Green chile powder is the result of drying fresh picked green chile peppers, removing the stems, then grinding into a powder. Removal of the veins and seeds during this process yields a more intense green chile flavor; however, removal of the veins and seeds also reduces the “heat” in the resulting powder, as well as just being a very laborious task. According to several sources, it takes approximately 18 pounds of fresh green chile peppers to make 1 pound of green chile powder. The texture of green chile powder is finer and more “powdery” than red chile powder as you can see in the pictures below.
Earlier this year I received some green chile powder from Diaz Farms and the Chimayo Chile Brothers. Before now, I had never used green chile powder, probably because I’m such a lover of roasted fresh green chile. I can get roasted chile easily and inexpensively, so I’ve never thought of looking for a substitute. However, if you do love green chile, and can’t get fresh green chile or do not want to pay the cost of shipping frozen chile, then the powder might be a solution for you.
I’ve now tried green chile in powder form in many dishes and have found it to work for some and not for others. The powder has a nice green chile pepper flavor. The mild and medium are both relatively mild, and the “hot” is more of a medium-hot (based on my heat index anyway). To be able to infuse the flavor and heat of green chile into a dish, you have to use quite a bit of powder, unlike red chile powder that has lots of heat and flavor in just a little bit of powder. For those of you who like the flavor of green chile, but can not handle the heat, I would recommend mild or medium. Below are several suggestions for green chile powder. Many I have tried myself and some are suggestions I’ve received from other people.
Green Chile Powder and Eggs
- Scrambled eggs – Whisk 1 to 2 teaspoons green chile powder in with 4 eggs and 1 Tbsp. cream or milk. Add a dash of salt and cook. (Amount depends on how hot you want the eggs)
- Fried eggs – Sprinkle a generous amount of green chile powder or green chile blend onto fried or poached eggs.
- Omelet – Whisk 2 teaspoons green chile powder in with the eggs for an omelet.
- Crab Omelet – Toss some crab meat, green onions and 1 ½ teaspoons green chile powder together. Use as the filling for an omelet.
Green Chile Sauce
When you don’t have roasted green chile for a green chile sauce, you can use the powder to make this green chile sauce. This is a green chile sauce that I developed for the nice folks at Diaz Farms using their green chile powder.
Breads
- Incorporate 2 to 4 tablespoons of green chile powder into yeast breads. The larger the loaf the more powder you should use.
- In my Red Chile Garlic Bread substitute the three red chile powders with 1 to 2 tablespoon green, and use olive oil or a garlic infused oil in place of the chile infused oil.
- Add 1 to 2 teaspoons green powder to cornbread batter for a green chile flavored cornbread.
- Add to flatbreads and tortillas and tamale masa.
- Let’s not forget green chile biscuits!
Other Uses
- Green Chile Salad Dressing
- Green Chile Spice Blend (This is a staple in my kitchen. When I run out, I immediately make another batch.)
- Incorporate into rubs for a variety of meats.
- Incorporate into ground meats for hamburgers, meatballs, or homemade sausage.
- Include it in the aromatics (herbs and spices) for braised chicken or pork.
- Add to soups and stews.
- Add to fritter batters.
- Sprinkle over sliced cucumber with a touch of salt.
- Add to guacamole for a touch of green chile flavor.
Green chile lasagna from one of my readers:
“I make a version of lasagna in our slow cooker. You use uncooked lasagna noodles, and layer them just like in normal lasagna. Use all your normal ingredients minus the Italian seasoning. When you are making the meat sauce add 1-3 tablespoons of green chile powder base on your heat tolerance. Start with 1 tablespoon and adjust to your taste.
Cover with mozzarella when slow cooker is done. We use 1 hr. on high then 3 hrs. on low. You might have to adjust based on where you live.”
Green Chile Aioli
When my sister, Nadalyn, came to visit a while back, I sent her home with some green chile powder to play with. Last week she sent me a recipe for a green chile aioli. After a little bit of tweaking, we came up with this Green Chile Aioli that goes great on burgers, sandwiches and as a vegetable dip. My version used all “hot” green chile and Nadalyn’s used a mix of mild and hot. After sitting overnight, the hot version did have a little bit more of a kick to it than the mild/hot version.
