Grilled shishito peppers are fast becoming everyone’s favourite appetizer. Mild, smokey and sweet, they are easy to prepare and even easier to eat.
(Love all kinds of peppers? Try these stuffed peppers without rice!)
Just like that, 2 months have gone by and our no-bake summer series is over.
They are not kidding when they said time flies! Seems like only yesterday when we were enjoying fresh strawberry cheesecake mousse.
Summer is far from over though (I am planning a peaceful protest, anyone with me?) and there’s lots of BBQ-ing and grilling still to be done.
Like these grilled shishito peppers. We’ve been munching on them all season long and they are the best thing ever.
What are shishito peppers?
Shishito peppers
are fairly new to the foodie world. They started popping up in restaurant menus and food blogs only a few years ago.
At about 3 inches long, bright shiny green, slightly wrinkly with thin skin, they originated from Japan but are most often mistaken for Spanish padron peppers
You’ll find them in your farmer’s markets in the summer until fall though they’re usually available year round at our local Asian supermarket. They’re pre-packaged and ready to go.
What do shishito peppers taste like?
I’d like to say delicious and addicting and end there but that’s not very helpful is it lol.
These peppers look hot but they’re actually not. On the other hand, they’re mild, slightly smokey, almost sweet.
Be warned though: what I find the most unique about them is that only 1 out of a handful is hot. How fun is that? Shishito pepper roulette anyone?
If you’re the lucky (or unlucky, depends on how you feel about spicy!) one who gets the hot pepper, you’re in for quite the surprise. And you will for sure come back for more.
Maybe it’s one of the reasons why shishito peppers have become the newest darling of the food world and everyone’s newest favourite appetizer. It’s great with beer and also works well as a side dish (we recently tried them with ribs…yum).
(Looking for scorching hot peppers? Chiltepin pepper should be right up your alley! And these stuffed jalapeños are always crowd pleasers.)
How to grill shishito peppers
We love to grill them and it’s the easiest (but most delicious) thing ever.
The only “difficult” thing about it is we skewer the peppers so we can flip them quicker and easier but you can skip that step if you want and just get to grilling.
What you do is take some peppers and toss with some olive oil
, sesame oil
and soy sauce
. Grill on high about 5 minutes on each side or until you see the skin on some peppers starting to blister.
Take off the grill, season with salt, enjoy. How easy is that?
You can dip them in aioli, ranch or this 3 minute-dumpling sauce.
We just eat them whole (minus the stem). Pure, simple, delicious.
They’re a great side to grilled ribeye and smoked beef cheeks, and serve them with pan fried gyoza for an easy and delicious meal.
Other delicious grilling recipes that are not meat
Looking for delicious things to grill this summer other than meat?
- Try everyone’s favourite grilled corn on the cob. This one is smothered in chili butter and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Yum!
- For dessert, try grilling some peaches then topping them mascarpone cream and drizzling them with salted caramel sauce. The most amazing BBQ dessert.
- And add more veggies to your menu with these grilled veggie skewers.
And don’t forget to check out this epic collection of summertime drinks.
Make these unique margarita recipes too for a fabulous time!
While summer is not over (let’s enjoy these precious last few weeks!) we’re going back to regular programming starting next week.
And I have a delicious sweet-tart dessert for you that would help us stretch this glorious season for as long as we can.
In the meantime, grill some shishito peppers. It will become your new favourite too!
Happy grilling!
Have you tried shishito peppers? What’s your favourite way to enjoy them? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
Grilled Shishito Peppers
Ingredients
- 8 oz fresh shishito peppers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, toss shishito peppers in 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp sesame oil and 1 tbsp soy sauce.
- Grill on med-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until the peppers start to blister.
- Remove from heat, season with salt and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Laura Dove
Oh wow I have never heard of these before but I do love peppers! We love grilled vegetables, I am going to try these!
Jolina
Hope you like them!
Marisa Franca
I’ve never tasted this type of pepper before! They look amazing and I like how your skewered them so they’d be easier to flip! Great idea!! Did you use the electric grill for it?
Jolina
Thanks Marisa! Yes we used an electric grill and it worked great.
Veena Azmanov
I love grilled peppers but I must admit I’m not so good with the names of peppers. I have never heard of shishito but I love the sounds of sweet and smokey. I’m going to look for these in the supermarket soon.
Elizabeth O
These looks delicious indeed. I really like peppers so I would love to get grilling some up to try!
Amanda
I need to find these peppers somewhere because this looks absolutely delicious! Where do you normally find them?
Jolina
Hey Amanda. The last 2 times we actually found them at our local supermarket. Your local farmer’s market is also a great place to look.
Gill Trotman
I’ve never heard of grilled shishito peppers but wow I am going to the store now! Thank you for giving me another reason to break out my grill!
Sonali Rath
This is so awesome. Have seen them in the supermarket but never tried them out. Will try them out now.
Jolina
Nice! Hope you guys enjoy them!
Jolina
The shishito pepper roulette I suppose adds to the fun of eating them 🙂 And don’t worry about the spice. It’s not too too hot…maybe 6-7/10?
Robin
Just wanted you to know we found shishitos the same day we saw your post. And it was a good day for BBQing so we grilled some (no skewers but that would’ve made life easier). Amazing flavor. Simple, delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Jolina
That is awesome Robin! So happy to hear you liked it. We love how simple it is too. Quite addicting isn’t it? Hope you enjoy the rest of the summer (what’s left of it).
Gloria
I am not sure I have even seen this variety of pepper in the store/market. This looks like a fun recipe for a BBQ party. I am going to have to see if I can hunt some of these down and give this recipe a try.
Jolina
Hi Gloria! We’ve seen them at our local Longo’s and Fortino’s. Hope you find some, they are amaze-balls 🙂
Flossie McCowald
I confess that I’ve never even HEARD of these peppers – I’m not sure we could buy them around here – but I bet my hubby would love growing and grilling them. Thanks for the tip!
Jolina
You’re in luck because I read that they are very easy to plant and grow yourself 🙂
Angela Tolsma
I love it Shishito pepper roulette!! Having every few be hot would be alright. I love grilled food and have never thought to do peppers!
Jolina
Fun, delicious game isn’t it? It would make for a fun appetizer at a party for sure.
Stephanie
What an awesome way to cook peppers! We got a bunch of poblano peppers in our co-op basket last week and weren’t sure what else to do with them. My husband loves to grill so I am going to try these out this weekend!!
Kate
These sound delicious – I love grilled peppers! I’ve not heard of shishito peppers though – will have to look out for them!
Kristina Carmela
I have never heard of these peppers! I love a good pepper & I’ve been really into trying food lately- so maybe I try this before summer ends!