If you’ve ever tasted regular paprika, you know it doesn’t have much flavor. It’s used for coloring and mildly flavoring food, but even as a dried ground pepper, it doesn’t pack a punch.

Smoked paprika, aka Pimenton, is a different story. It comes from the same capsicum plant, however, it is dried by smoking with oak wood.  Except it’s more delicious and every pantry needs a jar.

Smoked paprika is an mysterious, fragrant, smoky and delightful spice that adds a depth to dishes ranging from meatballs, to spice rubs, to tomato sauces.  It comes in mild and hot flavors and I like using a mixture of both in my recipes.

It’s a simple way to elevate the flavor of a dish without a lot of effort.

If you live in a small town or city, you may not be able to find it at the grocery store.  Trader Joe’s sells it, but the quality is questionable.  You can buy it online – it will last a while.  Here’s the link to my favorite brand of smoked paprika. 

Here are few of my favorite smoked paprika recipes of all time:

Mark’s Bittman’s shrimp with smoked paprika (the recipe says hot, but that means hot smoked paprika).  This is a great example of a simple spice that can make an ingredient sing. http://markbittman.com/recipe/simplest-and-best-shrimp-dish/

These smoked paprika meatballs are *insanely good.*  I add an extra teaspoon of mild smoked paprika each in meatballs and in the tomato sauce.

For a vegetarian option, white beans + smoked paprika are a match made in heaven.

And finally, here’s my recipe for Smoked Paprika Rubbed Chicken.  The rub is 3 ingredients so it’s very easy to assemble, and the depth of flavor is incredible.

Do you have smoked paprika in your pantry?  What do you use it for?