5 Fiery Ways To Cook With Cayenne

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You know when there’s a pinch of cayenne pepper in your food — it’s all about that kick followed by a lingering heat. This fiery ingredient comes in both whole and powdered form, but the powder can make your life in the kitchen pretty damn easy. Here are five fiery ways you can cook with cayenne.

1. Spicy Butter

Make yourself a batch of spicy butter when you want something with a kick on your toast. For the spicy food lovers out there, spicy butter is the best when you need a little heat but you’re not in the mood to completely douse your food with hot sauce.

Grab your favorite butter, cut off a chunk and smash it down on a plate until you have a flat layer. Sprinkle the cayenne on top and mix it until you can see those red specks spread throughout. Then spread a layer on your sourdough toast, grilled cheese or add a little bit to your mac ‘n’ cheese.

2. Juice

There’s a good chance you’ve heard of those cayenne juice cleanses by now since cayenne is known for having legit health benefits. And if you can handle the heat, it’s worth adding a little bit to your drinks. You can jump on the cayenne juice trend with this warm lemon and cayenne pepper water or these cayenne-spiked green smoothies with kale, orange, pear and honey.

3. Chocolate Truffles

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For a foolproof way to impress the coworkers, whip up a batch of chili pepper chocolate truffles. Here’s a recipe that calls for heavy cream, cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne pepper, dark chocolate, shredded coconut, cookie crumbs, and pistachios. The best part about chocolate truffles is that you don’t have to worry about baking them or messing them up. Once you refrigerate chocolate truffles, you’re ready to rumble.

4. Roasted Nuts

Once you get into the swing of roasting your own nuts, your snacking days will never be the same. And cayenne pepper is an easy ingredient to throw into the coating spice blend, giving your nuts an addicting kick. Try these sweet, spicy and salty nuts with a combination of pecans, almonds and cashews. And these chile-honey nuts will only take 10 minutes to bake, giving you about four cups’ worth of snacks in the process.

5. Tomato Sauce

Any kind of sauce (unless your goal is to be low-key on the spice scale) gets better with a pinch of cayenne. Tomato sauce, in particular, can easily take a little bit of the spicy powder without becoming overwhelmed. A little cayenne goes a long way. Try this tomato sauce made with red wine, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce and mushrooms — or this fettuccine in a cayenne cream sauce.

Whether you’re looking to make a sweet or savory recipe, you can never go wrong with a container of cayenne pepper in your spice cabinet. Just remember: If you add too much to a dish by accident, you can always balance it out by adding something creamy.

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