# The most important chiles in Mexican cooking

Fresh and dried: jalapeño, poblano, habanero, guajillo, ancho, pasilla and chipotle, the backbone of salsas and moles.

- 61 votes · 18 items
- May 29, 2021 · veggie.canalla
- https://even.best/en/l/3286/the-most-important-chiles-in-mexican-cooking

## Top 18

1. **Jalapeño** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Green and fleshy; pickled or in salsas, and smoked-dried it becomes chipotle.
2. **Poblano** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Large and mild, used for chiles rellenos and chiles en nogada.
3. **Pasilla** (4 · ▲5 ▼1) — Dried chilaca, black and wrinkled, used in moles and salsas.
4. **Serrano** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Small and hot, a staple of salsa verde and pico de gallo.
5. **Guajillo** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Dried, red and smooth-skinned; for adobos, pozole and salsas.
6. **Cascabel** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Round and dried; its seeds rattle like a bell.
7. **Chilaca** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — Long and dark, eaten fresh in strips; dried it is the pasilla.
8. **Mulato** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — A dried poblano variety, almost black, for mole poblano.
9. **Chile de árbol** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Thin, red and very hot, for salsas and chili oils.
10. **Chiltepin** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Tiny and wild, from northern Mexico; extremely hot.
11. **Ancho** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Dried poblano, sweet and fruity, essential in moles.
12. **Habanero** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Very hot; the Yucatán peninsula's has a denomination of origin.
13. **Piquin** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — Small, mostly used dried and ground over fruit and snacks.
14. **Manzano** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Thick-fleshed with black seeds; grows in cool highlands.
15. **Chile de agua** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Fresh Oaxacan chile, light green, eaten roasted or stuffed.
16. **Morita** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Smoked red jalapeño, smaller and fruitier than chipotle meco.
17. **Chipotle** (-2 · ▲1 ▼3) — Ripe jalapeño, dried and smoked; canned in adobo it is a classic.
18. **Chilhuacle** (-3 · ▲0 ▼3) — Dried Oaxacan chile, key to mole negro.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.