Welcome to Chili Pepper Madness, where spicy food is always on the menu. We are here to bring you easy-to-follow recipes you can make at home whenever you want, and as SPICY as you want, too.
Hey there, I’m Mike! (Also known as the guy behind Chili Pepper Madness!)
I’m a 3-time cookbook author and lifelong chilihead who’s been obsessed with bold, spicy flavors for as long as I can remember. Together with my wife, Patty, I’ve built Chili Pepper Madness into a go-to resource for anyone who loves adding a kick of heat or bold flavor to their cooking.
My goal is simple: to show you how to take everyday ingredients and turn them into exciting, flavor-packed dishes you’ll love to make and share.
Whether you’re a fan of fiery heat or just a hint of spice, I’ve got recipes, pro tips, and proven techniques to help you bring bold flavors to life in your kitchen. I’m here to help you grow as a cook and maybe as a chilihead, too!
I’m constantly inspired by the incredible ways chili peppers and other vibrant ingredients are used around the world, from comforting American classics with a spicy twist to global cuisines like Thai, Sichuan, and Caribbean, and many other countries.
Every recipe on Chili Pepper Madness is developed, tested, styled, and photographed by me (with help from Patty in the Photography department!) I don’t hire this out like so many other recipe sites. No way! I love bringing my passion for spice to your life! Learn more about my philosophy and how I test all of my recipes.
I started this site over 25 years ago, long before food blogs were a thing, as a way to share my love of chili peppers and hot sauce. It was originally called Jalapeno Madness, but we’ve evolved and we’ve been growing and growing ever since.
We now have millions of visits every month, nearly 200K followers on Pinterest, 176K+ on Facebook, 58K+ on Instagram, and 230K+ on YouTube. I love connecting with you all!
I was even the YouTube Creator of the Day and have a silver plaque from YouTube! How awesome is that?
Patty and I made the move from Chicago, IL, to Charlotte, NC, where we’ve been exploring Southern food and BBQ, adding even more depth to our love of spicy cuisine.
We make it a point to travel frequently to study and experience food from around the world. We’ve been all over the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Spain, Hungary, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Hawaii, even Antarctica!
Everywhere we go we seek out culinary knowledge in the form of cooking classes, food tours, and events, all in search of delicious cuisine so I can share what I learn with you.
Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just getting started, I’m here to help you level up your cooking game.
Let’s get spicy together! Check out my Recipe Index with over 1,000 recipes and dive into the world of bold, exciting flavors.
Features
I am proud to have been featured on YouTube Creator of the Day, WGN News, the Dishing Podcast, and Chile Pepper Magazine, where I was a writer for years.
I’ve been featured on CNN, NY Times, Buzzfeed, Taste of Home, Delish, PopSugar, SheKnows, and Parade.
I’ve also been featured by some fellow food bloggers including Recipe Tin Eats, Tastes Better from Scratch, Salt and Lavender and Downshiftology.
What You'll Find at Chili Pepper Madness
- Lots of Easy Recipes. Some recipes take a while to make and require a certain number of steps, but that isn't my focus. You'll find many recipes you can make in 30 minutes or so and don't require a ton of ingredients.
- Customizable Heat Levels. My recipes are spicy, sure, but I do my best to show you how to adjust them to your own preferred heat and spice level. We believe that flavor is the most important thing, not just heat.
- Dishes from Around the World. Spicy food can be found all over the world, and I just love to learn about it. Thai cuisine has some of the hottest food in the world, as does Chinese cuisine, particularly from the Sichuan region. But I follow the spices and peppers all over, from Asia to South America and anywhere I can follow.
- Classic American Dishes. America has so much to offer when it comes to food, especially spicy food with big flavor. You'll find Cajun cooking (a favorite!), dishes from the American south such as BBQ, low country cooking and more, regional favorites and anything I think you'll love.
- Chili Peppers! I am so obsessed with chili peppers, hence the name of the site. I grow a big variety every year, from milder sweet peppers to the hottest of the superhots. And I cook with them all. You'll find a big list of chili pepper types, preserving information, growing information and more so you can seriously rock the garden and make your own unique recipes and spices from scratch.
- Superhot Recipes. Yes, I have many recipes for those chiliheads at the top of the scale, including recipes with ghost peppers, scorpion peppers, the Carolina Reaper and more.
- Hot Sauce Recipes. This is where I began! I love making my own hot sauce and can show you how to make many different types, including fermented and non-fermented.
I hope you'll explore the site and learn for yourself.
A Bit About Mike
- I'm the Content Creator. I make all the recipes and write them up, as well as write all of the content here on the site. Everything comes from me. I style the dishes and take some of the photos, but that is primarily Patty's job, which leaves me more time to cook!
- I'm a Cookbook Author. I am the author of "The Spicy Food Lovers' Cookbook", "The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook", and others. By my books alone, you can tell that I am a spicy food aficionado.
