Homemade Chili Powder Recipe (Easy + No Special Ingredients)
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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.
Not all homemade chili powder recipes require dried chiles and extra steps. This version is made with simple pantry spices you likely already have—and it tastes fresher and more customizable than store-bought blends.
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 – we tested a bunch and we were surprised about the one that won!
- Mild Curry Powder – just enough heat, but you can turn it up or down as you like.
- Vegetable Broth Powder – makes everything taste better, including popcorn!
- Celery Salt
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Quesadilla Seasoning – great for so many more things than just quesadillas
Homemade Chili Powder Recipe (Easy Pantry Spice Blend)
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 an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
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?
This was a very good recipe.
Thanks, Cathy! So glad you liked it!! ♥️
Added it to 1 pound of meat chili. No flavor at all. I used 1 tablespoon of chili powder. Guess I need more but those other spices didn’t do anything. Weird
Hi Valerie! I’m so sorry you didn’t have a good experience. Can you tell me what those “other spices” means? Typically 1 T is sufficient, but some people like more flavor so they would use 2 T. Let me know what you meant and hopefully we can troubleshoot!
The other spices in the recipe. I halfed the recipe and used one tablespoon of chili powder to your recipe.
Hmmm…so you are saying that you made a 1/2 recipe of whatever you were making and it already had other spices in it? Can you tell me what recipe you used please? Is there a link to it or can you copy and paste it here?
All I did was follow your recipe above. Adding 1 tablespoon of chili powder to it. But instead the amounts you gave. I did half. I added it to 1 pound of hamburger, 1 can chopped tomatoes and I can of kidney beans.
I’m so sorry but not following you – my recipe being the one for the chili powder? And you added 1 T of powder to that? Sorry I’m really confused.
Why have I bought chili packets all these years? Thank you!
You are so welcome!! We love it too! No more packets LOL!
Love it! I never buy taco seasoning anymore!!
So glad to hear! Did you mean chili or taco–or both? Here’s our yummy taco seasoning :). https://wholenewmom.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/
Quick question, are you aware that this website doesn’t open correctly on Edge?
Hi there. I had someone check it and it appears that it does work on Edge. Thanks for the comment—unless this is just spam, of course!
This is a great basic recipe and I know it’s very good because I have been using this recipe for many years (at least back as far as 2015) I found it submitted by someone else on Allrecipes. I liked it because there was no salt. I basically have it memorized. Then I found it with your story on Pinterest.
Awww thanks for coming by to comment about that. Yes, someone stole my recipe and put it there. Terrible. If you are so inclined, coming back and leaving a star rating helps me and helps others see that you liked it. Thanks much again for taking the time!
Thank you for this recipe. I’m growing an assortment of habanero, scotch Bonnet and super hot pepper varieties and am looking for chilly powder recipes that I can make with them. I think yours will be a good one because the base does not start with heat. I will just just use the powder that I get from my peppers in place of the cayenne but of course will use less of it on account of these peppers being so much hotter. Thanks.
You’re welcome! Hope it works well w/ your peppers!
What amount of cumin seeds should I toast for this recipe?
One tsp will yield about 1 1/4 tsp ground. Hope that helps! You could always toast extra and have it on hand, however.
How do you toast cumin?
A shallow pan works great.
Can you give me instructions on how to toast cumin seeds?
I would toast over medium heat, stirring or swirling constantly until they seem a bit darker and are really aromatic.
I am really happy with the taste of this combo. I retired in Colombia and no stores carry it to my knowledge as well as many other spices that I was accustomed to using stateside for years and years and even more years. In this recipe, I did use whole cumin seeds that I heated up in a skillet until fragrant and whizzed all the ingredients together in a nut/grinder. yum yum. Gives it a little je ne said quoi.
Thanks so much for posting this, turned out great and oh-so-easy!!
I’m sooo glad to hear this! You made my day. We love it too! I love your idea of toasting the cumin–yum!! Adding that to the post!
why do all these chili powder recipes not have chili pepper as the main ingredient?
Hi there – by “all these” which do you mean? There is just one here. I did this on purpose to have it be made from things that people could easily get b/c I found chilis to be a little harder to come by.
Paprika is pepper, but I have found recipes that begin with other mild dried peppers too.
Hi there — yes, it’s a pepper but it’s much more common in people’s pantry than the speciality chili peppers are. Hope you like it!