Make your own spicy, homemade ghost pepper powder in your own kitchen with this recipe. All you need are ghost peppers and a dehydrator. Use it to spice up anything or make your own seasoning blends.
I'm breaking out the dehydrator again because my garden is EXPLODING with chili peppers of all types, per usual this time of year, particular ghost peppers.
YES!
I love ghost peppers because they have an excellent heat level and they're also quite fruity and flavorful. A little goes a long way, of course, which is why I wind up dehydrating them. The plants are SO productive, it's hard to use them all up.
I do freeze some - see how to freeze chili peppers to preserve them - but drying them for powders is probably my favorite way of using them, outside of making ghost pepper hot sauce. Oh, and this ghost pepper chili sauce recipe. Or how about this pineapple-mango-ghost pepper hot sauce.
Dang! So many ghost pepper hot sauces! Haha! I can't help myself. I do LOVE my ghost peppers.
Ghost Pepper Powder at Home
Many people wind up purchasing ghost pepper powders online, and that's great, but it can wind up being pretty pricey. If you're growing your own ghost peppers in your own garden, you'll save quite a lot.
All you really need to make your own homemade ghost pepper powder is a dehydrator and some ghost peppers, of course.
Let's talk about how we make it, shall we?
Making Homemade Ghost Pepper Powder - the Recipe Method
First, gather up your ghost peppers, then wash and dry them. Select only the freshest peppers and none that show any signs of rot.
Remove the stems and slice them open lengthwise. I recommend wearing gloves when handling ghost peppers. The oils can get onto your skin and cause a burning sensation.
If this happens, see - How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn on Your Skin.
Next, set the ghost peppers onto dehydrator trays.
You can de-seed them if you'd like. I usually do not, as most of the seeds wind up falling out anyway after they are dried. Some people find the seeds bitter, which can be amplified when grinding, so scoop them out if you'd like, either before or after drying. See the notes below on this.
Dehydrate the ghost peppers at 135 degrees F for at least 5 hours, or until they are completely dried through. It could take up to 8 hours or longer. Just follow the recommendations of your dehydrator.
You can speed up the drying process by chopping them into smaller pieces before dehydrating.
When dried, they should be crisp and crack when handling, and should not give any bend.
Once the ghost peppers are completely dried, grind them down in a mortar with a pestle, or add them to a spice grinder and grind them to either a powder or a coarse grain. I use this: Magic Bullet MBR-1701 17-Piece Express Mixing Set
(affiliate link).
Give them a good grind for a minute or so.
The ghost peppers will break down into a find powder.
Sift that powder out and process any remaining chunks until only powder remains.
You may have a tiny bit left to discard, but most of it will easily turn into powder.
Store your freshly made ghost pepper powder in airtight spice containers. Use it as you would use any spice.
A Note About Seeds
Some people find the seeds rather bitter in chili peppers. When you crush them, you may release that bitterness into the final powder.
I have made powder both ways, both with and without the seeds and enjoy them both. However, if you note a bitterness in the seeds, remove them before grinding. Some people do not enjoy the bitterness.
My Dehydrating Story
I became obsessed with dehydrating when I started gardening. My garden was exploding with chili peppers and tomatoes, and I wanted some good ways to preserve them. As you can see from my Preserving Chili Peppers pages, I found MANY ways to preserve them, but dehydrating is definitely one of my favorites.
I've used my dehydrator to make all sorts of interesting seasoning blends from peppers and other ingredients I grew in my own garden, but one of the most interesting things I've begun to do is to make spicy homemade seasoning blends from discarded items.
I recently posted an article on How to Make Seasonings from Hot Sauce Pulp, and got a good reaction from it. Basically, if you strain the solids out of a homemade hot sauce recipe of yours to thin out the hot sauce, you might normally throw that pulp away. However, that pulp still have a lot of life and flavor left to it. Dehydrate it and turn it into a wonderful seasoning blend.
Recipe Notes and Tips
I like to place my dehydrator in the garage because it will release fumes over time and you will notice the odor. Let the dehydrator sit anywhere from 5 hours to overnight.
