Making homemade Mexican Chorizo, is so much easier than you’d think—not to mention, incredibly delicious and healthier too. Made with simple ingredients like ground pork, chile peppers, vinegar, and spices, this fresh sausage is low-carb, keto, and gluten-free!
Are you a Mexican chorizo fan? My family loves chorizo. We stuff it into our breakfast tacos as well as our fancy cocktail party mushrooms, oh and burgers too—chorizo burgers are so, so good.
I know there are tons of different options for buying fresh chorizo, especially if you live near a Latin grocery store that makes its own version, but I think you’ll really be surprised at how delicious (and easy) it is to make it at home.
For several months now I’ve been partnering with the National Pork Board to bring you pork recipes that transport us to the heart of Mexico without ever leaving our kitchens. We’ve been using pork as a passport to explore different regions and the special dishes they make with pork.
We’ve made Pork Tinga and Pork Tamales with Salsa Verde, and most recently, juicy, tender, and flavorful Albondigás in Arbol Chile Salsa.
Today I’m sharing a new recipe for homemade chorizo just in time for all those holiday brunch dates and cocktail parties.
what is chorizo
There are two versions of chorizo: Spanish and Mexican.
Spanish chorizo is a cured sausage, meaning a hard, sliceable sausage similar to salami that is made from chopped pork and can be spicy or mild.
Mexican chorizo is a highly seasoned sausage typically made from pork although you will find some versions made with ground beef or even soy. It is a fresh sausage that requires cooking before eating.
ingredients for homemade chorizo
Making chorizo at home means you can control the fat content, heat level, and flavorings. This is my favorite recipe that is super flavorful without being too fatty or spicy. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Ground pork. The best ground pork for chorizo has a high fat content. I like to use one with a 70/30 ratio (70% meat to 30% fat). Some people add extra pork fat, but that’s a little too fatty for my tastes.
- Dried chiles. I used guajillo and ancho chiles, you could add a spicy dried chile like an arbol chile or chipotle if you want some heat. The chiles are what gives it the red color.
- Kosher salt
- Garlic
- Smoked paprika
- White onion
- Red wine vinegar
- Black pepper
- Ground cumin
- Ground coriander
how to make Mexican chorizo
You are going to flip at how simple this recipe is. In about 20 minutes you’ll have cooked chorizo to add to everything from a side dish of refried beans to chorizo and eggs! Here’s how:
- Toast and soak the chiles.
- Blend remaining ingredients together in a blender (except the ground pork).
- Mix blended spice mixture with the ground pork.
- Cook with a little oil in a skillet over medium high heat and enjoy or save for later!
what to do with it
So you’ve made your very own pork sausage, now what should you do with it? My favorite way to enjoy chorizo is in a breakfast taco with scrambled eggs.
Cook the chorizo in a skillet until starting to brown. Crack a few eggs in the skillet and break up with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir the eggs into the chorizo over medium heat until cooked all the way through.
more pork recipes to try!
- One-Pan Blue Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Chilorio {Sinaolan Chile Braised Pork}
- Grilled Cotija-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Wrapped in Bacon
- Cuban Roast Pork Burger with Mojo Onions
- Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Cilantro Sauce
- Pozole Rojo {Pork and Hominy Stew}
- Red Mole Pork Tamales
chorizo at your fingertips
Now that you know how to make your own Mexican chorizo, you’ll never buy the store bought stuff again! When you make your first batch snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) !
How To Make Mexican Chorizo From Scratch
Making homemade Mexican Chorizo, is so much easier than you'd think—not to mention, incredibly delicious and healthier too. Made with simple ingredients like ground pork, chile peppers, vinegar, and spices, this fresh sausage is low-carb, keto, and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 4 dried ancho chiles (stemmed, seeded, and rinsed)
- 3 dried guajillo chiles (stemmed, seeded, and rinsed)
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/2 large white onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 pounds ground pork (preferably 70/30 fat content)
Instructions
- Toast and soak the chiles. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil then remove from heat. Heat a comal or dry cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add chiles to the comal and toast, turning frequently, until fragrant and starting to change color (about 4 minutes). Submerge chiles in the hot water and let soak until very tender, about 15 minutes.
