Recipes with Chili Powder Seasoning

From marinades and seasonings to flavorful main courses, here you'll find delicious recipes with chili powder!

What is chili powder?

What is referred to as chili powder in the U.S. is actually a blend that contains several different spices and even one herb. It's not purely ground chili peppers, despite what the name would have you believe.

Chili powder does have various ground chili peppers in it (such as ancho or chipotle peppers) but in addition to that it contains cumin, oregano, dehydrated garlic and sometimes salt.

You can either buy chili powder in a spice shop or mix up your own. (I have a great recipe in this chunky chili recipe post.)

If you buy the blend, you usually have the choice between mild, medium and hot. The level of spiciness is determined by the types and amounts of chili peppers that were used to make the blend.

Chili powder vs. cayenne:

Chili powder is a spice blend that contains ground chili peppers in addition to other ingredients while cayenne powder is simply ground cayenne peppers. The two are therefore quite different and not interchangeable.

How to use chili powder:

Chili powder adds great flavor to a lot of meat dishes, like this chili with chuck roast or this pulled chicken. It also works great with vegetables and seafood, like in this shrimp coconut soup. Below are more delicious chili powder recipes for you to try!