As summer draws to a close and the days become shorter, I always feel a little bit wistful as I put my hot peppers to bed for the winter.
Armed with a freezer full of more peppers than anyone can possibly eat, I’ll still miss the fresh taste of my homegrown crop.
Many gardeners treat hot peppers as annuals, and simply start new ones from seed in the winter months, ready to set out when the weather warms up in spring.
I used to do this, but over the years as my “pepper obsession” grew, so did my collection of unusual varieties.
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Last season, I overwintered 38 hot peppers. Some of them were small – ones I’d started too late and had only produced a modest amount of fruit. Others were in their fourth year of wintering-over.
I’ll confess, I lost a few, which is to be expected.
Hot peppers can be temperamental to grow, and one or two of the smaller ones simply failed to thrive. Another, a big, beautiful habanero, seemed to suffer and only produced small quantities of tiny fruit.
He was old, so I thanked him for his service and put “big hab,” as I called him, onto the compost pile. He’d survived three Zone 9 winters, and I guess he’d just had enough.
In this guide I’m going to walk you through how to prepare hot pepper plants for the winter, so if you’ve got a favorite growing this year, you can give it a try!
Here’s what I’ll cover:
Why Overwinter Hot Peppers?
Hot peppers are tropical and subtropical perennial species in the Capsicum genus.
They are frost-tender and when nighttime temperatures drop to below 60°F and the days become shorter they will start to go dormant and drop their leaves.
Temperatures below 35°F will kill the plant.
In tropical gardens, it’s possible for plants to fruit year-round, when they are provided with the ample sunshine and warmth they require.
In cooler locations, with a bit of preparation, we can let them go dormant for the winter months and in some cases, they’ll bounce back come spring, ready to fruit in the warm weather.
I say “in some cases” because not all plants survive the overwintering process, for a variety of reasons.
It may be that the plant was suffering from lack of nutrition during the growing season, or the temperature dipped a little bit too low – or perhaps it took offense to your pruning methods.
Make sure you choose your strongest, healthiest looking specimens as weaker ones aren’t likely to survive.
I’ve had good success with the majority of my hot peppers, but as mentioned, I expect to lose a few. Which is why from the middle of winter my grow tent is filled with a number of seedlings – and my electricity bill is suffering.
With their mind-numbingly long growing season, it may come as a surprise that the “super hot” peppers seem to be more successful at overwintering than some of their less mind-blowing brethren.
In my experience, jalapenos often don’t make it, but my favorite brain-melter, the ghost pepper, seems to come back flying and fruiting after a long day’s journey into the winter night.
Microwaving is probably the most efficient way to reduce agaritine levels in fresh mushrooms.
There is a toxin in plain white button mushrooms called agaritine, which may be carcinogenic. Plain white button mushrooms grow to be cremini (brown) mushrooms, and cremini mushrooms grow to be portobello mushrooms. They’re all the very same mushroom, similar to how green bell peppers are just unripe red bell peppers. The amount of agaritine in these mushrooms can be reduced through cooking: Frying, microwaving, boiling, and even just freezing and thawing lower the levels. “It is therefore recommended to process/cook Button Mushroom before consumption,” something I noted in a video that’s now more than a decade old.
However, as shown below and at 0:51 in my video Is It Safe to Eat Raw Mushrooms?, if you look at the various cooking methods, the agaritine in these mushrooms isn’t completely destroyed. Take dry baking, for example: Baking for ten minutes at about 400° Fahrenheit (“a process similar to pizza baking”) only cuts the agaritine levels by about a quarter, so 77 percent still remains.
Boiling looks better, appearing to wipe out more than half the toxin after just five minutes, but the agaritine isn’t actually eliminated. Instead, it’s just transferred to the cooking water. So, levels within the mushrooms drop by about half at five minutes and by 90 percent after an hour, but that’s mostly because the agartine is leaching into the broth. So, if you’re making soup, for instance, five minutes of boiling is no more effective than dry baking for ten minutes, and, even after an hour, about half still remains.
Frying for five to ten minutes eliminates a lot of agartine, but microwaving is not only a more healthful way to cook, but it works even better, as you can see here and at 1:39 in my video. Researchers found that just one minute in the microwave “reduced the agaritine content of the mushrooms by 65%,” and only 30 seconds of microwaving eliminated more than 50 percent. So, microwaving is probably the easiest way to reduce agaritine levels in fresh mushrooms. My technique is to add dried mushrooms into the pasta water when I’m making spaghetti. Between the reductions of 20 percent or so from the drying and 60 percent or so from boiling for ten minutes and straining, more than 90 percent of agaritine is eliminated.
Should we be concerned about the residual agaritine? According to a review funded by the mushroom industry, not at all. “The available evidence to date suggests that agaritine from consumption of…mushrooms poses no known toxicological risk to healthy humans.” The researchers acknowledge agartine is considered a potential carcinogen in mice, but then that data needs to be extrapolated to human health outcomes.
The Swiss Institute of Technology, for example, estimated that the average mushroom consumption in the country would be expected to cause about two cases of cancer per one hundred thousand people. That is similar to consumption in the United States, as seen below and at 3:00 in my video, so “one could theoretically expect about 20 cancer deaths per 1 x 106 [one million] lives from mushroom consumption.” In comparison, typically, with a new chemical, pesticide, or food additive, we’d like to see the cancer risk lower than one in a million. “By this approach, the average mushroom consumption of Switzerland is 20-fold too high to be acceptable. To remain under the limit”—and keep risk down to one in a million—“‘mushroom lovers’ would have to restrict their consumption of mushrooms to one 50-g serving every 250 days!” That’s about a half-cup serving once in just over eight months. To put that into perspective, even if you were eating a single serving every single day, the resulting additional cancer risk would only be about one in ten thousand. “Put another way, if 10,000 people consumed a mushroom meal daily for 70 years, then in addition to the 3000 cancer cases arising from other factors, one more case could be attributed to consuming mushrooms.” But, again, this is all based “on the presumption that results in such mouse models are equally valid in humans.” Indeed, this is all just extrapolating from mice data. What we need is a huge prospective study to examine the association between mushroom consumption and cancer risk in humans, but there weren’t any such studies—until now.
