The Best Homemade Chili Powder
This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission. Learn more in our disclosure.
Homemade chili powder is easy to make, and the freshness can't be beat, but not all blends are created equal. My family taste-tested a lot of blends in our kitchen, and this recipe came out on top. So that's why I'm calling it the BEST Homemade Chili Powder.
It’s rich, aromatic, and easy to make using affordable pantry spices—no specialty chiles needed.
Why This Is the Best Chili Powder
I get it. People say that their recipe is the best all the time. I've done it myself. But in this case, we did a bunch of taste testing of homemade chili powders, and this blend was actually the best out of all of the ones we tested.
I've made chili powder for a long time, but I decided to experiment with a bunch of recipes so I could recommend the best one for my family and for you as well.
Our testing was quite a sight to see. We tested chili powder:
- straight
- on popcorn
- on salad
- on beef
- and on pasta.
There were little bowls of chili powder-tasting dishes all over the kitchen, so it was messy, but totally worth it. Because we now have a winner, and not only does it taste great, but it's inexpensive to make, and you likely have all the ingredients needed in your pantry.
Fun Fact
Chili powder is very similar to other seasoning blends, like taco seasoning and quesadilla seasoning, but these blends have obvious differences.
Chili powder is typically made of chilis, while taco seasoning and quesadilla seasoning often have chili powder as one of their ingredients. They are interchangeable to a point, but each has its special flavor.
Why Make Your Own Seasoning Blends
There are loads of reasons to make your own spice mixes.
- Save Money — It's a lot cheaper to make your own seasoning blends; you're basically paying “the other guy” to do the measuring and blending.
- Adaptable for Taste — You can play around with the ingredients to find a mixture that you like best.
- Adaptable for Special Diets — You can adapt to special diets easily. (Some spice mixes have gluten, dairy, or other ingredients in them that folks with those allergies need to avoid.
- Avoid Toxins — Many spice blends have chemical nasties in them (like silicon dioxide) to make them free-flowing. Personally, I'd rather break up a few lumps in my spices than eat silicon dioxide, thank you very much.
- Enjoyment — It's simply fun to experiment in the kitchen!
How to Use this Homemade Chili Powder
- Chili — Of course, use it in chili. Pretty clever, huh? Use about 1-2 tablespoons for each pound of meat or chicken.
- Sides — Sprinkle it on rice and beans, or even on veggies.
- Salads — Sprinkle on salads with a drizzle of olive oil and salt for a makeshift salad dressing.
- Eggs — Sprinkle on eggs.
- Pepper Substitute — As a substitute for pepper in a recipe. Just add a bit more chili powder than the amount of pepper that's called for.
- Desserts — Yes, it's true. Try some on chocolate ice cream, in brownies, on chocolate bark, etc.
- On Fruit — Sprinkling chili powder on fruit is really a thing. Try it and you'll see!
Recipe Notes
- I recommend toasting cumin seeds first and then adding the ground seeds to this recipe. This makes the recipe extra special!
- You can substitute ancho pepper for the paprika if you'd like. I love ancho peppers, but I made this recipe with paprika to keep the cost down since that's oh so important, especially these days.
Other Homemade Seasoning Blends
Here are some more homemade seasonings that I think you'll like as well.
- The “Best” Cinnamon Sugar – Made Healthier
- Mild Curry Powder
- Vegetable Broth Powder – makes everything taste better, including popcorn!
- Celery Salt
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Quesadilla Seasoning
The “Best” Basic Chili Powder Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (omit or increase to taste)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a bowl.
- Blend thoroughly.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Paprika is a pepper and should be refrigerated for maximum shelf life and potency.
Notes
- Use 1-2 tablespoons of chili powder per pound of meat, or to taste.
- Toasting the cumin seeds first before grinding will make this chili powder extra special!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
The images in this post were updated in 2020. Following is one of the earlier images for your reference.
Do you make your own seasonings? Which ones?
very well put together
Thanks!
Adrienne FYI: Your best cinnamon link above takes you to your taco seasoning recipe not to the best cinnamon sugar recipe:)
Thank you so much for letting me know! It’s fixed! Hard to keep up with everything here. Truly appreciate it!
You’re quite welcome! You do a fabulous job! 🙌😊
Thanks again!!
Sounds like this isn’t your recipe. Did I miss the credit for the original?
Hi there. Why are you saying that?
You said “My family taste-tested a lot of blends in our kitchen, and this recipe came out on top.” and that sounds as if you tried a lot of other peoples recipes. Are you saying all the blends you tried were yours? I’m not being antagonistic.
Thanks for the clarification. This was 13 years ago so I don’t recall every recipe or the exact methodology but this is 100% my recipe. Here’s a post that talks about how to develop your own spice blends.
In fact, because you asked this, I was reminded that I saw my recipe copied elsewhere. There might have been another place, but here’s one. Gee, so nice that someone submitted my recipe to All Recipes and now that is ranking #2 on Google whereas mine isn’t ranking any longer. Phooey. I commented about the situation on the recipe but so far they haven’t published my comment saying that it doesn’t meet their guidelines. What a mess.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/237172/chili-powder/
Yeah, the internet stinks. I saw that post on allrecipes. There is a 1 star review that mentions your site, that’s how I found you. I posted that the allrecipes had to be the plagiarism. Maybe report the post to customersupport@allrecipes.com
Thanks. I’m pretty sure I reported it years ago, but sadly you can’t copyright ingredients: only directions and photos. Still it’s wrong that they did that. It’s even tough to go after people who steal the other stuff unless they have money but you can typically get it taken down. And don’t get me started on AI. It’s getting very very hard to make any reasonable income blogging these days. Thanks for caring.
Yeah, that’s why I gave it up.
You mean gave up AI?
No, gave up blogging
I get it. Things have gotten a lot more complicated in recent years. Thanks so much for your support. It really means a lot!
I have been making my dry mixes for awhile. I love this recipe and I always double it. We use chili powder a lot here in Texas so now I always have it on hand. And I know what it has in it.
Hi Nancy – I’m so glad to hear this! We love it too and really I used to have it on hand all the time as well. Do you mostly use it for chili? P.S. I’ve always wanted to visit Texas and my youngest feels the same!
Most people seem to think that Chili powder is a single spice…instead of a spice blend…
I didn’t have this recipe when I made your Taco Seasoning last night, so I did a store bought one, THEN found this recipe!…..
I am a fair cook, but all of my recipes seem to have the same flavor profile, and I’m desperately trying to get away from that by making my own spice mixes.
(I have several of yours!)
I’m not too fond of the very hot, spicy ones, so making my own is good as I can modify the hot-ness.
Morroccan, Italian, Cajun (why? I don’t like hot!!! LOL), Greek, Chinese 5 Spice,Taco and Fajita, and now Chili Powder for some of those other spice recipes.
Looking forward to trying this out.
Shameful about AllRecipes!!! I am going to leave a comment about it being a copied recipe from you.
Hi Carol! I agree – I probably thought chili powder was a single spice myself at one time! Pretty certain I thought that about curry! I hope you like it! And sadly that’s going on a lot with All Recipes and other bloggers / companies as well–not good. #ihavestories. Thanks for the encouragement and support!