How To Make Chilli Oil

Chilli oil is a brilliantly versatile condiment to have in the kitchen. Sure, you can buy it, but why not make your own? You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see just how simple it is to whip up this spicy sensation at home.

Below, we show you two methods to make chilli oil, and then how to make cannabis-infused chilli oil—with psychoactive properties! What could be more fun than that?

What is chilli oil?

Chilli oil is some kind of cooking oil—often vegetable or olive oil—infused with the heat of hot chilli peppers. Perfect for drizzling over salads or dashing into a dish to give it a bit of life, this versatile ingredient is great to have in the kitchen.

The best thing about chilli oil is that it can be really quite different depending on the type of chilli used. Some chillies make for a sweet, mildly hot oil. Others impart intense heat and little flavour, while others make for a smoky, rich oil that can add a huge amount of flavour to a dish. The choice is yours.

As such, take the following recipe as a general guide, but feel free to adapt it as you see fit. And do not hesitate to experiment with different types of hot peppers to see what you can create!

How to make chilli oil

Without any further ado, here’s a recipe for making hot chilli oil. Simple and easy, the most difficult thing about making chilli oil at home is waiting long enough to let the heat properly infuse the oil. If patience is not one of your virtues, you can just use a super fast method!

Ingredients

• 250ml oil of your choice. If you’re using it to drizzle on salads, olive oil is a good option.
• 3 tablespoons of dried, crushed chillies of your choice. Use whatever type of chilli you think will work best based on your preferred level of heat.
• Salt and other seasonings. You may want to keep it pure, just using chillies and oil. However, you can add salt, other seasonings, and even herbs if you really want to make something delicious. Garlic can add a wonderful twist to chilli oil as well.

Equipment

You don’t need much in the way of equipment. All you need is:

• Saucepan
• Bottle to store chilli oil in (you can use the one that the oil comes in)
• Knife and cutting board (if you need to crush or chop chillies)

Directions

The following directions are a quick way to make chilli oil, which will be ready to use in under half an hour. Afterwards, we’ll give instructions for a method that requires less effort, but more patience.

1. Pour the oil into a saucepan.
2. Add in the remaining ingredients with the oil.
3. Heat gently, but do not let it burn! If the oil smokes, it is too hot and will cook the contents. You only want to heat it enough to release the flavour and heat from the ingredients into the oil.
4. Stir for at least 5 minutes. The longer you simmer, the more flavour and heat will be transferred into the oil.
5. Once ready, you can remove it from the heat.
6. Now, you can either decant it back into a bottle, ready for use, or you can strain it through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove the other ingredients, leaving you with pure, spicy oil!

A simpler method

You needn’t cook anything at all. Another possible method simply involves leaving raw (or dried) chillies in oil, where it will become infused over time. With this method, all you need to do is add the chillies and any other ingredients to a bottle of oil and leave it in a cool, dark, and dry place. The longer you leave it, the more flavour it will have. Some bottles can be left for months.

A word of caution: using raw chillies comes with the risk of botulism. Botulism is a type of food poisoning caused by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum that can cause severe symptoms (usually starting 12–36 hours after consuming spoiled food) such as:

• Dry mouth
• Difficulty swallowing or talking
• Weakness of the facial muscles on both sides
• Droopy eyelids
• Blurred vision
• Difficulty breathing
• Nausea and vomiting
• Stomach cramps
• Paralysis (in severe cases)

So, when making chilli-flavoured oils in this way, be sure to add only dried chillies in the form of flakes. Also, never add fresh garlic or water to your chilli oil! Another good idea is to make only small quantities, more often, so you can use up your oil rather quickly. Should you see any cloudiness in your oil, don't take any chances; dispose of it. The loss of a little amount of oil doesn't justify the risk of experiencing the above-mentioned symptoms.

Other ingredients to flavour chilli oil

Pretty much anything that adds flavour can be added to chilli oil. Here are some suggestions:

• Basil
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Garlic (dried)
• Onion (dried)
• Peppercorns
• Ginger (dried)
• Soy sauce
• Sesame seeds
• Bay leaves

Variation: Cannabis-infused chilli oil

Or, why not add weed to your chilli oil? As well as infusing your oil with the rich flavours of your chosen strain, you can also draw out the THC and make it psychoactive too! Spicy and psychoactive—what more could you want?

In order to make it psychoactive, though, you need to decarboxylate the cannabis—a process whereby the cannabinoids are activated so they can interface with the human body and exert their effects. This is done through heating.

With that in mind, refer to the above method that involves heating the oil, with the following differences.

• Gently heat the oil with cannabis plant matter for around 4 hours, and stir every 15–20 minutes. This will decarboxylate the weed, and then allow the THC to infuse the oil.
• Depending on how spicy you want it, you can add the chillies and other ingredients at any point. Go the full 4 hours, and you’ll have a seriously spicy and flavourful oil. Add them later on if you prefer things milder.

Note: using the longer method mentioned above will still make the oil taste like cannabis, but it won’t be psychoactive.

Making chilli oil: As easy as that

As you can see, making chilli oil is a pretty simple undertaking. Easy, but incredibly rewarding, following any of the above methods will render you a bottle of homemade, delicious chilli oil that you can use whenever you’d like. Next time, try it with a different selection of seasonings or a different type of chilli to see what happens.

Or, maybe, add some cannabis!

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Adam Parsons

Professional cannabis journalist, copywriter, and author Adam Parsons is a long-time staff member of Zamnesia. Tasked with covering a wide range of topics from CBD to psychedelics and everything in between, Adam creates blog posts, guides, and explores an ever-growing range of products.

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