Can chorizo colorado be replaced with paprika?

Only in part. Paprika brings the colour but neither the fat nor the smoke. Without colorado, the closest combination is smoked paprika plus a little bacon.

Are Spanish chorizo and Argentine chorizo the same thing?

No. The typical Spanish one is cured and eaten in slices; the Argentine grilling one is fresh and has to be cooked. They share the name and not much else.

Can fresh chorizo be frozen?

Yes, for up to three months. Freeze it in separate portions, because once thawed it should not be frozen again.

What is chorizo?

Three sausages on a slate: on the left Spanish cured chorizo in slices, in the middle raw fresh chorizo in natural casing, on the right dry chorizo colorado in pieces

The word chorizo names at least three different sausages, and a recipe that asks for one will not work with another. The confusion is not trivial: one is eaten raw, one has to be cooked, and the third is more a seasoning than a meat.

The three, and what each is for

Fresh chorizo (the grilling one, the one in a choripán): raw pork or a mix, in a casing and uncured. Pale pink and soft. It has to be cooked, and it is the one that goes into locro and stews.

Chorizo colorado: dry, thin, deep red from paprika. It is neither eaten raw nor cooked whole: it is chopped and used as a seasoning, for colour and smoke. It is the one in a Salta locro and in the crusts.

Spanish cured chorizo: dry and firm, ready to eat in slices, marbled with white fat. It is charcuterie, not a stewing ingredient — though fabada and some Spanish stews do cook it.

What happens if you use the wrong one

If a recipe asks for fresh and you use cured, the fat does not render the same way and the stew ends up with hard, over-salty pieces.

If it asks for colorado and you use fresh, you lose the colour and the smoke that define the dish: a Salta locro without colorado is a different stew.

And if it asks for cured and you use fresh, you have raw meat where charcuterie belonged.

Which one to buy

⚠️ In US and UK supermarkets, «chorizo» almost always means the Spanish cured one. If a recipe here asks for fresh chorizo, that packet is the wrong product.

For fresh, ask a butcher for uncooked Mexican-style or Argentine-style chorizo, or use any raw coarse pork sausage seasoned with paprika.

For colorado, Latin American grocers stock it; failing that, smoked paprika with a little bacon gets closest.

The recipes

Frequently asked questions

Can chorizo colorado be replaced with paprika?: Only in part. Paprika brings the colour but neither the fat nor the smoke. Without colorado, the closest combination is smoked paprika plus a little bacon.
Are Spanish chorizo and Argentine chorizo the same thing?: No. The typical Spanish one is cured and eaten in slices; the Argentine grilling one is fresh and has to be cooked. They share the name and not much else.
Can fresh chorizo be frozen?: Yes, for up to three months. Freeze it in separate portions, because once thawed it should not be frozen again.

Updated on 2026-08-15