Hatch chile isn't a single variety — it's a geographic designation. The Hatch Valley is a 40-mile stretch of mineral-rich Rio Grande bottomland in Sierra and Doña Ana counties, southern New Mexico, where high-alkaline desert soil, elevation, intense summer sun, and wide day-to-night temperature swings produce a flavor profile distinctly different from peppers grown anywhere else. The variety determines the heat level — Big Jim, Sandia, Lumbre, and others, all developed at NMSU. The valley determines the flavor.
Our family has farmed this valley since 1917, when great-great-grandfather Joseph Franzoy planted the valley's first commercial chile crop. After harvest, pods go to our packing shed in Garfield, NM for cleaning and grading; frozen products are processed at Amigo's Mexican Foods in Deming, NM, a family-run facility in operation since 1978. Every product is Certified Hatch — nothing imported, nothing relabeled, nothing blended with off-valley peppers.
Heat levels range from Mild (1904, Joe Parker, NuMex 6-4) through Medium (Big Jim, ~6,500 SHU) and Hot (Sandia Select, ~9,500 SHU) to X-Hot (Lumbre, 12,000+ SHU). The three varieties below — Sandia, Big Jim, and the fresh harvest — are the backbone of what we ship nationwide.
Sandia is the variety Hatch Valley growers have planted since 1956, when NMSU breeder Dr. Roy Harper crossed New Mexico No. 9 with an Anaheim-type cultivar to create a pepper built for drying into the dark-red ristras and powders that define red chile cooking. The name was simplified from "Sandia A" to just Sandia in 1967 — a nod to the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque, whose peaks glow watermelon-pink at sunset (the Spanish word sandía means "watermelon").
At approximately 6,500 Scoville Heat Units per NMSU CR706, Sandia delivers the kind of direct, confident heat that locals expect when they answer "Red or Green?" and mean it. Our family has grown Sandia on Franzoy land in the Hatch Valley for generations — connected by both soil and blood to the Biad family, whose seed program helped NMSU's Chile Pepper Institute develop NuMex Sandia Select, a thicker-walled successor with 40% higher yields and the same reliable heat.
The Sandia Select restoration took eight years (2001–2014) at the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center under Dr. Paul Bosland — "the Chileman" — and researcher Danise Coon, who planted 450 plants of commercially drifted Sandia seed and selected for thicker fruit walls, longer pods, and consistent heat. The result, released in 2014 and published in HortScience, came in at 9,500 SHU — hotter than the original — and roasted and peeled as cleanly as any green chile variety on the market.
For the full Sandia deep dive — eight thousand words on Dr. Harper, the Franzoy and Biad families, the Formulo sisters, and why Sandia Select rebuilt New Mexico's hot chile — visit our dedicated Sandia collection.
Big Jim was developed in 1975 at New Mexico State University by Dr. Roy Nakayama and Hatch Valley grower Jim Lytle — a son-in-law of Joseph Franzoy, the valley's first commercial chile farmer. Big Jim once held the Guinness World Record for the largest chile pepper on Earth, with pods stretching past thirteen inches.
Its thick, meaty walls and approachable Medium-tier heat (approximately 6,500 SHU per NMSU CR706; our pods often run a touch milder than the cultivar mean) made it the definitive relleno chile and a staple in kitchens across New Mexico. Where the original Sandia's thin walls were built for drying, Big Jim was built to stuff — pods large enough to hold cheese, smooth enough to peel clean, and warm enough to taste like New Mexico without overwhelming the palate.
Every Big Jim product in this collection is Certified Hatch — grown in the same Hatch Valley soil where Lytle and Nakayama first tested the variety nearly fifty years ago — and flame-roasted, frozen, or jarred within days of harvest.
Fresh Hatch chile is what every other version of Hatch chile aspires to be. Picked at peak ripeness, packed within hours of harvest, and shipped directly from our family farm in Hatch, New Mexico — fresh chile is only available during the brief late-July to early-October harvest window. If you're roasting yourself, fresh is the only way; if you'd rather we roast it, flame-roasted frozen carries that same flavor year-round.
Most fresh-chile customers buy in bulk during harvest, roast at home or have us roast for them, then freeze in 1-lb portions. Roasted chile keeps full flavor 12+ months in a 0°F freezer — which is how generations of New Mexicans have stockpiled a year's supply on a single September weekend.
