This papas con chorizo recipe is a classic Mexican dish of potatoes cooked with spicy Mexican chorizo, perfect as a filling for tacos, gorditas, sandwiches or as a side dish.
Papas con Chorizo Recipe
We're cooking up a simple recipe that is perfect for the spicy food lover, my friends. It is Mexican Papas con Chorizo, or chorizo and potatoes. Would you care for some?
Papas con chorizo is a classic combination of cubed or diced potatoes and spicy Mexican chorizo. I seek out authentic Mexican food wherever I go and have seen it served on many different menus, usually served in a variety ways.
You'll find variations from restaurant to restaurant and cook to cook, with other ingredients and seasonings added in, but the combination of potatoes and chorizo is always the same.
It's very easy to make, typically done in under 30 minutes. Essentially, you either boil or pan cook the potatoes, then combine them with cooked chorizo.
For my version, I like to include onions, peppers and garlic for additional flavor and spice factor. You can use hotter peppers if you'd like. You can also add in other seasonings, though I usually don't, as Mexican chorizo is usually highly seasoned. Especially when using my homemade chorizo. So good!
There are so many ways to serve it up, and now matter how you do, I'm sure you'll love it.
Let's talk about how to make papas con chorizo, shall we?
Papas con Chorizo Ingredients
- Potatoes. I like red potatoes for this recipe, but you can use others, like Yukon gold.
- Mexican Chorizo. Be sure to use Mexican chorizo, not Spanish chorizo. Spanish chorizo is different in that is a cured product, where Mexican chorizo is not.
- Onion. I usually use white onion, but yellow onion is great, too.
- Jalapenos. Jalapeno peppers give a nice level of kick and additional flavor. Omit them if you prefer milder flavors. Use hotter peppers, like the serrano, for a spicier version.
- Garlic. Gorgeous garlic!
- Oil. For cooking.
- Salt. To taste.
How to Make Papas con Chorizo - the Recipe Method
Boil the Potatoes. Cover the cubed potatoes in a pot with water and bring to a boil at medium high heat. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until they are nice and tender. Drain the water and set the potatoes aside.
Cook the Onion and Peppers. While the potatoes are boiling, heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and peppers and cook 5 minutes to soften them up. Feel free to use more onion and peppers than the recipe calls for, especially peppers. More peppers for me, please!
Garlic. Add the garlic and cook another 1 minute, until the garlic blooms and becomes fragrant. I love a lot of garlic. I list it as optional, but it's essential for me.
Cook the Chorizo. Add the Mexican chorizo and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6-7 minutes, or until the chorizo is cooked through.
Mix the Ingredients. Reduce heat and add the potatoes to the cooked chorizo mixture. Warm though another minute, stirring to combine, to blend the flavors.
Adjust and Serve. Taste and adjust with salt.
Boom! Done! Your papas con chorizo are ready to serve. Nice and spicy, right? Just how we like it. These are so good. I'm ready to dig in!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- The Chorizo. You can find some great chorizo brands in the grocery store, either beef or pork chorizo. I usually buy hot chorizo, though you can buy mild. Or, try my homemade Mexican chorizo recipe. Nothing is better than homemade!
- Alternative Cooking Method. Rather than boiling the potatoes to soften them, try cooking the potatoes in the pan along with the peppers and onions. You'll need to cube them smaller so they cook more quickly. Diced potatoes will work well here, or just cook them a few minutes in the pan first, then add the onion and peppers. This is what I do when I make a potato has. Works great.
- Serving Ideas. There are so many ways you can serve up papas con chorizo. You can serve them as a side dish for just about any meal. However, they are ideal as a filling for corn tortillas or flour tortillas, Mexican bread for tortas or pambazos, gorditas, burritos, you name it. It's hard to beat potatoes and chorizo on a simple warmed tortilla with some crumbly white cheese, cilantro, and roasted jalapenos. One of my favorite combinations.
- Breakfast Tacos. Add some scrambled eggs to this dish and you have some pretty fantastic Spicy Breakfast Tacos, which we love to enjoy on lazy weekends. Nice and spicy and huge on flavor.
Serving Ideas for Papas con Chorizo
You can enjoy papas con chorizo on their own with tortillas, or serve them wrapped in large burrito shells with other ingredients like beans, cheese, lettuce, onion, or tomato.
They're also great as gorditas, on bolilo bread as a torta or pambazo, or as part of a burrito bowl.
Storage and Leftovers
Store any leftover papas con chorizo in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days. To enjoy again, simply warm them in a small pot or pan on the stovetop.
