29 Spicy Recipes to Make You Sweat
As a kid, I couldn’t handle a drop of heat. Chicken wings, hot pickles, tomato sauce with even a pinch of red pepper flakes—I wouldn’t touch any spicy recipe with a ten-foot pole. Then I learned that spice tolerance isn’t inflexible. Quite the opposite, it’s more like a muscle that wants to be exercised in order to grow strong. (Parents have known this all along.)
I started slow, then worked my way up to actually hot hot sauce. Now I’m emptying a jar of homemade chile crisp on my eggs in the morning and adding mashed-up chiles to my fruit salad. So, if spice isn’t your thing yet, be patient. Start with these cozy sweet potatoes with hot honey. Move onto pico de gallo, with fresh jalapeños (relatively mild as far as hot peppers go). From there, you’ll be ready to make your own pickled chiles and harissa, to top all sorts of dishes.
And if you came here because you already have hot sauce in your bag (actually, three types)—well, you came to the right place. Here are our 29 favorite tongue-tingling, capsaicin-laden recipes.
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Photograph by Shawn Michael Jones, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca1/29Spicy Beef Noodle Soup With Mushrooms
We love any spicy recipe that leaves us with leftovers of a condiment to wake up our scrambled eggs and avocado toast the next morning. Such is the case with this noodle soup, which gets its heat from a chile condiment made from two cups of dried bird chiles.
Photograph by Shawn Michael Jones, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca2/29Salsa-Grilled Chicken Thighs
When it’s grilling season, we want to keep the recipes simple and let the grill do most of the work. A quick salsa made with guajillo chiles acts as both the marinade and the sauce for serving in this recipe. Serve with any number of our favorite grilling sides.
Photograph by Shawn Michael Jones, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca3/29Sri Lankan–Style Black Pork Curry
Photograph by Shawn Michael Jones, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca4/29Hot-and-Sour Fruit Salad
Our favorite summer salad recipes utilize all the produce we can get our hands on. Here, we’re tossing a rainbow of fresh fruit in a fish-sauce-forward dressing with Fresno chiles. Using fresh chiles kicks up the heat since they’re holding on to all of their fiery oils. Muddle them with a mortar and pestle to release the heat and don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich6/29Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
The concentrated heat from the garlicky sambal oelek finds harmony with rice and crisp lettuce, both of which help cool off your tongue between bites.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell, Prop Styling by Suzie Myers7/29Slicked and Spicy Lamb Noodles
For those building up their spice tolerance, start with this weeknight pasta recipe. The heat comes from crushed red pepper flakes, which bloom in the hot oil with cumin and paprika.
Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou9/29Spicy Braised Tofu
Gochujang is the condiment that keeps on giving. It’ll punch you in the face with flavor and heat, then hand you an ice pack to keep the swelling down. The sweetness in the sauce is the key to that unique good cop, bad cop quality. It also helps the sauce reduce to a sticky, caramelized consistency.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones10/29Pico de Gallo
Everyone needs a few back pocket snack recipes for when friends arrive at your door unannounced. Like many salsa recipes, this one is perfect for those occasions, or for when you don’t know what to do with all the tomatoes overrunning your garden.
Photo by Alex Lau11/29Spicy Grapefruit Shandy
When you’re craving a refreshing, spicy cocktail that’s low ABV, think of the shandy. This version gets its kick from pickled ginger to turn cheap beer into your favorite warm weather sipper.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie12/29Spicy Tomato Feta Pasta
Calabrian chile paste is an incredible ingredient because it melts into your dishes, adding just the right amount of fiery heat and exponentially more chile flavor than you’d achieve with crushed red pepper flakes. Use the rest of the jar for a spicy Caesar potato salad or the dipping sauce for these crispy fried olives.
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Ayesha Patel13/29Crunchy Gochujang Fennel
Alex Lau14/29Kimchi Udon With Scallions
This noodle dinner is quick enough to make on a weeknight, but tastes like it took way longer to put together. Kimchi comes in a range of spice levels, so those looking for a real punishment should opt for super spicy kimchi.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Gerri K Williams15/29Chipotle-Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
Cauliflower is having a moment, and we’re here for it. This pale brassica caramelizes like a dream when roasted and holds on to the smokey, concentrated chipotle flavor like a sponge thanks to its tight florets.
Photograph by Cody Guilfoyle, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie, Food Styling by Thu Buser16/29Spicy Kimchi Sujebi
Making your own noodles doesn’t need to be arduous. Sujebi is a great noodle for beginners since the dough is torn, not shaped, and it gets tossed into bubbling soup—in this case, a spicy-tangy broth thanks to kimchi and gochujang.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime17/29Spicy Braised Eggplant Noodles
Lean on common pantry staples like gochujang, tomato paste, and miso to get this vegetarian pasta dinner on your table tonight.
Alex Lau19/29Homemade Harissa
This deep crimson condiment calls for three chiles—guajillo, ancho, and chile de árbol—each of which provides their own flavor profile. Guajillo is fruity, ancho has a rich chocolate-like flavor, and chile de árbol is smoky. Together they act like different instruments in a band that harmonize to create one bold sound.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski20/29Pickled Hot Chiles
Keep a jar of these pickled hot chiles in your fridge to toss on your Italian hoagie, sheet-tray nachos, or any kind of taco you’re making this Tuesday.
Photo by Alex Lau, , Food Styling by Sue Li21/29Shrimp and Basil Stir-Fry
Don’t let the sweet basil fool you—this shrimp means business. The sauce, which comes together after a whirl in the blender, turns a deep brick red in the pan and clings to the shrimp like wallpaper. Serve this stir-fry with rice if you need a reprieve from the heat, or use more fresh chiles if you don’t!
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk22/29Hot Honey Wings
For those of you who like a little punishment with your game day snacks. But between the Thai chiles, chile crisp, and cayenne pepper, you probably won’t be able to focus on anything happening on your screen.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Chris Morocco, prop styling by Emily Eisen23/29Spicy Pork Bowl With Greens and Carrots
Alex Lau27/29Mexican Hot Chocolate
This sunny sauce can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to 5 days, making it perfect for turning up the heat on your desk lunches and quick dinners all week long.
Peden + Munk28/29Roasted Garlic Chili Sauce
We love this quick tomato sauce with mozzarella sticks for a melty midnight snack. For a more adult interpretation, whip up this mozzarella in carrozza.
