What Is Green bell peppers and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about green bell peppers and how to pick it, what it are, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 2,678 recipes to cook tonight.

What are green bell peppers?

A green bell pepper is just a sweet pepper picked before it ripens.

Left on the plant, that same fruit would turn red or yellow and grow sweeter. Picked green, it tastes grassier and a little sharp, with a crisp, watery crunch that snaps when you bite it.

That slight bite is the whole point. It keeps savory cooking from going one-note sweet, which is why green peppers run through so much Creole and Cajun food rather than the fruitier ripe peppers.

They sit in the produce aisle year-round, usually cheaper than the colored peppers because they spend less time on the vine. You will find them in more than 2,500 recipes here.

How to Use Green Peppers

Slice off the top, pull out the core, then scrape away the pale ribs and seeds inside. The ribs hold most of the bitterness, so take a minute to clear them.

Raw, green peppers bring crunch and a fresh, almost green-bean flavor. Dice them small for a chunky Medium Hot Salsa, or cut them into strips for a vegetable tray.

Cooked is where they earn their keep in savory food. A few minutes in hot oil softens the walls and rounds off the raw edge, the first move in countless skillet dishes. Start them before more delicate vegetables, since they take longer to soften than onions or tomatoes.

Their thick, hollow shape also makes them natural cups. Top them, pack the cavity with a meat-and-rice filling, and bake at 375°F (190°C) until the walls slump and brown at the edges, the way these Sausage Stuffed Green Peppers come together.

Pairing Green Peppers

Green peppers like bold, savory company. With onion and celery they form the Cajun base for gumbo and jambalaya, and they sit happily next to tomato, garlic, ground beef, and sharp cheese.

The most common mistake is using too much. A raw green pepper has a strong, slightly bitter flavor that can run away with a dish, so start with less than you think and taste as you go.

The second mistake is reaching for green when a recipe really wants the sweetness of a red pepper. They are the same vegetable at different stages, not a swap in flavor.

Add them early when you want them soft and sweet, or near the end when you want them to keep their snap. A little raw diced pepper stirred into a dish like Creole Eggs keeps a fresh, sharp note against the soft cooked pepper around it.

What to Use Instead

Out of green peppers? Pick the swap by what you are making.

For raw crunch in a salad or salsa, a green poblano works well and adds a mild warmth. If you only want the snap and not the pepper flavor, diced celery or cucumber will do.

For cooked savory dishes, red or yellow bell peppers step in fine, though the result comes out noticeably sweeter and less grassy. A poblano or Anaheim is the closer match when you want to keep that vegetal, slightly bitter note with a little heat on top.

For stuffing, any large bell pepper holds a filling the same way, so use whatever color you have. Just know the riper colors are a touch softer and more tender, so they can collapse a little sooner in the oven.

Choosing & Keeping Green Peppers

Look for peppers that feel heavy for their size, with taut, glossy skin and a firm stem. The weight means thick, juicy walls. Skip the ones that feel soft or wrinkled, along with any showing sunken dark spots.

A few patches of red are fine. They just mean the pepper began to ripen on the vine, and it will taste a touch sweeter for it.

Store them unwashed in the crisper drawer, loose or in a partly open bag so moisture can escape. Washing before storage traps water against the skin and speeds up rot. Kept dry, a firm green pepper holds for one to two weeks.

To freeze, there is no need to blanch. Core and chop them, then spread the pieces on a tray until solid and bag them. They turn soft once thawed, so save frozen peppers for cooked dishes like soups and skillet meals, never a raw salad.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Food group: Green bell peppers are a member of the Vegetables and Vegetable Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

青椒

British (UK) term

green capsicum

en français

poivrons verts

en español

pimientos verdes

How much do green bell peppers weigh?

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Vegetables and Vegetable Products

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