Making your own ground pepper powder is ridiculously easy – all you need are some peppers, an oven, a few hours of patience, and a spice grinder or food processor. If you have a dehydrator, you can totally use it to dry out the peppers – I’m using the oven here because I know not everyone has a dehydrator, and I can dry bigger batches of peppers using an oven.
For this recipe, I used cayenne peppers, but you can absolutely use whatever peppers you have on hand. Not only will these be the freshest spices you’ve ever cooked with, but they make wonderful gifts!
DIY GROUND PEPPER POWDER
INGREDIENTS & MATERIALS
Peppers of your choice!
Baking sheets
PREPARATION
Preheat your oven to 180F.
Cut off the stems and any bad spots off each pepper. If you would like to have less heat in your powder, slice each pepper in half lengthwise and use a spoon to remove the pith/membrane and seeds (I usually skip this step). Place your prepped peppers on a baking sheet(s) in a single layer.
Place the peppers in the warm oven and bake until they are fully dried, checking them every so often to ensure they aren’t burning. The amount of time will vary based on the peppers you’re using – it usually takes about 3-4 hours for cayenne peppers to dry.
Once the peppers have cooled, place them in batches in your spice grinder and pulse until at the desired powder consistency. Voila! You now have homemade pepper powder. Store in an air tight container for up to 6 months for maximum freshness – or you can freeze to keep even longer!