thumb|Recado (chili paste) ingredients
Recado is a culinary paste historically associated with Mayan cuisine. It can have a variety of colors and flavors ranging from mild to spicy, sweet, or piquant. It is most commonly found throughout the Yucatán and Belize.
It can be prepared in advance ground with liquids such as sour orange juice or vinegar into a paste. It can even be added to masa (corn dough) to create a zesty flavor and color as in empanadas, red tamales, and chorizo.
While colorado (red) is most known, other common recados include negro (black) and verde (green). Additional variants include: recado blanco, recado mechado, and recado español.