*See Kitchen Notes for links and other information.
- 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise*
- Juice from ½ lime
- 1 tsp. water
- 2 Tbsp. garlic infused oil*, regular olive oil or both
- 1 roasted garlic clove*, smashed and minced (or ¼ tsp. garlic powder)
- 1 ½ – 2 tsp. green chile powder* (I use “hot”)
- Salt to taste
In a wide bowl add the mayonnaise, lime juice, and water. Whisk together until well blended.
- Slowly whisk in the oil until you have a nice emulsion. (Your emulsion will be relatively thin, but will thicken once you add the chile powder and let it rest.)
- Whisk in the garlic and chile powder.
Taste. Add salt if needed.
- Let sit in the refrigerator at least an hour before serving. Best if left overnight.
Mayonnaise – When Nadalyn sent me her recipe she knew that I would be changing it up a bit because she used Miracle Whip. Most of our lives we have teased each other about her dislike of mayonnaise and my dislike of Miracle Whip. So if you don’t like mayonnaise, Nadalyn recommends Miracle Whip. You could also use homemade mayonnaise.
Garlic Infused Oil and Roasted Garlic – Substitute with olive oil and a medium size clove of fresh garlic, minced.
Green chile powder – For a mild heat aioli, use all mild or medium powder, and use at least 2 tsp. if not 3. For a spicier aioli, use all hot chile powder or a mix of mild and hot. I find 2 tsp. of hot mighty spicy.
Aioli thickness – As I’ve already mentioned, the aioli thickens as it sits. This is due to the rehydration of the chile powder. If it is too thick when you get ready to serve it, whisk in a little more lime juice, water, or oil.
Green Chile Mayonnaise made with fresh green chile and made from scratch
Disclaimer: Other than a generous pound of powder from Diaz Farms, I have received no compensation for this post. This post was my idea and all opinions expressed here are my own.
Hi the green chile sauce recipe link no longer works. Can you please provide the recipe? Thanks
Pingback: Prueba estos giros modernos en la clásica mezcla para fiestas - ECVerde
Pingback: Try these modern twists on classic party mix | MNN – Project Mother Earth
Pingback: Try these modern twists on classic party mix – Alternative Energy Resource Video
I wanted to know if you have ever tried smoking the peppers? My final product would be green taco seasoning and I thought the pepper would be great smoked, dehydrated and then powdered. Thanks
Yes, my husband tried smoking them once in a pit barrel smoker but they burned quite quickly. It’s hard to get the temp on a pit barrel low enough for smoking. The temp needs to be at 200F or below. I’m hoping to try again some day because yes, smoked chile powder would be awesome! If you try it, please let me know how it comes out and your process. Thanks for stopping by and for your question!
Did you ever smoke the hatch peppers? I ordered 25 pounds of hatch peppers and I want to smoke them and turn most into powder for green taco seasoning. I’ve read up on smoking peppers the one thing I’m not sure on is if I need to peel the skins. I’ve read they are tough and should be peeled. If I don’t need to peel them I think it would make the 100 so much easier. But I don’t want to end up with something that won’t taste right either. I will post back after I’ve tried smoking them. Thanks!
Kerry, the peel is tough, that’s why we roasted the chiles first. The standard to drying chile is to roasted, peel, then dry. I would assume that might also be the method for smoking – roast, peel, smoke, then dry – but I’m not sure. I look forward to read about your process and how it worked.
We retired to Ecuador 7 years ago from New Mexico. I became addicted to green chile while living in NM and miss them terribly here in Ecuador. We have a large greenhouse so I decided to grow my own. I now have about 250 green chile plants and should start harvesting in a couple of months. I might have the only green chile in Ecuador! I recently had a friend bring some green chile powder to me and can’t wait to make a few recipes after I found your site. I will get back to you after I make some recipes and I start harvesting and roasting! Going to have a fiesta with a marachi band and the works!
