8 Spicy Dishes To Keep Your Summer Hot

It is universal knowledge that every cookout in which salt and pepper are the main spices can be improved with a splash of sriracha sauce. Bust out the cutting board, those fresh peppers on the shelf of your grocery store need not go untouched any longer. These are some spicy dishes that’ll make your friends, roommates, and significant others claw at you to impart them with your cooking skills.

1. Green Curry

Fan of Indian food? Curious to try? A good curry is a staple to a spicy food dish. You can make it with meat, serve it with rice, noodles, or basically whatever you want. The main thing that makes a curry dish is the spices. If you plan to make a good, authentic curry, coriander, cumin, and turmeric are essential. The peppers you add will determine the level of spice, if you’re looking for a less spicy dish then proportion it out with tomato. But let’s be real here, you’re not reading this because you’re looking for less spice.

2. Pineapple Fried Rice

The combination of sweet and savory has been foretold throughout every popular cooking show in history, but there’s a bit of a lack in this department when it comes to hyping up spicy and sweet. In order to right this injustice, I suggest you give pineapple fried rice a go the next time you’re looking for a quick and rich meal. If health is your concern, adding lots of chopped carrots, peas, and corn to the dish is sure to make you feel a little better about this delicious indulgence. Don’t forget to add some nuts, once you’ve fried them in with the rice, they’re the best part of the spicy dish.

3. Spicy Quesadillas

“You shouldn’t recommend quesadillas for every meal!” You’re technically right, but you also can’t stop me. Quesadillas are one of the most underrated spicy dishes known to mankind. Toasting ham and mozzarella cheese within a tortilla is a staple for every late night spent writing essays when coffee just doesn’t do the trick anymore. But I digress, let’s spice ’em up!

What you’re gonna wanna do is chop up those lovely peppers and tuck them under the cheese so they don’t fall out when you’re flipping those bad boys on the stove. Add a dash of red pepper and sriracha (again, I would starve without this sauce) and you’re done! Just don’t go overboard on those unless you know for sure you can take the heat. Easy to act bold before your eyes are watering and you’re pouring a glass of pity-milk for the spice.

4. Hot Wings

Ooooooh yeah, talk about a classic. Making wings is the defining factor for many great American fathers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give it a try. The actual wings are up to your imagination, but in trend with spicy dishes, that sauce had better have tons of cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce.

5. Hot Popcorn

Ignore the word dish and take a step back for a second, making great popcorn will serve you a lifetime. Some restaurants even serve seasoned popcorn as an appetizer dish. You know when you go to movie theaters and either you or your friends load up the popcorn with salt and butter? It’s even better when you’re watching something at home and you get to mix whatever you want in it.

No more butter leaking through the paper bag, here are some seasons to consider for your popcorn needs: Onion salt, onion powder, red pepper, and the most important, paprika. Add at your own discretion, but I suggest asking your company how much spice they can handle before you give this snack a try.

6. Spicy Cheese Bread

All those years of trying odd cheeses at cocktail parties finally rear their handsome head. It’s time to figure out what kind of hot cheeses you enjoy and bake them into a fine concoction. Red pepper flakes, Monterey Jack, and provolone will be the highlights of this spicy treat.

7. Spicy Tomato Pasta

You’ve learned how to boil noodles, congratulations! That’s almost pasta. Here’s the thing though, the fun part about cooking is the experimenting, not just adhering to what your parents made. Regular tomato sauce is good, but it could definitely be better. Basil, cream, red pepper, and black pepper mixed in the sauce are all gonna make this dish shine. Now if only the spicy meatballs were as easy to make.

8. Hot Chicken Salad

Stop the presses, the words ‘hot’ and ‘salad’ are exactly what your summer needs. If you’re bummed about Wendy’s taking a few things off the menu, no trouble, just mix it up yourself. Salad leaves, balsamic vinegar, blue cheese, and as much pickle-soaked pepper-coated chicken breast as you want to cook. The pickle-soaking is Chikfila’s thing. Trust me. Now you know.