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Though it may seem intimidating, making your own Thai chili powder is extremely easy and really only takes three steps. This Thai Chili Powder or Prik Bon (พริกป่น) recipe will completely transform your spicy dishes. Once you see how easy and delicious this homemade chili powder is, I guarantee you won’t want to return to store-bought!

How to Make Thai Chili Powder?

If you’re as much a fan of spicy food as I am, then you’ll definitely love today’s recipe. These Thai dried chili flakes, known in Thailand as Prik Bon, add a delicious kick to any dish. You can use them in anything from soup to pasta to rice dishes. Use them in your marinade, sauce, or just sprinkle some on top as a finisher. You can even combine it with oil and other aromatics to make chili oil. The possibilities are endless!

As you’ll see later in the recipe, it’s very easy to make dried Thai chili powder. In fact, it only takes three steps. All you need is a dehydrator and a grinder. Leave some fresh Thai chilis (some call them Bird’s eye chilis) to dry in the dehydrator for 8 hours, then grind until your desired coarseness.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, don’t worry. There are other ways you can dry your chilis too, such as in the oven or air fryer.

Homemade vs. Store-bought Chili Powder

You may be wondering why you should bother making your own chili powder if it’s readily available in stores. The answer is simple: quality!

Many store-bought verities of Thai chili powder, though beautiful in color, simply aren’t as spicy or flavorful as what you can make at home. Some are even mixed with other seasonings that can really reduce their potency and change the flavor profile. While it’s true that you can probably find high-quality chili powder from the store, it’s usually quite expensive compared to making it yourself.

I actually made this Thai chili powder with chilis from our garden. Thai chilis are very easy to grow, and you can even cultivate them indoors on your windowsill! Moreover, it just feels wonderful to eat your own home-grown food knowing that the peppers were not treated with pesticides. In my humble opinion, good food starts with good ingredients. So I highly recommend growing your own vegetables! If you’re interested, I have a few guides that can help you get started.

Reduce the Spiciness of Chili Powder

The great thing about making your own chili powder is that you can easily modify it to suit your tastes. If you love the taste of Thai chili peppers but want to reduce the heat of the final product, simply remove some of the seeds from the chili peppers before grinding them.

If you’re using peppers you grew yourself or were grown by a friend, you can also choose under-ripe peppers like I did for mine to make the spice more manageable.

How to Make Thai Chili Powder

If you like spicy food as much as I do, you in for a treat. In this Vlog, I will show you how to make chili powder. I am using my homegrown Thai chili peppers and they are super hot! I have three different Thai Chili plants from which I harvest the peppers from for this chili powder. I am using some very under-ripe peppers from one of the plants to keep the heat level edible. Another way to keep the heat level “low”, is to remove the seeds before putting the peppers into the dehydrator.

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