This recipe for roasted shishito peppers takes just five minutes to put together and makes the perfect healthy snack, delicious appetizer or side dish.
Friends, meet the shishito pepper. These mild, sweet, and delicate peppers that originate from Japan are easy to make and delicious to eat.
If you've never experienced these lovelies before, you're in for a treat. These little Japanese beauties are the best little delicious bites of heaven that you've never heard of. Once roasted, you'll find yourself eating them like they're popcorn.
![Roasting pan with raw bright green shishito peppers on it](jpg/shishito_pepper_5.jpg)
π About
Shishitos are a small and slender thin-walled pepper that originates from East Asia. The name refers to the fact that the tip of the chili pepper (εθΎε tΕgarashi) looks like the head of a lion (η ε shishi); in Japanese it is often abbreviated as shishitΕ.
If you're looking for shishito peppers, check your local farmer's market, and keep an eye in the grocery store seasonally. Trader Joe's often carries them as well. You can also usually find them at Asian markets. If you don't have any luck, try growing your own! They're easy and low maintenance.
If you leave these Japanese peppers on the plant long enough, they'll turn red. I don't recommend waiting this long. Pick them when they're a bright green color for the most tender, flavorful crop.
The first time we saw shishito peppers at the farmer's market, we had no idea what they were. The girl at the stand told us to take them home, roast them, and eat them, so we did. And we've never looked back.
We grew a bunch of them last summer. Ours were never this large, but we got a few good harvests. I can tell you if you leave shishito peppers on the plant for too long, they will turn yellow and then red. Pick them when they're green - they're at their best!
This was the last box at our farmer's market on Saturday and I had to share them with you. They won't wait. Just look how perfect they are!
β¨οΈ Heat level
Every once in awhile (the interwebs tells me 1 in 10, but I think that's a gross overestimate, as I've eaten my fair share of shishito peppers and only encountered this a few times) you'll get a hot one. Hot like, "mouth on fire, where is the water, give me all the bread you have" hot.
It's some kind of weird thing that happens to them. Science.
(It also happens if you plant a shishito pepper plant next to your jalapeΓ±o pepper plant and they get cross-pollinated. Not that I would do something as obvious and dumb as that. It's just what I hear. You know, from a friend.)
But for the most part, no. Shishito peppers are not spicy. They are mild and tender and slightly sweet. You might be playing a short little game of pepper russian roulette once in awhile, but I'm telling you, it's worth it.
Anyway, if you see shishito peppers at your local farm stand, don't shy away. They make a perfect appetizer or a great side to a steak dinner. Once roasted, you literally just pick the pepper up by the stem, pop the whole thing in your mouth, and bite it off the stem.
π₯ Instructions
This recipe keeps it simple - like, really simple. You can jazz them up any number of ways: add sesame oil and sesame seeds or other spices, mix up the oil you're using.
You can also cook them different ways: some people like to sautΓ© them in a cast iron skillet over high heat to get them blistered. I've also served them with a creamy dipping sauce - my mayo recipe makes a great one, with a few spices and some broth to thin it out. You could even just dip them in homemade ranch.
With shishito peppers as pretty as these, though, I prefer the basics - an oil toss, a quick roast, and a sprinkle of salt. It's really all they need.
Here's literally all I did with these - I tossed them in some avocado oil to coat them, gave them a sprinkle of pink Hawaiian sea salt (I know, I'm so fancy), and roasted them on my all time favorite baking sheet for five minutes. Many people use olive oil for roasting - while you can do that, it's not a great oil for high temperatures. It will actually break down and lose its nutritional and flavor profile. Avocado oil has a high smoke point and can withstand the higher temperatures.
When you pull these roasted shishito peppers out of the oven, they'll be puffy, and look almost white. But about 10 seconds after you pull them out, they will deflate like little popped balloons and will become the tender bits of deliciousness you see here.
Serve them right out of the oven when they're hot - once they're roasted and get refrigerated, it's hard to get that fresh taste back!
Wikipedia says that you can poke a hole in the pepper to keep the hot air from bursting it. However, I think them inflating and deflating is part of the fun. They're soft and tender when you eat them. Feel free to poke holes in your shishito peppers if you like. To each his own.
β Tips
- Don't over-roast them. They cook up fast, so keep an eye on them!
- You can poke holes in them if you want to keep them from "inflating."
- One in ten can be hot and spicy. Just be prepared!
- Once roasted, they don't save or reheat well - they get mushy. Only cook what you're going to eat.
- Try a splash of lemon juice with the sprinkle of salt for a fresh, bright flavor!
Did you make this recipe? Leave a star rating below! Want to learn more? Check out my post on Everything You Need to Know About Shishito Peppers!
Recipe
Five Minute Roasted Shishito Peppers
A quick and easy way to roast Japanese shishito peppers for the perfect appetizer or snack.
Ingredients
- 1 package shishito peppers
- 2-3 tablespoons avocado oil
- healthy pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- Place the shishito peppers in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the avocado (or other high heat oil) over the peppers and toss to coat. (Feel free to get crazy here - sesame seed oil, spices, whatever you can think of. They're mild, so anything goes!)
- Dump the peppers out onto a baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt.
- Roast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until peppers are blistered and puffy.
- Remove from the oven, watch the magic peppers deflate, and serve immediately!
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 99Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 34mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 0g
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Herb
Please less talking/essay and more recipe
I had to scroll 2miles before I got to the recipe
Even chatgpt canβt come up with an as long essay about roasting veggies in the oven
Nonetheless very good recipe
Jessica
Hey Herb! Thanks so much for reaching out. There's a "Jump to Recipe" button at the top of every post if you're not interested in scrolling. While I can appreciate your POV, unfortunately the way Google works is not conducive to just "sharing a recipe." If I did that, my site would have no credibility, no ranking, and my recipes wouldn't show in the search results, and you would never find them. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and feel free to use that Jump to Recipe button in the future!
Dizzy5
Serve with a plate of thin-sliced best provolone. Wrap a small piece of the cheese around a pepper. Hold by its "tail". Very nice.
Scott
Some took 5 minutes some took 7, I took them out as they looked ready. They are going on some Chicken Quesadillas. Thanks for the recipe:)
Diana
At least in my oven, five minutes wasn't nearly enough. They had barely started to inflate at five, and there was no char. I ended up letting them go almost twn minutes.
Jessica
Hi Diana - thanks for your comment! Every oven is different. They cook very quickly for me and only need 5 minutes, but it sounds like they needed just a bit more time in yours. I'm glad you were able to keep an eye on them and leave them in until they were done. Hope you enjoyed!
Steve
Name says 5 minutes. Directions say 10. What gives?
Jessica
Hey Steve - I guess it depends on how fast you can toss them with oil and get them on a pan! They cook for 5 minutes in the oven, and I've allotted a few extra minutes for preparation prior to baking. π
disappointed
yikes
Alyx
These are so easy and absolutely delicious. Such a great dish to drop on the table when you're finishing up dinner. I sprinkled some chili pepper flakes on top to as a garnish and to add some extra spice
Sue
Thank you for this recipe! I had two clamshells of shishitos and no idea how to use them. They are pretty tasty and would make a great nibble at cocktail hour!
Jessica
You're so welcome! I love them. They are like little poppers. And they do make a perfect cocktail hour app!
Marva DeVault
Delicious and so easy! I drizzled a little aged balsamic over them to serve.
Jessica
Yum! I love balsamic on pretty much anything.
Patrick Osio III
Easy and delicious