Healthy Spicy Food for Weight Loss: 21 Recipes to Try if You Love Spicy Food

These 21 healthy spicy food for weight loss recipes are warm, packed with flavor, and high in nutrition!

Spicy food is more than a mere treat for your taste buds. It boosts your metabolism, revs up your digestion, and delivers a variety of nutrients through a combination of herbs and spices. That’s why we’ve put together a list of 21 recipes to try if you love spicy food! Whether you’re looking for spicy chicken, spicy shrimp, or even spicy soup, this healthy spicy food for weight loss has you covered.

Healthy Spicy Food for Weight Loss Recipes

spicy garlic shrimp

If you’re a spicy food lover, you’re going to adore each and every one of these recipes!

Chicken, Fish & Meat Dishes

Spicy Tailgate Meatballs

1. Spicy Chicken Skewers
Great for outdoor barbecues and potlucks, this spicy chicken recipe is packed with flavor. Each skewer weighs in at under 200 calories with only 13 grams of carbs and an impressive 30 grams of protein.

Try the recipe: Spicy Chicken Skewers

2. Spicy Asian Chicken Meatballs
These chicken meatballs have a great balance of deep, rich flavors and spiciness from red pepper flakes. Serve them over rice or low-calorie cauliflower stir-fry.

Try the recipe: Spicy Asian Chicken Meatballs

3. Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken
Boneless, skinless chicken breast is low in fat and packed with lean protein. This recipe adds a kick to traditional chicken dinners with a spicy garlic and lime seasoning. This is an easy-to-pair recipe that you can make over and over again.

Try the recipe: Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

4. 30-Minute Healthy Kickin’ Cajun Chicken
Cajun food is known for being spicy and extremely rich in flavor. This chicken is expertly seasoned with flavors your whole family will enjoy. For a low-carb meal, try serving this healthy spicy food for weight loss with cauliflower stir fry or steamed vegetables instead of rice.

Try the recipe: 30-Minute Healthy Kickin’ Cajun Chicken

5. Tandoori Spiced Chicken
This chicken marinates for two hours in a combination of yogurt, spices, and herbs. It’s a nice change from basic chicken dinners. Since it’s made with lean, skinless chicken breast and is low in added oils, it’s a high-protein, low-carb, and low-calorie recipe.

Try the recipe: Tandoori Spiced Chicken

6. Spicy Tailgate Meatballs
Get ready for tailgate season with these clean-eating, high-protein, low-carb turkey meatballs. Spiced with cayenne pepper, paprika, sage, onion, and cloves, these meatballs are sure to please all spicy food lovers.

Try the recipe: Spicy Tailgate Meatballs

7. Baked Tilapia with Spicy Tropical Salsa
This tilapia is a quick and easy healthy spicy food for weight loss to prepare. It takes less than fifteen minutes in the oven. To make the sweet and spicy sauce, combine mango with red onion, chili powder, and paprika. It’s a flavorful combination that will remind you of restaurant-made meals.

Try the recipe: Baked Tilapia with Spicy Tropical Salsa

8. Spicy Garlic Shrimp
This shrimp recipe is flavored with red pepper flakes and garlic. You can adjust the amount of seasoning to your preferred spiciness level.

Try the recipe: Spicy Garlic Shrimp

Vegetarian Dishes

Spicy Southwestern Vegetarian Burger

9. Spicy Southwestern Vegetarian Burger
These veggie burgers are packed full of flavor. Even meat lovers will enjoy these!

Try the recipe: Spicy Southwestern Vegetarian Burger

10. Spicy Korean Tacos
These vegetarian tacos are filled with cabbage, carrots, and tofu and flavored with Sriracha and soy sauce. They’re a fun lunch that kids and adults can enjoy together.

Try the recipe: Spicy Korean Tacos

11. Spicy Four Cheese Pasta
Add a spicy kick to your pasta! Accentuate the cheesy goodness with rich flavors from red pepper flakes, minced garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, and dried herbs.

Try the recipe: Spicy Four Cheese Pasta

Soups & Salads

12. Momma’s Roadhouse Chili
You’ll fall in love with this spicy chili recipe. If you’d like to make it even spicier, use our recipe for Skinny Sausage in place of the ground turkey.

Try the recipe: Momma’s Roadhouse Chili

13. Kale Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
This kale salad packs a flavorful punch. Seasoned with garlic, ginger, and cayenne pepper, it’s sure to please all spicy food lovers.

Try the recipe: Kale Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

14. Thai Salad with Spicy Dressing
This Thai salad includes cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, green onions, mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, and macadamia nuts. It’s a healthy spicy food for weight loss full of flavors and colors! The dressing gives the vegetables their spicy kick. Eat this salad at lunch or dinner.

Try the recipe: Thai Salad with Spicy Dressing

15. Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Bean Soup
For more slow cooker recipes, make this rich soup. It uses coconut milk, which makes it extra thick and creamy.

Try the recipe: Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Bean Soup

16. Creamy and Spicy Corn Soup
This low-calorie soup is seasoned with onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.

Try the recipe: Creamy and Spicy Corn Soup

17. Spicy Eggplant Chili
This eggplant chili, seasoned with chili powder and jalapeno peppers, delivers intense flavor, protein, and fiber. It’s a great dinner that you can easily pair with steamed vegetables.

Try the recipe: Spicy Eggplant Chili

Sides, Snacks & Appetizers

18. Spicy Pumpkin Hummus
This low-carb spread is made with canned pumpkin puree and spiced with garlic, allspice, cumin, chili powder, and red pepper flakes.

Try the recipe: Spicy Pumpkin Hummus

19. Spicy Tahini Corn on the Cob
Everyone enjoys corn on the cob. This spicy version is a great dish for dinner parties, BBQs, or potlucks.

Try the recipe: Spicy Tahini Corn on the Cob

20. Spicy Lentil Summer Rolls
Bursting with flavor, these summer rolls are filled with grated carrots, beets, chunks of avocado, and lentils and spiced with a hint of Sriracha.

Try the recipe: Spicy Lentil Summer Rolls

21. Spiced Roasted Chickpeas
Seasoned chickpeas are a great, crunchy snack. They’re full of fiber and protein to keep you full.

Try the recipe: Spiced Roasted Chickpeas

Add these ideas for healthy spicy food for weight loss to your regular recipe routine and keep your waistline and your tastebuds happy. They’re super lean, super easy, and super flavorful—and there are enough of them to get you through three whole weeks without repeating a recipe. You know what they say, variety is the spice of life!

For more amazing dinner ideas, check out our slow cooker recipes.

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Sofia Lopez

Sofia received her BA from Cornell University and her MFA from San Francisco State University. She creates workouts and fitness challenges. Her hobbies include running, hiking, and listening to audiobooks from the exercise bike.

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