Sweet Peppers

There’s nothing like a crisp sweet pepper in the middle of summer. Whether you enjoy them raw like an apple, chopped up fresh into a salad or slaw, cooked into a stir-fry or roasted and blended into a sauce, sweet peppers are where it’s at.

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  • Bells

    These big bells are a classic, ranging from red to orange to yellow to purple, they vary in sugar content but are all incredibly crisp and refreshing. Reds are the sweetest. Green bell peppers are just unripe.

  • Italians

    These elongated red and yellow peppers have a very high sugar content and particularly thin skins. They can be roasted up very quickly and the skins removed with ease if making romesco sauce.

  • Pimentos

    The queen of sweet, pimento peppers have super thick, crunchy walls and the highest sugar content of all the sweet peppers. Pimentos come in many shapes, including ruffled and a stout Italian shape.

  • Jimmy Nardello

    This tricky sweet treat looks very similar to cayenne peppers but is much larger, more rumply, and has slightly thicker walls. Incredible flavor in sauces and sautées.

  • Banana

    A super mild and sweet little pepper that comes with a slight tang even without being pickled like a pepperoncini. Often served with sandwiches or in salads or sliced into stir-fries. Photo - Pepper Scale

  • Pepperoncini

    AVG SHU: 300. Known for being pickled, sliced, and served with sandwiches, these small sweet peppers are a treat and come with a slightly warm heat. Photo — Pepper Scale

Mini Peppers

Although there are a very many tiny pepper in this world that will set your tongue on fire, the “Mini Peppers” in this group are sweet to mild and are meant to be eaten whole with ease. While shishitos and padrons tend to be more common at the farmers market, the range of super sweet, tropical, heatless habaneros are hot on the scene! I love to toss all the different colors of peppers into a frying pan with oil and serve with a sprinkle of salt on a very special gorgeous platter (or eat them all to myself alongside eggs for breakfast).

  • Shishitos

    AVG SHU: 125

    These heatless thin-walled little green peppers have made their mark on farmers markets, perfect for tossing a hot pan with a little oil and salt and enjoying whole. Great for breakfasts & camping trips.

  • Padrons

    AVG SHU: 1500

    Unlike shishitos, padrons usually carry a little to occassionally a lot of warmth. Padrons can be cooked and eaten whole the same as shishitos, but with a little bit of caution.

  • Habanada

    AVG SHU: 0

    These bright orange, pointy-tipped peppers may look like a habanero but they are totally heatless with the most incredible sweet, tropical flavor. Shishitos who? An absolute must try.

  • NuMex Suave

    AVG SHU: 665

    These slightly larger yellow lanterns are another heatless habanero with an incredible sweet tropical flavor, along with a whisper of habanero heat. Larger plant, produces well in temperate climates.

  • Roulette

    AVG SHU: 100

    With a name like roulette one is sure to proceed with caution, but these too are completely heatless little pepper poppers with a more mild tropical sweetness. Mix with your other heatless habs!

  • Tangerine Dream

    AVG SHU: 0

    This almost-ornamental pepper grows its fruits upwards and has a super sweet tropical flavor with thick juicy walls, perfect for snacking. Photo—Pepper Scale

Warm Peppers

These peppers are known for have a rich savory flavor and a hint of heat that warms you up. Harvested and eaten both green while the peppers are still pretty mild in addition to when ripened to their full red color and heat.

Spicy Peppers

These peppers tend to be smaller in size with a much higher heat content that is to be approached with caution. Jalapeños are pretty mild as far as spicy peppers go, explore 12 common spicy peppers in order of increasing Scoville Heat Units.

Note: All Scoville heat ratings are an average, but actual SHU levels vary depending on climate and varieties.

Fire

A jalapeno at 5000 SHU isn’t anything compared to a pepper who’s Scoville heat rating is in the millions. These peppers can actually be dangerous if not handled with care, but they are the secret ingredient to many hot sauces and other dishes.

For reference, pure Capsaicin has an SHU of 15 million, and Pepper Sprays used for self defense range from 2 to 5 million. The Carolina Reaper is the official hottest pepper in the world. Although others have surpassed its heat, their stability as a variety is still not there, meaning that from pepper to pepper the level of heat varies too much to be officially hotter.

  • Habanero

    AVG SHU: 225,000

    Although incredibly hot, this pepper has such a lovely tropical twist that makes for delicious salsas. Caribbean Red Habaneros are even hotter with a max SHU of 445,000.

  • Scotch Bonnet

    AVG SHU: 225,000

    Photo — Pepper Scale

  • Ghost Pepper

    AVG SHU: 948,200

    Known as Bhut Jolokia in India and translated to “Ghost” Pepper, this super-hot pepper’s heat sneaks on you, building hotter over a long period of time. Photo — Pepper Scale

  • Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

    AVG SHU: 1,600,000

    Photo — Pepper Scale

  • Carolina Reaper

    AVG SHU: 1,800,000

    How This Guy Made the World's Hottest Peppers | Obsessed | WIRED (YouTube)

    Photo — Pepper Scale

  • Dragon's Breath

    AVG SHU: 2,480,000

    Bred in the UK in attempt to develop peppers that would provide capsaicin used for alternative anesthetics. Not for eating. Photo - Pepper Scale

Pepper recipes