How to dry Cayenne Peppers? (& Best ways to use them)

I’ve successfully grown many vegetables, spices, and plants in my garden, and they all thrive. However, I used to dislike wasting excess spices and veggies until I came up with the idea of drying them. For instance, I’ve grown cayenne peppers which thrive perfectly in abundance, and instead of throwing them, I decided to dry them for the first time.

Of course, it was a success, and since then, I’ve been drying all my veggies and herbs. Drying them properly isn’t easy; you need to know how to do it like a pro. I’ll help you learn the best methods for drying Cayenne Peppers and how to use them effectively after picking or harvesting.

Quick takeaways:

• Cayenne pepper is a type of hot pepper that has various health benefits too.
• You can dry cayenne peppers by air drying which is not a bad choice and the skin like cayenne peppers gets easily dried as well.
• You can easily dry Cayenne Peppers by making use of an oven, dehydrator, and many more explained in this guide.
• Other than this either you can use an oven or dehydrator to dry cayenne peppers.
• If you also love to use homemade spices then dried chili powder or flakes can be one of them that can easily be made at home.

How to dry cayenne peppers?

1. Using a dehydrator

A quick way to dry cayenne peppers is to dry them in a dehydrator as the equipment is getting involved just like the washing machine giving hot spins before you dry them in air. It is one of the ways to dry Cayenne Peppers. This will accelerate the process of drying cayenne peppers.

Here are the steps

Step 1: Wear your gloves properly and let the spicy task begin, the skin can get irritated by the acid of cayenne peppers.

Step 2: Take off the top portion of every piece of cayenne pepper and slit the pepper body in between

Step 3: On the dehydrator tray or rack, evenly spread the cayenne peppers having space between them

Step 4: Set the temperature to the range of 125-165 degrees Fahrenheit and close the dehydrator and let the drying begin. You must keep noting the skin of cayenne peppers as the skin is thin and gets dry quickly.

2. Drying Cayenne peppers in the oven

Fastest of all dry the cayenne peppers in the oven! I mostly choose to dry cayenne peppers using this method. The heat is strong so it’s important again to look where they are not overdone too much. Too much heat will destroy the flavor and lead to a burnt taste.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Oven has high temperatures which can be too much for cayenne skin so keep the temperature lowest at nearly 125-160 degrees Fahrenheit and preheat the oven.

Step 2: Wear gloves please! as the cayenne peppers are spicy and you don’t want irritated skin and eyes.

Step 3: Again lie down the pepper on the cutting board and take the head off and slit the body in between longitudinally.

Step 4: Take a baking sheet. Lie it and place the cayenne peppers with a little space in between, on the basking sheet, and put the tray on the rack.

Step 5: Keep checking the cayenne peppers if they are dried completely if not give another round to make them properly dry.

“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.”

– By Ralph Waldo Emerson

How to air dry Cayenne peppers?

1. Hanging them

This is a kind of ancient and nomadic way to dry the cayenne peppers by simply hanging the peppers on a string or gauge wire and letting the sun heat and air dry these cayenne peppers.

The summertime is the best time to try this method as the process will be quicker than at other times. The cayenne peppers take a week or two to air-dry well.

2. Placing dry rack in sunlight and air

Lie down a clean bed sheet, paper sheet, or dry rack on the floor to make sure it’s not too windy outside. Choose a sunny spot as well.

Place the cayenne pepper on the sheet evenly and uniformly. This is the slowest process and might take a few weeks to dry cayenne peppers completely.

How to store cayenne peppers effectively? 

The cayenne peppers when dried thoroughly – by thoroughly we mean to dry every drop of water in cayenne pepper if you have followed the above steps properly, you don’t need to worry!

They can be stored in an airtight dry container for a year though you can store them for more the color fades away and tastes as well.

Just make sure that moisture stays away from your cayenne peppers and doesn’t cause mold. Dried cayenne peppers can also be frozen using a well-sealed bag or container. Use dried cayenne peppers whenever you want. Still, confused about how to use dried cayenne peppers? Read below!

How to use dried cayenne peppers?

• Make cayenne pepper powder and use whatever you, in whatever dish you want.
• Craving for some spicy food!? Grab your container, crush the whole peppers or you can use the cayenne powder, sprinkle some over the dish about 1/4 or 1/2 tablespoon (spicier) and enjoy it.
• The sour savory flavor of kimchi and other fermented foods is nothing without adding cayenne peppers, whether to use the powder or the flakes depends all on you.
• Make some chili oil, the most popular one in Chinese to Korean dishes. This oil gives a savory spice punch to the noodles, bowl soups, stews, etc.
• Make some chili paste to eat with the dim sum or dumplings, the options are way more, but having dried cayenne peppers with you can just make this possible.
• Make a hot sauce using cayenne pepper powder with already added fresh peppers to add extra spice to it.
• Don’t have fresh pepper? What to do? Don’t be sad if you are not in the mood to step out of the house and want pepper right in your kitchen, take a look on the shelf. 

The dried whole cayenne peppers can be rehydrated and used in sauteing while cooking. This gives an amazing flavor with a smoky spicy hint in the dishes.

Make some Indian curries using cayenne peppers, marinating the meat or chicken breast, etc.

Benefits of using cayenne peppers

• Cayenne peppers are enriched with contents like Capsaicin, substance P, vitamins, and minerals, which are used for treating diseases related to heart and blood circulation, lowering cholesterol levels, pain relievers, etc.

• Cayenne pepper creams are also used to treat arthritis and joint pain.

• Eating or having Cayenne peppers in food provides good immunity, and better heart health heals inflammation, and has anti-cancer properties some other pepper you can eat is ornamental pepper. All of this makes them a really good thing to be in your food whether in a light amount or more.

Final words

So here we are at the end of the article and we have tried to give every bit that you should know about drying the cayenne pepper to its benefits and something extra. We hope you liked our effort and find this information useful. We are happy to help here let us know how the drying method was for you and which method you preferred. Happy drying!