This Southwest Chipotle Seasoning Recipe adds smoky and spicy flavors to vegetables, salads, Mexican, or chili.
Add brown sugar to make a chipotle dry rub for BBQ and grilled meat like ribs. It is perfect for chicken, fish, steak, and vegetables and adds great Chipotle flavor to any dish.
🌶️Ingredients
Chipotle pepper ground
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper
Other pantry ingredient—ground cumin, paprika, kosher salt, black pepper
Brown sugar only if used as a BBQ rub.
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Chipotle is a smoky, spicy spice from smoke-dried jalapeño peppers that has become popular for Southwest, Mexican, and BBQ dishes.
This spice blend has the flavors everybody wants, and now you can make your own custom chipotle seasoning mix to have on hand for many home uses.
Don't miss my other seasonings and rubs like All Purpose Seasoning, Blackened Seasoning, Black Magic Seasoning, Memphis Dry Rub, and BBQ Dry Rub.
The Best BBQ Dry Rub
The best BBQ Dry Rub recipes will enhance the meats' taste and complement the sauce's flavors. This easy-to-adjust homemade rub recipe has classic BBQ flavors.
✔️Options
- This is a delicious mild heat, but add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to spice it up to your taste.
- I like to use only half the sugar for the chicken when using the rub.
🌶️What is Chipotle?
Chipotle is smoke-dried jalapeño. So it adds some smokiness and heat with a milder flavor.
Jalapeno is not the hottest pepper, so the heat is tolerable for most gringos. While many recipes will call for canned chipotle, I tend to use dried since I frequently can not find the cans or there is more in the can than I need for a "cooking for two" size recipe.
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🌶️What is Chipotle Pepper Grind
Chipotle pepper grind is not the same as chipotle chili powder. While the chipotle pepper grind is just dried chipotle peppers, the chipotle chili powder, like other chili powders, has multiple ingredients.
Various brands will use different similar names. It can be hard to find, but Penzeys (not an affiliate link) is my go-to source for the freshest spices at a reasonable price.
👨🍳When to Use Chilipote Dry Rub
Chilipote BBQ Dry Rub is the seasoning blend with added brown sugar, aiding bark formation for a classic BBQ crust. Use an equal amount of brown sugar to the volume of spices. But I suggest half the sugar for chicken applications.
You can use it on the gas grill when grilling Baby Back Ribs, Smoked Pork Butt, BBQ Brisket, Bone-in Country-Style Pork Ribs, or Grilled Boneless Pork Ribs.
Less commonly use it with Spatchcock Chicken, Oven Pulled Pork, Baby Back Ribs in the crock pot, and various other recipes.
👨🍳When to use Chipotle Seasoning
Use Chipotle Seasoning for chicken, pork, and seafood, most commonly, but also seafood, roasted veggies, and various dishes.
It can be sprinkled on almost any food you want for a spicy Southwest boost, like tacos, burritos, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and steaks. Or add to soups, stews, and chili to make them unique.
Suggested uses for the seasoning are Southwest Chipotle Chicken Salad, Seared and Baked Chicken Breasts, Grilled Chicken Sandwiches, Grilled Pork Medallions, Grilled Tilapia, Grilled Pork Loin Chops, and many more.
🤔Storage Tips
Make a large batch and store it in an airtight container, like an old glass spice bottle with a shaker for convent use. Other airtight containers, like plastic containers, will also work.
- Using a smaller container will have less air, and your spices will stay vibrant longer.
- Cool dark spaces like pantries are good storage areas. Light and heat can affect the spices.
- The spices will store well for 2 months but then slowly lose flavor and, by 6-12 months, should be replaced.
- Sugar loves moisture, so the rub will last 2-4 months before the sugar clumps and the spices deteriorate.
- Refrigerating and freezing are NOT good ideas. Moisture will condense and affect the seasoning and rub.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Chipotle Seasoning Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons chipotle pepper ground
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Optional
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar - if using as a rub
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Mix well
- Store in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Chipotle pepper grind is not the same as chipotle chili powder.
- I add the optional brown sugar when I use this on a grilling recipe. I like a little char on my grilled meat and fantastic bark on low and slow pork butt and brisket.
- The heat is mild but tasty. Increase the heat with the optional cayenne pepper.
Storage Tips
Make a large batch and store it in an airtight container, like an old glass spice bottle with a shaker for convent use. Other airtight containers, like plastic containers, will also work.- Using a smaller container will have less air, and your spices will stay vibrant longer.
- Cool, dark spaces like pantries are good storage areas. Light and heat can affect the spices.
- The spices will store well for 2 months but slowly lose flavor and should be replaced by 6-12 months.
- Sugar loves moisture, so the rub will last 2-4 months before the sugar clumps and the spices deteriorate.
- Refrigerating and freezing are NOT good ideas. Moisture will condense and affect the seasoning and rub.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Originally Published August 16, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Linda says
Hi DrDan, I’m looking for a Chipotle rub with ranch. It is a dry rub/season that I order when I get wings. I just can’t seem to find a recipe. So, if I use this one how much ranch season should I use and should I adjust the other seasons? Or if you could come up with one, but not ranchy flavored. It’s to expensive to get them all the time so I’d like to make at home... any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanx
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Linda,
Welcome to the blog.
I don't know the exact taste you are going for let's guess... I'm fairly good at that.
The Hidden Valley Ranch powder is what I have used before in a taco chili recipe. It had a fairly good punch of cool taste. I looked at the nutrition on that and it is mostly salt.
So my first try would be to just sub it in for the salt maybe 2 teaspoons of the seasoning for the one teaspoon of kosher salt in the recipe. You have to start someplace. That would decrease the sodium a bit.
It might be too much ranch if what you are aiming for is just a touch of ranch. So than decrease the salt to half and try one teaspoon.
Those are my best guesses.
If you try it, please post back.
Dan
Margaret Shawyer says
Is there a substitute that I can use for the salt in the recipe or would it be okay just to leave it out?
DrDan says
It is not much salt but leave it out if you want. There will be some taste loss.
DrDan
Laura R says
This sounds really good and I am definitely trying it soon. I have used the canned chipotles in things like barbecue sauce or wet marinades, but for a dry rub on something like chicken I am sure the powder may be better. I live in Texas and there are mexican food options all over the grocery store, I can't imagine not finding them! But then again, I spent some time in Pennsylvania and greatly miss all the great true Italian options they had there.
Lara says
This sounds like it would be delicious swirled into a little mayo and used on a grilled chicken sandwich. Mmmmm. :-)
DrDan says
Actually it would be good like that. The combination balances out the flavors very nicely.
Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Joan says
Canned chipotle peppers can be found in a Mexican grocery usually. I buy a can and blend the contents which can be kept refrigerated a long time. The taste is a little different from the spice which I noticed is from Penseys and I do have it in my spice cupboard. So if you want the canned chipotles, try shopping where the Mexicans shop.
DrDan says
There are none in my normal shopping areas. And I forget when I'm elsewhere. Just has not been a high priority item for me. I need to make a trip and just stock up on things. For this one I would still use the powder.
Thanks for the comment.
DrDan