Carne con chili, or chili con carne, is a renowned Tex-Mex dish that showcases the versatility of chili peppers. It features tender meat, usually beef, simmered with chili peppers, tomatoes, beans, and spices until flavors meld into a hearty stew. The key to a flavorful carne con chili lies in the quality of the chili used, whether it's fresh peppers, chili powder, or pure paprika.

However, unlike sriracha which is very dependent on chilis for its taste, the hot sauce with its many ingredients is very tangy. It’s because its other main ingredient is vinegar. If you taste hot sauce, you get a burst of heat together with the tangy vinegar. Vinegar serves two purposes: makes the hot sauces delicious with its flavorful play with the heat and it also helps preserve the chili, too. This is one reason why most commercially made hot sauces can be stored at room temperature. 

Another worthy replacement for smoked paprika is ancho chili powder. It’s made from dried and ground ancho chiles. This pepper is more common in Mexican cooking but found its way into the United States by way of Tex Mex cuisine. They offer mild to medium heat that only ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 SHU. It has a deep, smoky and slightly sweet flavor. For this reason, you don’t have to worry as much when using this as a replacement as it won’t overpower your dish as easily compared to chipotle powder. To use as an effective backup, you can incorporate exactly how much a recipe calls for smoked paprika.

Chili Sauce Variations

Once combined, I add half the same amount of the guajillo chili powder mixture as what the recipe calls for paprika.

Chipotle powder is probably the best smoked paprika substitute on your spice rack. Like the original ingredient, this replacement is also considered mildly spicy with a heat level that ranges from 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) on the Scoville Scale. Made from smoked dried jalapeño peppers, this spice is also known for its remarkable smoky and earthy taste — the result of the smoking process. Its bright red color also closely resembles paprika. All things considered, the chipotle powder is a fantastic backup for smoky dishes rather than spicy recipes.