- Blend spice mixture. Drain chiles and place in the blender with remaining ingredients, except pork. Blend on high until smooth. You may have to stop and scrape down the blender to get everything blended evenly.
- Combine with pork. Mix ground pork with spice mixture in a large bowl. Use you hands to mix evenly and make sure all the pork is coated with the spice mixture.
- To cook chorizo. To cook the chorizo, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is cooked through and the color has changed from bright red to reddish-brown, about 5-8 minutes.
- To store the chorizo. If not cooking right away, store chorizo in a tightly-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or place in freezer-safe plastic bags, seal tightly, and freeze for up to 6 months.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 350Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 84mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 29g
In support of this small business, ¡Hola! Jalapeño earns revenue in a few different ways. Several sponsored posts are published each month, such as this one here which is sponsored by The National Pork Board. I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. I only feature items I genuinely love and personally use on a regular basis. This commission is an arrangement between the retailer and ¡Hola! Jalapeño (readers never pay more for products). This income allows me to run the site. Thank you for reading!
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thank you, love chorizo too, and always just buy one of those tubes, but sometimes wonder a little warily about what’s inside, so really love being able to make my own!
I hear you! You will love this recipe.
My meat-eating boyfriend loved this! And I loved that it was not a greasy mess like store-bought chorizo. I’ll admit I wasn’t completely true to the recipe: I added Mexican oregano, a bit of allspice, a couple of chiles de arbol, and a roasted serrano. But the best part was that I doubled the blender mix and used half (with a bit of EVOO added to it) on raw cauliflower bits. I have no idea whether “marinating” cauliflower makes a difference, but after marinating it all day I roasted it at night for dinner and made fabulous tacos! Then dumped the flavorful leftover cauliflower bits into tonight’s broccoli-cheddar soup! Arriba! Thank you for this
Thank you Lisa! You just made my day. So happy you loved the recipe and I might steal that cauliflower idea—sounds incredible!
You sure weren’t kidding about how easy this is, and the result is very flavorful. I made the chorizo yesterday and refrigerated it overnight to let the flavors meld. I had enough guajillo but was one ancho shy, so added a couple chipotle – the extra one for good luck. I too used a little Mexican oregano.
I cooked a half pound of chorizo for brunch today and we ate it with scrambled eggs and flour tortillas. We used shredded cheddar, chopped fresh jalapeno and Valentina for condiments, and washed everything down with cold Modelo and lime. The chorizo was the star, with the rest complementing it nicely.
I’m going to freeze a pound of the chorizo to save for another day and will make patties from the remaining half pound to grill with butterflied shrimp and jalapenos over a wood fire for tortas.
Thanks for another great recipe.
Delicious recipe so the best one I have made thanks for sharing this
Would ground turkey work well as a substitute?
Hey Amanda! I’ve never made it with ground turkey, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work. It won’t be as rich and fatty as the ground pork, but the flavor should still be good. Let me know how it goes!
Ugh. I apparently need a new blender. I tried making the pepper mixture in my blender and it didn’t go well at all. Had some pureed stuff at the bottom (in a gap between the base of the blade and the side of the jar) but the rest was just hanging out on top. I tried shoving the rehydrated peppers down towards the blade but it just pushed them back to the top again. Finally scraped it all out and got it in my little Magic Bullet and that worked a tad better, but my chorizo had some pretty big chunks of pepper and onion still. :/
I clicked the link on your post where it says “blender” and it took me to a $400 Vitamix model. Is that what is required to make this?
Hi Samantha, I’m sorry you had trouble, it sounds like your blender is not quite powerful enough. You can add the liquid you used to soak the chiles in (1/4 cup at a time) until the mixture starts to blend in your blender. It will be more watery than the recipe, but the extra liquid will evaporate when you cook it. You don’t have to use the Vitamix (although they work really well). This $60 Oster blender is awesome: https://amzn.to/3oT37uQ.