As all cooks know, spices and seasonings are absolute game chipotle aioli in the kitchen — they can take a basic dish and elevate it, creating a mouthwatering plate from simple ingredients. Whether you’re whipping up an elaborate feast or just making a quick dinner, having a fully stocked spice collection can make a real difference. Chipotle powder has a unique flavor that can be a bit challenging to replicate. It has some heat, as most chili-based spices and seasonings do, but it also has some smoky flavor notes and a bit of earthiness, per Pepper Scale.

Ancho chili powder is similar in color to chipotle powder, and is a staple seasoning for Mexican cuisine. On the other hand, if you find chipotle powder to be a bit on the spicy side, this substitute might even make your recipe more to your liking. Since ancho chili powder is a bit more mild than chipotle powder, you can be a bit more generous in your substitution — for every tablespoon of chipotle powder a recipe calls for, you can swap in about a tablespoon and a half of ancho chili powder, and then adjust according to taste. If you’re all about spicy food, cayenne just might be a worthy substitute for chipotle powder in your recipe.

Cayenne has quite a neutral taste, which means it’s a versatile substitution — you may have to add additional ingredients to recreate the smoky flavors found in chipotle, but if heat is the main thing chipotle powder is delivering in a recipe, cayenne could be just the ticket. Gochugaru is a staple seasoning in Korean cuisine. The one downside to pasilla powder is that it isn’t quite as readily available as some of the other substitutes, which can be found in most grocery stores. However, if you love to cook authentic Mexican cuisine and have some on hand, or if the supermarket you go to has a robust spice selection, you may be in luck with this substitute. Alternatively, if you want that true chipotle flavor but require a particular consistency, you could always toss the chipotle peppers in a blender or food processor to turn them into more of a puree.

For best results when making this substitution, the rule of thumb is that one teaspoon of chipotle powder is equivalent to about one chipotle pepper, although you may want to taste as you go to be safe. There are some recipes that call for a full can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, but often, you only need a small portion of a can for one recipe, leaving you with a bunch of leftover peppers, or perhaps some leftover adobo sauce. Luckily, that’s a good problem to have — you can simply freeze portions of the adobo sauce and then it’s ready for use whenever you need a burst of that smoky, spicy flavor in your dish. However, even on its own, adobo sauce is packed with all the same flavors that chipotle powder contains, and it can be a great substitute for something like a sauce or dressing where you really need all the components to be smooth when combined. For best results, since you’re working with the same base ingredient and the same heat level, you can do a direct swap, using a tablespoon of adobo sauce in place of a tablespoon of chipotle powder in your recipe.

This substitute is particularly well suited for a dish where you want to sprinkle it on for garnish or at the end — the larger flakes mean it’s a bit easier to distribute than shaking finely ground spices over a salad or pasta dish. For best results, this is a direct swap, and you can use a teaspoon of crushed red pepper for every teaspoon of chipotle powder your recipe calls for. For the 19th-century Occitan newspaper, see L’Aiòli. The names mean “garlic and oil” in Catalan and Provençal. Some versions of the sauce are closer to a garlic mayonnaise, incorporating egg yolks and lemon juice, whereas other versions lack egg yolk and contain more garlic.