Chorizo is a delicious spanish and latin sausage that can combine well with all sorts of food.
In Spain, chorizo is regarded as one of the country’s most popular foods. Same goes with Mexico.
With its highly distinct, spicy flavors, it adds a lot to a variety of dishes and can help make anything unique and delicious.
Some of the foods on this list will amplify chorizo’s fatty, spicy nature, while others seek to cut it and let more subtle flavors come through.
Others still focus on merely combining the right foods into great meals that revolve around chorizo.
Everyone will find their own preferences for how to use chorizo in their cooking by exploring this list.
How To Pair And Mix Chorizo
Mixing and pairing chorizo can be challenging for those new to the sausage’s flavors and texture.
Luckily, there are a few key factors that make mixing foods and creating meals around chorizo easier.
Chorizo has the benefit of having immediately recognizable flavors that cover the range of fatty to spicy.
To most palettes, chorizo does not contain any poor flavors; almost everyone enjoys fatty foods or a certain level of spice when used in moderation.
However, due to the occasionally overwhelming nature of chorizo’s characteristics, some caution is required. When pairing and mixing foods with chorizo, it is crucial to show moderation in other fatty or spicy flavors.
The preferred ratios will change depending on who is eating the food, of course, but for those who are interested in learning, it is best to avoid making one flavor overpowering.
For instance, combining chorizo with additional red pepper flakes or paprika on a dish could end up being delicious to you, but to many people, the spice will simply be too much.
There are myriad ways to cut some of the fattiness of chorizo, which is the aspect of chorizo that tends to cause issues when mixing it with other foods.
One of the most common ways is to pair chorizo with neutral, low-fat options such as eggs.
Another way you will see often is to cut chorizo with citrusy flavors such as orange or lime, as these cut directly through the fat.
It is vital to consider the flavors of heat that come with the dish to avoid making chorizo too spicy. Not all spices taste the same; the heat from an American hot sauce is wildly different than the spice of red pepper flakes, for instance.
When using additional warm spices with chorizo, try to match the heat’s flavor instead of intensity. Chorizo is often a dry heat, and as such, goes well with other foods that share this aspect.
It is also possible to cut away the heat through the use of foods like cheese, most shellfish, and carbs. Adjust the ratio of chorizo to each of these to achieve a heat profile that you and the other people eating enjoy.
1. Chorizo And Corn Soup Is A Filling Mexican Dish
Mexican chorizo and corn soup is a classic dish that many who grew up around chorizo will remember. This dish is incredibly easy to make and perfect for chilly days where you want the soup to warm you up.
The exact ingredients placed into chorizo and corn soup change often from family to family, but the two constants are right in the name.
Chorizo and corn are the two most prominent products in the dish, providing a great flavor that mixes chorizo’s heat and texture with the cooling and vegetable nature of corn.
Adding bell peppers, onions, garlic, and other broth turns this soup into a complete dish. These additions all work well to compliment the flavors of chorizo, while the peppers and onion provide an even greater dichotomy to the texture.
Other additions can vary depending on what’s around in your pantry, making this an easy dish to make almost anytime you have chorizo on hand.
It is common to add a small amount of mashed potatoes to thicken the soup into an almost chowder like consistency.
The soup takes on a more stew-like quality and eaten with bread and other additions. Be careful not to add too much, as this will ruin the consistency and different flavors of the soup.
2. Mixing Chorizo With Eggs And Peppers For An Easy Breakfast Wrap
Chorizo goes incredibly well with eggs and bell peppers for a variety of reasons. The sweetness of bell peppers compliments the heat of chorizo perfectly, and eggs are a great base to soak up some of the fat of the chorizo.
When these two foods are placed with chorizo, it’s always sure to be a treat.
You can take this pairing to the next level, however, by introducing a tortilla wrap to the equation. Suddenly, your already delicious breakfast meal has some carbs, is quickly eaten on the go, and can hold even more flavors if you choose.
A substantial benefit of making a breakfast wrap out of chorizo is how easy it is. Using Spanish chorizo or any other pre-cooked variety, you can simply fry the chorizo in a bit of oil, throw in the peppers, and then add the scrambled eggs.
This creates a one-pot meal that soaks up all the flavors and fat from the chorizo and distributes it evenly.
Despite the eggs and peppers doing most of the work to pair well with chorizo, the wrap truly does add another layer as well.
The additional carbs help cut the fatty nature of the chorizo further and provides a blanket to mix all the flavors together. For a quick, leisurely breakfast using chorizo, this is hard to beat.
