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8 Ways to Fall In Love With Shishito Peppers

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So you found shishito peppers at your farmer’s market or store and you don’t know what to do with them?

Here are 8 unique and tasty shishito pepper recipes to help get you started. All of these recipes are easy to prepare; perfect for beginners!

Shishito Peppers on a wooden table

What are Shishito Peppers?

Up until a year ago, I had no idea what shishito peppers were. Friends of ours all met us for dinner one night in downtown Campbell. (There weren’t a ton of gluten-free appetizers on the menu, so we decided to give these shishito peppers a try.) Their shishito peppers recipe called for fire roasting with chunks of garlic.

Can I say YUM any louder? We inhaled those peppers so quickly I think our waitress was surprised :-).

I love peppers, but for some reason, I always walked right by them. Now I know exactly how to have fun with these fun little peppers in my kitchen. Shishito peppers are incredibly versatile and work in so many different kinds of recipes.

shishito peppers in a grill basket

How do you cook shishito peppers?

I like to cook my shishito peppers in two ways. First, if I am using shishito peppers in a recipe, I tend to fire roast them in a grill basket. If I plan to eat shishito pepper straight, I will pan sauté the peppers with garlic and oil in a cast iron skillet.

Eating these straight out of the pan almost seems boring in comparison to these 8 fabulous, and highly creative pepper recipes!

Fun Shishito Pepper Facts

  • Are shishito peppers spicy? Not into spicy?? Not to worry. They say only 1 in 10 shishito peppers is spicy. (*I will add I have yet to find a spicy one. I haven’ t even broken out into a sweat over one.)
  • Shishito peppers can be eaten raw like any pepper, but they are more fun to use in recipes when they are cooked.
  • Shishito peppers can be fire roasted on a grill or pan-fried.
  • You can eat the whole pepper, but I highly recommend not eating the top.
  • Can you eat the seeds of shishito peppers? Absolutely!

Where to buy shishito peppers? You would be surprised how many stores now carry these peppers.

  • farmer’s markets
  • grocery stores
  • Trader Joe’s even carries them year-round in their refrigerated produce section!

Red shishito peppers roasting in a cast iron skillet

Look at this cool surprise! Shishito peppers also come in a vibrant red color! I only found these once this year, but their flavor was incredible!

Red Shishito Pepper soup in a bowl. The soup is garnished with jalapeños and cilantro

I couldn’t resist making a Red Shishito Pepper Soup out of them!

Are you ready to try some delicious easy gluten-free shishito pepper recipes?

Shishito pepper recipes:

Sauteed Chicken with Shishito Pepper Sauce Over Polenta

Sautéed Chicken with Shishito Pepper Sauce Over Cheesy Polenta This is a fancy dinner recipe that is made to impress! Cheesy polenta and shishito peppers are a match made in heaven. Add chicken for protein and you have a delicious meal.

Tall shot glasses with mango shishito pepper cold soup. Each is garnished with fresh lime and jalapeno.

Mango Shishito Pepper Cold Soup Shots

This is a fun soup that is perfect for a hot summer day. This soup is served cold and has a fruity flavor with a spicy kick. Since shishito peppers aren’t too spicy, I added jalapeños. You can control the heat with this recipe by how many jalapeños you add!

Top view of two bowls of Chilled Shishito Pepper Soup

Chilled Shishito Soup This cold shishito pepper soup was my very first introduction to these peppers. There is a tangy spice to this soup, making it perfect for someone who loves bold flavors.

In this recipe, the peppers are cooked before being added to the blender. I roasted the shishito peppers in a grill basket for this recipe.

Blistered Shishito Peppers with Sriracha Cream Sauce

Blistered Shishito Peppers with Sriracha Cream Sauce  Blister these little peppers. This is the most common way to eat shishitos. You can vary the sauces, or just blister the peppers with garlic and salt!

Heirloom Tomato and Shishito Pepper Gazpacho bowl. Feta cheese and sliced shishito peppers are floating on top

Heirloom Tomato and Shishito Pepper Gazpacho I know, another cold soup…I can’t help it. It gets so hot here in the Bay Area! Trust me when I say to blend the flavors of sweet ripe heirloom tomatoes with shishito peppers.

A bowl with shishito peppers that were roasted with garlic and oil.

Shishito Peppers I love this simple preparation. These peppers are cooked in a hot cast iron skillet with lots of minced garlic and oil. Go ahead and eat them seeds and all. Just don’t eat the stem!

Charred Cauliflower and Shishito Peppers on a plate

Charred Cauliflower and Shishito Peppers with a Picada Sauce  Another fancy way to cook shishito peppers. Here these peppers bring this cauliflower side dish to life.

Shishito Pepper Tofu Stir Fry in a bowl with noodles

Shishito Pepper and Tofu Stir Fry These peppers are also delicious in stir frys….add them in for a peppery flavor.

**If you like spicy, check out my most popular Hatch Green Chile recipes. I also teach you how to roast these peppers without burning your hands and eyeball!!

 

Yummy Desserts to Try After Dinner

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. This is a fantastic list! I love shishito peppers and think they are a lovely accompaniment to most meals. I always seem to be the one that gets that random super spicy one though!

    Reply

  4. I LOVE shishito peppers but after reading your post, I noticed that I knew very little about them. For example, who knew that there’s also a red variety??? That gazpacho looks like the tastiest, most refreshing thing ever, so I will definitely be making it once I can find the peppers at the farmers market. Thanks for the inspo!

    Reply

  5. Our local ramen restaurant has the best shishito peppers. I had no idea I could do some recipes at home! My only decision is which one to try first!

    Reply

  17. How timely! I am overwhelmed with peppers at the moment. Not Shishito, but several varieties of red peppers that are about the same heat. I’ll be studying your recipe collection for ideas! congratulations on getting picked by Mode’s cover! Nice post!

    Reply

  22. I don’t know how, but I had never heard of Shishito peppers!! I am a pepper lover and also a lover of anything spicy!! I will be giving them a try as soon as I find them!!

    Reply

  28. I can’t wait to try some of these delicious looking recipes! Thanks for curating them and putting them all in one place!!! It’ll be especially fun to try the battered ones with gluten free flour and GF beer!
    YUM!
    ~jules
    gfJules.com

    Reply

  29. Interesting article on shishito peppers. Never heard of them but during my next trip to UK or Canada will surely look for them to try them out. Maybe the shishito tempura is the one I will out first 🙂

    Reply

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