These pan-roasted blistered shishito peppers make a simple and delicious appetizer. You can roast or pan fry them and serve them in only 12 minutes!
Have you seen those bins of shishito peppers at the farmer's market? If you haven't seen them, many grocery stores are starting to carry them too, including Trader Joe's. Here are some of my very favorite shishito pepper recipes.
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What are shishito peppers?
Shishito peppers are tiny little green (and sometimes red!) little long peppers. These peppers are mild, and they say 1 in 10 are actually spicy. I am not sure if I believe this because I have yet to find a spicy one! Shishito peppers are very versatile and work in so many recipes.
Shishito peppers originally came from Japan. They are considered sweet pepper and are very mild.
You most often will see green shishitos but I recently found out can come in a vibrant red color too! (Check out this delicious Red Shishito Pepper Soup I made with them!)
We were at a fabulous restaurant in downtown Campbell called Liquid Bread (unfortunately, it is no longer in business) a few weeks ago. They served up shishito peppers charred with garlic and crunchy enoki mushrooms on top and it was just fabulous. Everyone at our table loved them.
How to eat them?
These peppers are easy to eat. You grab them by the stem and bite the pepper off the stem. I know it sounds weird but you eat the seeds and all.
We toss the stems, but I would say don't toss them on the ground if you have pets. Our friend's dog got really sick from the stems.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: Heat avocado oil, or another high heat oil, in a 12" cast iron pan. When the pan is hot, toss in the shishito peppers whole. Add minced garlic and salt.
Step 2: You want your peppers to blister like shown in this photo. The peppers soften as they blister, making them so good!
As the peppers blister, I like to add some minced garlic and salt. The garlic gets nice and crispy around the peppers. You can toss in some onions or diced shallots too if you like!
More Ways to Cook Shishito Peppers
These little mild peppers can be cooked several ways. Shishito peppers can be cooked in so many ways including:
- Pan-frying
- On a grill - Add them to a grill basket (see above!) and toss them onto the grill!
- Baked in an oven
- Sautéd
- Air fry them!! They come out perfect every time!
- Pickle them!
Air Fryer Shishito Peppers
Cooking your shishito peppers in an air fryer is so easy!! You get the same delicious charred flavor.
- Spray a high heat oil in the air fryer basket.
- Fill the bottom of the air fryer with washed shishito peppers. Leave the stems on! Do not overfill the air fryer so that air can circulate around the peppers.
- Spray them with more oil, dust with salt.
- Air fry them at 400º F for 7-8 minutes.
- I love to drizzle a garlic butter over the charred shishito peppers for more flavor!
If you love shishito peppers as much as we do, how about trying this Chilled Shishito Pepper Soup recipe?
More easy pepper recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Blistered Shishito Peppers with Garlic
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pint shishito peppers
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 clove minced garlic
Instructions
- Heat a cast iron skillet with avocado oil.
- Add the shishito peppers and garlic.
- Cook until the skins blister.
- Remove from the heat and serve warm.
Notes
- You can cook shishito peppers in several ways. You can pan-fry as listed above, or use a vegetable basket and cook them on a grill.
- I recommend using an oil that can tolerate high heat. I have pan-fried shishito peppers in avocado oil, coconut oil, and canola oil. Do not use olive oil or it will get rancid.
- Cooked shishitos will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container.
Nutrition
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Susie
These were the hit of the Christmas appetiser.. so easy but made a mess on the stove top. They splatter pretty good. I will try some of your other ways to cook them.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked this recipe. You could try to cook them on the grill first, then pan sauté them with garlic and olive oil.
Fiorenza
Amazing idea! I love them and I'll keep to make them by following your recipe
Thank you for sharing 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Fiorenza 🙂
Jersey Girl Cooks
These are so good. I order them as an appetizer in restaurants but will now make them myself.
Sandi Gaertner
We like to order them too!