WOW! 250 plants in a greenhouse!? You probably do have the only, and the MOST, New Mexico green chile in Ecuador. However, that is so very cool! 🙂 You fiesta sounds like a blast! I’m sure your friends will have a great time and great feast! Thank you so much for your comment and I sincerely look forward to your feedback on any recipes you try. Also, let me know how the fiesta turns out. 🙂
I have a lot of Hatch green chili that has been roasted and is in my freezer. I stock up every year. Can I thaw it out and peel it and throw it in my dehydrator to make a green chili powder. Would it be the same as if it were a fresh pepper before roasting to make a powder. Please feel free to drop me an email to let me know.
Allan, thank you for your question. I have never tried making powder from roasted and frozen green chile but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. With a dehydrator, it will probably work great. Just be sure to thaw the chile, squeeze it and let it drain, then pat it dry to get as much moisture as possible from it. As far as the flavor goes, it should be close to that of using fresh chile. Rather than trying this out with all of the chile you have in your freezer, I would suggest using just one package and see how it works. If fact, I might just try it myself. 🙂 Hope this helps! Please let me know how it turns out. Cheers, MJ
To this day I still have not tried dehydrating any of the roasted green chili. I can feel that day coming soon. I have some fresh green chili in my dehydrator right now. Once I am finished with the fresh chilis that I have as soon as time permits I will give the roasted ones a try.
MJ:
When I buy green or red chile powder and try to make a sauce, they always have some graininess to them. I’ve even tried cooking for long periods of time(one hour) and still some grainy taste. I was hoping for a nice smooth taste, but some far, after many tries, no go.
I haven’t tried the above recipe yet, but before I do, I’m hoping for your feedback.
Jerry, I have to be honest here and agree with you. Green chile sauce especially is grainy no matter what I’ve tried to do; therefore, I seldom make it. Red chile sauce can be smooth, but the chile powder texture is very important. It should be as fine as possible, almost like flour. I’ve been known to put coarser red chile powder in a spice grinder to get it as fine as possible. Therefore, I make red from powder quite often. However, grinding doesn’t help with green powder. Too fine and the green sauce becomes “muddy”, to coarse and it can be grainy. Hope this helps. Thanks for asking!
I’m from New Mexico and absolutely love green chile. I also love chicken wings. I have tried finding a recipe for a green chile rub, but everything I have found recommends brown sugar, I find that brown sugar and green chile taste terrible together. Any suggestions on a green chile dry rub recipe?
Hey Nate! I know what you mean about green chile powder and brown sugar. It just doesn’t work. I haven’t found any green chile dry rubs, but I do have a green chile spice mix that you could add some white sugar to or you could mix it with honey, making it more of wet rub. Here’s a link to the spice mix. https://mjskitchen.com/2014/12/new-mexico-chile-spice-blends/ Let me know if you turn it into a rub and how it works for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Do you think green chili powder will work as a substitute for fresh or canned green chiliies in the following “put together recipe”?
I ate something similar at a restaurant in Las Vegas, NM at least 20 years ago … a lunch stop between Colorado Springs and Santa Fe. It was love at first bite.
First chance I had I created this recipe from my taste bud memories:
New Mexico Green Chii Stew
ground or shredded raw or leftover pork, chopped onion, lots of chopped green chilies, chicken broth, salt & pepper, garllic powder, herbs de Provence, etc. Simmer until pork is tender. Add cubed red prottoes and mash up some when potatoes are done. (to thicken) Sometimes I also add hominy.
A bowl of this stew and a few crispy tortillla chips = delicious comfort food and wondderful memories of New Mexico — Chimayo, Taos, Santa Fe, those beautiful blue skies, etc.
Any thoughts on how much green chili powder would be needed for a pot of this stew – enough to serve 4 or 5. Maybe just chili powder or a combination?
Thanks so much for reading about my #1 craving.
