Recipe Roundup

Our 84 Spiciest, Chile-Packed Recipes

Packed with serrano, habanero, Calabrian, and other chiles, these spicy recipes bring the heat—but they also bring plenty of flavor to back it up.
Image may contain Dish Food Meal Platter Stew Plant Supper and Dinner
Photo by Alex Lau
  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Platter Stew Plant Supper and Dinner
    Photo by Alex Lau
    1/83

    Sambal Short Rib Stir-Fry

    Flavored with store-bought sambal oelek, a spicy Indonesian condiment made with fresh chiles, this spicy stir-fry is fantastic served over a bowl of steamed white rice.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Caleb Adams, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    2/83

    Spicy Cucumber-Avocado Soup

    A creamy blend of ripe avocados, English cucumbers, and yogurt—with a bit of lime juice and jalapeño adding brightness—the soup is quick, satisfying, and fail-proof.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
    5/83

    Spicy Black Bean and Corn Tacos

    Filled with black beans, avocado, and raw corn marinated in bright lime juice along with jalapeño, cilantro, and toasted nuts and seeds, these hearty tacos make an easy-to-cook, easy-to-eat weeknight dinner.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau
    6/83

    Miso- and Mayo-Marinated Short Ribs with Spicy Sauce

    Short ribs on a weeknight? Combine thin-cut, flanken-style ribs with a flavor-packed sauce made with mayo, miso, and Sriracha, and anything is possible.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Molly Baz
    7/83

    Peanut Drinking Snack

    This spicy, sour, salty, crunchy mix isn't your typical roasted bar nuts. Fresh lime juice, red onion, chiles, and cilantro give it amazing flavor.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    8/83

    Sambal Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

    The shrimp cooks in minutes, so while it’s marinating, set out a platter of lettuce cups, mint sprigs, chopped peanuts, sliced cucumbers, and the reserved sauce.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    9/83

    Thai-Style Squid and Cucumber Salad

    Tossed with crunchy cucumbers, peanuts, and fresh red chiles, this salad makes a refreshing summer dinner spooned over rice or all on its own.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    10/83

    Spicy Grilled Chicken with Crunchy Fennel Salad

    This chicken packs some heat, which is why we paired it with a superclean and cooling crisp fennel salad. If fennel is not your thing, any shaved crunchy veg will do. Try radishes, carrots, or cucumbers instead.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    11/83

    Hot Honey Pork Chops With Escarole and White Beans

    The spicy garlic-honey glaze for the pan-seared pork chops also forms the base of the sauce for the warm escarole-and–white bean salad in this easy one-pan dinner.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
    12/83

    3-Ingredient Buffalo Grilled Chicken Wings

    A simple Buffalo-style hot sauce delivers a big punch of flavor to these addictive grilled wings. Brush a little sauce on the wings at the end of grilling for caramelized flavor, then toss them in more sauce before serving for full spicy saturation.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Peden + Munk
    13/83

    Baby Back Ribs with Tamarind Glaze

    A habanero-tamarind glaze gives these grilled ribs an intoxicatingly sweet, spicy, and sour flavor.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    14/83

    Spicy Larb with Cabbage Cups

    Larb will not only fill your belly, it will teach you how to balance sweet, sour, salty, spicy, funky, and umami flavors. When you get the balance right, this dish sings, each bite creating a craving for more.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi
    15/83

    Fire Cider Tonic

    Infuse apple cider vinegar with horseradish, garlic, chiles, and ginger to make an immunity-boosting tonic that just happens to be delicious.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    16/83

    Slow-Roasted Salmon With Harissa

    A low temperature (and an abundance of olive oil) makes it nearly impossible to overcook salmon. Slathering the fish with harissa—a roasted, spiced chile paste—ensures it has plenty of flavor.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    25/83

    Spicy Steak Salad Wraps

    These adobo-marinated steak wraps have a delightful garnish: Corn nuts. Their primary role here is to add salt, crunch, and sweet toasty flavors to each bite. Corn chips, Fritos, or even kettle-style potato chips would be excellent understudies.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau
    26/83

    Twice-Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Hot Honey

    This recipe embraces the incredible natural sweetness of sweet potatoes but gives it a spicy edge.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    29/83

