For Chili That Packs A Punch, Reach For This Spicy Ingredient

There aren't many comforting meals that beat the hearty texture and savory, complex flavor of homemade chili. Especially if you're a home chef who's ready to replace all the best (and worst) store-bought canned chili brands for a popular recipe, using the right assortment of ingredients is necessary to achieve the best flavor possible. Next to building the base of your recipe with the usual ground beef, diced veggies, crushed tomatoes, and select spices, you may want to incorporate one extra ingredient for some added heat and next-level flavor. For the perfect balance of both, all you truly need is canned chiles in adobo sauce.

Whether you're making spicy slow cooker beef chili with ground meat or want a reliable way to add more spice to your Texas-inspired recipe made with beef chuck roast, chile peppers in adobo have everything you're looking for packed into one shelf-stable can. They're essentially dried jalapeños that have been smoked and then rehydrated and enveloped in a full-bodied sauce made of crushed tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, and spices.

Heat-wise, chipotle peppers in adobo are slightly hotter than mature, green jalapeños and range from medium to spicy. Though, what truly sets these chiles apart from other varieties is the smoky, vinegar-based sauce they're packed in. They prove to be the perfect way to level up the flavor of ground beef and crushed tomatoes. Luckily, you have more than a few ways of adding these saucy peppers to your next pot of chili.

Depending on how spicy you want your next beef or three-bean vegetarian chili recipe, be mindful of when to incorporate these saucy peppers to slow-cooked meals. Specifically, if you prefer an extra spicy end result, add a few chilis when you saute your recipe's base ingredients, which often includes chopped onions, bell peppers, and garlic. You can also increase the heat of your usual recipe by incorporating spicier fresh peppers like habanero and serrano. That being said, for a more mellow amount of heat, stir some chipotles in adobo into your chili toward the end of cooking time.

Since chiles in adobo are usually packed whole in cans, finely dice them before adding them to your chili. Better yet, include a few spoonfuls of the included sauce for more flavor. To highlight the smoky taste of chipotles in adobo, cook some bacon in your chili pot before building your recipe. Then, upon serving, add some chopped bacon, cheese, and green onions. 

Since these canned peppers are somewhat spicy, be mindful of how much you add to your recipe. Start by adding 1 or 2 teaspoons to your pot during preparation. Once all the combined flavors have had time to meld together, do a taste test before adding any extra. Keep in mind, since you can also consume chiles in adobo straight from the can, feel free to make select bowls spicier than others.