Heat, as it tickles the tongue not scalds your mouth, can be divisive to say the least. There are those whose spice tolerance seems bottomless, and then others who can hardly handle a sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper. Yet there’s no doubt that a touch of spice is often the missing element in a recipe. Whether you like your food with a fiery kick, or simply want to bring a touch of heat to round out a dish, our Sicilian Chili Pepper Flakes do the trick.

Grown in the foothills of Sicily’s Mt. Barrau, our chili peppers are hand harvested and dried under the hot rays of the Italian sun. Spicy, earthy, and slightly fruity, they will bring the heat (or just a nudge) to whatever you choose. We’ve included a few of our favorite dishes to sprinkle a touch of Sicilian heat into for an elevated, maybe even exciting, experience.

Bursting with earthy, bright, and juicy flavors and textures, Pasta alla Norma is a Sicilian staple. Showered with salty ricotta salata, a sprinkle of our balanced, hot chili flakes rounds out this incredible dish.

An Italian classic, Spaghetti alla vongole brings the taste of Italy’s Mediterranean shoreline to your table in an easy, yet flavorful showstopper. If you can find squid ink, or squid ink pasta, enhance the briny flavors of the sea with its inclusion. With a sprinkle of the best chili flakes, it will become a favorite for everyone at the table, we promise.

There’s a reason pizza shops around the world offer red pepper flakes to sprinkle onto your pie: it makes it that much better. You might be asking yourself: wait a minute, are red pepper flakes the same as chili flakes? Alas, they are not. While red pepper flakes combine a variety of chilis to create a fire-packed spice for your pantry, chili flakes consist of just one type of chili. Our sun-dried Sicilian chilis are both fiery, and flavorful, adding complexity and flavor to whatever you use it with. Just a pinch of our freshly crushed chili flakes presents a potent and complex flavor. Sprinkle onto your favorite homemade pizza and you might start a weekly pizza night using our Italian 00 Pizza Flour in your home if you haven't already.

Folded into your ragu or bolognese, red pepper chili flakes will bring instant warmth into the hearty and deeply flavorful sauce. Showered with shredded, salty Parmigiano Reggiano, your favorite savory, warming, luscious meat sauce is perfect for cold nights and a beautiful glass of Nero d’Avola.

Subtle yet distinct and elegant, seafood can be quickly enhanced, and quickly overpowered, by bold flavor combinations. Just a touch of heat will bring forth the sweeter tones of fresh scallops, the cleanness of seasonal halibut, and the fattiness of Atlantic salmon. Paired with a spritz of citrus, dash of good olive oil, and a pinch of flaked sea salt, you’ll have yourself the perfect way to enjoy fresh seafood.

Similar to hearty ragus, soups and stews gain a deliciously warm edge when layered with a touch of heat. Be careful not to add too much, as the liquid carries the heat more efficiently to your taste buds and can quickly become overpowering.

Regardless of your tolerance for heat, the key with adding our Sicilian Chili Pepper Flakes to any dish is to taste as you go along. While you can always add more to your own portion, it’s impossible to take the heat away once it’s been added. That being said, just like black pepper, its inclusion creates a level of complexity and flavor enhancement to anything you add it to.