Oregano to Achiote: The Best Mexican Spices for Your Shelf

1. Penzeys Mexican Oregano, 0.6 oz Bag – The Oregano Recipes Mean

Best overall

Mexican oregano is not the oregano on a pizza. The common Mexican plant, Lippia graveolens, belongs to the verbena family, according to the University of Arizona’s arboretum, while Mediterranean oregano is in the mint family. It tastes more of citrus and anise and less of pine, and it goes into pozole, menudo, beans, adobos, birria and salsa, usually crumbled between the fingers as it goes into the pot.

Penzeys, the American spice merchant behind the epazote further down this list, sells its Mexican oregano in a small 0.6-ounce bag, about three-quarters of a cup. The label says plainly that it is Mexican oregano, and the listing describes it in one line: strong, pungent and less sweet, great for chili. The listing gives no ingredient list, origin or certification.

Our Mexican pantry staples guide recommends the same Penzeys oregano in a smaller jar. Well under an ounce goes further than it looks, because you use it by the pinch; rub it between your palms over the pot to wake it up, and decant the bag into a small airtight jar.

Why we like it

• Clearly labeled Mexican oregano
• Strong, pungent, less sweet, per the listing
• Sold by Penzeys Spices on Amazon
• Small bag you will finish while it is fresh

Why we recommend it

Choose it if you have been using ordinary oregano in pozole and beans and want the herb the recipes actually mean. It is the single spice that makes the biggest difference on a Mexican shelf.

Skip it if you cook Mexican food several times a week; at 0.6 ounce you will refill it often, and Frontier’s one-pound bag below is the better buy.

Pros and cons

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2. Frontier Co-op Mexican Oregano Leaf, 1 lb – A Bulk Bag for Regular Cooks

Best bulk oregano

If a pot of beans goes on every week in your house, buy Mexican oregano by the pound. Frontier Co-op, a member-owned cooperative founded in 1976, sells its Mexican oregano cut and sifted in a one-pound bulk bag. The listing describes a strong aroma, and says the leaf is non-irradiated and kosher certified, with no artificial additives.

Cut and sifted means the leaves are broken into small flakes rather than left whole, which makes it easy to measure by the teaspoon into a pot of pozole or a jar of homemade taco seasoning. It also means it loses aroma a little faster than whole leaf, so a pound is a lot for a small household. Decant a few weeks’ worth into a small jar and keep the rest sealed, cool and dark.

Why we like it

• A full pound of Mexican oregano
• Non-irradiated and kosher, per the listing
• From a long-established spice cooperative

Why we recommend it

It suits cooks who make Mexican food often, people who mix their own taco or adobo seasoning, and anyone feeding a crowd. Bought by the pound, oregano stops being something you ration.

Skip it if you cook Mexican dishes only now and then; a pound will fade before you use it, and the Penzeys bag is the better size.

Pros and cons

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3. Badia Whole Cumin Seeds, 16 oz – Toast and Grind as You Go

Best cumin

Cumin is used in northern Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking more than in the center and south, and a little goes a long way. Ground cumin fades quickly once the jar is open, which is why a kitchen buys it whole: toast a spoonful of seed in a dry pan until it smells warm, then grind it in a spice grinder or a molcajete just before it goes into a chili, a pot of charro beans or a rub for fajitas.

Badia, a family-owned company founded in 1967, sells whole cumin in a one-pound container. The listing describes a warm, slightly peppery and nutty flavor and says the seeds release an intense aroma when toasted. A pound of whole seed lasts a home kitchen a long time, and whole spices keep their aroma longer than ground: McCormick’s guidance is roughly four years for whole spices against two to four for ground, stored away from heat, moisture and sunlight.

Why we like it

• Whole seed keeps its aroma longer than ground
• A pound for regular cooking
• From a long-established Latin spice brand

Why we recommend it

Choose it if you are willing to spend two minutes toasting and grinding; freshly ground cumin smells and tastes noticeably stronger than a jar of powder that has sat open for a year.

Skip it if you have no grinder and no molcajete. A small jar of ground cumin, replaced often, will serve you better than whole seed you never grind.

