50 Spicy Dinner Recipes That’ll Turn Up the Heat (2024)

There is something magical about grain bowls. They're perfect for meal prepping and packing up for lunches. All of the components are great on their own, and once they're tossed together, they somehow become even better. This spicy salmon bowl has all of our favorite things and is by far our favorite bowl to date.

Get the Spicy Salmon Bowl recipe.

Every dish at Carbone, the nouveau red sauce joint in lower Manhattan, is a mind-bendingly delicious, updated take on Italian American classics, though none may be more famous than the spicy rigatoni, which features their version of a booze-spiked vodka sauce.

Get the Copycat Carbone Spicy Rigatoni recipe.

If you’re looking to expand your horizons beyond classic Buffalo wings, this recipe is a great place to start. They’re just as spicy, but also super savory, sticky, and juuust sweet enough. With a sauce like this, you don’t even need blue cheese dressing. (Then again... we're not stopping ya!)

Get the Spicy Apricot Glazed Wings recipe.

In restaurants, spicy tuna sushi rolls usually involve raw, sushi-grade fish. But if raw fish is out of reach, this recipe uses humble canned tuna. That’s not to say you can’t use the basic skeleton of this recipe for raw tuna if you can find it—just substitute in sushi-grade fish, finely chopped, and proceed onward!

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This sweet and spicy firecracker sauce combines three fiery elements—sriracha, chile flakes, and fresh ginger—for a layered approach to heat. Served here with salmon, the firecracker sauce would also be delicious on grilled shrimp, baked tofu, or baked chicken breasts.

Get the Firecracker Salmon recipe.

We paired this chicken with a delicious spicy, herby pan sauce made with jalapeño, lime, and cilantro but you can serve this as is, with a couple squeezes of lemon or even BBQ sauce. The world is your oyster... or chicken! Serve this along side a leafy green like Swiss chard and creamy mashed potatoes for a hearty and tasty dinner.

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Yeah, sure, a steak on the grill is iconic, but maybe our absolute favorite protein to grill is shrimp. The best part about this recipe: The sauce doubles as a marinade and a glaze—don't forget to reserve some for basting the shrimp while it's on the grill!

Get the Spicy Grilled Shrimp recipe.

Crunchy, spicy, creamy, and tart—this "chicken" sammie is total bliss. We replicated spicy fried chicken with protein-packed tofu and added cornmeal to the batter for extra crunch. Don't skip the freezing step; it's what gives the tofu a more meat-like texture.

Get the Spicy Fried “Chicken” Sandwich recipe.

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, these falafel are baked, not fried, for less mess. Chickpea flour is your new best friend in this gluten-free treat.

Get the Baked Falafel Bites with Spicy Tahini Dip recipe.

A torta is a type of traditional Mexican sandwich with a signature chewy, baguette-like roll. The flavors here are bold, with quick pickled onions, avocado-radish salsa, grilled carne asada, and a layer of refried beans.

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This citrus salmon has tons of flavor from simple ingredients. Here we used oranges and limes, but you can use lemons, grapefruits, or blood oranges if you have them. If you like things a little spicier, leave the seeds in the jalapeño. As the salmon bakes, the juices start to turn into a syrupy sauce thanks to the honey and creates a perfect glaze over the salmon.

Get the Jalapeño Citrus Salmon recipe.

Only a few dishes reaaally hit the spot in the dead of winter—chicken curry is for sure one of them! The best part? This recipe is super hands-off once you get it going, and the marinade is killer, with ginger beer, curry, and scotch bonnets delivering that delicious bit of heat. Serve with some easy white or coconut rice, and wham, you’ll have a whole new spice for life.

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Yukgaejang is a spicy Korean beef soup loaded with warm earthy vegetables like mushrooms, leeks, and gosari. Gosari are immature fronds of bracken, a wild plant that is foraged along the hills and mountains of Korea. It’s typically served as banchan (a side dish) or in yukgaejang. It has a delicate but distinctly earthy flavor.

Get the Yukgaejang: Spicy Korean Beef Soup recipe.

For this rather unorthodox ceviche, we borrowed techniques and ingredients from all over the world, from Japan to Mexico. We kept things *mostly* true to Peruvian-style ceviche for the mix-ins, with crunchy red onions, fresh cilantro, a finely chopped hot pepper, and some avocado borrowed from Mexican-style ceviches.

Get the Salmon Ceviche recipe.

These vegan tacos are loaded with bright flavors and a variety of textures—just like any good taco should be! Serve them up with some frozen margaritas and homemade guacamole for the full Taco Tuesday experience.

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Tteokbokki is a Korean street food dish consisting of chewy rice cakes and a funky, spicy-sweet gochujang sauce. While delicious and traditional, the glutinous rice cakes are unfortunately less accessible to those of us without a Korean market around the corner. Luckily, store-bought gnocchi make for a great substitute.

Get the Tteokbokki-Style Gnocchi recipe.

These tostada are deliciously customizable, no matter your mood. You can top the beans with chicken fajitas, grilled flank steak, or even the filling for tacos al pastor. We're also big fans of adding a fried egg.

Get the Best-Ever Mexican Tostadas recipe.

When searching for "Sichuan beef" recipes, there are two variations that turn up: a deliciously saucy stir-fry dish popular in many Chinese-American restaurants, and another spicier version that hails from the eponymous region in China. Our version is a blend of the two that marries the more intense heat of fiery chiles and numbing Sichuan peppercorns with mildly sweet and salty sauciness.

Get the Sichuan Beef recipe.

A taquito is essentially a rolled taco with many of the toppings, like guacamole and sour cream, on the outside. They are traditionally shallow fried to get that beautifully crisp exterior. Our version is baked with an option to make them in the air fryer!

Get the Spicy Chicken Taquitos recipe.