I have lived my entire life on the NC coast, not a fan of mustard OR vinegar, & definitely not spicy food! In my 2 short years in NM, I have become a chile expert (to my beach fan)! This is the only mustard that will ever darken my doorstep again! It’s absolutely DELICIOUS! Running low, only 3 bottles in the pantry! Let me order more now before all y’all jump on there and buy it all after reading my raving review!! I’ll leave a few for the rest of ya!M B · Verified
This is the best green chili sauce I have ever had!!!Shelley B · Verified
Had it with my taco's last night, great flavor. I can't wait to try it on other things. I live in Kansas now after growing up in New Mexico. It's hard to find good green chili here. Will keep ordering from you.Mel W · Verified
Very unusual great taste never had anything like this. I highly recommend it fair price.Don S · Verified
Very good quality good taste fair price don’t know what else you needDon S · Verified
This is my third order and I absolutely love the 575. It reminds me of Colorado and time spent in New Mexico. This last order got lost in the mail, but when I notified them, they quickly reshipped my order. Thanks for a great product and great company service.William D · Verified
Having lived in El Paso, Texas, I know true Mexican food, including the Hatch Chile company. The Chimichungas are as good as it gets! I strongly recommend them!David T · Verified
It arrived today. No leakage this time.Connie C · Verified
every morning I put it on my migasdennie J · Verified
Sauce was good. However be the only jar I tried because of the shipping cost game they play with you. Then I get bombarded with emails, including this survey none of which I agreed too. You know what I'm talking about. Buy something and now you are there email whipping boy. Another great reason I won't buy more.John B · Verified
One of the BEST salsas I have ever had !! We like the mild but I’m sure all heat levels are just as good !!Jerry W · Verified
I liked them. Just need to figure to use a sauce with them and how to cook them the best way.Frank E · Verified
After living in Albuquerque, now in Georgia, I missed my green chili. This is fantastic! Great to have authentic hatch green back in the house! Love it! Great on burgers, hot dogs, eggs, everything!James L · Verified
This is the best salsa ever non betterThomas B · Verified
Another X-Mas present for my brother. He loves it.Mary D · Verified
I sent this to my brother as a Christmas present. He called to say it was the best present ever.Mary D · Verified
Really like it. First jar goneGerald S · Verified
It’s delicious! I would recommend a tiny dash of salt, but it is wonderful. I ate it with my tamales and it added a lot of flavor.Jane H · Verified
I really enjoy this salsa. I'll be buying moreElaine H · Verified
just WOW! this green 575 is fantastick, such a fresh and great flavor, this is by far the best green chili I have ever had periodgerald k · Verified
I put it on everything. It’s the best I’ve ever tasted.Matthew S · Verified
I have enjoyed the chimichangas. Had forgotten how good they are. Can’t say anything negative about them.Darrell J · Verified
My first taste of the green chili was in eggs. I was blown away. I can’t wait to try the red chili I am sold on this being my go-to chili 🌶️ from now on.William W · Verified
Outstanding flavor with plenty of the esential hatch chilis in the product. I have already ordered more.John K · Verified
Taste was excellent but thought it substance like meat and potatoesJames A · Verified
The beef has a distinct flavor that I can't put my finger on but it's very good.Ed T · Verified
My go to chip dip from now on!RICHARD W
Our son gave this mustard to us as a gift. We’ll never, ever use any other mustard😋. It’s simply the best!!!!!Carol R · Verified
This stuff is amazing. Used it on hotdog, sandwich and Chicken tenders took them to a different level.Joseph E · Verified
I am one who enjoys a little kick in my mustard this product is just perfect, also went great in my deviled eggs, Yummy good ,87419 C · Verified
My husband grew up in Albuquerque and I love that we can get some of the food we love so much and support a great small business!!!Leslie P · Verified
Fresh Hatch chile is only available during harvest — late July through early October — and ships same-day on harvest mornings, arriving within 24 hours of being picked. Outside the harvest window, we offer flame-roasted frozen Hatch chile year-round, which preserves the same smoky-sweet flavor for 12+ months in a 0°F freezer.
Joe Parker (~900 SHU per NMSU's CR706) and 1904 (~1,000–1,500 SHU) are our Mild varieties — gentle enough for kids. Big Jim (~6,500 SHU per NMSU CR706; our pods often run a touch milder than the cultivar mean) is the Medium workhorse: thick-walled, large-podded, the definitive relleno chile, developed at NMSU in 1975 by Dr. Roy Nakayama and Jim Lytle. The original Sandia (~6,500 SHU, Harper 1956) and the improved NuMex Sandia Select (~9,500 SHU, Bosland & Coon 2014) sit in our Hot tier — direct, confident heat with earthy depth; Sandia Select is the cultivar we ship today, with the original heirloom reserved for sun-dried ristras. Lumbre (12,000+ SHU, varies year to year) is our X-Hot extreme variety for serious capsaicin fans — significantly hotter than a jalapeño but well short of habanero. All are grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico — not Anaheim, not California, not relabeled imports.
Both work. If you want the smell of green chile filling your kitchen on a September afternoon — and the satisfaction of doing it yourself — order fresh during harvest and roast on a propane tabletop roaster, an outdoor grill, or under a broiler. If you want the same flavor year-round with zero prep, our flame-roasted frozen chile is roasted within hours of harvest by people who do this for a living, then flash-frozen to lock in flavor. Both options ship from our farm in Hatch.
Roasted frozen Hatch chile lasts 12+ months at 0°F without significant quality loss — this is how most New Mexicans stockpile their annual supply and enjoy Hatch chile year-round. We recommend portioning into meal-sized bags and pressing out as much air as possible before freezing.
All frozen products ship Tuesdays and Wednesdays in insulated, recyclable containers packed with dry ice. We ship from distribution centers in both New Jersey and California so ground shipping reaches most U.S. addresses in 1–5 business days. Fresh chile (July–October only) ships same-day on Wednesdays, arriving within 24 hours of harvest.
Every product we sell is Hatch Chile Association certified — your guarantee that the chile was grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico, not Anaheim or imported chile relabeled under the Hatch name. Our family has farmed the Hatch Valley since 1917 when our great-great-grandfather Joseph Franzoy became the first commercial chile farmer in the region. Five generations later, we still farm 300+ acres and grow 10+ cultivar varieties including Big Jim, Sandia Select, and Lumbre.
