Recipes for Spicy Foods That Boost Your Metabolism

Adobo Chicken & Kale Enchiladas

Put out your favorite toppings for these quick and healthy layered enchiladas. We like cilantro, sour cream, guacamole and jalapeños.

Vietnamese Pork & Broccoli "Rice" Bowls

Broccoli gets a whirl in your food processor, with rice-like results, in this healthy dinner recipe. Serve with hot sauce and limes for an extra kick.

Tofu Cucumber Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

Making tofu tastier can be as simple as tossing it in a knockout sauce like this Sichuan-inspired peanut dressing. To make this cucumber salad recipe a meal, add rice noodles and double the dressing. Serve with an extra drizzle of sesame oil and sliced scallions.

Spring Roll Salad

All the tastes, color and fun of a spring roll without all the work! This healthy salad recipe is bursting with the colors of rainbow from generous amounts of fresh vegetables, shrimp and whole grains all topped with a peanut dressing for the ultimate satisfying salad.

Grilled Fish Tacos

Instead of deep-frying the fish for these fish tacos, we coat the fish with a flavor-packed chile rub and grill it instead. Make sure the fillets are no more than 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick so they cook quickly. Sometimes flipping fish on the grill can be tricky since the fish can stick to the grill or fall apart. The solution is to invest in a grill basket that easily holds 4 to 6 fish fillets and secures the fish in the basket for easy flipping. If you don't have a grilling basket, make sure the grill is hot and well oiled before adding the fish.

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Calabacitas

Enjoy this traditional Southwestern dish of sautéed summer squash, onions and peppers as a side or as a vegetarian filling for tacos.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

Make a double batch of this quick vegetarian chili, full of black beans and sweet potatoes, and eat it for lunch the next day or freeze the extras for another night. We love the smoky heat from the ground chipotle, but omit it if you prefer a mild chili. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread and coleslaw.

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Chicken "Carne" Adovada

Here we braise chicken thighs in a brick-red chile sauce. This dish is even tastier the next day. Serve with flour tortillas and, though it's not traditional, we like the contrast of creamy avocado with it.

Pinto Bean & Andouille Sausage Stew

An adaptation of the Andalusian dish fabada, this pinto bean stew is seasoned with andouille sausage, bacon, tomatoes, onions, peppers and smoked paprika. Fans of spicy beans should use the full amount of minced chile pepper (or more). Serve with brown rice and sour cream.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin Marinated in Spicy Soy Sauce

Crisp on the outside and buttery-tender on the inside, these sweet and spicy soy sauce-marinated pork tenderloin medallions make for a delicious, healthful and elegant entree. Serve with snow peas, brown rice and Sour Mango Salad on the side.

Cowboy Beef & Bean Chili

Anything but dainty, this healthy cowboy beef and bean chili recipe is hearty with the addition of mushrooms and beer. To keep the saturated fat low, we use one pound of ground beef and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber in this chili recipe. After all the ingredients are added to the pot, we like to slowly simmer our chili for close to an hour to develop the best flavor, but if you're in a hurry, reduce the liquid by half and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

Turkey Burgers with Gochujang & Kimchi

Korean chile paste (also known as gochujang) blended into the ground turkey makes this turkey burger recipe incredibly moist and flavorful. Top these healthy turkey burgers with kimchi––a fermented mixture of cabbage and other vegetables––which can be found near other refrigerated Asian ingredients or near sauerkraut or pickles in well-stocked supermarkets or natural-foods stores.

Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

This flavorful vegetarian Thai red curry recipe matches sweet potatoes with fresh dandelion greens and asparagus, though you can substitute cauliflower florets, cubed Asian eggplant, squash or carrots. If you're using cauliflower or eggplant, add them earlier, when the potato is only partially cooked, as they will take longer to cook than asparagus. Classic Thai red curry is flavored with lime leaves and Thai basil. If you find them, use them, but even without them the vegetable curry will still be a knockout.

Vegetarian Spinach Enchiladas

This vegetarian enchilada recipe is weeknight-fast when you skip the step of filling and rolling the enchiladas and make a stacked enchilada casserole instead. Just layer the tortillas, sauce and cheesy spinach filling the way you would lasagna and have the casserole in the oven in 20 minutes.

Chipotle-Cheddar Broiled Avocado Halves

In this avocado side-dish recipe, zesty avocado halves are topped with melted Cheddar cheese and broiled until golden brown. You can serve these healthy avocado halves as a side dish with grilled chicken or steak.

Chile-Lime Veggie Noodles

We love the bright flavor that lime and chile-garlic sauce give to this quick and easy veggie-and-noodle stir-fry. Multicolored peppers make this recipe festive, while the addition of eggs makes it a satisfying vegetarian supper.

Green Curry Soup

This aromatic green curry soup is packed with spinach, mushrooms, green beans and broccoli stems (save the florets for another night). Green curry paste gives this soup a delicately spicy broth. The vegetables are cooked just enough to be tender, but retain their freshness and distinct textures.

Dan Dan Noodles with Shrimp

Skip takeout and make these delicious, healthy dan dan noodles with a sesame-soy sauce, shrimp and peanuts in just 30 minutes. The Sichuan preserved vegetables add a bright pop of tangy, slightly fermented flavor. Look for them at an Asian market if you want the most authentic flavor or use more commonly available kimchi.

Vietnamese Shrimp & Mango Lettuce Wraps

Large, untorn butter lettuce leaves are best for rolling up the filling in these Asian lettuce wraps without breaking. If you use larger shrimp, chop them before cooking to make the wraps easier to eat. Serve as a first course or light dinner with a side of rice or noodles.

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Chile-Marinated Skirt Steak (Carne Asada en Adobo de Guajillo)

In this Mexican-inspired steak recipe, dried chiles are toasted, soaked and pureed to make a flavorful marinade. Toasting the chiles in a heavy, dry skillet is the key to unlocking their flavor (not just their heat). Look for dried chiles in the produce section of many markets. Serve with rice, beans and a green salad.