The Best Recipes To Make With Peppers

Bell peppers, hot peppers, jalapeño peppers, cayenne, serrano... there's an almost shockingly long list of options out there for anyone who loves peppers, especially if you like a little extra kick of heat and spice in your meal.

Peppers aren't just tasty, though. They're also super easy to grow if you happen to have a sunny window, while a single pepper plant will keep on giving. That makes them a handy addition for things like salads and stews, but there's so much more you can do with peppers!

Whipping up a quick, pepper-filled meal isn't just tasty, it's also good for you. Healthline says that bell peppers have a whole slew of vitamins and nutrients and have also been linked to helping support eye health and circulatory system effectiveness. There's good news for hot pepper lovers, too. Jalapeños (and their heat-giving capsaicin) have been linked to everything from boosting metabolism and heart health, to fighting certain types of cancers, to acting as a pain reliever, preventing infections, and — most surprisingly — helping prevent stomach ulcers!

That's a lot of goodness in those tiny packages, so let's talk about some fun ways you can make the most of these wonderful peppers!

If you're wondering what you're going to do with all this produce you picked up at the farmer's market or were handed by a neighbor — or that you grew yourself — our gazpacho recipe might be exactly what you're looking for. This cold soup calls for a lot of fresh produce, including bell peppers broiled in the oven while you prep the rest of the veg. There are also onions, cucumbers, radishes, and tomatoes, which you're going to blend into a soup that's as smooth or as chunky as you like. 

Love pizza? Love pasta? Love peppers? We have some awesome news for you, and it's our recipe for a one-pot pizza rigatoni. Just imagine rigatoni (or another of your favorite noodles) covered in a delicious marinara sauce, then cooked with pepperoni, garlic, bell peppers, onion, and topped with all your favorite pizza toppings. Perhaps those topping could be a generous helping of mozzarella cheese and pepperoncini peppers, for instance. It's like pizza, without the crust!

Breakfast is definitely one of those meals where it's easy to fall into the habit of reaching for the same old bowl of cereal or protein shake every morning, but don't start yawning yet. We have a recipe for breakfast burritos that are so easy, they might just become the next great reason you look forward to lazy weekend mornings. In addition to the standard eggs, there are also hash browns and sliced bell peppers that are browned in the oven alongside each other to bring out some serious flavor. Some diced jalapeños would add some extra awesome heat, too!

It might be the main dishes that tend to get all the glory, but check out our recipe for calabacitas for an incredible side dish that will get just as much attention as whatever you decide to serve it alongside. For the record, this is great thing to serve alongside meals like tacos and burritos. Calabacitas are basically a side made with corn and zucchini that has a zesty kick thanks to the addition of jalapeño peppers. It's finished off with cilantro and queso fresco. Every bit of that sounds amazing, right?

Seriously, who doesn't love salsa? Whether you're feeling a bit like a snack or if you're making a whole meal out of nachos, salsa is quite possibly one of the best dips out there, not to mention its use as a burrito or taco add-in. Sure, you can pick some up at the store, but you definitely need to check out our salsa recipe before you do. It's so easy and so good that you might never reach for another jar of commercially made stuff again. Trust us when we say this is better than any store-bought salsa!

Order jalapeño poppers at a restaurant and you'll probably get an appetizer that's all deep-fried and battered goodness. Sure, they're great, but if you're trying to make healthy choices, they're not the best. That's where our jalapeño popper recipe comes in. There's still all the bacon, cream cheese, and spice you've come to expect, but we bake ours instead of deep-frying them. There's another bonus, too: a whole half-pepper in each popper. This might be a little labor-intensive, but it's absolutely worth it.

These aren't the sloppy joes you remember from when you were a kid. Our recipe for this classic dish has all the nostalgia you want with an adult twist: some serious veggie content. While we suggest using ingredients like bell peppers and onions in your sloppy joes, there's no reason you can't add some diced jalapeños for some extra heat, or even some carrots for sweetness, or zucchini to work toward your 5-a-day. Who would have thought sloppy joes would be a quick and easy meal that you don't have to feel guilty about? They are now!

When you think stuffed peppers, you might think of something filled with beef and tomatoes. To be fair, those are definitely great. But we've mixed it up a bit with our Greek-inspired stuffed peppers. We have your attention, don't we? It's the same idea — bell peppers that are hollowed out and doing double duty as the meal and bowl — but this one's filled with things like zucchini, cilantro, tomatoes, and it's all topped with a sprinkle of feta and parsley. They're as pretty as they are tasty!

We've all been there, feeling that moment of panic when we realize it's almost dinner time and we're out of ideas. Enter our recipe for baked rigatoni. Not only does this call for some pantry staples like rigatoni and cans of fire-roasted tomatoes and red peppers, but it's hearty, filling, and takes just 10 minutes to assemble, with an hour of hands-off baking in the oven. When it comes out, the mozzarella and ricotta will guarantee it's full of exactly the sort of ooey, gooey goodness your family craves, even on a busy weeknight.

Salsa is great, but if you're looking for something even easier to whip together for your nachos, look no further than our pico de gallo recipe. It's entirely possible that you might find this as your new go-to, because all the ingredients — from the tomatoes and onions to the jalapeño peppers and lemon — need to be fresh. With a little help from your food processor, this takes just about 15 minutes to make — and it's possible it might not last long once everyone starts digging in, but you can't blame us for that.

Pho — pronounced "fuh" — is a Vietnamese soup that can take hours to make, meaning that it truly is a labor of love. We've come up with a pho recipe that's a bit faster, taking just about an hour and a half from start to finish. It's full of all the same familiar pho flavors, bathed in a bone broth. Where do the peppers come in? Cooking the pho is just part of it, and topping it with things like bean sprouts, fresh basil, and sliced jalapeños is what takes this soup to the next level.

Carnitas might be delicious, but they usually take a long time. Here's where your Instant Pot and our carnitas recipe comes in. It all starts with a 5-pound pork shoulder and about 10 minutes of prep. We'll show you how to whip up a rub, add a kick with some serrano or jalapeño peppers, and honestly? The only thing we're not going to be able to tell you is how to spend the two and a half hours you'll need to wait for this one to be ready... but it's worth the wait.

Tacos are undeniably awesome, but if you ever felt like you wanted to mix up your taco game a bit, we have just the answer for you. You'll have to look no further than our shrimp taco recipe for a change of pace that's going to have the shrimp lovers in your family asking for this one again and again. The addition of jalapeños to the shrimp is an absolute win, and the light, fresh flavor of the other ingredients makes this a perfect option for summertime tacos.

Shepherd's pie might is a classic British and Irish dish, so you're probably wondering what, exactly, is Mexican about it. If so, take a look at our recipe for Mexican shepherd's pie that pairs traditional Mexican ingredients — like bell peppers, corn, and black beans — along with the meat-and-potatoes tradition of Ireland and the UK. This is another one that you can make as mild or as spicy as you like. Either way, it's bound to be a complete win.