3. Use Citrus Flavors Like Oranges and Limes To Cut The Fatty Flavor Of Chorizo
Citrus cuts through both the fat and heat of chorizo and fits into most Mexican or Spanish dishes, making it an easy addition to a whole host of foods.
Whether you are merely eating fried chorizo with the addition of an orange or sprinkling lemon zest onto an alternative dish, the addition of any sort of citrus will amplify chorizo to the next level.
Fried chorizo had in combination with an orange or grapefruit is a perfect snack that combines savory and fruity flavors. The chorizo offsets the sweetness of the fruit, and the fruit offsets the spice.
Despite being one of the simplest ways to enjoy chorizo, it is an instant classic that you are likely to return to.
Other options for using citrus in combination with chorizo commonly come in the form of adding various zests or peals to other meals.
There are a variety of complete dishes that use chorizo, including some mentioned later on this list.
Anytime that the meal focuses on chorizo, try adding a sprinkle of lemon or lime juice on top.
Not only will this provide the dish with a new taste that likely combines well, but it will also cause the same reaction as fruit with chorizo.
Some of the most common dishes where zest would be appreciated on top include:
- Chorizo and potato casseroles
- Burritos or other wraps with chorizo
- Red sauce pasta dishes focusing on chorizo
- Shellfish or other nautical dishes which want to keep things light
Try adding just a small amount to any dish you make with chorizo, and the results may surprise you!
4. Chorizo Pairs Well With Salmon Or Codfish
Chorizo pairs exceptionally well with most seafood due to the neutral, low-fat flavor of most things from the sea.
Many Mediterranean dishes combine the salt and heavy feelings of chorizo with light alternatives to produce full meals that cover the spectrum between savory and delicate.
Salmon and codfish are two of the most common fish to combine chorizo with, but almost any fish with low fat content will do nicely.
It is essential to balance the quantity of chorizo and fish, as too much of one will cause the other to be a distraction rather than an addition. When these foods are balanced, it creates a perfect bite that focuses on salty, savory flavors.
If this mixing feels too savory, try adding some citrus, as mentioned earlier. Zest has always paired well with fish, and the combination of chorizo to the mix only makes that pairing even better.
Standard sides to include with this dish include rice, potatoes, and light vegetables. Anything that compliments the main meats but does not overpower them is best, so light carbs work very well.
You can also consider adding citrus zest to these sides instead of directly onto the chorizo and fish if you want to split the flavors.
5. Mix Chorizo With Chicken To Combine Meat Flavors
Chorizo goes well with other meats such as chicken, beef, and pork due to their most malleable flavors.
Chorizo is highly noticeable and distinct, holding a specific flavor profile that rarely changes. Other meats, especially chicken, tend to change dramatically depending on what spices and methods are used during cooking.
When other meats are cooked or served alongside chorizo, they take on some flavors of chorizo.
Chicken becomes a hint spicier, for instance. This provides just enough of a subtle flavor to tie together dishes while still allowing the two different parts to exist separately.
As stated, this is most noticeable with chicken and other white meats, but beef and pork also share this tendency – only to a lesser extent.
Mixing chorizo with other meat results in a barbecue-esque setting; although the flavors are wildly different, they all compliment each other and should be eaten together.
Most often, this is done through smoking or grilling the meats together or by cooking the chicken in the grease from frying the chorizo.
While the chicken itself adds very little to the chorizo flavor, it does a fantastic job of providing alternative tastes to the meal as a whole. Depending on what spices are used on the chicken, it can be a source of:
- Alternative heat
- Sweet or tangy flavors
- A zesty side to cut the chorizo’s flavors
The difference in texture between chorizo and chicken also becomes exceptionally noticeable when cooked together, combining into an elaborate meal that is a joy to eat.
This dish is most often prepared with the chicken as a whole breast, and the chorizo is cut into small chunks and fried, but alternatives exist.
To turn this great pairing into a meal, consider bell peppers, rice, or potatoes. Bell peppers add sweetness and vegetables to the ensemble, and the rich carbs in rice and potatoes provide an excellent backdrop for the otherwise protein-heavy pairing.
Or simply dine on the traditional spanish paella dish of chicken and chorizo. A winning combination that’s been around for centuries.
