The effects of adding cochineal carmine and annatto dyes in five mortadella formulations made with curcumin microcrystals were compared, evaluating the preference and describing them sensorially. Based on the optimized formulation obtained with color parameters, two formulations were elaborated, both added curcumin microcrystals and cochineal carmine. During 60 days pH, objective color, water retention capacity, lipid oxidation, and texture profile analyses were performed. The results demonstrate the possibility of excluding sodium erythorbate from formulations containing curcumin microcrystals. There was no significant difference in lipid oxidation between the samples, presenting at the end of 60 days a value of 0.11 mg and 0.10 mg of MDA kg− 1 for the two samples, respectively. There were also no relevant significant differences between for the two samples, nor between the evaluated storage times, and the average values obtained for pH, CRA, objective color, and TPA were expected for this type of cooked meat sausage. In the presence of curcumin microcrystals, the synthetic antioxidant, sodium erythorbate, can be eliminated from the formulations, as it does not affect the physical-chemical parameters studied, such as pH, water retention capacity, color objective, and texture profile.