Ann Brigman
San Antonio, TX
Ann, thanks for your comment and question. It’s a good one! 🙂 Would green chile powder work in your delicious sounding GC stew recipe? I wouldn’t replace all of the green chile with it, but you could substitute some of the green chile. The problem I have found with using too much of the powder, is that when it rehydrates it can become “muddy” as my husband calls it. In a sauce it works best, especially when the sauce is used for enchiladas. However, in a chile stew, I would not use any more than 1 Tbsp to 4 cups of liquid. That should give you some extra flavor, but not the texture. I hope this helps. In reference to your recipe, it looks great and the addition of the herbs de Provence is quite interesting. You have my attention with that one. Like you, I sometimes add hominy in place of the potatoes. It’s SO good! Not to boast or anything, but I went and picked up some fresh green chile this morning from this year’s crop. I’m headed out back to roast it now. YAY! It’s chile season! Cheers and thanks again for stopping by! MJ
Pingback: Green Chile Pathiri with Pinon Nuts and Queso Fresco | MJ's Kitchen
Pingback: Green Chile Salad Dressing with an Apple Salad | MJ's Kitchen
I make a version of lasaga in our slow cooker. You use uncooked lasagna noodles, and layer then just like in normal lasagna. Use all your normal ingredients minus the Italian seasoning. when you are making the meat sauce add 1-3 tablespoons of green chile powder base on your heat tolerance. start with 1 tablespoon and adjust to your taste.
cover with mozarella when slow cooker is done. We use 1 hr. on high then 3 hrs. on low. You might have to adjust based on where you live.
This sounds wonderful! Lasagna with green chile powder – very creative there Ray! I’ll be adding this to the list. Now I wish I had a slow cooker. 🙂
Pingback: Red or Green? New Mexico Chiles | MJ's Kitchen
Pingback: Chile Relleno Egg Sandwich | MJ's Kitchen
We use the green chile powder in guacamole – yummy! It adds a wonderful flavor to it! And we also add it to our green chile sauce for our chicken sour cream enchilada casserole.
DUH! Adding green chile powder to guacamole is a fabulous idea! I’m going to add that one to the list. Thanks for sharing that!
This was very interesting. I hadn’t seen green chile powder before.
LL
This green chile powder is made with the finest New Mexico #6-4 variety. Picked before ripening to red, they are dehydrated and de-stemmed before being powdered into a fine and tasty mild chile powder. It takes 18 pounds of fresh green chiles to make one pound of dehydrated chiles; packing this powder with wonderful flavor.
Can Chicken Green Chile Enchiladas be made from green chili powder and recipe please
Yes it can. Here is the link to the recipe for green chile sauce from powder that I developed for Diaz Farms. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Gosh the aioli looks amazing. (stop tempting me MJ today! =P)
I would always leave the seeds in, in the past I might have not, but now I need some kick in my food. =) Thanks for sharing!
Never heard and seen green chili powder..you are amazing, MJ! Am gonna try your method of making the same.
Thanks Sanjeeta! I think you’d love green chile powder!
B brought home some green chile powder after his last visit in NM. I found, similar to your experience, that it takes a lot of powder to add any flavour to the dish, which is not ideal because we only have one small container of it and his next trip home isn’t until Christmas!
Glad to find someone who has tried it! You know, you can order it online. Check out the links I provide in the post. You can get a pound for a relatively cheap price, except for shipping of course depending on location. Hope you get some more soon.
Thank you for the introduction to green chile powder and to Diaz Farms. I especially like the breads and aioli! Allen.
Thank you Allen! I hope you check out Diaz Farms!
I should check out this green chili powder as roasted green chilies which I love are not as easily available here. Use to get the farmer’s market in Colorado to roast half a bushel for me each summer. How I miss roasted green chilies.
Love your aioli. I think I’ll go with the spicy. Would be wonderful with grilled or baked fish.
You’ve got so many new ideas for changing up my recipes just by using green dried chile powder.. especially on eggs, I’d never thought of that. The thought of that aioli on burgers this summer is fantastic:) xx
I don’t think I’ve seen green chile powder before. All the green chili powder recipes look wonderful, but I love Green Chile Aioli most!
This is awesome thank you! I am always looking for ways to incorporate Green Chile into my cooking. My blog will definitely be referring to this entry!!
