What’s A Good Aji Panca Substitute?

Aji panca is a favorite for Peruvian cuisine, and with its berry-like smoky flavor its easy to see why. Aji panca is typically found in paste or powder form; in both forms, they are simple to purchase online. But what if you need a substitute right away? What’s a good aji panca substitute that will do in a pinch to keep the flavors as authentic as possible? Let’s review your best options.

Your closest eating experience: Pasilla peppers

Like the aji panca, the pasilla has a sweet and smoky flavor, but not quite berry-like. Think of the pasilla as more raisiny with hints of chocolate, and you’re close. But the sweetness does fall into the “close enough” category if opportunity trumps authenticity in the kitchen.

The pasilla pepper is the dried form of the chilaca, and as such, it’s easy to crush into powder or turn into a paste. As for heat, the pasilla can be just as mild as the aji panic, but with the potential to hit mild jalapeño heat (1,000 – 2,500 SHU).

A more common alternative: Ancho powder/ ancho paste

The ancho pepper (the dried form of the poblano) will likely be easier to find than the pasilla. Both ancho powder and ancho paste are growing more common on store shelves. Its heat (1,000 to 1,500 SHU) is spot on to the aji panca, but the flavor is slightly different. The ancho is smoky and sweet with a touch of coffee bean taste that adds an earthy twist. Still, with its greater availability, leaning on the ancho is often your best option.

A step up: Chipotle powder

Now, this isn’t a perfect substitution taste-wise. Chipotle is smoky and earthy, not sweet at all. But if you want more heat than aji panca, chipotle is an excellent step up the pepper scale. It’s a dried and smoked jalapeño pepper with a very eatable low-medium heat (2,500 to 8,000 SHU). Chipotle powder is widely available online and in supermarkets, so it is the easiest to get in a pinch.

Not recommended: Other “aji” peppers

Aji amarillo and other “aji” pepper products are typically not good alternatives to aji panca. Beyond flavor differences, the aji panca is much milder (1,000 to 1,500 Scoville heat units) – closer to a bell pepper than a chili like the aji amarillo (an equal to cayenne at 30,000 to 50,000 SHU). And where aji panca is berry sweet, aji amarillo has hints of tropical fruit more akin to a scotch bonnet.

Must-read related posts

• The Hot Pepper List: We profile over 150 chilies. Search our list by name, heat level, flavor, and origin.
• Homemade Aji Panca Paste: Making this delicious condiment is easier than you may think!
• Are Dried Chilies Hotter Than Fresh? What happens during the drying process?