Ají Amarillo Paste Recipe (a Peruvian Chilli Paste) (2024)

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Ají amarillo paste is a bright yellow/orange chilli paste from Peru. It’s aromatic, fruity and moderately spicy.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

What is Aji Amarillo Paste?

Aji Amarillo paste is essentially ground up fresh aji amarillo chillies (chili peppers in American speak). The paste is an essential ingredient in Peruvian cooking and in Peru, is often made from scratch when needed. Just like one would grind onions, garlic and ginger to make a curry.

This paste is used to make so many dishes, like sauces, stews, salad dressings and so much more. I have a huge batch of this yellowajípaste from last year’s harvest (2021), so look out for recipes in the coming weeks.

Now as long as you have access to a Latin American store wherever you are, you can easily buy aji amarillo paste. And as I say all the time, you will definitely find it online, Amazon and Ebay are always good sources for specialist products.

However, if you love growing your own food, get your hands on some seeds, grow this favourite Peruvian chilli, and make your own paste.

Because nothing beats homemade!

Aji Amarillo Chilli Pepper

This fruity, slightly tangy chilli is a favourite of mine and I grow it every year for its flavour and colour. At 30 000 – 50 000 SHU, it’s a moderately spicy chilli and one of the most popular in Peru and the surrounding region.

When fully ripe, the aji amarillo takes on a bright orange colour, instead of the yellow that its name suggests.

• Aji= chilli in Spanish (correct spelling ají)
• Amarillo= masculine form of yellow

Aji Amarillo= Yellow Chilli Pepper

You can read more about these yellow Peruvian chillies here.

Aji Amarillo Paste Recipe

It’s a really, really easy recipe to make

An authentic aji amarillo paste doesn’t contain anything apart from the chillies and a little liquid (water or unflavoured vegetable oil). So no onions, no garlic, no herbs, nothing.

You may want to add a pinch of salt to it, but I suggest you refrain and add salt to the recipe you’re making it with. Unless you’re planning to enjoy the paste on its own, maybe for dipping your chips (fries) in or for drizzling over potatoes and vegetables. Then, knock yourself out.

This is how we make aji amarillo paste:

1. Blanch the aji amarillo so you can peel them.
2. Peel them (for a smoother chilli paste with no bits).
3. Place in a chopper or blender with a little liquid and chop/blend to a smooth paste.

How to use Aji Amarillo Paste

It has so many uses, and I promise that I shall follow this post up with some recipes in the coming weeks. Some examples:

• you can use it when making Aji de Galina, that creamy, shredded chicken dish that reminds me of our coronation chicken.
• it’s also used to make aji amarillo sauce.
• flavour salad dressing – this I do a lot, as I love a kick in my salads.
• add it to soups and stews for a flavour and spice hit.
• along the lines of the sauce mentioned above, jazz up some mayonnaise for dipping crudités, flatbread and breadsticks or for making devilled eggs.
• it goes amazingly with seafood, whether as a sauce or a marinade, lime juice will add some zing.

And it makes a great foodie gift too for all Latin American food lovers and chilli heads!

Don’t have Ají Amarillo Chillies?

Well…, 2 options: buy it or sub the chillies.

Here’s my Amazon affiliate link for buying the paste.

The other option is to substitute these Peruvian chillies with a combination of scotch bonnets and orange bell pepper or sweet peppers.

The scotch bonnet is much hotter than this amarillo chilli, so you want to temper that heat by using some orange or yellow sweet peppers. Then just follow the instructions below. You get the same fruity flavour of the traditional aji amarillo paste, but of course, with a very slight difference in flavour and aroma.

If you’re in the UK, Waitrose and Ocado sell scotch bonnets. You’ll also find them in many of our “ethnic” shops and greengrocers.

How to Store?

As it’s a fresh chilli paste (even if we do blanch the chillies) with no acid added (citrus or vinegar), it doesn’t have too long a shelf life. In the fridge, it’ll last a week.

The best way to store your aji amarillo paste is by freezing it. I fill ice cube trays with it, cover and store up to 3 months.

I do this with most chilli pastes I make and also the Indian Fried Onion Paste. This way, I can defrost what I need, it’s just so convenient.

And that about covers it. Shall we get our aprons on?

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