6. Chorizo Can Replace Almost Any Meat In A Tortilla Or Burrito
Burritos and tortillas are popular Mexican foods. Specific ingredients in the burrito can be changed to match whatever is in your pantry, but some staples of the format include:
- Beans
- Rice
- Meat (chorizo, in this case)
- Peppers (hot or sweet)
The process for using chorizo in burritos is simple; whenever you would typically put another meat into the burrito, replace it with chorizo. This results in an instantly different and great taste that focuses more on smoky, spicy flavors.
This is especially noticeable when the other ingredients of the burrito complement the chorizo as well.
For instance, rice with a lime flavoring goes exceptionally well in a chorizo burrito.
Sweet bell peppers and corn add a nice, veggie flavored crunch that catapults the burrito into an instant favorite as well.
7. Sauté Chorizo With Veggies And Peppers
Sautéeing chorizo with a variety of vegetables and peppers creates a great, smoky dish that is suitable at any time of the day.
It can also be eaten in a variety of ways, including as is, in a sandwich roll, or combined with other ingredients like eggs or burritos.
The process for making this is exceptionally simple. Fry the chorizo first, letting the fat render out into the pan.
This houses a significant amount of the smoky and fatty flavors that chorizo is known for.
Once the fat is rendered out, sauté your vegetables in the same pan, mixing them around constantly to grab all the chorizo flavor.
Once the vegetables are finished sautéing, you are done! From here, you can eat the dish immediately, place it into sandwich rolls, or anything else you can think of.
Some of the best vegetables to use here are bell peppers and onions. These two foods come up often when talking about chorizo, and for good reason; they compliment the nature of chorizo incredibly well.
Other vegetables that are less common but still prove tasty are corn, broccoli, and kale.
This breaks away from the traditions of the combination but still results in a fun, easy dish to make.
Consider adding some orange peels or lemon zest as well to create a combination that works well for light brunches.
Almost due to how delicious this dish is, it is fairly unhealthy. Be careful not to add any additional oil or butter to the pan and instead rely on sautéing everything in the chorizo’s own fat.
8. Adding Chorizo Onto Potato Skins Creates A Delicious Snack
Potato skins are a great appetizer that many restaurants have, but they are not often the first food to come to mind when considering how to use chorizo.
Despite this, chorizo can be a great replacement for the bacon that traditionally adorns this beloved snack.
Potato skins are large wedges of potato that are baked with cheese and bacon.
The skin of the potato is left on the outside, resulting in a crispy bite, while the thick-cut creates a baked potato consistency.
Replacing the bacon with chorizo results in potato skins with a smokier, spicier taste. This complements the cheese incredibly well and provides a much more complex flavor profile.
The potato base of the whole ordeal absorbs some of the remaining oil from the chorizo as well, making the dish feel mostly the same as when made with bacon.
It is best to use pre-cooked and smoked varieties of chorizo to make this dish. This means that it will mostly be Spanish chorizo.
If you only have raw, Mexican chorizo on-hand, cook the chorizo before adding it to the potato skins.
Cooking the chorizo before adding it to the skins will crisp up the meat even further, allowing for the mix of textures between melted cheese and crispy chorizo to truly sell itself.
9. Mixing Fried Chorizo With Tomato Salsa Makes A Great Lunch Meal
Tomatoes are a great addition to chorizo thanks to their light, sweet flavors.
They often undercut some of the more prominent chorizo tastes, allowing even more combinations to be made and tried out.
Following this line of thought, a tomato salsa works exceptionally well when combined with fried chorizo.
The tomato salsa uses tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell peppers, and any other vegetable you are interested in trying to create a delicious salsa that ends up hosting a ton of ingredients that pair well with chorizo.
Eating this dish can be done in a variety of ways, although one of the most common is dipping the chorizo into the salsa and eating it that way.
Cut the chorizo into large, thick chunks before frying to allow for this to happen.
Otherwise, you can also eat the chorizo on the side while having the delicious salsa with tortilla chips.
The largest benefit of combining chorizo with tomato salsa is the lessening of the heat. If chorizo is often too spicy for you but you still enjoy the texture and smokiness, dishes like this are perfect.
The tomato salsa preserves the flavors and some spiciness of the chorizo, but it perfectly cuts through the high-notes.
Almost anyone should be able to handle this combination of foods.
10. Kale Soup With Chorizo Is An Easy, Delicious Meal
Kale soup is one of the best and easiest ways to cook with chorizo available. This simple soup consists of kale, broth, a hint of mashed potatoes, and chorizo.
Other additions are common but unnecessary for combining with the chorizo – the dish stands perfectly fine on its own.
