Our homemade chili powder is so much better than anything from the store. We use real dried chile peppers and the perfect blend of spices to make the best chili powder we’ve used in our kitchen.
After finding so many of the store-bought options flavorless, we decided to learn how to make chili powder, and I am so happy that we did. The food coming out of our kitchen has never been better.
I use this homemade chili powder for many recipes on Inspired Taste, including our homemade beef chili, vegetarian chili, this easy enchilada sauce, and my favorite fajitas. I also use it as a base for this homemade taco seasoning.
Key Ingredients
Chiles: To make this truly the best homemade chili powder, we’ll start with whole dried chiles. You can buy them at larger supermarkets, Mexican markets, or online (they are inexpensive and last a while in your pantry). Plus, you can use leftover whole chiles to make our homemade enchilada sauce or this Texas red chili! I use three types of peppers in my blend, but you can always experiment with other chile peppers:
- Ancho chile peppers, which are mildly spiced but taste rich, sweet, and fruity.
- Guajillo peppers, which are more smoky and moderately hot.
- New Mexico chile peppers, which smell sweet, clean, and pack a little heat.
Spices: To round the flavor of our homemade blend, we stir in ground cumin, oregano, and garlic powder. Then, to add a bit more smokiness and color, I love adding smoked paprika.
How to Make Homemade Chili Powder
There are three simple steps for preparing the dried chiles for your chili powder.
Cut the stem and remove the seeds. The seeds can be bitter, so get rid of them. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the stem away and then shake or scrape the seeds from the inside of each pepper.
If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves to prevent the oils from getting on your hands. Also, be careful not to touch your eyes while working with peppers (ouch!)
Cut each cleaned pepper into small pieces, then add them to a dry skillet over medium heat and toast until fragrant. This is my favorite part, the kitchen smells incredible!
Finally, grind them. Add the toasted chile peppers to your blender and blend until finely ground. Wait to open the lid, though. Let the dust settle for about a minute after blending. You don’t want a cloud of ground chiles in your face.
Now, it’s time to add spices to make the chili powder sing. We add garlic powder, ground cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Add everything to a spice jar, shake it up, and store it in a dark pantry for up to six months.
You can play around with other spices if you like. Onion powder, a little heat from cayenne pepper, or sweet paprika are great options.
Seriously Good Chili Powder
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
I’m obsessed with this homemade chili powder made by blending whole dried chiles. You can find dried chile peppers in most large supermarkets and any Latin market. We use three varieties: ancho chile peppers (sweet, fruity, and mild), New Mexico chile peppers (fresh, clean, and moderately hot), and Guajillo chile peppers (smoky and medium hot). You can swap or add other peppers based on what is available. We recommend including something sweet and fruity. They add complexity and flavor (in our case, the ancho pepper).
You Will Need
3 dried ancho chiles
3 dried Guajillo chiles
3 dried New Mexico chiles
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Directions
1Use kitchen scissors to cut the stem away and then shake or scrape the seeds inside each pepper. If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves to prevent the oils from getting on your hands. Also, be careful not to touch your eyes during or after working with peppers.
2Cut each cleaned pepper into small pieces, then add them to a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast them, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3Add the toasted chiles to a blender and blend until finely ground. Leave the lid in place until dust settles so you do not get a cloud of ground chile peppers in your face.
4Add ground chile peppers to a spice jar, then top with cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and smoked paprika. Seal the jar and shake.
5Store the chili powder in a cool, dry place for 6 months.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Spicy chili powder: Use hot smoked paprika or add 1/2 teaspoon or more cayenne pepper or chipotle powder
- This recipe was inspired by Alton Brown.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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Have made it twice now. Great recipe! Last night I used a whole yellow onion and a whole bell pepper AND mushrooms. I know some people think they don’t belong in chili but neither do beans! Besides they add a nice way of soaking up fat and flavor. Sautéed them all in the tallow. Stirred in half the seasoning in the non animal mix (onion is a veg, pepper is a fruit, mushroom is a fungus… still plenty of variety in keto!) and used the the other half for the meat. Added two cans of rotel and a jar of plain pizza sauce. Let it simmer for 30 mins. Freaking amazing! Opened my fridge this morning considering having some more!
I’ve done this for like 20 plus years. I got the idea out of Texas cookbook. Some years such as this I just buy high quality individual powders and make my blend. Two additions for you to consider. I always add a small amount of cinnamon and cocoa powder.
Both cinnamon and cocoa powder are great additions. Thanks for the tip!
As a New Mexican I applaud your use of NM Red Chili. They can be quite hot, and are not also known as Anahiem, California, or Colorado Chili.
I had the dried peppers from making tamales. I was looking for a way to use the ones I had left. It was wayyyyyy better than buying chili powder. Thank you so much for posting it! I used chile pasilla, chile new mexico, and chile ancho. Delicious!
I use bothe yous and AB’s versions of this, and it’s excellent. The one difficulty with chili pods is the lack of consistency from one batch to the next, so I’m wondering if you have come up with a weight in grams, or a measure in table or teaspoons, for each chili going into the recipe. Thanks in advance for any help!
Love the chili powder. Ive made this a number of times.
Ive used it in a rub recipe that called for chili powder when smoking short ribs and in a carne asada marinade recipe. Really nice flavor and a key ingredient. I intend to use it to make an enchilada sauce.
I made some chili powder using the ancho chile and other spices, however i didnt toast the chili first. Somehow i misunderstood the instructions about the peppers,but my chili came out good though.
Thanks to you Adam & Joanne. I’m able to get Chile’s you’ve listed and a few other varieties fairly inexpensive locally. I toast whole cumin seeds before grinding also. I haven’t had the opportunity to use what I’ve blended yet but it smells wonderful so I’m positive it will taste so much better then the store bought – by miles. 5 stars for that alone. Thanks for posting and including info on the types of Chile peppers, etc. Very helpful.
I’m thinking this would make great gift jars too.
I made this chili powder and it turned out great. I use this mix in spiced soups, crockpot turkey that turns into great tamales and chili dishes. I have a family of 8 and saves me money plus taste better than store bought. Thanks
Delicious! I added a teaspoon of dill and it enhances the flavor.
I have a question on how much of this do you use for your chilli?
Hi Paul, We usually throw in 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons for a big pot of chili.
Excellent piece. I have done a lot of blending lately and am always interested to read other takes on layering the heat in chile powders and other blends. Thanks.
really nice