It's Tailgate Season — But Make It Habanero

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Made in Mexico · 100% Olive Oil · Since 2017

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Same love for chili. Two very different personalities.

Chili crisp and salsa macha are both oil-based Mexican condiments — built differently, behaving differently on the plate. Here's the tour.

The two lines

Crisp vs. macha

Crunchy & bright

Chili Crisp

  • Known in Mexico as chicharrón de chile
  • Built on fresh chili peppers, flash fried in 100% olive oil
  • Crunchy bits suspended in flavor-packed oil
  • Bold, layered heat
  • A better-for-you choice — clean ingredients, no preservatives
  • Spoon it, top it, cook with it — eggs to ice cream, tacos to ramen
Shop chili crisps →

Silky & smoky

Salsa Macha

  • Rooted in Mexican tradition, made our way
  • Built on dried chilis and seeds
  • A better-for-you choice — 100% olive oil, clean ingredients
  • Silkier, more oil-forward texture
  • Smoky, earthy, sometimes sweet
  • Drizzle it, cook with it, dress your salad, finish your pasta — no rules
Shop salsa machas →

Our heat scale

Five rungs. Pick where your palate lives.

Tap a rung to meet its jar — or let the quiz place you.

  1. Smoky & gentle Smoky Chipotle · Sweet Morita
  2. Bold, no burn Spicy Árbol
  3. The gateway Spicy Jalapeño
  4. The upgrade Fiery Serrano
  5. The dare Flamin' Habanero
Find Your Heat

60 seconds. Five questions. Your jar.

Heat levels are our own ratings, balanced for flavor — not just Scoville.

Fresh peppers

Picked at peak ripeness, flash-fried into our chili crisps.

  1. The Habanero Chili

    Heat 5 · Extreme

    The Habanero Chili

    Lantern-shaped and bright orange, from the heart of Yucatán. Fiercely fruity with notes of citrus and apricot — riding on serious, lingering heat.

    I want to try!
  2. The Serrano Chili

    Heat 4 · Hot

    The Serrano Chili

    Small but fiery, from the mountains of Puebla and Hidalgo. A Mexican kitchen mainstay with robust, clean flavor.

    I want to try!
  3. The Jalapeño Chili

    Heat 3 · Mild

    The Jalapeño Chili

    Named for Xalapa, beloved worldwide. Balanced heat and zesty essence — the everyday gateway pepper.

    I want to try!

Dried peppers

Slow-dried for depth — the backbone of our salsa machas.

  1. The Chipotle Chili

    The classic

    The Chipotle Chili

    A jalapeño, dried and smoked into something mightier. Deep, woodsy, unmistakable.

    I want to try!
  2. The Árbol Chili

    The lingerer

    The Árbol Chili

    Long, slender and vibrantly red — the same fresh or dried. Sweet and nutty notes ride alongside a heat that lingers without burning.

    I want to try!
  3. The Morita Chili

    The complex one

    The Morita Chili

    A hotter variety of jalapeño — ripened red, then slow-dried and lightly smoked. Less time in the smoke keeps it softer, fruitier and deeply complex.

    I want to try!

  4. Dried poblano

    The Ancho Chili

    A dried poblano — wide, wrinkled and brick-red. Mild and raisin-sweet with notes of dried plum, cocoa and tobacco. The soft, smoky base under our Sweet Morita macha.

    I want to try!

  5. Mexico's most-used chile

    The Guajillo Chili

    Smooth, burgundy and leathery — Mexico's most-used dried chile. Bright and tangy with berry notes riding on a gentle, even heat. Lends backbone to our Smoky Chipotle macha.

    I want to try!

  6. The "little raisin"

    The Pasilla Chili

    A dried chilaca — long, wrinkled and near-black. Rich and raisiny with herbal, cocoa depth. The "little raisin" that anchors our Spicy Árbol macha.

    I want to try!

Our story

How Don Chilio began

A family recipe, a hot idea, and the road from a Mexico City kitchen table to your pantry.

  1. 2017

    Founded in Mexico City

    Born around the family table. Brothers Diego and Mauricio De La Torre — chiliheads since childhood — turn their grandfather's chili-crisp recipe into Don Chilio on March 9, 2017.

  2. 2018

    100% olive oil, no shortcuts

    We commit to slow-infusing every jar in 100% olive oil and real Mexican chiles — the way it was always made at home.

  3. 2020

    The line grows

    Fresh-chile crisps and traditional salsa machas join the family, spanning heat 1 through 5 so there's a jar for every palate.

  4. Today

    At your table

    From our family to yours — still made the way our grandfather taught us, one small batch at a time.

Don Chilio Smoky Chipotle Salsa Macha spooned over rolled tacos topped with crumbled queso fresco and lettuce.

Our promise

Made with 100% olive oil.

Which not only tastes better — it's better for you. Heart-healthy fats, antioxidant-rich, and the only oil we'd serve our own family.

No seed oils. No preservatives. No shortcuts. Just real Mexican chiles, slow-infused the way it was always made at home.

Shop the jars

Good to know

Common questions

What is salsa macha?

Salsa macha is a traditional Mexican chili oil, made by slow-infusing dried chiles, nuts and seeds in oil. It's silkier and smokier than chili crisp.

What's the difference between salsa macha and chili crisp?

Salsa macha is smoother and oil-forward, made from dried chiles and seeds. Chili crisp is crunchier, made from fresh chiles flash-fried in oil. Don Chilio makes both — all in 100% olive oil.

How spicy is Don Chilio?

Crisps run heat 3 (Spicy Jalapeño) to 5 (Flamin' Habanero); machas 1–2, deeper on flavor than heat. Take the heat quiz to find your match.

Are Don Chilio products gluten free?

Yes — every salsa macha and chili crisp is gluten free, non-GMO, vegan, and made with 100% olive oil.

Class dismissed

You know your peppers. Now taste them.

Six jars, five heats, two traditions — one spoonful at a time.

Just Try It!Find Your Heat
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