- I'm a Screenwriter. Yes, I am a produced screenwriter. Here is the IMDB link if you'd care to take a look. My produced credits include the movies VICTIM, ARENA (starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kellan Lutz) and 12 FEET DEEP. I've been hired to write studio scripts and have optioned others as well. I'm still actively writing.
- I'm a Fiction Writer. I love to write fiction, mostly darker stuff, horror, thrillers. I've published fiction novels and numerous short stories, and have even edited an anthology. I'm also an active member of the Horror Writers Association and get to vote for the Stoker awards. See more about my screenwriting and fiction.
- I'm a Beer Lover. I love craft beer and actively explore local breweries. My favorites are IPAs, Pale Ales and Wheat Beers, though there are so many to enjoy.
A Bit About Patty
- I’m the Photographer, Organizer and Anything Needed. I feel super lucky to be able to do this job full time and I love every minute of it. It’s so great to wake up each morning excited about your job. I’m so passionate about food and love seeing all of you making the recipes and finding your own enjoyment in the dishes.
- I Love Gardening. I love growing our own peppers, tomatoes and other yummy delights. Fresh herbs and produce make every dish taste so much better and I find so much joy in growing it ourselves.
- I Love Spicy Food. Working on our Madness websites has been very rewarding for me. I’m a total converted chilihead now and crave the spice that Mike cooks all the time. There is rarely a dish served in our house without a chili pepper in it, or some sort of spicy flavor blast, and I love it.
- I Love Traveling. I love planning trips and going on them. We moved to North Carolina not too long ago so we could be between the mountains and the beach. I love to relax on the beach with a book or go hiking in the mountains and now we can do this very easily. I also love foodie trips and traveling all over the world. I'm always looking to experience the food in various places. And I love to plan parties, with food always being the most important part.
Some Recent Favorite Recipes
- Pollo Asado Recipe. Mexican roast chicken is so good! It's the ultimate roast chicken with bone-in chicken marinated in citrus and spices, quick grilled then roasted for big flavor. So tender and juicy.
- Kung Pao Chicken Recipe. This is the ultimate stir fry with chunks of marinated chicken stir fried with peppers, scallions and peanuts and an easy but flavorful sauce. Nice and spicy.
- Tikka Masala Recipe. This recipe is a creamy Indian-style curry with chunks of yogurt-marinated roasted chicken simmered in a flavorful curry sauce. It is very comforting and perfect for any curry lover.
- Texas Chili Recipe. A bowl of perfection right here! This Texas chili is authentic, meaty, just the right amount of spicy, and not a chili bean in sight.
- Grilled Jerk Chicken Wings. These chicken wings are huge on flavor, with wings rubbed down with loads of jerk seasoning, then grilled until nice and crispy. Fire up that grill, my friends!
- Smoked Jalapeno Poppers. This is the ultimate party food with bacon wrapped jalapeno peppers stuffed with loads of melty cheese and seasonings, then smoked for the most outstanding flavor. These will be your new favorite poppers!
- Homemade Buffalo Sauce Recipe. This is so easy to make with hot sauce, butter, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and more – it’s so much better than anything you can grab from the store.
- Muffaletta Sandwich Recipe. I love this one! This is the ultimate sandwich from New Orleans, piled high with Italian meats, cheese, and a homemade spicy olive tapenade. Feeds a crowd!
- See Mike's Favorite Recipes and Patty's Favorite Recipes.
Taz says
Can you please make kuku paka?
typical east African coast dish
Mike H. says
Thank you for the suggestion, Taz.
Rick Wagner says
Looking around this morning I found Cajun Meatloaf. It struck me as something that you should put your spin on. After a few years, your site remains my goto. -
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Rick! It's funny, but I've been wanting that on the site forever! I have to convince Patty, haha. This may tip the scales...
John Smith says
Hi-Love your fermented hot sauce recipe! I have just finished latest batch of 20 lbs plus and wanted to share with you some tweaks to the recipe-not that it needs anything at all. I seed all the peppers, add about 10% of the weight onions and garlic to the ferment and a small amount of Cumin and Coriander i.e. 1 tsp of each to a 15lb ferment. Wonderful stuff.
Mike Hultquist says
I love it! Thanks, John!
Barney Guyett says
Hey Mike, thanks for what doing what you do you’re my go to guy when I’m looking for things to do with my different peppers I have two questions for you one when I am fermenting my hot sauce or my peppers you mention you can add fruit. how do you add fruit? Do I have to, slice it up. Small chop it up. Small put it in just the way it is remove. The skins advice would be great. Another question is I have about 30 to 40 poblanos and I don’t know what to do with it in the past we’ve sliced them before and frozen them so that we can use them later Dyson so that we can put it into breakfast food like scrambled eggs or omelettes is there anything else?
