Chipotle Salsa Spice Levels Explained: From Mild to Fiery
Chipotle plays a crucial role in both Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, infusing notable spiciness and exceptional flavor into any dish it enhances.
If you’re planning to make salsa with chipotle but have no idea about the other peppers you can use? You’re in the right place.
Let’s talk about the spice levels for Chipotle salsa. We’ll cover the options you can choose from and the common spicy ingredients used in making it.
Everything About Chipotle Salsa Spice Levels
There are 4 different types of chipotle salsa you can choose from, and each varies in terms of its spice levels, ranging from mild to hot.
Let’s talk about the spice levels for Chipotle salsa. We’ll cover the options you can choose from and the common spicy ingredients used in making it.
The ripening point and smoke-drying process are the two main reasons for a chipotle salsa’s sweet and spicy flavors. They also give it a unique smoky and earthy taste.
4 Chipotle Spice Levels Options
1. Fresh Tomato Salsa (Mild)
Fresh tomato salsa, or fresh salsa, is the easiest on your taste buds. It can be paired with tacos, nachos, tortillas, and more.
“If you don’t know my name and you don’t know what movie I’m from, don’t come ask for a picture while I’m trying to eat chipotle.”
Ansel Elgort, Actor
This salsa just delivers a mild level of heat or just the right kick. Everyone can give it a try without having a burning sensation in the mouth.
Its main ingredients usually are white sweet corn, poblano pepper, jalapeño pepper, cilantro, red onion, and lime or lemon juice.
2. Roasted Chili Corn Salsa (Medium)
Roasted chili corn salsa is slightly sweet and zesty. It is usually served with nachos, burritos, tortillas, salads, and sometimes as a side.
Even though this salsa packs a medium kick of heat, it gets complemented by the perfect balance of sweetness, tanginess, and saltiness.
Its main ingredients typically include white sweet corn, poblano pepper, jalapeño pepper, cilantro, red onion, and lime or lemon juice.
3. Tomatillo Green-Chili Salsa (Medium)
Tomato green-chili salsa has a watery yet pasty texture. It can be served with several delicious Mexican dishes, such as quesadillas, fajitas, tacos, and more.
This salsa has a medium punch of heat to the taste buds and is a great alternative to the usual hot red salsas.
Its main ingredients are usually tomatillos, New Mexican chilies, Tabasco pepper, garlic, cumin, and lime juice.
4. Tomatillo Red Chili Salsa (Hot)
Tomatillo red chili salsa is a thin, watery salsa. It’s a delight, especially when paired with nachos, tacos, burritos, tortillas, and more.
This salsa is the spiciest among the other types of salsa. Therefore we do not suggest it for people with weaker spice tolerance.
Its main ingredients typically include tomatillos, New Mexican chilies, tabasco pepper, garlic, cumin, and lime juice.
Green vs Red Salsa
Green salsa is made from unripe or less mature chiles and is usually served mildly chilled or as a warm sauce. Since the green peppers were picked sooner, it delivers a distinct bitter taste.
On the other hand, red salsa is made from ripe chiles and is usually served mildly chilled. It delivers a sweeter taste and a hotter kick since the red peppers were grown fully mature before they were picked.
What Makes Chipotle Salsa Spicy
Poblano Peppers
Poblano, or chile ancho (when dried), originated in Puebla, Mexico, and was named after the state. It is large and somewhat heart-shaped and has a dark green color.
It gives a mild to medium kick, registering between 1,000 to 2,000 SHU on the Scoville Scale. It is usually served as roasted, dried, fried, stuffed, or in salsa ingredients.
You can find this pepper in supermarkets and farmers’ markets, especially in the Southwest U.S.
Jalapeño Peppers
Jalapeño is a popular pepper typically used in many Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants. It is the main pepper ingredient in making a chipotle.
While it has a mild to medium heat level like the Poblano, Jalapeño is much hotter. It ranges from 2,500 to 8,000 SHU on the Scoville Scale.
Jalapeño is widely grown in California, New Mexico, Texas, and farms in the Southwest [1]. It is readily available in most grocery stores all across the states.
| Check out: What Is The Least Spicy Meat At Chipotle? |
Red Onion
Red onion is commonly cooked in a variety of dishes. It can also be eaten raw, like in sandwiches, burgers, salads, and more.
This round or oval, reddish-purple vegetable has no Scoville Heat Units. It leaves a sweet and spicy aftertaste that lingers.
You won’t have a difficult time finding it since red onions are widely distributed all over the states. You can easily find it in supermarkets, farmers’ markets, and online stores.
New Mexican Chilies
New Mexican Chile, or New Mexico Chile, is a mild Mexican pepper best used in rice dishes, soup, sauce, or in salsa ingredients.
This pepper is slightly pungent with fine sweet, spicy, and earthy notes. It has a subtle heat level that measures between 700 to 4,000 on the Scoville Scale.
New Mexican chile has already become a common pepper and can be bought in most farmers’ markets and grocery stores.
Tabasco
Tabasco is best known as the main ingredient in the famous Tabasco sauce. It has an orange-yellowish color which turns to vibrant red when fully ripe.
Tabasco provides a definite medium kick of heat to your taste, ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scoville Scale.
Tabasco peppers are cultivated and grown mainly in the United States. You can easily find and get one at your local supermarkets.
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne is a thin, bright red chili pepper and is generally sold in its ground form. It is specially used for additional heat and flavoring to various dishes.
Cayenne has the same heat level as Tabasco, ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scoville Scale.
This pepper is widely available in the market today. However, ground cayenne is relatively easier to find than whole cayenne.
FAQs on Chipotle Salsa Spice Levels
Which is spicier green or red salsa Chipotle?
Red salsa chipotle is spicier than green salsa chipotle. Chili peppers get hotter and spicier over time when they become ripe, which they turn from green to red.
Are all salsas in Chipotle spicy?
Yes, because chipotle itself is generally made from smoke-dried ripest jalapeños. It is also used in many great dishes to add heat and flavor.
How hot is chipotle tomatillo red chili salsa?
It will give a sufficient kick to your taste buds since its Scoville Heat Unit generally ranges from 15,000 to 30,000.
In A Nutshell
Chipotle is smoke-dried jalapeno peppers that can be sold in various forms, such as powder, flakes, canned, whole, meat marinade, and more.
Every chili pepper has a respective Scoville Heat Unit, which determines its pungency. The higher the heat unit is, the hotter a chili pepper becomes.
Red peppers are hotter than green peppers. Green is the premature color of any chili pepper, while red signifies ripeness.
References:
- https://fsi.colostate.edu/jalapeno-peppers/
- https://www.acs.org/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/archive-2013-2014/peppers.html