Pros and cons

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4. McCormick Gourmet Ancho Chile Pepper, 1.62 oz – Ground Ancho, Not a Blend

Best ground chile

The jar labeled “chili powder” in most American supermarkets is a blend: ground chile with cumin, oregano, garlic and often salt. A Mexican recipe that calls for ground chile usually means a single chile, ground, and ancho is the one to start with. It is a dried poblano, mild (our guide to Mexican chiles puts it at 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville units) and tastes of raisin and prune with a mild sweetness.

McCormick sells this jar in its Gourmet line as ground ancho chile pepper, not as a chili powder blend. The listing describes mild heat and a sweet, fruity flavor, says the peppers are non-GMO, and calls ancho the most popular dried chile in Mexican cooking and one of the “holy trinity” of chiles in traditional moles. The listing gives no ingredient list, so check the label for anything added. Use it for a quick red enchilada sauce, in a rub for pork or chicken, in a pot of chili or in a Mexican hot chocolate.

Why we like it

• Sold as ground ancho, not a chili powder blend
• Mild, so it adds color and depth without much heat
• Non-GMO, per the listing
• Easy-to-find supermarket brand

Why we recommend it

It suits a cook who wants one ground chile on the shelf for color and depth, and anyone who has been using supermarket chili powder and wonders why their enchilada sauce tastes of cumin.

Skip it if you make red sauces often; whole dried anchos, toasted and soaked, give a deeper sauce, and a small jar runs out quickly.

Pros and cons

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5. El Molcajete Ancho, Guajillo and Chipotle Powder Pack, 3 x 4 oz – Mild, Tangy and Smoky

Best chile set

Most Mexican red sauces start with more than one chile, and this pack gives you the three most useful in ground form: ancho for sweetness and body, guajillo for a tart, berry-like flavor and a deep red color, and chipotle for smoke and heat. Our chiles guide puts guajillo at 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units and chipotle at 2,000 to 8,000, so this is a set that warms rather than burns.

El Molcajete, a brand of dried chiles and Mexican spices, packs each powder in its own resealable bag, according to the listing, which describes the guajillo as rich, smoky and earthy and the chipotle as bringing deep heat. A spoon of each, bloomed in a little oil, gives a weeknight enchilada sauce or a marinade for carne asada without soaking whole chiles.

Why we like it

• Three essential ground chiles in one order
• Each chile packed separately in a resealable bag
• A practical 4 ounces of each

Why we recommend it

Choose it if you want to cook red sauces and adobos from pure chiles rather than a blend, and want to learn what each chile tastes like on its own before buying them whole.

Skip it if you want certifications or a stated origin; the listing gives neither, and it does not list ingredients beyond the chile names.

Pros and cons

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6. Frontier Co-op Ground Chipotle Pepper, 2.15 oz – Smoke in a Jar

Best for smoke

A chipotle is a jalapeño that has been smoked and dried. Ground, it brings woodsmoke to dishes where a can of chipotles in adobo would add too much liquid or vinegar: a dry rub for ribs, a pinch in black beans, a sprinkle over elote, a smoky mayonnaise for fish tacos.

Frontier Co-op’s jar lists one ingredient, chipotle peppers, and the maker describes the flavor as spicy, distinctly smoky and earthy, and the heat as relatively mild. Its product page says the chipotle is kosher, non-irradiated and not treated with ethylene oxide. Start with a quarter teaspoon: smoke builds quickly in a dish.

Why we like it

• Single ingredient: chipotle peppers
• Smoke without the liquid of canned chipotles
• Kosher and non-irradiated, per Frontier

Why we recommend it

It suits anyone who likes the smoke of chipotles in adobo but wants it dry, measurable and shelf-stable for rubs and seasoning blends.

Skip it if you mainly cook tinga or salsas that want the sauce as well as the chile; a can of chipotles in adobo does that job better.

Pros and cons

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7. Amazing Chiles & Spices Chile de Árbol Powder, 4 oz – Real Heat, Clean Flavor

Best for heat

Chile de árbol is the small, slim red chile behind many table salsas and hot sauces, and when a Mexican recipe names it, expect heat. Amazing Chiles & Spices puts its árbol at 15,000 to 30,000 Scoville units, several times hotter than a guajillo, and describes the flavor as smoky, earthy and nutty.

The listing says the powder is made from nothing but dried chiles, is free from GMOs and is ground in small batches. Use it the way a kitchen uses a pinch of cayenne, but with a more Mexican flavor: a little in salsa roja, in a pozole rojo, in a marinade for shrimp or over fruit with lime and salt. Add it a pinch at a time and taste.

