Mexican Chorizo substitute

Best substitute

Ground pork plus chile, vinegar and garlic

Use the same amount by weight; per 1 lb pork use 2 tbsp ancho or guajillo powder, 1 tbsp vinegar, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp Mexican oregano, pinch of cinnamon and clove as the mexican chorizo you are replacing

Best for tacos and breakfast tacos

Close match

The best answer, because it is not a substitute at all, it is the recipe. Mexican chorizo is nothing more than seasoned raw pork, and a bowl and a fork get you there. It will taste brighter and less industrial than the packaged kind and render less of that neon orange grease.

Other mexican chorizo substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Soy chorizo (soyrizo)
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight, plus 1 to 2 tbsp oil in the pan
Unusually good for a meat substitute, because chorizo's identity lives in the spice paste rather than in the pork.
What changes
It hits the chile, vinegar and garlic notes squarely. What is missing is fat, so it browns without crisping and the pan stays dry, and the crumble is softer and more uniform than the coarse, mottled texture of real chorizo.
Best for
vegetarian and vegan tacos, breakfast scrambles and migas, queso fundido, chorizo and potatoes, bean dishes
Add oil first and cook it longer and harder than feels right, 6 to 8 minutes, pressing it flat, so it develops crusty browned edges. Undercooked it tastes pasty. It contains no raw meat, so there is no food safety timer, cook it as long as you like.
3Bulk Italian sausage plus chile powder and vinegar
Different taste
Use the same amount plus 1 to 2 tbsp ancho or chili powder, 2 tsp vinegar and ¼ tsp cinnamon per pound
Right format, wrong spice cabinet.
What changes
Italian sausage is the same fatty raw ground pork that crumbles the same way, so the physics work perfectly. The problem is fennel, which tastes distinctly Italian and does not belong in a taco. Chile powder and vinegar cover most of it, but a fennel note usually survives.
Best for
tacos when it is what you have, chorizo and eggs, queso fundido, soups and beans
Use mild or sweet Italian rather than hot, so you control the heat yourself. If you can see whole fennel seeds, pick out the ones you can find, they are the giveaway.
4Chorizo criollo (Argentine or Uruguayan fresh chorizo)
Different taste
Use the same amount
A fresh, raw, crumbly pork sausage, so the texture and cooking behavior are an exact match.
What changes
It is seasoned with garlic, paprika, oregano and often wine rather than dried chile and vinegar, so it tastes milder, rounder and much less red. Add a tablespoon of ancho powder and 2 teaspoons of vinegar per pound and it lands very close.
Best for
tacos, scrambles, grilled dishes, beans and stews
Squeeze it out of the casing. Because it is already a well seasoned sausage, taste before adding salt.
5Longaniza
Close match
Use the same amount
A close cousin, and in much of Mexico the two sit side by side at the butcher.
What changes
Mexican longaniza is a fresh chile and vinegar sausage like chorizo, usually in longer links and often a little sweeter and more heavily spiced with black pepper and annatto. Caribbean versions can be sharper and more sour.
Best for
tacos, breakfast dishes, queso fundido, rice dishes
Buy the fresh raw kind, not a dried or smoked longaniza. Remove the casing and treat it exactly as you would chorizo.
6Spanish chorizo (the least good option, despite the name)
Taste and texture differ
Use 6 oz Spanish chorizo for every 1 lb Mexican chorizo, finely diced, plus 2 tsp vinegar at the end
Do not assume the shared name means shared behavior.
What changes
Spanish chorizo is dry-cured, firm and sliceable, flavored with smoked pimenton and no vinegar, and it will never crumble. In a hot pan it renders a beautiful red oil and turns chewy, so instead of soft spiced mince you get chewy smoky nuggets. Some dishes survive this. Chorizo and eggs does not.
Best for
beans, lentils and soups where chew is fine, rice dishes, when you only need the red oil and smoke
Dice it as small as you can, render it slowly over low heat to get the fat out, and add a splash of vinegar at the end to fake the tang. Use less than the recipe calls for by weight, cured chorizo is far more concentrated and much saltier.

What is Mexican Chorizo?

Mexican Chorizo is Mexican chorizo is a raw, soft, deep red fresh sausage of ground pork seasoned with vinegar, garlic and dried chiles, meant to be squeezed out of its casing and fried until it crumbles.

Cooking tips

Mexican chorizo does four jobs at once: it brings fat, acid from the vinegar, dried chile heat and colour, and salt. A good substitution has to cover all four. This is why a plain spicy sausage tastes wrong even when the heat level matches, the missing acid is what your mouth notices.
It renders a lot of loose orange fat, often 2 to 4 tablespoons per half pound. That fat is an ingredient in its own right, it is what fries the potatoes and glosses the eggs. If you swap in something lean like soy chorizo or turkey, add oil to the pan or the dish will taste dry and dull.
Cook it in a cold or barely warm nonstick or well seasoned pan and break it up as it heats. Dropped into a screaming hot pan the chile scorches and turns bitter before the pork is cooked through, and burnt ancho is unmistakable.
It is raw pork and needs to reach 160 F, which in a crumbled sausage happens in about 8 to 10 minutes. There is no visual cue from colour here, because it starts out deep red and stays deep red, so go by time and by the fat running clear.
The casing on Mexican chorizo is not meant to be eaten. Slit it lengthwise with a paring knife and squeeze the meat out, or buy it in a plastic tube or bulk from a butcher.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Spanish chorizo instead of Mexican chorizo?

Only if you understand you are changing the dish. Mexican chorizo is raw, soft, vinegar-forward and crumbles into loose mince. Spanish chorizo is dry-cured, firm, smoky from pimenton and slices like salami. Swapping one for the other is the single most common mistake with this ingredient. If you must, dice the Spanish chorizo very fine, render it slowly, use about a third less by weight because it is far saltier, and add a splash of vinegar at the end.

Can I just leave it out?

In queso fundido or a bean soup, yes, and the dish is still good, just milder and less rich. In chorizo and eggs or chorizo tacos it is the entire dish, so leaving it out means cooking something else. The middle path is to keep the flavor and lose the meat: fry a diced potato or crumbled firm tofu in oil, then stir in 1 tablespoon of ancho or chili powder, a minced garlic clove, a teaspoon of vinegar and salt. That is chorizo seasoning without chorizo and it works surprisingly well.

How much fat should I pour off?

Usually some. Half a pound of commercial chorizo can throw off 3 to 4 tablespoons of fat, which is more than most dishes want. Leave 1 to 2 tablespoons for frying potatoes, eggs or tortillas, and pour the rest into a jar. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks and is excellent for frying eggs or starting a pot of beans.

Is Mexican chorizo the same as longaniza?

They are close relatives and in many kitchens interchangeable. Mexican longaniza is also a fresh chile and vinegar pork sausage, typically in longer thinner links, often with a little more black pepper and sometimes annatto for colour. If your market has one and not the other, swap freely at 1:1.

What chiles are in Mexican chorizo?

Most commonly ancho, which is dried poblano and gives sweetness and deep red colour, and guajillo, which brings brightness and mild heat. Chile de arbol or pequin is added for actual spice. If you are mixing your own, ancho plus guajillo is the workhorse combination, and plain American chili powder is a decent stand-in because it is largely ancho with cumin and oregano already in it.

Related substitutes

More meat & protein substitutes

Mexican Chorizo substitute

Other mexican chorizo substitutes

2Soy chorizo (soyrizo)

3Bulk Italian sausage plus chile powder and vinegar

4Chorizo criollo (Argentine or Uruguayan fresh chorizo)

5Longaniza

6Spanish chorizo (the least good option, despite the name)