If you’re looking to add some Southwestern spice to your meals, guajillo chili peppers are a must-have. These dried chilies are easy to find and add a smoky heat and subtle sweetness to soups, stews, sides, and more.

Guajillo chili peppers are the second most commonly used dried chili in Mexico (after their close relative the ancho). They have a deep, tangy flavor with a hint of berry or plum and a spicy kick that’s not too overpowering.

To prepare guajillo chilies, snip the stem off each pepper with kitchen shears and shake out any seeds. Next, toast them on a hot skillet for about 30 seconds on each side until they become fragrant. Then place them in boiling water for about five minutes before blending them into sauces or adding them whole to chili.

Here are five recipes featuring guajillo peppers, ranging from creamy soups to comforting casseroles.

Chili peppers are among the most popular ingredients. From jalapeño to serrano to habanero, each has its own unique flavor profile and heat level.

One of the most popular types is the dried guajillo chili pepper. It’s a staple in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine and for good reason: Guajillos boast a sweet and smoky flavor that enhances any dish they’re added to.

What makes guajillo chilies so great? They have a deep, earthy taste with hints of citrus and berry notes, along with a mild spicy kick that ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville heat units (SHU). To put that in perspective, jalapeños average between 2,500 to 8,000 SHU.

While these dried red chilies are flavorful enough to stand on their own as a seasoning for meats or vegetables, they’re also easy to use in recipes for sauces or salsas.

Whether you want to make your favorite Mexican dishes more flavorful or spice up your sandwiches, tacos or pizza toppings, these five simple recipes can help you breathe new life into your meals!

I’m always on the hunt for fresh, new recipes to try out in my kitchen. And, with a big batch of guajillo chili peppers sitting in my pantry, I have been looking for new ways to use them up.

I’m sure you know by now that guajillo chili peppers are relatively mild and have a smoky, sweet flavor. They are part of the mirasol family of chili peppers (meaning “looking at the sun”) and are often used as an ingredient in mole sauces.

Guajillo chili peppers are ideal for making salsas because they blend nicely into a smooth puree. And their sweet, fruity flavor makes them a great addition to soups, stews, and more. Here are five recipes that you can make with this versatile pepper:

If you love to cook and spice things up in the kitchen, you probably are familiar with guajillo chili peppers. Guajillo chili peppers are the second most common chile pepper in Mexico, behind only the ancho pepper. They have a mild to medium heat level and a fruity, berry-like flavor. Guajillos are ideal for making spicy salsas, hot sauces and marinades but they can also be found in soups, stews and moles.

While they have a fruity flavor that’s somewhat similar to raisins, they also have a slight smoky/woodsy flavor that comes from the drying process. A little goes a long way with these peppers so use them sparingly until you know how hot your batch is. Before using guajillo chili peppers, you need to de-seed them and toast them in a skillet over high heat for about 1 minute to bring out their natural flavors.

Guajillo chili peppers are picked when they are a deep red color and can be found in Latin markets or where ever you purchase your dried chiles. Guajillos offer mildly hot and spicy, fruity flavor with berry undertones that work beautifully in sauces, soups and marinades. If you’re new to cooking with chiles, check out our guide to the Mexican pantry for tips on how to use them.

Guajillos are the backbone of the sauce for these smoky, charred pork tacos from chef Roberto Santibañez. The recipe calls for guajillo chiles soaks in water before being blended with spices including garlic, cumin, cinnamon and thyme. For a milder version of the sauce, remove the seeds and ribs of the chiles before blending – this will also reduce the amount of heat.

Guajillo chili peppers are native to Mexico, and they’re one of the most popular chilies in the country. They’re grown in the wild, but the majority of them are grown on farms in Mexico and South America. Guajillo chilis have a thin, bright red skin and grow up to 5 inches long. Their flavor is mild to medium with a hint of berry-like fruitiness.

Guajillo chili is often used whole or de-seeded and ground into powder. It is also used as an ingredient in sauce recipes. Guajillo chilies are an excellent ingredient when you’re looking for a bit of heat, but don’t want to overpower dishes with too much spice.

If you were to walk into a Mexican restaurant and order the chile guajillo, you would be served a long, dried red chili with a leathery skin. However, if you were to ask for a chile guajillo in Mexico, you might be confused when instead of red peppers, your server brings a glass of water. In Spanish, guajillo means both the dried pepper and raw water — which is not very helpful if you’re trying to cook something.

There are various varieties of guajillo chilies and they are used in many different dishes. The most common way the peppers are consumed is by cooking the fruit in a little oil until it gets soft enough to tear open and remove the seeds. The pepper is then fried in more oil with other ingredients like onions or garlic. Guajillos are also used in soups as well as stews like menudo.

The flavor of the chile guajillo is described as bright, fruity and berry-like with notes of green tea, tobacco and pine resin. A member of the mirasol family (which includes ancho chili peppers), these peppers are typically less spicy than their cousins but still have some kick when eaten raw or cooked whole. If you’re looking