121 Chile Pepper Recipes to Spice Up Any Meal

Chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican breakfast dish and beloved comfort food, are made of crispy fried tortillas simmered in a red or green chile-based sauce and topped as desired with fried eggs, cheese, crema and more. The red sauce is warm, smoky, earthy and just slightly sweet, made with red tomatoes and dried red chiles. The green sauce is bright, tangy and herby, made with tomatillos and fresh green chiles. Go for both, or “Christmas” as New Mexicans call it, and have it all.

Recipe from Edible Phoenix

A breakfast classic in the Middle East and North Africa, shakshukas are made of eggs poached in a robust and flavorful sauce of tomatoes, garlic and spices—and in these versions, chiles to kick up the heat. Edible San Fernando Valley‘s Shakshuka is smoky, spicy and slightly sweet, made with ripe red tomatoes, fresh serrano chile and paprika powders. Or try this Green Tomatillo (or Tomato) Shakshuka from Levant for a vibrant version made tart and tangy by tomatillos and spicy with chiles and hot pepper paste.

Image: Shakshuka, Edible San Fernando Valley

Salsa is a culinary workhorse. It can work as a dip, a topping, a sauce, a flavor enhancer or a side and pairs well with any meat, seafood, vegetables, dairy, legumes and grains in almost any type of dish. With this level of versatility, we’ll revisit salsas under “Condiments” but these are our favorite chunky salsas just made for a bag of chips. For a fresh salsa, Lois Ellen Frank’s Pico De Gallo shared by Edible New Mexico gets its heat from fresh jalapeños and leaves an impression with the addition of blackened garlic. Or sweet balances the spice in Edible Phoenix‘s Peach Salsa. The smoky char is its own flavor enhancer in Edible Madison’s Grilled Tomato, Red Pepper & Poblano Salsa.

Image: Lois’s Pico De Gallo, Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky

Sweet and mostly mild, these delicious peppers make a delicious appetizer simply charred with sesame oil and a sprinkle of salt and even better with the ginger aioli dipping sauce. If you’re not familiar with shishito peppers and you’re not partial to the kind of spiciness that numbs your mouth and overloads your sinuses, reader beware: While most shishito peppers are perfectly mild, there’s a small, but not miniscule, chance you may encounter the nonconformist shishito that packs some heat. If you can handle that risk, therein lies the fun in eating them.

Recipe from Edible Michiana

Edible Boston‘s Tuna Crudo with Charred Leek, Poblano Pepper, Cumin Aïoli and Pepitas adds charred poblano peppers and leeks for a smoky kick. Edible Rio Grande Valley‘s Serrano Sauce Ceviche serves the red snapper and octopus ceviche in a soupy aguachile sauce made with spicy serrano peppers and Parmesan cheese and is topped with truffle oil and garlic chips. Edible Monterey Bay’s Salmon Tostadas tops a raw salmon and avocado tostada with a salsa macha that adds a smoky note and texture.

Image: Serrano Sauce Ceviche, Edible Rio Grande Valley

From the mildish chile poblano to the spicy habanero, chiles are the scene-stealing co-stars in these hot, comforting and simple vegetarian soups. Edible Chicago‘s Karl’s Potato, Poblano and Cheddar Soup adds a gentle kick that elevates the comfort classic. Edible Dallas & Fort Worth‘s Carrot Habanero Soup is deliciously healthy but hits all the indulgent notes. The addition of chiles guajillo makes Edible Monterey Bay‘s Tepoztlán-Style Bean Soup richly complex yet surprisingly light with a tomato base. Edible Nashville‘s Black Bean Roasted Poblano Soup is easy to make with an Instant Pot, with deeply rich flavors that belie the simple ingredients used to produce them. 

Image: Tepoztlán-Style Bean Soup, Edible Monterey Bay

Pozole is a traditional Mexican pork and hominy corn soup (or stew) eaten any time of day, starting with breakfast, and lauded for its ability to cure a hangover (no lies spoken here). Of the three variations of pozole, two of them—pozole verde (green) and pozole rojo (red)—are differentiated primarily by the type of chile sauce used for the stew though both are endlessly customizable. Made with fresh jalapeños, tomatillos and cilantro, Edible Denver‘s Green Pork Pozole is tangy, bold and bright, yet soothing. Dried red chiles give Edible Phoenix‘s Red Chile Posole a satiatingly deep, smoky and earthy-sweet flavor. 