    Garlic-Chile Vinegar

    This spicy-tangy-funky condiment is delicious on grilled fish, grain bowls, braises, and stews—basically anything that needs a touch of acid and heat.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Marvin Gapultos
    30/83

    Spicy Sizzling Squid (Sisig na Pusit)

    If you travel to the Philippines, though, you’ll discover that you can “sisig” pretty much anything. There’s chicken sisig, tuna sisig, goat sisig, and even vegetarian sisig. This squid iteration incorporates salmon caviar and crushed prawn crackers.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau
    45/83

    Fried Egg Tacos with Chile Jam

    These are the simplest, most flavorful breakfast tacos thanks to a quickly assembled chile jam, creamy yogurt, eggs, and scallions. They're as good for a quick weeknight dinner as they are for breakfast.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Christopher Hirsheimer
    46/83

    Salmon in a Bengali Mustard Sauce

    Dial up the heat on this spicy/creamy Bengali-style fish dish as high as you'd like. (Or dial it down and make it really wimpy. No judgement.)

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Justin Walker
    47/83

    Filipino-Style Spiced Vinegar

    You can store this all-purpose sweet-and-spicy vinegar in clean mason jars, but it is easier to keep it in repurposed glass bottles.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau
    48/83

    Pickled Chiles

    Despite being pickled, these chiles have a fresh crunch and bright, garlicky flavor. If you cook them, they lose that; add them to finished dishes, particularly pizzas.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Linda Xiao
    49/83

    Habanero Jam

    Looks like a perfectly innocent bowl of apricot jam, burns like a bright and fruity pepper jelly.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau
    50/83

    Miss Ollie's Jerk Chicken

    The longer you can let this chicken rest in the marinade (up to 24 hours), the better the warm, aromatic, fiery spices will penetrate the meat.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    53/83

    Smashed Cucumber Salad with Hot Vinegar

    Cucumbers are practically all water, so you gotta dress them like you mean it. This hot, sweet, and tart dressing will have them covered.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Chris Terry
    54/83

    Braised Trout in Chilli Bean Sauce (Dou Ban Yu)

    This fish lies in a spectacular sauce: deep rusty red in color, sumptuously spicy and aromatic with ginger and garlic. In Sichuan, they tend to make it with carp, but sea bass, trout, and mirror carp all work equally well.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau
    59/83

    Ugly Baby’s Red Curry Paste

    Chef Sirichai Sreparplarn of Brooklyn's Ugly Baby doesn’t believe in using food processors for making curry paste, but we won’t stop you from using one. He also prefers a blend of two parts shorter dried chiles (prik haeng) and one part longer chiles (prik chee fah), but any Thai chile will work.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Candice Kumai
    60/83

    Spicy Miso-Tahini Ramen

    This delicious ramen bowl is made with basic pantry staples, such as miso paste and tahini, plus Sriracha for spice! Add more Sriracha to finish, and top it all off with a slightly runny soft-boiled egg.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Kristin Teig
    65/83

    Zhoug (Spicy Herb Sauce)

    You’ll probably find yourself stirring this sauce into scrambled eggs, spreading it on a sandwich, mixing it with Greek yogurt to make a dip, or just eating it by the spoonful.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Bao Minh Bguyen
    66/83

    Singaporean Chili Crab

    This spicy, tangy, rich seafood dish may have several elements, but once they all come together it's absolute magic.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by James Pomerantz
    69/83

    Grilled Corn with Hot Paprika Oil and Manchego Cheese (Maíz Rustido)

    Give the classic Mexican combination of corn with ground chilies, queso fresco, and lime a Spanish spin by swapping Manchego for the queso fresco and adding hot pimentón instead of ground chilies.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    70/83

    Kung Pao Chicken

    This highly addictive stir-fried chicken continues to be one of the most popular Chinese dishes in America as the succulent, complex sauce of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors is hard to pass up. For years Americanized versions often left out the Sichuan peppercorns because of an import ban, but now Sichuan peppercorns are once again easily found in Chinatown shops and even gourmet chains such as Whole Foods.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Linda Xiao
    71/83

    Roasted Tomato–Cashew Salsa

    If we had to give this salsa a heat index rating, it would get three out of five chiles.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    72/83