Thanks so much Jessica!
Thank you for the nod on the green chili aioli. I love it because it gives sandwiches a little surprising touch of heat. Even though I used the mild, the longer it sits the warmer it gets. I enjoy it on my “green sandwiches” (cucumber, cilantro and lettuce). I’m glad you have found other ways to use it. I will definitely try it on eggs. I bought some tomatillos to make green sauce so I will be adding it to that. I like Terra’s idea of using it in a rub. Love you Sis
Hey darlin! Thank you! Even though Bobby isn’t much of a mayo nor MW fan, he loved the aioli on his burger this weekend. BTW, the powder I sent back with you was half mild and half hot. I guess i should have given you just hot! 🙂 I like it on cucumbers as well.
Wonderful post. I would love to try this green chili powder. I have seen red chili powder but not green chili powder.
My kitchen won’t survive without green chilies, and yet I have never heard of green chili powder! This is fantastic! Can’t wait to try some.
Totally agree! Every kitchen needs green chile, but when you can’t have fresh, the powder is a good alternative. Thanks!
Coming from India, I always have an affinity towards chiles. Wow, green chile powder is something new, as we always have the red chilli powder here. Loved your aioli recipe, as well as other ways of using this powder. Fantastic!
I would definitely go for the milder version of it! I love these dips that you can dive almost anything in them!
I don’t think I’ve encountered green chile powder yet. The Aioli look wonderful!
I’ve never heard of this powder. If I have a recipe requiring green chillies I always buy fresh as they seem to be widely available all year round. I can see though that the dried powder would have many uses and your sister’s aioli looks and sounds wonderful xx
Thanks Charlie! I use the fresh roasted chiles 99.9% of the time, but for people who can’t get it, this is a pretty good substitute.
I need to find some green chile powder, I would love adding it to our rubs for grilling! It sounds involved to make, but for sure worth every minute of the process! Sounds fabulous, Hugs, Terra
Thanks Terra! I think any chile powder is a must in a rub! If you really want some chile powder, check out the links in the post.
I’m going to have to hunt down some green chile powder. A new one for this Midwest gal…but I’m intrigued and must try!
Thanks Liz! Just click on the link at the bottom of this post for a supplier. It’s good stuff!
I don’t know if I’d use the powder in eggs but your aioli certainly does look great. Now the trick will be finding some. Thanks, MJ.
We had the aioli on hamburgers tonight. So good!!! I’ll sent you some links for green chile powder.
I love, love, love green chili powder and buy as much as I can when we visit NM. Since we haven’t been in a couple of years (so sad), I finally ordered something like 24 oz. of it off Amazon. (Green chile sour cream is fantastic too.)
Glad to hear that you are a fan!! Next time you need some, try one of the New Mexico sellers like Diaz Farms. That way you’re guaranteed it’s NM chile powder and it’s pretty cheap! Love the green chile sour cream idea! Thanks!
MJ, this is a huuuuuge revelation for a chile addict like me. I cannot believe I have never heard of green chile powder. I happen to have beautiful Turkish chillies (medium hot, very aromatic, in fact they remind me of jalapeños, though I have only had these pickled, from a supermarket). I will try doing this powder on my own very soon (I might also test green bird’s-eye chilies 😉 ). Many thanks for this immense inspiration and amazing discovery! I will come back for using ideas because now I am too amazed at this breakthrough information!
Oh yep – Sissi you would love this chile powder! I know it would be very costly to ship you some, so maybe drying your own is the way to go. Using green bird’s-eye chilies sounds like a great idea. It you try it, let me know how it works. Thanks for much for your sweet comments as always!
Oh my goodness. I didn’t even know that you can get green chile in powder form. This is interesting and I agree that sometimes variation from the fresh ones may not give you the same result. That green chile sauce is definitely a must try for me. Have a nice week to you and Bobby, MJ! 🙂
Thanks Ray! I did find that the powder worked quite well in breads, but in other dishes, I still prefer the roasted chiles. Hope you’re having a great week as well!