Image: Green Pork Pozole, Edible Denver

There’s no dish more visually chile-forward than a stuffed chile and stuffed poblanos—chile rellenos or chiles en nogada—both staples in Mexican cuisine. Edible San Diego‘s Chiles Rellenos de Cardinal are roasted poblanos stuffed with goat cheese, potato and spices, coated in a light egg batter and fried, then cooked in a simmering red sauce. Or try Edible Dallas & Fort Worth’s Chiles en Nogada for a traditional favorite of roasted poblano chiles stuffed with a sweet and savory meat, fruit and nut filling, which is then bathed in a walnut sauce and garnished with tart pomegranate seeds.

Image: Chiles en Nogada, Edible Dallas & Fort Worth

We love meatballs for their versatility and make-ahead-ability and this version is one of our favorites. Made with mildly earthy and sweet guajillo and New Mexico red chiles, citrusy sumac, a mix of ground meats, breadcrumbs and milk, these tender and moist meatballs are then simmered in a richly aromatic tomato-chile sauce. Bake a big batch and serve it over mashed potatoes, polenta or any grain. Then enjoy the leftovers in soups, pastas or sandwiches.

Recipe from Edible New Mexico

The answer to a deliciously spicy, quick-and-easy dinner? A stir-fry. School of Wok’s Stir-Fried Sichuan Chicken uses Sichuan peppercorns, Thai chiles and dried red chiles, a trifecta of intense spicy heat that the region’s dishes are notorious for. If you like surprises, try the Shrimp with Shishito Peppers Stir Fry from Stir Crazy, with shishito peppers you never know whether the next bite will be sweet and peppery or sweet and mouth-numbingly-spicy. Or this plant-based Tofu Holy Basil Stir-Fry (Pad Kra Prow Taohu) from Rosa’s Thai Café, a classic Thai dish that uses the fiery red bird’s eye chiles (aka Thai chile).

Image: Shrimp with Shishito Peppers Stir Fry, Stir Crazy

A beloved Thai staple, the green curry’s super flavorful soupy broth is simply divine with a bowl of fragrant steamed jasmine rice. This version is completely plant-based but you can use any type of protein for this dish and any number of vegetables. Many Thai restaurants have a heat index for how spicy their dishes are, or can be made. And you may have noted that the more authentic the restaurant, the more likely that “mildly hot” is not scaled to American expectations. It’s Thai, and they like it spicy. Made at home, you can better control the level of heat. 

Recipe from Rosa’s Thai Café 

Edible New Mexico’s Red Chile Chard Enchiladas with Crema is made with a deep and smoky homemade red chile sauce and completely vegan topped with a dairy-free cashew crema that can be substituted for cheese. Edible OKC’s Charred Vegetable Enchiladas marinates then chars the vegetables, including poblanos and jalapeños, but saves time with a premade enchilada sauce. Edible Phoenix’s Quick Chicken Enchiladas are the go-to when you’ve got limited time to cook an amazing dinner, leaning into canned cream of chicken soup and canned mild green chiles to save time.  

Image: Charred Vegetable Enchiladas, Edible OKC

Edible Bozeman‘s Braised Pork En Nogada 2 Ways takes inspiration from the flavors of the classic chile en nogada for a braised pork that is cooked with all of the ingredients that go into the filling, served over a baked sweet potato or tortillas, topped with nogada sauce and garnished with pomegranate arils. Edible Dallas & Fort Worth‘s Chipotle Dry Rubbed Pork Tenderloin is all about the chipotle and smoked paprika spice rub, which can also be used on chicken, steaks, ribs and kabobs. For a sweet addition, try topping it with the peach salsa shared above.

Image: Braised Pork En Nogada 2 Ways, Edible Bozeman

The chiles guajillo in Edible Silicon Valley’s Guajillo-Braised Beef Short Rib Tacos From Tacolicious are cooked slowly with the short ribs, breaking them down into the perfectly flavorful, a tad spicy and soppy braised meat. Edible Monterey Bay‘s Green Tacos with Rajas Poblanas, Shiitakes and Leeks, and Avocado Salsa features a lush and creamy taco filling made of roasted poblano chiles, meaty shiitake mushrooms, leeks, cheese and crème fraîche.

Image: Green Tacos with Rajas Poblanas, Edible Monterey Bay

The natural sweetness of corn plays the perfect foil for the heat and smoke of chiles in these recipes. In this super easy Chile Corn Stir-fry, jalapeño or serrano chile (choose serrano for more heat), garlic and ginger complement the sweetness of fresh corn. The vibrant and smoky guajillo-ancho-arbol chile sauce is the main event in Edible Dallas & Fort Worth‘s Elotes with Chile Sauce. The roasted chile lends a subtle kick to Edible Philly’s Poblano Corn Bread(with loads of smoked cheddar). Not quite cornbread, not quite pudding, Edible Alaska’s Corn and Green Chile Pudding is slightly sweet, softly filling and as hot as you like it.

