Bell peppers — the sweet, mild-flavored members of the pepper family — are crunchy, fresh, complex, and colorful. Showcasing a hearty rainbow of red, yellow, orange, and green, this roundup features our best bell pepper recipes. Read on to discover easy, appealing appetizer and dinner ideas, from Pimiento Cheese with Salt-and-Pepper Butter Crackers to Rustic Pepper Stew with Jammy Eggs and Zucchini and Pepper Gratin with Herbs and Cheese. With these terrific bell pepper dishes, you can revel in all the veggie's raw, sautéed, roasted, and stuffed glory.
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Summer Chicken and Pepper Stew
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This stew showcases sweet peppers and bright herbs. The classic cooking method builds flavor while gently cooking the chicken for a light and satisfying summer supper. Serve with polenta and crusty bread for soaking up the garlicky sauce.
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Muhammara (Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)
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Smooth, thick, and layered with flavor, this mildly spicy dip of roasted red bell peppers and toasted walnuts is thickened with finely ground crispy breadsticks. Pomegranate molasses adds a piquancy that plays off the sweetness of the juicy roasted bell peppers, and spicy pepper paste brings just a touch of heat.
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Vegetarian Muffulettas
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In this meatless version of the classic New Orleans sandwich, garlic-infused roasted vegetables take the place of the traditional Italian cold cuts.
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Three-Cheese Lasagna with Roasted Red Peppers and Mushrooms
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To create a vegetarian lasagna that’s packed with flavor, start by roasting mushrooms and red peppers with a quick garlic-infused oil. While the vegetables are cooking, stir together an easy ricotta filling with plenty of Parmesan for extra umami. Using no-boil lasagna noodles and good-quality store-bought tomato sauce cuts down on cook time without sacrificing taste.
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Grilled Pepper and Onion Panzanella with Peperoncini Vinaigrette
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Cookbook author Molly Stevens' panzanella uses grilled sweet peppers and onions in place of tomatoes as the centerpiece of this dinner salad. The charred vegetables are tossed with cubes of grilled bread, drizzled with a peperoncini vinaigrette, and topped with creamy feta and crisp slices of peperoncini, which add pops of flavor and contrasting texture — all in 40 minutes.
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Mussels with Harissa and Basil
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Toasted walnuts are a surprise addition to the creamy, smoky red pepper puree that gets swirled into these harissa-spiked steamed mussels. Anise-y Thai basil and salty-sour pickled onions complement the sweet, plump mussels.
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Rustic Pepper Stew with Jammy Eggs
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Editor in chief Hunter Lewis' Spanish-style stew is an easy summer vegetarian dinner recipe for when peppers are in high season at the farmers market. To make it, stew mild, sweet peppers over medium-low heat; adding water about 1/4 cup at a time helps to concentrate the peppers' flavor.
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Sautéed Italian Sausage with Onions and Peppers
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Searing sweet Italian sausage in a dry skillet renders the fat, resulting in a deliciously crispy sausage. Tender bell peppers add a welcome vegetal sweetness to this one-pan dinner while they cook down in a blend of savory chicken broth and tangy vinegar, perfect for sopping up with crusty bread.
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Cuban-Style Black Beans
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These dried black beans meet onion, green pepper, and bay leaf in a pressure cooker to quickly turn the beans very tender and soft, but an overnight soak works well, too.
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Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
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This iconic Philadelphia sandwich is a meaty, cheesy delight. Our version packs very thin slices of griddled steak into a hoagie roll with browned onions and cheese sauce. We've also opted to add tender red and green bell peppers here, which combine with the onions to add earthy, vegetal sweetness to the sandwiches.
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Montego Slay
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This bright tequila drink from one of NYC's top co*cktail bars is surprisingly easy to make at home. A muddled yellow bell pepper adds an unexpected herbaceous note to the drink, which is otherwise dominated by apricot liqueur and mango juice.
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Red Pepper Blini with Creamed Corn and Smoked Salmon
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In his nod to blini and caviar, chef Jonathan Waxman serves tender red pepper pancakes with a sweet corn sauce, luxurious smoked salmon, and caviar.
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Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa, Chorizo, and Mushrooms
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Blanching the peppers before stuffing them helps hold their shape and retain their bright color. Use a variety of colors so the finished dish is extra eye-catching.
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Zucchini and Pepper Gratin with Herbs and Cheese
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Switzerland has been making Sbrinz — a hard, aged cow's-milk cheese — for centuries. Chef Daniel Humm uses the pleasantly salty Sbrinz to top a gratin made with a ratatouille-like mix of sautéed zucchini strips, bell peppers, and tomato. Parmigiano-Reggiano, another hard, aged cow's milk cheese, is a fine substitute.
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Roasted Peppers with Leeks
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This recipe calls for sweet bell peppers, but it's also terrific with Gypsy peppers, a slender variety that comes in a range of flavors. "You play the pepper lottery," chef Sheamus Feeley says. "Some Gypsies are hot, some sweet, and every now and then, one lights you up, it's so fiery."
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Stir-Fried Chicken and Green Pepper with Cumin and Cilantro
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The Flavor Matrix author James Briscione encourages cooks to look beyond traditional food and wine pairings and go back to the very basics: the aromatic compounds that link ingredients — often in unexpected ways. Here he pairs the floral, grassy flavors of this stir-fry with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, also prized for its "greenness." The wine's long finish is well suited to the chile's heat in the dish.
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Pimiento Cheese with Salt-and-Pepper Butter Crackers
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Chef and author Carla Hall makes her own crunchy crackers to serve with her cheese spread, a riff on a Southern classic.
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Quinoa Salad with Roasted Peppers and Tomatoes
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"I grew up with a bunch of hippies, so I ate a lot of quinoa," said late chef Kerry Simon. "I thought the taste was so cool." For this tabbouleh-like salad with tomatoes and roasted bell peppers, Simon simmered quinoa in water and orange juice to give it a citrus hit.
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Beef with Red and Yellow Bell Peppers
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This flavor-packed dish comes together quickly after the meat has spent time marinating in a mix of garlic, soy sauce, and sherry. Red onion, basil, and vibrant bell peppers provide pops of color for a meal that's equally appealing to both the eye and the palate. Serve it over rice.
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Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Seared Scallops
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TV cook Annabel Langbein loves oven-roasted peppers. Here she transforms them into a silky soup seasoned with cumin, crushed red pepper, and cilantro, finished with seared, sweet scallops.
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Avocado and Shrimp Salad with Red Goddess Dressing
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Chef Jonathan Waxman prefers his tangy goddess dressing on the rosy side instead of the classic green, using red bell peppers for color and flavor.
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Red Bell Pepper and Kale Stir-Fry
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Colorful and delicious, this stir-fry recipe is loaded with red bell peppers and hearty kale.
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