Easy Chili Infused Olive Oil to Dress Up Any Dish
When you start eating healthier, one of the biggest challenges can be finding ways to dress up your food without adding junk ingredients.
My best advice: Get familiar with seasonings!
Something simple, like this infused olive oil, can make all the difference and take an otherwise bland meal from “boooo” to “woo hoo!”
The other perk of something like an infused oil is the added healthy fats, which are the basis for good health! They’re necessary for long-term energy, brain health, and cellular health.
Extra virgin olive oil has been shown to have benefits to cardiovascular health, may reduce risk of certain cancers, and can also help to balance blood sugar.
With all your oils, make sure that you’re getting good, high-quality. Not all oils are created equal!
Poor quality oils or the wrong type of fats can create a lot of inflammation in your body—something we definitely don’t want.
Olive oil in particular is a really great source of mono- and saturated fat. But a lot of people have so many questions about it, particularly when it comes to cooking with it.
Olive oil only has a smoke point of about 320º, so it’s not the best for cooking and I recommend using it sparingly (ghee and avocado oil are good options for cooking at high heats). When you heat oil so its smoke point, it begins to lose all the health benefits it has and can even become harmful to consume.
But, olive oil is the winner for recipes like this where you won’t be cooking it at high heats and are looking for that distinct olive oil taste. It’s also how you’ll get the most benefits from olive oil.
This is specific infusion is made with a pepper called “guajillo” chili (pronounced “wah-hee-yo”). Guajillos chiles have a sweet, fruity, tangy, smoky flavor that goes perfectly with anything savory. You could definitely try different peppers or chiles with this recipe, or add a few more ingredients if you’re feeling creative and want to experiment! It’s a recipe that I brought back from a trip to Mexico that literally requires 2 ingredients. That means it is SO easy to make and can be ready to eat in an hour.
Make a bottle and keep it on hand for almost anything – grilled meat, potato salad, guacamole, hummus, grilled veggies…you name it, this oil can take anything to the next level of YUM.
If you like this recipe and want to start incorporating more gut healthy foods into your diet, make sure to download my free 101 Gut Healing Foods list.
Different foods can affect your health both positively and negatively….but small adjustments can lead to big changes!
With this list of 101 foods, you’ll know exactly what to focus on for a healthy gut so you can eliminate bloating, headaches, skin conditions, alleviate autoimmune flare-ups, and overall feel better and more comfortable and confident in your body. Download it now!
INFUSED GUAJILLO PEPPER OIL
Ingredients
2 cups high-quality olive oil
4 large dried guajillo peppers (I order mine on Amazon)
Instructions
- Set your oven temperature to 170ºF.
- Cut the stems off the dried peppers and dump our most of the seeds.
- Add the peppers and ¼ – ½ cup olive oil to a blender and blend until the peppers are finely minced.
- Add the blended peppers and oil to the remaining olive oil and dump it all in an ovenproof baking dish. Bake the pepper oil as long as you want/can – the longer you bake, the stronger the flavor. I left mine in for 2 hours.
- Store the oil in sealed containers for up to a few months and put it on everything!
Notes
You can repeat this same technique with fresh “woody” herbs like rosemary or thyme, or something solid like garlic, but if you’re using “watery” herbs like basil or cilantro use the dried version for best results.
