What To Do With Ghost Peppers

Growing ghost peppers in your garden can seem like a good idea, but now you have over 100 of the hottest peppers in the world. What do you do with them? Well, a lot actually. Check out these five ghost pepper recipes and get ready to sweat.

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Bhut jolokia, also know as ghost peppers are crazy spicy. Actually second spiciest, first prize goes to the Carolina Reaper.

They are popular with gardeners and chile fans but the idea of growing a ghost chili plant and having to do something with them come harvest time is a different story.

Turns out, if you are a capsaicin queen, using up those super hot peppers won’t be a problem at all! What I like to do is take my favorite recipes made with milder chiles like jalapeños and serranos and amp it up with the ghost peppers. There are a few tricks to cooking with them however without causing major damage to your skin, nose, and eyes.

Read on to learn all about these hot chilies and how to use them and don’t forget to add them to your garden plans this year.

What Are Ghost Peppers

Several ghost peppers on a banana leaf. — (Photo by Jerry Redfern/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Ghost peppers are 200 times hotter than a jalapeño and six times hotter than a habanero pepper. In other words, really freaking hot! What makes ghost peppers so incredibly spicy (clocking in at 1,041,427 shu) is the capsaicin or spicy element in the peppers is held in the flesh of the pepper, not just in its seeds and veins like other chiles.

Originally from India, the ghost pepper is of the family Capsicum Chinese along with other superhots like the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. In full sun they produce colorful peppers in red, yellow, orange and even white.

How To Cook With Ghost Peppers

Even if you use chiles with a significant Scoville rating on a regular basis, some precautions need to taken into consideration when handling ghost peppers.

Wear gloves. Even if you don’t wear gloves to handle habaneros (I don’t either), wearing gloves is a must with ghost peppers. Consider even two pairs of rubber gloves to protect your skin from burning that could last a day or more.
Ventilate. Many ghost pepper recipes have you blend them in a food processor or blender which will blast those Scoville heat units right up your nose, in your eyes, and all over your house. Make sure to open windows, doors, and turn on your kitchen hood.

More To Explore
What is Capsaicin? Plus 20 Spicy Food Recipes
17 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Recipes
Easy Chamoy Sauce Recipe

5 Ghost Pepper Recipes To Try!

Think about your favorite spicy recipes—those are the ones you are going to want to try with ghost peppers! At around a million scoville units however, just use less. Try these 5 recipes below but only use a quarter of the chile amount called for in the recipe. Follow the swap instructions below.

1. Instant Pot Beef Chili

This Instant Pot Beef Chili is the quickest way to get fiery, soul-satisfying beef and bean chili into your belly. The original recipe calls for chipotle chiles in adobo. Substitute anywhere from 1/4 of a ghost pepper to a whole one, depending on your tolerance. You can always add more, but not less. Recipe includes stove top instructions too!

A bowl of chili with beans, radish slices, red onions slices, serrano Chile slices, and a crumbling of white cheese on top.

2. Apple Hot Pepper Jelly

Homemade Apple Hot Pepper Jelly makes the most delicious gifts not to mention it is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The sweetness helps tamper the heat making it the perfect recipe for ghost peppers. Swap the jalapeños and cayenne peppers in the recipe with 5 ghost peppers. Get step-by-step instructions on how to make this obsessively good homemade jelly at home.

6 jars of Jalapeno jelly sitting on a white and red kitchen towel that is sitting on a wood table.

3. Ghost Pepper Tomatillo Salsa

If you like spicy, this salsa is for you. This habanero salsa is the perfect place to put your ghost peppers—it is not for wimps. To make with ghost peppers substitute an equal amount of ghost peppers for the charred habanero chiles called for in the recipe.

A metal serving bowl filled with habanero salsa with a spoon sticking out of one side. The bowl is sitting on a plate.

4. Spicy Raspberry Margaritas

This Spicy Raspberry Margarita is a fruity, fiery blend of sweet raspberry syrup, chile-infused tequila, and lime juice that can easily be made into a boozy, big-batch cocktail for any celebration. The original recipe calls for infusing the tequila with a fresh jalapeño, but a ghost pepper would also be amazing. Swap in equal amounts.

Two pink margaritas sitting on a wood table with slices of jalapeno, fresh raspberries, and ice floating in the glasses.

5. Spicy Honey Goat Cheese Toasts

Soft goat cheese on crisp toasted bread, drizzled with spicy honey, a few ripe pear slices, and a sprinkling of toasted almond slices. This recipe uses árbol chile powder to add a kick to the honey, to substitute ghost peppers, mince 1/2 of a pepper and warm with the honey. Taste and add more as desired.

Several toasts smeared with goat cheese and topped with slices of pear, sliced almonds and honey on a wood table.

More Spicy Food Recipes To Try!

Ghost Peppers Are More Than Smoke Bombs

They are THE bomb! Give these recipes a try. Let me know when you make it by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) ! Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!