Mike H. says
Barney, for fermenting with fruit, chop it into small pieces to help it ferment evenly. You don’t need to remove the skins unless they’re thick. For your poblanos, besides freezing for breakfast dishes, you can roast them for salsas, stuff them for chile rellenos, blend them into sauces, or add to soups, tacos, and casseroles. Lots of options!
Jack & Diane says
Hi Mike and Patty,
Jack & Diane here in Colorado. We really love your recipes. Just got some delicious roasted green chilis, we're making the green chili stew. We are doing it in the crock pot, the pork loin (they didn’t have shoulder) is chunked in 1-2 inch by 1/2 inch pieces, and we don’t want to overcook it. Your recipe says 90 minutes. Should that be enough in a crock pot on low? Or maybe 2-3 hours?
Thank you!!
Mike Hultquist says
That should be enough with pork loin, Jack & Diane, though you can stir and taste it after 90 to see if you'd like to simmer it longer. Let me know how it goes. Enjoy.
Bryan Holley says
Thanks for sharing your immense chile/salsa/sauce knowledge. I grew a hybrid habanero this year, called Roulette -- all the incredible habanero flavor without the heat. I want to make a sauce that is almost all Roulettes (I also grew habanero, I want to add just enough habanero to give the sauce a kick) but I want no onion, no garlic, no carrot; I also don't want to ferment which I have done following your recipes. I want a sauce that lets the flavor of the Roulette dominate. What simple recipe could you recommend to me to achieve that goal? A neighbor said to 'add some chicken stock' -- not sure I want to do that. I appreciate any help you might offer.
Mike Hultquist says
Bryan, take a look at these recipe results and see if anything jumps out. You can use roulettes.. Happy to help you adapt any of them: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/chili-crisp/#growMeSearch=habanero%20salsa
Bryan Holley says
Hi, Thanks for your prompt reply. Chili Crisp oil is not what I'm after. We just had Hatch chiles in town, and I found a recipe to make an enchilada sauce that used mostly just the Hatch chiles. I'm looking for a Roulette sauce like that, that is more sauce than salsa, almost like a Tabasco but without the fermentation and maybe even without little or no vinegar. Maybe lime juice as a preservative? These Roulettes, fresh, they are so aromatic and that's what I'd like to preserve in a sauce. Many thanks, again. P.S. All my peppers are ripe and I want to bring them indoors with rain in our forecast.
Mike Hultquist says
Shoot me an email.
Pilar Horner says
Hello Mike! I'm looking forward to making the Mexican birria recipe you have tonight. I bought dried ancho and guarillo peppers. Do I de-seed them, and then roast them on the stove and then rehydrate?
You don't mention taking out the seeds, and I'm cooking for a large crowd so I'm worried about their ability to handle heat.
Is it worth then to take another step and run the peppers through a food processor and then sear the processed pepper mixture in oil? Or do I skip that step? Thanks so much for your help!!
Mike Hultquist says
Pilar, YES, remove the stems and seeds before toasting them. The ingredients list the peppers as "stems and seeds removed". Enjoy! https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/birria/
David A Murray says
Hello Mike! Thank you for the delicious hot sauce recipes! I have made the Fresno, green jalapeño, and fermented cayenne hot sauces this year! They are all delicious and many friends have enjoyed them as well, with a few brews of course.
We grew several varieties of sweet and hot peppers in our garden. Only have the tabascos left to process. Also made our own chili powder.
Thanks again!
Mike Hultquist says
Wonderful!
Cindy P says
As a south texan, I love my Tex Mex!! You have won me over with this recipe. Great Job Mike!!!
Mike H. says
Thank you, Cindy! I am really happy to hear it.
Rob says
Hi Mike,
Keep up the good work, I have been following your recipes for along time now, it has really helped in my homemade chili sauce creations where I love to combine my home grown chilis with different types of fruit and beer. I did Carolina Reaper Beef Jerky this week which was my A game for sure, although it made my wife cry after 6 hours in the dehydrator. Moruga Trinidad Scorpions and Bhut Jolokias/Ghosts have to be top of the list, but I'm still really a sucker for the good old Scotch Bonnet/Habanero, all really easily available in the UK surprisingly too....
Anyway, I'm off for a sunday afternoon beer,
Take care,
Rob B
BTW Your lovely wife Patty is as hot as your food, nice one 🙂
Mike Hultquist says
You got that right, Rob. I love to hear all the growing info. Have fun, and have a beer for me. Cheers.
Kathleen Flores says
I made masa harina round tortillas and fried them,they would be more delicious with your chorizo with refried beans and any type of cheese on top .
Mike Hultquist says
I'm in!
Susan Germundson says
My sister-in-law made us some of this Cowboy Candy. It is amazing. Thankfully she shared the recipe and now I have a great use for my over active jalepeno plants.
Thank you!
Mike Hultquist says
Enjoy, Susan!
David says
Hey Mike. I see your from or went to school here NIU. I’m a Dekalb native. I love your recipes!!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Thanks, David! I do miss my college days!