    Fiery Green Tahini Sauce

    Serranos star in this all-purpose condiment/dip. Use it on sandwiches, and for crunchy vegetables and chips.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Peden + Munk, Prop Styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky, Food Styling by Sue Li
    73/83

    Grilled Corn Salad with Hot Honey-Lime Dressing

    Toss a few extra cobs on the grill at your next cookout and stash them to make this smoky corn salad later in the week.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Marcus Nilsson
    74/83

    Soba With Green Chile Pesto

    This pesto-inspired sauce relies on green chiles for heat, lime juice for punch, and miso for deeply savory flavor. Tossed with noodles, it's equally good hot, warm, or cold the next day.

    Get This Recipe
  • Jeff Lipsky
    77/83

    Sichuan Beef Noodle Soup with Pickled Mustard Greens

    You cannot talk about spicy food without talking about Sichuan cuisine. This beef stew incorporates the concept of mala: the infamous Sichuan peppercorns have a slight numbing effect so you can tolerate the chiles.

    Get This Recipe
  • Photo by Charles Masters, Food styling by Sue Li
    78/83

    Our Favorite Texas Beef Chili

    Fair warning: this chili manages to pack in a whopping five kinds of dried chiles. Topping it with sliced fresh jalapeños is up to you.

    Get This Recipe
Read More
Meet the Spicier, Smokier Red-Pepper Flakes
Meet the Spicier, Smokier Red-Pepper Flakes
Already a fan of red-pepper flakes? Then you're ready to explore the new breed of smoky, sweet, and savory chili seasonings.

Adina Steiman

Recipe Project: Texas Chili
Recipe Project: Texas Chili
Skip the beans. Shun the ground meat. This Lone Star State bowl of red delivers long-simmered flavor that the average chili can't match.

Rhoda Boone

Your Guide to the Smokiest, Creamiest Chile Con Queso
Your Guide to the Smokiest, Creamiest Chile Con Queso
These New Mexican chiles range from mild to spicy, but no matter their heat level, they trigger full-on obsession in their fans. It's time for you to be one of them

Gabriella Vigoreaux

The Most-Saved Recipes in the Epicurious App This Week
Like grilled chicken wings and a citrus bitters cocktail.
The Most-Saved Recipes in the Epicurious App in May
Like green falafel smash burgers and a crispy rice salad.
23 Fresh Basil Recipes for Pesto and Beyond
Grilled corn with basil butter, pineapple shrimp noodles, slow-cooker pork with zesty basil sauce, and more.
41 Father’s Day Breakfasts to Say, “Thanks, Dad”
Extra-tender cinnamon rolls, everything-bagel quiche, a chorizo and egg crunchwrap, and more ways to show your gratitude.
31 Fourth of July Desserts for Star-Spangled Summer Fun
Like butter-pecan icebox cake, sour cherry pot pie, sheet pan shortcake, and more.
19 Homemade Ice Cream Recipes Worth a Second (or Third or Fourth) Scoop
Hazelnut espresso, no-churn dark chocolate, raspberry-cardamom, and more dreamy combos.
The Best Mac and Cheese You'll Ever Make (Restaurant-Quality)
In this edition of Epicurious 101, professional chef and culinary instructor Frank Proto demonstrates how to make the best mac and cheese at home. From the perfect melty sauce to a delicious toasted crust, follow Frank’s guide and never make a dry mac and cheese again.
Cheese Expert Tries Every Trader Joe’s Cheese
Trader Joe’s is famous for its cheese selection, but which ones are actually worth buying? Cheese expert Liz Thorpe joins Epicurious to taste test everything from classic Brie and sharp cheddar to more adventurous flavors like chocolate stilton and spicy scotch bonnet. Join Liz as she breaks down the best buys, hidden gems, and which cheeses to skip on your next Trader Joe’s run.
Pro Chefs Blind Taste Test Every Frozen Burrito
Chefs Yara Herrera, Eric See, and Adán Medrano are used to thinking outside the box when it comes to cooking; however, today on Epicurious, we’ve asked them to give us their unfiltered, honest reviews of some prominent frozen burritos found on supermarket shelves. Which burritos pack the most bang for your budget, and which should you avoid at all costs?