Name: Homemade chili paste
Yield: 2 C / 500 ml
Ingredients: 2 cans (5.5 fl. oz. / 156 ml) tomato paste; ½ C / 50 g red chili flakes; ½ C + 3 tbsp / 165 ml mild-tasting olive oil; 4-8 tsp maple syrup (I use 8 tsp) - you can use Whole30 friendly date sweetener too (I typically use around 12 tsp, since it sweetens a bit less than maple syrup); 1 tsp apple cider vinegar; 2-3 tsp granulated garlic; 2-2½ tsp fine pink Himalayan salt or sea salt

If you love spicy food, homemade chili paste will be your new favorite thing!

It only takes a few minutes to stir up a batch (no fancy kitchen machines needed) and it tastes absolutely amazing with most savory dishes.

Add a little chili paste for a hint of heat or eat a ton for a mouth numbing, but oh so tasty, experience (…literally all I can think about right now is a big fat pizza slice slathered with homemade chili paste (insert *drooling emoji* at your own discretion)).

In Denmark it’s common to find variations of this chili paste in every pizza place.

The ingredients are simple (tomato paste, red chili flakes, oil and maybe salt) and apart from adding a ton of spiciness the flavor profile is actually quite bland.

However the chili paste sort of magically makes any pizza slice, shawarma or kebab dish taste infinitely better (actually the chili paste totally numbs your mouth, making it somewhat difficult to actually taste what you’re eating and even though a watery stream will run from your eyes and nose you just keep pouring the chili paste on your food, because it’s so so so heavenly good!).

Living in Montreal for the past 5 years I’ve found that chili paste is not really a thing in the pizza joints here. Red chili flakes or some sort of chili oil might be, especially in the Italian places.

But the chili paste, no.

A big mistake if you ask me. But if you don’t know, you don’t know.

Same but (very) different

So how’s my recipe for homemade chili paste different from the original pizzeria version?

It’s actually quite different compared to the original spicy, but otherwise quite bland, stuff.

In addition to using tomato paste, red chili flakes, oil and salt, I add sweetness, a bit more acidity, a lot more salt and a nice touch of garlicky goodness for a balanced, fulfilling flavor profile.

Spicy hummus made with homemade chili paste

There’s so many ways to use the homemade chili paste (other than just eating it by the spoonful with all your meals of course) and I’ve made it a habit to always keep some ready in the fridge or freezer.

I doubt that you’ll ever go without it once you start making your own too – it’s addictive!

Ideas on how to use the homemade chili paste

as a condiment to meals (really good with all types of meat and poultry, white fish and shell fish, eggs, vegetarian dishes etc. but a MUST with things like shawarma, kebabs, falafel and pizza)
in marinades for meat, poultry, white fish and shell fish
spread on regular toast (SO GOOD on avocado toast!), sweet potato toast, wraps, burger buns, pizza crusts, etc.
in patties, meatballs and meatloaves (meat or plant based – so good in spicy falafels!)
in tuna salad (delicious in chicken and salmon salad too!)
mixed in breads and crackers
in hummus and guacamole
in dips and dressings (really good in plain yogurt and sour cream based preparations)
mixed with mayo for a delicious chili mayo
in soups, stews, spaghetti sauces and tomato sauces
and so much more!

What’s your favorite way to eat homemade chili paste – do you prefer it as a condiment to your meals or do you use it in recipes more often? Let me know in the comments below!