It will very likely take longer than 5 hours, but much depends on the thickness of the pepper walls and how many peppers you're working with.
I personally turn mine on when I go to bed and check it in the morning. The peppers are usually dried by morning, but if not, just leave them in longer until they are dried.
Safety Advice
When working with hotter peppers, including superhots, it is important to wear gloves when handling the peppers both in raw and dried forms. The oils can get on your skin and cause burning sensations. See above.
Need help? How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn On Your Skin.
Also, the powders are quite fine and may get into the air if you are not working in a well ventilated room, so you may want to wear a mask and goggles. Superhot chili peppers, truly, are called superhots for a reason.
Yield
1 pound (16 ounces) of fresh chili peppers typically will yield about 4 ounces of dried chili pepper pods, a 4 to 1 ratio. For this recipe, I used 20 fresh ghost peppers weighing a total 4 ounces/1.15 grams.
After drying and grinding, my yield was .75 ounces, or 3 tablespoons, of finished ghost pepper powder, a but under the 4 to 1 ratio of fresh to dried, likely because of the thin walls.
Your results may vary.
How to Store Dried Chili Peppers
Once they are dried, remove and store them in baggies or containers, or use as you wish. Keep them in a dark place, like your pantry, for freshness.
These are the products that I use to dehydrate chili peppers and make blends, and I personally recommend them. They are affiliate links - just an FYI. If you use them, let me know if you have any questions and I can help. Email me anytime.
Mike's Recommended Products
- Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A
- For Dehydrating peppers and other foods. - Magic Bullet MBR-1701 17-Piece Express Mixing Set - For Grinding down the peppers for powders.
- The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook - My cookbook. Check it out!
Other Resources
- How to Dehydrate Chili Peppers and Make Chili Powders and Blends - A longer video by me, or watch the shorter one below
- Preserving Chili Peppers
Go Get a Dehydrator!
If you do not yet own a dehydrator, I urge you to order one up. I LOVE my dehydrators (yes, I own two) and use them all the time. They're essential for making leathers, jerky, spice blends, preserving in general and more. Here are links to the two that I personally own (Affiliate Links, my friends! FYI):
The Nesco is a smaller dehydrator that is perfect for general home use: Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, White
The Excalibur is a larger 9-tray dehydrator that is ideal for larger batches: Excalibur 3926TB Food Dehydrator, Black
I use and highly recommend both of these.
The Spicy Dehydrator Book
I hope you'll check out my cookbook! Here is the link: The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook, by Michael Hultquist.
Try Some of My Other Popular Homemade Spice Blends
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Homemade Ghost Pepper Powder - Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ghost peppers
Instructions
- Clean and dry the ghost peppers. Wearing gloves, remove the stems and slice in half lengthwise.
- Set the sliced ghost peppers onto dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 135 degrees F (or at your dehydrator's recommended temperature) for 8 hours, or until they are completely dried through.
- Crush the dried ghost peppers in a mortar and pestle, or add them to a spice grinder and grind them to a powder.
- Sift the powder and process the remaining chunks until only a fine powder remains.
- Store in airtight containers.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Linda says
Just a friendly recommendation...if you are going to use a spice grinder, wear a face mask before removing the lid after they are ground! I recently found out that if you grind chocolate Bhutlahs and you don't cover your nose, the fine particles will dissipate in the surrounding air and you will promptly wish you had. I got a lungful and proceeded to cough so hard and for so long that I honestly thought I wouldn't survive the ordeal. It was beyond brutal.
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, practice good safety for sure! Thanks, Linda.
Chuck Rizzo says
Thanks for all the great content. I purchased the Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook, dehydrated whole peppers and made several powders. I find that 125 degrees for 18+- hours works best for me, the pepper colors didn't change much at that temp.
I'm also enjoying many of your other recipes, especially the hot sauces. Your Habanero sauce recipe is excellent, my family and friends love it.
Thanks again !
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear! Thanks, Chuck! I really appreciate it!
Thomas says
After I dehydrate my peppers and put them in spice containers they start to coagulate any suggestions of what to do?
