Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co

Family-owned…for years! Located between Tucson & Nogales in the heart of the Santa Cruz Valley. They are not only purveyors of chili products, they are manufacturers, too. They grow chili peppers in their own fields, and pick them at the peak of flavor. They process them into a variety of different products, so you are only getting the best and the freshest. Who knew there were so many different varieties and options? The chili many products reflect the Mexican and Western cultures that are intertwined in the Santa Cruz Valley.
Along with their own Santa Cruz products, you can purchase a wide variety of southwestern foods, cookbooks and herbs. Take your time strolling through the place, enjoy the artifacts on display, and sample the pastes, sauces and salsas. You just might find that spice you’ve been searching for!

Cool roadside stop and great for people who love hot sauces and spices in general. I had tried a few of their sauces before and really liked them, so I was curious to see what their store would be like.
They have a full selection of their own sauces to sample, and I was really surprised by how many other brands of hot sauce they also sold. Multiple products with ghost chili peppers of you are into living dangerously, and pretty much any spice/​seasoning you might want, especially of the southwest/​Mexican variety.
A good selection of Mexican novelty candies and candies/​jams with chilis added.
If you enjoy spicy food, be prepared to leave with quite a few items.

I love this spice shop. I always want to buy everything in the store when I make the trip down. I especially love their carne asada mix.

always a great visit and on my list each time I travel through.
go !!!
they do ship world wide.

Far out little spice shop and history museum, this is worth a stop if in the area. They put out chips and salsas and honey for you to sample to your heart’s delight. I burned my mouth a little on the hotter pastes, and enjoy other green chili and a jam. On the walls there is information and history of filming and movie stars of the area and books for sale for adults and kids. In the main room, dozens upon dozens of spices of every kind, and you can sample almost every single one. Peppers, salts, ginger, hot and otherwise. You have to ask to try the ghost chili pepper (I didn’t ask, I know those are HOT). Prices are pretty good for all of this. Enjoy!

i live in hawaii but grew up in az. been. i. i have turned on 50 people to this great stuff. we have a network. when any body goes to az they bring back 25 lbs. only problem now it is harder to find in phx
markets

This place is awesome! They have a ton of spices available. Some are grown locally and some aren’t, but most are fresh ground on site. They also offer a lot of different spice blends that will hopefully make cooking easier… I hate measuring out a teaspoon of like 5 different spices for one recipe. I was expecting mostly items to be used in Southwestern cooking, and they did have all your typical salsas and bottles of hot sauce, but they also had a lot of Indian and Mediterranean spices as well. However, if you like Mexican food there is plenty for you here, including a variety of whole dried chillies and jars of pastes (to save you the trouble of soaking and pureeing them yourself). They also had a few specialty flours like blue corn and mesquite bean.
It was not as nice of a shopping experience as going to someplace like Penzey’s Spices but they had almost as much variety and lower prices. Everything was very reasonable but as Ana C. mentioned, I found myself grabbing more than I needed and it adds up fast. It’s probably not worth a special trip down from Tucson or Phoenix but if you are in the area and up for some off-​the-​beaten-​path shopping then be sure to check it out. They also have a website where you can purchase items online so if you do fall in love with something they carry you can always refill your jars in the future without the drive.

This place is awesome. I walked in and spent nearly $ 100 in about ten minutes. The fajita seasoning is great! We use it about once a week. Love the ghost chili powder: a little goes a very long way! Sonoran rub goes great on porks and steaks. The poultry rub is great, etc., etc., etc.
I also really like that they had some salt-​free versions of the seasoning blends. Despite how much I spent, the prices are really good and this is more a reflection on how much I bought not on this place having high prices. Great price on both Greek Oregano and Spanish Saffron.

There isn’t a spice you need that you can’t find here! Wonderful selection and very reasonable prices. Like things HOT and SPICY. Well this is YOUR place! A nice selection of cookbooks too. I take all my out of town friends here and they always find plenty of things to take back home. They have a website and they ship.

Wonderful little store!
Their Taco meat seasoning is to die for and it keeps me coming back for more.
They have a large variety of spice/​spice mixes along with various condiments, recipe books etc.
A must stop if you’re in the area.

This place is just pure heaven if you like chilis.

Another place to bring visiting friends and family is Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Company located in Tumacacori. It’s a small store that sells Santa Cruz Chili Products as well as a wide variety of gourmet spices and herbs.
My recommendations:
Red Chili Powder — Excellent on eggs over easy! By the way, not hot at all! Just rich flavor!
Red Chili Paste — Just add meat (beef) to make incredible Chili Con Carne! Recommend you cook it a slow crock pot! Comes in small jars (waste of money if you ask me) but don’t fret you can super size to the 6.35 lbs (1 gal) can!!!
Green Chili Paste — Add meat (pork) and onions (optional: potatoes & bell peppers) for some awesome Chili Verde. Sorry, only comes in jars :(
Spice Packets:
Taco Meat Seasoning
Pinto Bean Seasoning (Excellent)
Carne Asada seasoning (Ka-​Pow!)
Store hours
Monday — Friday: 8am — 5pm
Saturday:10am — 5pm (Summer hours: 10am — 3pm)
Sunday: Closed
NOTE: You plan a great day by stopping here as well as visting the Spanish Mission San José de Tumacácori which was established in January 1691 by Jesuit Father Eusebio Francisco Kino just a few hundred meters down the street and the Wisdom Café for lunch further past that on the frontage road.