Image: Elotes with Chile Sauce, Edible Dallas & Fort Worth

Funky, briny, tangy, tart, spicy and sweet, the list of ingredients can be a bit of a turnoff if you’ve never had som tum before, but as those who love it (that’d be us) will tell you, it is absolutely, delectably and addictively appetizing. This version goes extra funky with salted field crab but it can be omitted if it’s too hard to source. Adjust the spice level with the number of chilies and adjust the seasonings to taste—just as you would if you were to order som tum from a street or market stall in Thailand.

Recipe from Luke Nguyen’s Street Food Asia

Harissa is a handy goes-with-near-anything North African hot chili paste made with dried chilies, olive oil and warm spices—and the smoky and warm spices pair exceptionally well with sweet and earthy root vegetables. Edible Northeast Florida‘s Harissa Carrots with Chickpea Stew works as a flavorful vegan main or side. And make sure to make extra of the harissa for these Roasted Parsnips with Harissa, perfect with roast chicken, pork tenderloin or as part of a vegetarian spread.

Image: Roasted Parsnips with Harissa, Edible Communities

It’s hard to overstate how versatile salsas are. Not only are the varieties endless, there’s a salsa for everything and everyone. And while you can get creative, we love a good basic salsa and these four make up our salsa flight for the table. These Three Salsas—a roasted tomato salsa, raw red salsa and a raw green salsa—are all fresh, distinct in flavor with just a few shifts in ingredients. Round out your salsa flight with this Salsa Macha, which is made with only dried ingredients, and like its Asian cousin, the chile crunch, you can drizzle it on just about anything.

Recipes from Edible New Mexico

Deeply rich, intense and full of complex flavors, mole (pronounced MO-lay) is a beloved staple sauce in Mexican cuisine with a notoriously long list of ingredients that is served over any protein (chicken, turkey, pork, eggs or beans), vegetables and rice or as a topping on enchiladas or tamales. Edible Rhody’s Mole Poblano is a reddish-brown classic from Puebla. Edible Marin & Wine Country’s Oaxacan Mole Negro, while similar in to the poblano, is smokier and deeper with charred ingredients and more chocolate. Edible New Mexico‘s Apricot & Piñon Mole lifts the classics with sweet and tangy dried apricot and the rich and buttery flavor of piñons (aka pine nuts). Or try one of these vegan takes with half the ingredients but full of flavor. Edible New Mexico‘s Miso Mushroom Mole is an umami-rich vegan mole. And maple syrup takes the place of chocolate in Edible Boston’s Maple Mole.

Image: Mole Poblano, Edible Rhody

With fresh blueberries and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, this Blueberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce from 12 Bones Smokehouse starts out sweet but the finish is all chipotle. Sweet, smoky and spicy, Edible Northeast Florida’s Spicy Grilled Peach BBQ Sauce grills the peaches to intensify their sweetness. Edible Philly’s Apricot Barbecue Sauce with Gochujang balances the spiciness of the Korean gochujang with fresh apricots and agave nectar. Or try this Finadene from Barbecause Sauces Rubs and Marinades, a salty-tart vinegar-soy barbecue sauce traditionally served with rich barbecued pork, chicken or grilled seafood in Guam.

Image: Apricot Barbecue Sauce with Gochujang, Edible Philly

These globally inspired hot sauces borrow flavor profiles from a few traditional hot sauces and condiments from around the world. This Pomegranate & Guajillo sauce keeps it sweet and while it has almost no heat, the guajillo peppers add depth and complexity. This tangy and zesty Orange & Banana Pepper Hot Sauce is just mildly spicy. This Mango & Jalapeño Hot Sauce is bright, sweet and tangy with medium heat. And for those who can handle the heat, this Super Hot Sauce packs the heat with Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers.

Recipes from Edible Sarasota

Edible Vancouver Island‘s Homemade Sriracha shows how easy it is to make the uber-famous rooster-branded red sauce so you can customize it to taste (and in case there’s ever another shortage). Edible Madison‘s Vietnamese Red Chile Dipping Sauce is a classic spicy-tangy-funky-sweet dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls, egg rolls, summer rolls and anything else you can think of. And Edible Minnesota’s Kau Txob (Hmong Hot Pepper Sauce) is a punchy hot sauce made with hot Thai chiles (spicy!) that complements grilled meats and fried foods especially well.

