Pasilla Chile

The Pasilla Chile is the dried Chilaca Chile. It is also by far the most harvested and used chile in the state of Michoacan. In some towns you can see some patios covered with mats where hundreds and thousands of Chilacas are being dried in the sun to be turned into Pasillas.

When it is fresh, it is long and shiny with a bright light green color. Once dried and with the name Pasilla, it is very long, slender, dark brown or black, with soft wrinkled skin. It has a rich, earthy and mildly spicy taste with a hint of sweetness. It is used for many things such as table sauces, soups, stews, rubs, marinades and moles (continue for more information and photos).

It goes by different names, in some regions it is called Pasilla and in some Negro, or Black. Some call it Black Pasilla or Pasilla Negro. It can be substituted by the New Mexico dried Chile, thought it does have a different flavor. Not to confuse it with the Ancho Chile, which in some places in the US is called Pasilla as well. So it will be easy to recognize, here are a couple pictures.

But don’t worry, once you cook with a specific kind of Chile you will not mistake it with any other! I am also adding a couple pictures of the Ancho Chile in its entry, so you can distinguish them as well.

Pasilla Chile 2-thumb-510x343-754

Comments

13comments inPasilla Chile

  1. Teresa Rodriguez

    Dec 27

    Hi Pati, I love watching your shows but I am very confused on the dried chilies, I can’t figure out the difference between Ancho Chile’s and Pasilla Chile’s.I go the the markets and find them very confusing can you help me.Both dried and fresh.

    1. Pati

      Dec 29

      Surely. The ancho is the fresh poblano that has been dried. The Pasilla is the fresh chilaca that has been dried. The ancho is chubby and flat, bittersweet and mild. The Pasilla is much thinner and longer and the taste is pleasingly bitter. There is more info here in the chiles section!

  2. Patricia. Bell

    Dec 14

    Hi Pati,
    Love your recipes and enjoyed your show the one time I saw it while on vacation in US. Bought dried pasilla peppers and became addicted. Have purchased more (same brand) but literally no heat to them. Is this normal to get such a variance in taste and spice? What would cause this to happen?

    1. Pati

      Dec 18

      Hola Patricia, Pasilla chiles are usually not very spicy. However, chiles tend to be capricious, and some batches can have more heat.

  3. jose

    Nov 16

    arbol pasilla ancho guajillo morita habanero serrano necesita saber quin me los pueda vender en tapachula

  4. jose

    Nov 16

    guajillo ancho pasilla morita arbol serrano habanero

  5. jose

    Nov 16

    interes de saber de las diferentes vaiedades de chile habanero pasilla ancho de arbol serrano morita guajillo chile verde

  6. Ed

    Jan 10

    I KNOW THAT PEPPERS, LIKE JALAPENO, CAN VERY IN FLAVOR AND HEAT. TO ME, THE JALAPENO THAT I’M LOOKING FOR HAS MEDIUM HEAT AND A MILD FLAVOR. IF I IWANT TO TAKE IT UP A NOTCH,
    I’LL — USE A SERRANO. MY QUESTION IS: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE IDEAL PASILLA VS THE IDEAL ANCHO?

    THANK YOU.

    Ed

    1. Pati

      Jan 12

      Both Ancho and Pasilla are gorgeous chiles. You can find here, in my basic ingredients/chiles sections, descriptions to both. The ideal for both is that they have been properly dried and that you properly store them (sealed tight somewhere with no humidity or light). The ancho is sweeter, the pasilla is more bitter. The rest, all depends on what you want to make!

  7. Robert Olivers

    Aug 17

    Hi Pati,
    I would like to know if the Pasilla Chile or any other dried chile sold in Mexican markets here is the US is of the same quality as the ones sold in mercados in Mexico. I live in Los Angeles and i’m talking about the bags of dried chiles that are packaged by a local spice company. Are these chiles grown and dried here or they imported?
    Thanks
    Robert

  8. Linda

    May 19

    Thank you for the ingredients list! I went to six, yes six supermarkets before finding bags of dried chiles-NSA SUPERMARKET in Brooklyn N.Y. No ANCHOs found so will use pasilla which looks exactly as described-soaking now will be used to make hamburgers today.

  9. Frank

    Mar 24

    I bought some of these at the local H-Mart. The question is what should I do with them? I noticed that you mentioned that they are used in moles, but I couldn’t find a mole recipe here. Excuse me if I didn’t look hard enough, but are moles a traditionally Mexican food item? I know there are many types of moles, but I was curious how they are made and what each pairs with well. Any insight on where I can look?
    Thanks.

    1. Pati Jinich

      Mar 24

      Hi Frank,
      You can make so many things with them! You can start with this brisket http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120062592 I will be posting a mole recipe shortly to use them as well. And yes, moles are a traditional Mexican food… there are many kinds!

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