Why we like it

• Single-chile powder with a stated heat range
• Made from dried chiles only, per the listing
• Ground árbol is harder to find than whole pods

Why we recommend it

Choose it if your shelf has mild chiles and you want one jar that adds genuine heat without changing the dish’s flavor the way cayenne or a vinegar hot sauce can.

Skip it if no one at your table likes heat; a mild ancho or guajillo powder will be far more useful.

Pros and cons

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8. 1400s Spices Ceylon Cinnamon Sticks (Canela), 1 lb – Soft Bark for Café de Olla

Best canela

Canela is the cinnamon of Mexican kitchens: soft, flaky quills that break in your fingers, used in café de olla, arroz con leche, champurrado, Mexican hot chocolate and some moles and adobos. Markets in Mexico usually sell the thin-barked Ceylon type, while the hard, rolled sticks common in American supermarkets are usually cassia. Cassia will do, but canela is gentler and simmers into a drink without turning it harsh.

This one-pound bag from 1400s Spices is Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka, sold as “canela entera”. The listing describes five-inch sticks of layered bark, light brown or tan, with a floral, soft and citrusy aroma. A pound is a lot of cinnamon, but in a Mexican kitchen it goes: one stick flavors a pot of coffee or a batch of rice pudding.

Why we like it

• True Ceylon cinnamon, the type sold as canela
• Sri Lankan origin stated
• A pound of whole sticks, which keep longer than ground

Why we recommend it

It suits anyone who makes Mexican drinks and desserts, or who has found supermarket cinnamon sticks too hard and too sharp. Whole sticks also grind easily for baking.

Skip it if you only want a little cinnamon for the occasional dessert; a pound is a large bag, and a small jar of ground Ceylon cinnamon will do.

Pros and cons

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9. El Yucateco Achiote Paste, 3.5 oz – Yucatecan Red for Pibil

Best achiote

Achiote is ground annatto seed, and in the Yucatán it is sold as a paste, recado rojo, mixed with garlic, spices and an acid. It gives food a deep red-orange color and an earthy, faintly peppery flavor with almost no heat, and it is the base of cochinita pibil and pollo pibil and the color in al pastor.

El Yucateco’s block is our top pick in the best achiote paste roundup. Its ingredient list, as recorded on Open Food Facts, reads water, annatto seed, corn flour, salt, garlic, spices, acetic acid and sodium benzoate as a preservative; there are no synthetic colors on it. The listing gives the country of origin as Mexico. It is a firm block: break off what you need and work it into sour orange juice, or orange and lime juice, until it loosens into a marinade.

Why we like it

• Made in Mexico, per the listing
• No synthetic colors on the ingredient list
• Right size for one pork shoulder or two chickens

Why we recommend it

Choose it if you want to cook Yucatecan dishes or a red marinade for pork, chicken or fish; no dry spice on this list does what a block of recado does.

Skip it if you avoid preservatives or corn; the block contains sodium benzoate and corn flour, according to its ingredient list.

Pros and cons

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10. Penzeys Epazote, 0.7 oz – The Herb for Black Beans

Best epazote

Epazote is the herb that central Mexican cooks put in a pot of black beans, in quesadillas and in some soups. Our guide to Mexican herbs describes it as medicinal and pungent, with notes of mint, anise, camphor and eucalyptus: small amounts add savory depth, and in large amounts it takes over the dish. Fresh is best, but fresh epazote is hard to find outside Mexican markets, and dried is the practical option for most kitchens.

Penzeys, the American spice merchant, sells dried epazote in a half-cup jar of 0.7 ounces, and its listing describes it as adding a mild flavor to Mexican dishes. That is a modest amount, which suits an herb you use by the teaspoon. Add it to the beans for the last half hour of cooking.

Why we like it

• From an established spice merchant
• A small jar for an herb used sparingly
• Dried epazote is otherwise hard to find

Why we recommend it

It suits a cook who makes frijoles de olla or black beans regularly and wants the flavor central Mexican cooks add. Once you know what it does, a pot of beans tastes flat without it.

Skip it if you can buy fresh epazote at a Mexican market near you; the fresh herb has more flavor, and the Amazon listing gives very little detail.

Pros and cons

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