5 Easy Way to Make Dried Peppers

There are many methods you can use for dried, or dehydrated peppers. A commercial dehydrator, or the oven, your grill, even your air fryer can be used for dried peppers.

If you have ever had a garden, or planted peppers, you know that at the end of the season, you usually end up with a bazillion peppers. Although we love our Pickled Peppers, Hot Pepper Relish and Candied Jalapenos, there are only so many canned peppers that one family can eat throughout the year, even when you consider giving a bunch of them as gifts.

What types of chiles to dry

Many types of peppers will dry well. You can really use any pepper that you grow or pick up at the farmer’s market. This is only a partial list. The hotter the fresh pepper is the hotter the dried chile pepper will be.

Did you know that when fresh chile peppers are dried, their names change?

• Chilacas- Dried chilacas are called pasilla. They are one of the most widely used in Mexican cuisine. They are bit spicier than poblanos but still mild.
• Marasol- Once dried marasol chiles are referred to as guajillos. This pepper has a fruity flavor that has a bit of kick. This pepper is also used extensively in Mexican cooking. Use it for chili powder mixes, dried pepper flakes or rehydrate and use it for sauces, soups, stews and chilies.
• Poblanos – Anchos are the dried version of poblano peppers. They are probably the most used peppers in Mexican cuisine. They are a mild pepper with not too much spicy heat. Use them for chili powders with a mixture of other peppers. Rehydrate them for soups, stew, chilies or traditional Mexican enchilada sauce.
• Chiles de árbol – These peppers are usually picked when they ripen and turn red.
• Jalapeños – These can be dried either green or red. Once dried, the jalapeno is called chipotle. It is a medium hot pepper and has a fairly large heat range from medium hot to hot. Traditionally the red chipotle is smoked prior to drying. This adds a whole new flavor dimension to these peppers. They are used in powders for a delicious chipotle powder, or make hot pepper flakes. They can also be used to make chipotle in adobo sauce. Jalapenos are by far the most popular pepper in the states.
• Cayenne peppers – These are the most common pepper to use for hot pepper flakes. They are served as a condiment or spice in most good Italian restaurants to add a bit of kick to your favorite dishes. They are considered a hot pepper ranging on the Scoville scale from 30,000-50,000 units.
• Habanero – If you want a really spicy chili powder, or hot pepper flakes use the habanero or one of the other very hot varieties that have even surpassed it in heat. The habanero has a Scoville index scale of 100,000- 300,000 units.
• Bell peppers or sweet peppers – as we mentioned above, any pepper can be dehydrated and reused in soups, stews, sauces and more. If you like the flavor of peppers but not the heat, use a sweet pepper like sweet banana or bell peppers.

How to use the dry peppers

A great way to utilize the excess of peppers that you have, is to dry, or dehydrate them. You can store them for years, really, if you vacuum pack them. Then you can rehydrate them for this delicious Homemade Enchilada Sauce, it is incredible.

Another wonderful use for dehydrated peppers is Chili Powders and red pepper flakes.

Other uses for dried peppers include, hot sauces, salsas, chili pastes, or soups and stews. Chiles are essential for Mexican dishes, like Moles, or Enchiladas.

Peppers, in most forms, make a wonderful edible gift for the holidays, or any other special occasion. A hostess gift, perhaps. Who wouldn’t want to get a gift of candied jalapenos or homemade chili peppers?

The next thing that we love about drying the peppers, is that it gives us the opportunity to have a hands off method of preserving. This is especially useful in September or October, when we have the end of the season picking. We have so many things that need to be preserved, at the same time.

Drying a huge batch of peppers, allows me the time to use different methods of preserving, such as; making enchilada sauce, or canning the peppers, even, freezing roasted peppers works well, when we’re short on time.

The Health Benefits of Dried Peppers

The other wonderful benefit of peppers is that they contain a chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin has multiple benefits, including;

• The capsaicin in peppers can aid in digestion
• Peppers are high in fiber and nutrients, including; vitamins C, K, B6, and A, and low in calories.
• Peppers are shown to have anti- carcinogenic properties.
• They have been shown to have analgesic proporties (good for relieving pain), as well.
• Believe it, or not, they can help prevent stomach ulcers.