Image: Homemade Sriracha, Edible Vancouver Island

There’s no question that chili oil is a staple accompaniment for traditional Chinese dishes but its more recent popularity is due to its tasty adaptability to other cuisines, from pizzas to avocado toasts and more. For the classic, Edible Southeastern Massachusetts Chili Crispis made with dried chili flakes, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, shallots, soy sauce and sugar, or try Edible Monterey Bay‘s Chinese Chili Oil if you favor additional aromatics such as ginger and star anise. And if you’re also a garlic lover, try Edible Delmarva’s Chili Garlic Oil with pickled garlic and Korean chili flakes.

Image: Chili Garlic Oil, Edible Delmarva

If you like your heat with some tang, these are the hot sauces for you. Edible Madison’s Pickled Pepper Hot Sauce is fermented in a saltwater brine then puréed with vinegar for a spicy, bright sauce. Or turn up the heat and tang with Edible Houston’s Chile Pequin “Peppa” Sauce, a beloved Southern classic with a pepperier kick with native chiles pequins.

Image: Pickled Pepper Hot Sauce, Edible Madison

Edible New Mexico‘s Red Chile Chimichurri puts a twist on the classic herby Uruguayan and Argentinian condiment with fresh red chiles instead of dried. Edible Minnesota’s Chimichurri lifts and brightens the sauce with additional herbs like cilantro and basil, fresh green chiles and lemon juice. For a Middle Eastern spin, Edible Michiana’s Zhoug packs a flavorful punch with cilantro and mint, garlic, jalapeños, red pepper flakes, spices, lime juice and olive oil. And an Italian staple goes Southwest in Edible Silicon Valley’s Roasted Poblano Pistachio Pesto, a beautifully bright, nutty, savory and herby pesto made with fresh parsley and oregano leaves, roasted poblano and jalapeño peppers, Parmesan cheese and toasted pistachios.

Image: Chimichurri, Edible Minnesota

Mildly spicy, tart and delicious pickled chile peppers make a great topping or companion for tacos, nachos, dips, pizza, you name it. Edible Madison’s Quick-Pickled Jalapeños uses vinegar for a quick refrigerator pickle. Or for longer storage, try Edible New Mexico‘s Fermented Green Chile that pickles the chiles with a saltwater brine. And for a taco bar classic, try Edible Sarasota‘s Pickled Jalapeños and Carrots (aka hot carrots).

Image: Pickled Jalapeños and Carrots, Edible Sarasota

Edible New Mexico’s Helado de Chocolate Oaxaqueño adds complex flavor to your typical chocolate ice cream with the use of spice-infused Oaxacan chocolate, which is topped with a sprinkling of red chile powder. Edible Ojai & Ventura County Mocha Chile Chocolate Torteis a gluten-free flourless torte with layers and layers of intense and warm flavors, including cayenne powder, warm spices and espresso. Edible San Diego’s Chili-Chocolate Avocado Pudding is a silky-smooth vegan dessert that’s sweet-but-not-too-sweet and perfectly balanced. Also vegan, Edible Phoenix’s Equinox Chocolates are rich, dark and robust, made with good-for-you cacao powder, goji berries and chiltepin chile pepper. 

Image: Mocha Chile Chocolate Torte, Edible Ojai & Ventura County

Traditionally used as a folk remedy for a variety of ailments, including alleviating the symptoms of the cold and flu, the health benefits of its ingredients make it a great everyday elixir to maintain your immunity and health—if you can handle the explosion of flavors, not to mention the sensations, bursting in your mouth from one small sip. Edible Rhody‘s Roaring Fire Cider uses dried hot chile peppers, while Edible Nutmeg’s Fire Cider goes nuclear with the addition of habanero peppers.

Image: Roaring Fire Cider, Edible Rhody

Our favorite version of sugar, spice and everything nice. Edible Maine‘s Habanero Watermelon Margarita is made with fresh watermelon, watermelon simple syrup, homemade sour mix, homemade habanero hot sauce and tequila. Spicy and smoky-sweet, Edible Northeast Florida‘s Picnic at Project Swing features fresh watermelon, datil pepper simple syrup and bourbon. Edible Nutmeg‘s Peach Habanero Mezcal Margarita is made with a peach habanero syrup, which can be made with lightly grilled peaches to amplify the smoky flavor. A three-chili syrup lends depth of flavor to Edible Michiana‘s Some Like It Hot made with your choice of tequila or mezcal or try this Jalapeño Mezcal Mule if you prefer your drink sweet, but not too sweet. 

Image: Picnic at Project Swing, Edible Northeast Florida