This soup has the somewhat unique property of using chorizo as a secondary component rather than the main attraction.
Instead, the delicious saltiness of the kale soup is the purpose, and the small bits of chorizo throughout are perfect little additions.
When chorizo is found within the soup, it ends up adding a burst of smokiness to the bite that is genuinely delicious.
The addition of chorizo to the general meal results in a soup that is just the right combination of salty, savory, and filling.
This is due in no small part to the chorizo’s cooking in the stew, so the various spices and smokiness break down directly into the stock.
Another large benefit chorizo brings to the soup is its texture. Kale soup tends to take on a very monotone consistency.
Although delicious, without the chorizo, each bite can begin to feel the same.
However, with the addition of small chunks of chorizo, every so often, a slurp will come with a satisfying chew that extends the pleasure of the meal.
The soup is a full meal itself, and easy enough to make that going for seconds and thirds is always an option.
However, it is common to have kale soup with bread, soaking up the remaining parts and enjoying it that way as well.
As with most soups, it is easy to make this in a large batch and warm it up later.
11. Chorizo Mixed With Shellfish Like Clams and Scallops Is A Mediterranean Classic
Spanish chorizo pairs exceptionally well with any shellfish thanks to its fat content and spice.
Clams, scallops, mussels, or otherwise, each of them can be directly improved with the simple addition of fried chorizo.
Most shellfish has a mild, salty flavor on its own. This is perfect for adding spices to or, in this case, combining with a heavily spiced food such as chorizo.
Where the mild flavor of shellfish may fail, chorizo bites quickly swoop in to provide some much-needed heat and smokiness.
The texture pairing between soft shellfish and crispy chorizo adds a whole new aspect to the pairing as well.
Although this combination will not fix the issue if you truly do not like one of the textures, it does improve them both.
In almost every way, the pairing of chorizo and shellfish is a perfect example of opposites combining to produce a great final product.
This pairing is extremely common throughout the Mediterranean, especially on the coast where shellfish are more available.
Most often, the shellfish are prepared as normal, and the chorizo is as well. They are brought together at the end only for eating.
Spanish side dishes for this combination should be kept simple, as chorizo and shellfish both want to keep their distinct flavors here.
Consider adding on normal sides for shellfish such as potatoes or rice, but it is recommended that you keep the meal light.
Otherwise, the chorizo could be too flavorful and outclass some of the other options.
12. Complete Any Breakfast With Eggs And Chorizo
Chorizo goes wonderfully with eggs, and this combination can truly complete or even make any breakfast meal.
Eggs can be cooked any way you prefer for this, but it is most common to use scrambled or fried eggs.
However, even hard-boiled eggs or omelets with chorizo in them work wonderfully.
This is a simple breakfast that can be made incredibly quickly, but it packs quite a flavor punch.
Due to the fairly neutral flavors of the eggs, the chorizo’s smoky, fat, spicy nature truly shines.
If you are looking to make this meal, take the time to find some high-quality chorizo – the more flavorful the chorizo is, the better this will be.
The eggs add a hint of their own taste, but their main purpose is to provide some neutral flavor and texture so that the chorizo is not overpowering.
The preparation method for this will pairing will depend largely on how you prefer your eggs, but the chorizo is almost always fried.
Once it is fried, if you want to amplify the chorizo flavor even more, consider cooking the eggs in the chorizo’s rendered fat.
A chorizo and egg omelet is excellent for people who want to try this combination but are unsure of it in the beginning.
In the omelet, you can add a whole host of other flavors that go well with chorizo such as bell peppers, onions, and cheese.
This way, you can flavor the omelet more to your liking and adjust the chorizo content.
Eating chorizo and eggs may be the most popular dish featuring chorizo.
In many places, it is consumed this way regardless of what time of day it is merely due to the array of different ways to make the dish.
Be sure to try this dish by cooking the eggs in a variety of styles and possibly pairing the two with even more side options!
Buen Provecho!
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Jorge Garcia is the founder of AmigoFoods, where he has spent over 20 years helping readers discover authentic Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Raised in a Cuban-American household, Jorge learned to cook at the hands of his mother and grandmother, carrying forward generations of family recipes. That heritage, backed by his family’s four-generation history in the Latin food industry, inspired him to launch AmigoFoods in 2003. With more than 1,000 published articles on recipes, ingredients, and food culture, Jorge’s mission is simple: make authentic Latin cooking approachable for home cooks everywhere while honoring the traditions behind every dish.