Pasilla Powder: Ground Chile Negro, Its Flavor, Heat and Uses

Pasilla powder is ground pasilla chile, a dried chile also called chile negro, whose fresh form is the dark green chilaca.¹ The Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University calls pasilla a mild chile and a staple of Mexican cooking, especially for sauces such as moles and salsas.² This page covers what pasilla is and is not, how hot it is, how it is used, and what USDA data show about its nutrition.

At a glance

Pasilla, chilaca and the name

Gernot Katzer describes the chile pasilla, also called chile negro, as one of the most common Mexican chiles, and its fresh form, the chilaca, as dark green, almost black; the fresh chile is used much more rarely.¹ The Codex international standard for dried chile lists “Pasilla” among the varietal names of chilli pepper it covers.⁵

CPI says the name refers to the chile’s resemblance to raisins, pasas in Spanish, in texture and smell.² A widely repeated claim says chilaca comes from a Nahuatl word for “old”; no source opened for this page supports or refutes it.

Not an ancho. Pasilla and ancho are different chiles: Katzer notes that a dried poblano may be an ancho or a mulato,¹ while the pasilla is the dried chilaca. Katzer also warns that the same chile cultivar may be sold under different names.¹ PepperScale says dried pasillas and anchos are often mislabeled as each other in grocery stores, though the pasilla is much narrower.³ A widely repeated claim says some US growers and stores sell fresh poblanos labeled “pasilla”; no source we could open documents it, so check the shape and color: chilacas are long and slender, poblanos broad and heart-shaped (kitchen judgment).

Not pasilla de Oaxaca. Katzer pictures the pasilla de Oaxaca as a chile that is dried and smoked,¹ unlike the ordinary pasilla. Expect smoke from a jar labeled “pasilla de Oaxaca”.

Origin. The species Capsicum annuum is native from the southern United States to Brazil and the Caribbean,⁸ and four lines of evidence point to its domestication in central-east Mexico.⁶ Where the chilaca type was developed, which Mexican states grow it now, and whether it traveled abroad in the Columbian exchange were not documented in any source checked for this page.

Flavor

CPI ties the name to a raisin-like smell.² Ground pasilla tastes dark and dried-fruity, with a slight bitterness and herbal, almost cocoa-like depth; that description is editorial. PepperScale describes it as earthy, sweet and fruity, with hints of cocoa and a little berry.³

How hot is pasilla?

How to read this:

• Neither CPI nor Katzer gives a number. Both class pasilla as mild or low.
• The Codex threshold is a category boundary, not a measurement of any pasilla.⁵
• PepperScale’s 1,000 to 2,500 SHU is a general rating, not a measurement. It is the source of the widely repeated figures, and it does not say how the range was arrived at. No measurement of a named lot was found. NMSU notes that HPLC is the most accurate way to measure chile heat and that Scoville taste tests are subjective.⁹

How it is used

Mole. Mexico’s agriculture ministry says dried ancho, mulato, mirasol, guajillo and pasilla go mainly to the artisanal mole industry.⁷ Katzer writes that ancho, mulato and pasilla are often called “the holy trinity” and flavor mole rojo, also known as mole poblano.¹ El Universal also lists pasilla among the chiles in mole poblano.¹⁰ Katzer regards Oaxaca as the home of the moles, with seven classical recipes, and notes that mole negro needs the costly and rare chilhuacle negro.¹ See mole powder.

Sauces and salsas. CPI names table sauces and salsas, and notes the peppers are ground into powder for similar uses or as a seasoning.² Common uses for the powder, as kitchen practice rather than sourced findings:

• Red enchilada sauce, tortilla soup and chili; see best spices for chili.
• Rubs for beef, pork and mushrooms.
• Black beans and lentils.
• Anywhere you want chile flavor and color with little heat.

PepperScale suggests rehydrated pasillas for sauces, stews, soups, salsas and marinades and the powder for rubs, and names red meats such as lamb and beef, cumin, and fire-roasted tomatoes as good partners.³

Technique. Like other ground chiles, pasilla powder burns easily. Warm it briefly in oil over moderate heat, or add it with liquid. Kitchen practice, not a sourced finding.

Buying and quality

• Check the label. Pure pasilla powder lists only pasilla chile. A jar that adds cumin, oregano or salt is a blend.
• Color and aroma. Good powder is very dark brown to nearly black and smells of raisins. Pale, dusty powder has faded. Kitchen judgment.
• Smoked or not. “Pasilla de Oaxaca” is a smoked chile;¹ buy it on purpose, not by mistake.

Storage

Keep the powder airtight, dark and cool. No shelf-life figure from a regulator or standards body was found for pasilla powder. For whole dried pasillas, PepperScale says they keep a year or more if stored properly; that is a writer’s guidance for the pods, not a tested figure for the powder.³ When the dried-fruit smell has gone, replace it.

Nutrition and health

USDA FoodData Central has an entry for whole dried pasilla peppers, with one pepper weighing 7 g; it has no entry for the powder and no teaspoon weight.⁴ Per pepper:

A whole pepper is more pasilla than most servings contain; a teaspoon of powder in a dish for four supplies far less.

Capsaicin. The strongest human evidence concerns a prescription skin patch, not chile in food. A 2017 Cochrane systematic review found moderate-quality evidence that a high-concentration (8%) capsaicin patch gave moderate pain relief to a minority of people with postherpetic neuralgia.¹² Claims that pasilla helps prevent prostate or breast cancer or fights arthritis were not supported by any source reviewed for this page. No claim is made here that pasilla treats or prevents any disease.

Safety

• Mycotoxins (EU). EU law caps ochratoxin A at 20 µg/kg in dried Capsicum fruits, whole or ground, and sets 5.0 µg/kg for aflatoxin B1 and 10.0 µg/kg for total aflatoxins.¹³
• Handling. Even mild chile powders irritate eyes; wash hands after handling. Common-sense guidance, not a sourced finding.

Substitutes and comparisons

• Pasilla powder substitutes; PepperScale names ancho as the usual first choice³
• Other Mexican chile powders: ancho powder (and ancho substitutes), guajillo powder, chipotle powder
• Related: chili powder, paprika