You can also freeze leftovers in a vacuum sealed container for 3 months or longer.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my papas con chorizo recipe. Let me know if you make it and how you served yours. Tacos? Gorditas? Side dish? Curious minds want to know!
Try Some of My Other Mexican Recipes
Try Some of My Other Popular Potato (Papas) Recipes
- Papas Arrugadas (Wrinkly Potatoes)
- Papa a la Huancaina (Peruvian Potatoes in Spicy Cheese Sauce)
- Patatas Bravas
- Papas con Chile
- Potato Salad Recipe
- Bombay Potatoes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Papas con Chorizo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound potatoes peeled and cubed into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped (optional)
- 12 ounces Mexican chorizo casings removed
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cover the potatoes in a pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.
- While the potatoes are boiling, heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and peppers and cook 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the garlic and cook another 1 minute, until the garlic blooms.
- Add the Mexican chorizo and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6-7 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Add the softened potatoes and cook another minute to blend the flavors.
- Taste and adjust with salt and serve.
Nutrition Information
Jennifer L Wang says
I'm gign to try this tomorrow for potluck at church. I've already made black bean and sweet potato enchiladas, charro beans, and Spanish rice. We try to bring vegan/vegetarian options for church, so I used Morningstar Farms chorizo-style crumbles for my charro beans and had some left over. We're having extra guests, so I want to have enough of a variety. I think this is perfect, as i have some potatoes I need to use up, leftover vegan chorizo. I don't have any fresh peppers, but I've got some chipotle peppers in adobo left over from the charro beans, so I might use one of those. I've got some frozen peppers and onions I'm going to defrost and sweat with the chipotle and adobo sauce. We are having this potluck with member of our sister church, a Hispanic church that uses our facilities in the afternoon. Our pastor and his wife are from Peru, so I hope everyone really likes my take on Hispanic food.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome to hear, Jennifer! I hope everyone loves it! Enjoy!
Boo says
I loved this to stuff tacos, tortas, eggs, in Mex. rice. topping for tostadas, cut to smaller size to stuff empanadas, stuffed tightly rolled corn tortillas baked to nice crunchiness or lightly fried. All so wonderfully delicious. Everyone loved everything I made with papas con chorizo, the aroma in my kitchen-ah yes. Thanks for sharing, I even sprinkled some on my salad.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, Boo!
Rebecca says
I added jalapeños, sliced baby Bella mushrooms, shredded pepper jack, and topped it with a fried egg. It was delicious! I loved the homemade Chorizo, so much better than anything I've bought in the store! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed it, Rebecca! Perfect additions! I love to hear it. Cheers! =)
Rhonda Blackbird says
I made this dish the other night for dinner for my daughter and I . It was absolutely delicious and brought back memories of my old boyfriend, who was Elsalvadorian, and I remembered his mom making something very similar.
Thanks for the memories!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Wow, very cool, Rhonda! I appreciate it! Thanks for sharing!
Damien C. says
This is just right with the homemade chorizo. Had to make it right away. Another hit in our house. Thanks for this one.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Damien! Glad you found another one like like. Cheers.
JOHN says
I only changed the potatoes to small dice (3/8"+- cubes) to better use as flour tortilla filling and I added black pepper. Topped with cheese and salsa of one's choice. Almost Picadillo. Great.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, John. Glad you enjoyed it. I know there are a number of ways to make picadillo. This is my Mexican Style Picadillo Recipe you might try: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/beef/mexican-picadillo/. Cheers.
JOHN says
Let me first say, I really enjoy your blogs, site; I refer to it often and save/try a majority of the recipes. I grew up in south Texas where Chorizo is very popular, especially with eggs and flour tortillas for breakfast. It is made or can be bought in many forms from almost liquidly with oil (fat) to dry from lack of oil. Converting what I have in the fridge to your 4 servings per 12 ounces of chorizo, I get 9.6 grams total fat per serving and this brand is not real fatty compared to some. Should you Nutrition Chart read 10 grams of fat per serving, not 1g. Plus there is the 3.5 grams of fat for the 1/4 tablespoon of oil per serving. 13.1 grams of fat makes it more Keto friendly by covering the 23 grams of carbs. Like wise you Protein seems equally off; my chorizo has 12 grams of protein. Like you may have left out chorizo values.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
John, yes, my recipe nutrition calculator failed me. I re-ran it and yes, better. NOTE that these are all estimates from the online nutritional calculator, so numbers can vary and may not be 100% accurate. But thanks for pointing this out!