Oooh, I bet it’s yummy in eggs. And that aioli! Wow! Super informative post MJ 🙂
Thanks Valerie! Finished off the aioli with some carrots sticks last night. So Good!
Your chile orientated posts are always amazing.. e very useful 🙂
Great ideas for using the green chile powder, though I am with you about using fresh or roasted every chance I get. However, there are times when the chiles I’ve purchased are a little flat, which makes me wish I had some green chile powder to boost the flavor. Long ago when Paul Prudhomme was on TV I remember him suggesting using the powder form of peppers, spices, ect in addition to fresh each complements the other. Look forward to trying some green chile powder!
Thanks Judy! I’ve never thought of adding powder when I’m already using the roasted chiles. Great idea! Thanks for passing that along.
This is new to me, but it sounds and looks like it would be delicious! I do love green chiles and that aioli looks fantastic!
Thanks so much Amy! Glad to introduce you to something new.
The green chile powder with eggs sounds great. 🙂
Oh the green chile eggs are the best! Thanks Maureen!
Wow MJ…..never ever heard of green chilly powder..seriously!!.. I come from the land of chillies…love all the recommendations..
Thanks Nisa! Love introducing you to new ingredients! Just like you do for me. 🙂
I don’t know about the land of chilites, but hear in the land of enchantment ( New Mexico ) We have lived with green chile forever. If you go to a resturant here and don’t get asked Red or Green they came from somewhere else. Excellant Site MJ !!
Thanks Ray! 🙂
Wow, 18 pounds of the freshies to create 1 pound of powder – isn’t that something. It makes sense when you think about it but it just seems like an unfair conversion rate ;-). I guess that’s why powder goes so far flavor wise in recipes — it doesn’t take a lot when it’s in that concentrated form. I like your applications here MJ – the aioli sounds particularly appetizing to me… mind you, so do the green chile eggs – (not sure why — green eggs and ham perhaps? –but I suddenly have a visual of Dr. Seuss :)).
Thanks Kelly! That is a lot of chile for a little bit of powder! Actually, the green chile powder is pretty mild so does take more that say red chile powder. The green chile eggs are my favorite!
I am so over red, I bet green has a unique kick of its own 🙂
Thank you my friend!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks Uru! Oh – I’ll never get over red! 🙂 I’ll just now add a little green to it.
I have never used green chili powder… I am dying to try it out now!! What a fantastic flavor. The aioli looks creamy and perfect… just waiting for a sandwich. 🙂 Hope you are having a fantastic weekend.
Thanks Ramona! I love the aioli on a sandwich and also with carrots sticks.
Fun post with some creative uses of green chile powder!
Living in the southwest, I have resorted to drying my own varieties of chiles
at harvest’s end as I have made the salsas, frozen green chilies and my own
version of ‘Rotel-tomatoes-with green chilies’. Last year I made some
HOT varieties with habanero, santa fe peppers and then some not so hot with the
anaheim chilies and even jalapeno pepper chili powder.
In a pinch, in the winter, in the in kitchen those come in handy for substitutions for
the fresh variety.
Now I will have to try this mayo! Looks yummy. Thanks for the post MJ!
Thank so much Lois! I’ve never tried drying chiles, so I’m impressed that you do! I dried lots of fruits, but never thought about the peppers. As cheap as I can get the powders from DiazFarms, I think I’ll let them do that leg work. 🙂 Love the Rotel type tomatoes!! Great in queso!
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen green chile powder! Love the idea, though – I often have problems getting decent roasted chiles. Definitely have to look for this. The aioli looks terrific! I’d be using homemade, or if not that Hellman’s. 😉
Thanks John! I hadn’t seen it until a few months ago. I think you would enjoy it. It’s not a replacement for roasted chilies, but it can give you a nice chile fix when you need it. 🙂
I am not familiar with green chile powder but it must have a wonderful flavor and heat.
It does have a wonderful flavor and a “nice” heat. 🙂
Now I have to get myself some green chilli powder to try all the recommendations!
Thanks Angie! You really should give it a try!