Chipotle powder is just finely ground chipotle peppers (smoke-dried jalapeños). It gives you chipotles’ signature smoky heat in instant form—without soaking, seeding, or mincing. Blend it with cream cheese and spread it on a whole grain bagel. Sprinkle it on eggs (instead of hot sauce, if that’s your thing). Add it to soups, stews, dips, and salad dressings. We use it in Mesquite Lime Chicken (Not-so-Simple), Turkey Chili (Not-so-Simple), Mexican-Spiced Sweet Potatoes, and Chipotle Russian Dressing (Simple).

If you’ve never used it and you’re wondering how hot it is, here’s the story: The heat from chilis is measured in Scoville units, but the values aren’t absolute and scales often conflict. Wikipedia ranks chipotles with cayenne pepper at 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville heat units (that’s pretty hot), but other scales rank them with jalapeños at 2,500 to 5,000 (that’s pretty mild). To our mouths, they’re about half as hot as cayenne pepper. In recipes that contain both, we use them in a ratio of 2 to 1 (chipotle to cayenne).

You can usually find chipotle powder in small jars or plastic bags in the spice section or with the Mexican ingredients on international aisle of your grocery store. Keep it out of direct sunlight (in a cupboard) for up to 6 months or in the freezer for up to 1 year.