Chiltepin is recognized for its pungency and deep red color. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of open sun drying and hot air drying methods, as well as pretreatments on capsaicin, capsanthin, and ascorbic acid content in chiltepin. Chiltepin was dried using open sun and hot air drying. Raw chiltepin showed capsaicin (C) and capsanthin (CAPS) content of 5,560 µg/g dry weight (dw) and 58.7 µg/g dw, respectively; ascorbic acid (AA) concentration (140 µg/g dw) was lower to that reported in other peppers. Open sun drying affected the concentrations of CAPS (12.09 µg/g dw) and AA (3.5 µg/g dw), but not C (5,500 µg/g dw). In hot air drying, the lowest temperature (35 °C) favored retention of bioactive compounds of 90%, 52%, and 35% (C, CAPS, and AA, respectively). These results suggest that C is the most stable compound. Thus, hot air drying can be recommended for a higher retain of CAPS and AA compounds.