro and scallions. It was an easy, light yet tasty soup.

Original San Antone chili is authentic 19th-century Texas chili con carne: cubed beef and pork seared in suet, simmered in beef stock with ancho chile puree, garlic, and cumin. No beans, no tomato, all meat and chile.

Corn chili: a vegetarian Mexican-style chili built on rehydrated ancho chiles, fresh corn, and beer. Deep smoky heat balanced by sweet corn puree and finished with lime. Meatless chili that tastes serious.

Mole de guajolote is a traditional Mexican turkey in mole sauce made from scratch with ancho, mulato, and pasilla chilies, chocolate, sesame seeds, peanuts, and warm spices.

Smoky ancho and fiery chipotle chilies form a bold spice crust on tender pork loin, slow-roasted in a clay pot with sweet onions until fall-apart tender.

Menudo estilo norteno with honeycomb tripe, calf's foot, hominy, and toasted ancho chiles simmered for hours. An authentic Northern Mexican hangover soup with deep chile heat.

Mexican fish in adobo sauce made with rehydrated ancho chiles, tomatoes, orange juice, cumin, and cinnamon. Pan-seared fillets baked in a smoky, citrus-laced chile sauce.

Pasta Chimayo tosses penne in a smoky ancho chile cream sauce with tequila-flambéed shrimp. A New Mexican-meets-Italian fusion dish that brings serious restaurant flair to weeknight dinner.

Salsa is such a great sauce that can go well with lots of things, it can be served with chips as a dip, or it can be put in the casserole as a sauce. And it is so quick and easy to make, chop a few fresh vegetables, throw them all together, here your freshly homemade salsa.

Mole Castellano: a Spanish-style Mexican mole with four nuts, ancho chiles, and sesame seeds, simmered with turkey. A classic colonial-era mole without chocolate.

Latigo chili is a serious Tex-Mex three-meat chili of brisket, venison, and pork simmered with ancho chiles, beer, tequila, and staged cumin additions. Built for a crowd of 20.

Oakwood Feed Store chili with three meats: cubed beef chuck, ground beef, and chopped pork, plus bacon. A no-bean Texas-style chili loaded with ancho, jalapeno, and cumin that improves overnight.