…… Among other benefits. See this Healthline article, for a full list.

How to Make Dried Peppers

In your commercial dehydrator

1. Rinse and dry off peppers. Cut out any bad spots or obvious blemishes.
2. Cut peppers in half to speed up drying time. Slice them to dry them even faster. You can remove seeds or leave them in.
3. Place them on the dehydrator racks and load into dehydrator.
4. Set time. Set temperature to 135°F.
5. Times for drying peppers should be 8-15 hours, depending on the size of the peppers and if you cut or slice them. Whole peppers can take up to 36 hours, depending on the size.
6. Peppers are fully dry when they crack when you try to bend them.
7. Once peppers are fully dried, let them cool and then place them in a quart mason jar.
8. Lastly, see section below to condition the peppers.

In the oven

1. Rinse and dry off peppers. Cut out any bad spots or obvious blemishes.
2. Set oven to it’s lowest setting, usually between 150°F and 175°F.
3. Cut peppers in half to speed up drying time. You can remove seeds or leave them in.
4. Place peppers on racks that are placed over a baking sheet to improve air circulation around them. Leave the oven door cracked (place a wooden spoon in the door to keep it open. This will also increase airflow.
5. Whole peppers can take 8-10 hours, depending on the temperature and size of peppers.
6. Check often.
7. Peppers are fully dry when they crack when you try to bend them.
8. Once peppers are fully dried, let them cool and then place them in a quart mason jar.
9. Lastly, see section below to condition the peppers.

On your grill

1. Rinse and dry off peppers. Cut out any bad spots or obvious blemishes.
2. Start grill on one side only to very low heat. Spread peppers out directly on grill grates on the opposite side of the heat. (Indirect grilling)
3. Prop the grill open the a wooden spoon.
4. Cut peppers in half to speed up drying time. You can remove seeds or leave them in.
5. Dry for 6-10 hours depending on the size of peppers, if the are halved and how high you have the heat set. Check them often.
6. Peppers are fully dry when they crack when you try to bend them.
7. Once peppers are fully dried, let them cool and then place them in a quart mason jar.
8. Lastly, see section below to condition the peppers.

In your air fryer

1. In your air fryer, set heat to the lowest setting, mine is warm, less than 250°F.
2. Place peppers on air fryer basket and air fry in 5-10 minute intervals.
3. Depending on the size of the peppers and the lowest temperature setting of your brand of air fryer they can take 20-40 minutes to fully dehydrate.
4. Check often. If they are not quite dry after 40 minutes, dehydrate for 5 minutes at a time until dry.
5. Peppers are fully dry when they crack when you try to bend them.
6. Once peppers are fully dried, let them cool and then place them in a quart mason jar.
7. Lastly, see section below to condition the peppers.

Air drying

Air drying them will work if you live in a very dry climate, think California or Arizona, you can dry them outside, in a sunny location, but protect them from any chance rain, or dew, at night. They can take as little as a week to dry in a dry climate.

If you live in a more humid climate, you can dry them in a dry place.

Prepare them as in step one above. With a needle and a strong thread, pierce the stem with the needle and pull the thread through. Continue until you’ve used up all of the thread or all of the peppers and hang them. We find a metal hanger is great to hang them on.

They should take about 3-6 weeks to fully dehydrate.

How to store dried chiles

Once chiles are dry, you can store them whole in glass canning jars. Vacuum packing works very well after peppers are conditioned. Don’t vacuum pack fruits that haven’t been conditioned.

They can be frozen to preserve freshness too.

If you’d like, place them in a spice grinder, coffee grinder or food processor to grind them into chile powders and flakes.

Pro tips for you success

• Slice in half lengthwise or in slices width wise to speed up the drying process.
• Always wear food safe gloves when slicing peppers.
• Drying should be done at the lowest temperature you can manage for a longer period of time. Trying to speed up the process will cook the peppers rather than dry them.
• For each method, place peppers in a single layer.

So, that is how easy it is to make dried peppers. With so many uses and the ease of the process, there is no reason not to dry your peppers for easy food storage. It can also save you lots of money on commercial spice blends.

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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today!

Enjoy. And have fun cooking!

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Originally published December 27, 2018. Update September 5, 2022