Mike Hultquist says
Thomas, do you mean they clump up? First, make sure it's all completely dried. Also, you can break it apart and stir, or you can incorporate other spices to help keep it from clumping, like salt or garlic powder/granules. And make sure it's stored in a cool, dry place in an airtight container.
Kim Smyth says
Can you dry peppers once they've been frozen? Can you dry peppers in the oven then? Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes, Kim, you sure can. Just thaw them first and try to dry them a bit with paper towels to squeeze out extra moisture. Oven drying works, though a dehydrator is more foolproof.
Ian says
Hi Michael!
Amazing insight into making your own ghost pepper powder.
I am just starting out with cultivating and creating different products from ghost peppers. I am getting my first kilogram of ghost peppers (from the market) soon with a dehydrator.
Germinating their seeds is a whole other chapter though. So if you have any insight on that it would be amazing. I have planted them in sterilised compost and kept them moist by sealing them in the pots with a plastic cover to mimic a greenhouse. Their 35 day germinating period is about over and I am expecting the chocolate variant to germinate soon.
I am from South Africa and our temperatures have been quite humid and hot for a while now, so that is a good sign.
Drop me an email if you know a few more tricks I could make use of.
Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks. I have some info in the Growing Chili Peppers section to start: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/growing-chili-peppers/. Good luck with growing!
Carl says
Dehydrating cowhorn peppers for the first time. What temp and how long should air fry them? I have sliced them in half length wise. Thanks for the help!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Carl. See my post on Dehydrating Peppers: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/preserving-chili-peppers/dehydrating-peppers/.
Vita Jankowski says
Hi,
I don't have a dehydrator. What temp can I dry the ghost peppers in the oven at?
Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Vita, see my post on Drying Chili Peppers, which includes oven drying notes, instructions and tips. https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/preserving-chili-peppers/drying-chili-peppers/. The temp should be 100 to 135 degrees, preferably with the oven cracked for air flow. Let me know how it goes for you.
Mike T says
Looking forward to trying this when my latest crop is ready. Only 1 question, keep the seeds on the pods or remove before dehydrating?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Mike, you can remove them if you'd like, though the seeds tend to fall out anyway after drying, especially if you slice the peppers open to dry faster. Let me know how it goes for you. Enjoy!
Jan wimberly says
How much powder equals one ghost pepper?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Jan, it would be about 3/4 teaspoon or so. Basically, 1 pound of fresh chili peppers will yield about 4 ounces dried pods. Ground down, it should yield 3/4 cup chili powder. There are roughly 50 ghost peppers in a pound. I hope this helps!
Lily says
Made this twice so far. First time came out awesome. 2nd time I guess I didn’t let it dehydrate enough and when I went to grind them, it came out wet and clumped together. I spread the powder out on a cookie sheet and placed in the oven on 375 hoping to dry them out a little more but the fumes left my family coughing and sneezing. Any suggestions on how I can salvage it?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Lily. Yeah, the peppers really need to be completely dried. Instead of the oven, you could have put it back in the dehydrator and dried it with lower heat. The higher temperatures probably released more of the oils into the air, causing the fumes.
Stacy Englund says
I’ve never used a dehydrator and plan to borrow one from a friend for my hubby to use for his ghost peppers. Will the ghost peppers ruin the dehydrator with any left behind oils or anything like that? I just want to make sure I don’t mess up my friend’s dehydrator. My hubby is super excited to try this!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Stacy, no, but the fumes can get in the house. You may want to use in the garage. Let me know how it goes! Enjoy!
Scott says
Thanks for demystifying the chili powder making process! I'm sure it was back in Aug 2016 when I made my first Ghost chili powder after finding this article and have been an ardent follower ever since! Probably the best resource for all things chili out there on the www. Love it! Keep up the great work and I can't thank you enough!
On a side note;
I used to borrow a dehydrator but just waiting for my Nesco FD-75A to arrive from Amazon... Such a huge crop of Trinidad Scorpion's, orange habs and ghosts to deal with... 3 large freezer bags full, onto dehydrating and powder next!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Scott! I love making my own powders. I have so many personal blends in the cupboard. The plants are so productive!