Researchers titled their paper: “Mushroom Consumption and Risk of Total and Site-Specific Cancer in Two Large U.S. [Harvard] Prospective Cohorts” and found “no association between mushroom consumption and total and site-specific cancers in U.S. women and men.”
Eating raw or undercooked shiitake mushrooms can cause something else, though: shiitake mushroom flagellate dermatitis. Flagellate as in flagellation, whipping, flogging. Below and at 4:48 in my video, you can see a rash that makes it look as if you’ve been whipped.
Here and at 4:58 in my videois another photo of the rash. It’s thought to be caused by a compound in shiitake mushrooms called lentinan, but because heat denatures it, it only seems to be a problem with raw or undercooked mushrooms.
Now, it is rare. Only about 1 in 50 people are even susceptible, and it goes away on its own in a week or two. Interestingly, it can strike as many as ten days after eating shiitake mushrooms, which is why people may not make the connection. One unfortunate man suffered on and off for 16 years before a diagnosis. Hopefully, a lot of doctors will watch this video, and if they ever see a rash like this, they’ll tell their patients to cook their shiitakes.
This no-cook Ramen noodle salad recipe is a must-have for potlucks or quick lunches.
Ramen noodles are crumbled and mxixed with shredded cabbage and bean sprouts in a tangy-sweet and savory dressing.
It is super easy to prepare, with no cooking required. Use packaged slaw mix to save time.
Make ahead: Refrigerate to let flavors develop and noodles soften.
Asian salad with ramen noodles is a perfect take-along dish.
Easily customizable, it tastes great with any kind of chopped veggie.
Ingredients for Ramen Salad
Ramen noodles: You can use any flavor of instant ramen; I most often use chicken flavor. Save the seasoning packet; it adds great flavor to the dressing!
Cabbage: Use shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix. While you can cut it thinly with a sharp knife, shredding it with either a food processor or mandolin can make this task really easy. Broccoli slaw is another great option. I love adding bean sprouts for a crisp freshness.
Almonds: I love to use slivered almonds. For the best flavor, add them to a dry skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they’re toasted and fragrant. Add or substitute sunflower seeds or sesame seeds for an extra crunch!
Dressing:The dressing is a basic vinaigrette, and adding the seasoning packet from the noodles adds lots of flavor.
Variations
Add grilled chicken or shrimp to make it a full meal.
Finely chop other veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, or bell peppers.
How to Make Ramen Noodle Salad
In a large bowl, add the cabbage (recipe below).
Break up the noodles and add them to the cabbage mixture.
Combine the dressing ingredients with the seasoning packet and shake in a jar to combine.
Pour dressing over the noodle and cabbage mixture, toss, and refrigerate.
This recipe does not require cooking the ramen noodles. Mix them well ahead of time, and they’ll soak up some of the sauce and soften.
Storing Ramen Noodle Salad
Make your ramen noodle salad at least two hours ahead so the noodles can soften in the refrigerator. If you prefer extra crunchy noodles, then assemble just before serving.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. Stir them before reserving to refresh the flavors again.
Portable Potluck Salad Recipes
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Ramen Noodle Salad
Ramen Noodle Salad is a potluck favorite! Crisp cabbage, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, and ramen noodles with an Asian vinaigrette dressing.
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 5 minutesminutes
Chill Time 2 hourshours
Total Time 2 hourshours25 minutesminutes
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In a large bowl, combine coleslaw, red pepper (if using) & green onions.
Break up the ramen noodles and add them (uncooked) to the cabbage mixture.
Add all dressing ingredients, including the seasoning packets from the ramen, into a jar with a lid. Shake well to combine.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Top with almonds and sesame seeds before serving.
Coleslaw mix can be replaced with 6 cups shredded green cabbage, 1 cup shredded purple cabbage, and ½ cup grated carrots. I use chicken flavored ramen noodles, but you can use any flavor. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Stir before serving again.
This one pan pollo a la crema recipe is a delicious dish that combines tender chicken, flavorful vegetables, and a creamy sauce. Perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal!
My friend was telling me about her weekend with her mom and how they always order this delicious creamy chicken whenever they go out for Mexican food and I was like, hold up, what creamy chicken?! I’ve seriously never heard of it!
We ended up chatting all afternoon about what it must be made with, what it’s really called (was it pollo con crema, pollo a la crema or pollo de crema?!) and then I laid awake, like always, unable to get the recipe out of my head.
It’s become one of our new staples and I cannot comment enough on how easy this dinner recipe is. If you want fast, cheap, affordable, delicious, and family friendly, it’s all about the creamy chicken!
What is Pollo a la Crema?
Pollo a la Crema, or creamed chicken, is a South American dish that consists of tender chunks of chicken, sauteed bell peppers, onions and mushrooms all cooked in a creamy flavorful sauce. It is usually served with warm flour tortillas.
Ingredients Needed for Pollo a la Crema
These ingredients are simple and easy to find. The only item that might be a little out of the ordinary is the Mexican crema which can be found in the refrigerator section for the Mexican specialty foods like fresh salsa and chorizo. Here is what you will need:
For the Chicken
Chicken Breasts: boneless, skinless
Seasonings: salt and pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder
Olive Oil
For the Rest of the Dish
Green Bell Pepper
Red or Orange Bell Pepper
White Onion
Baby Bella Mushrooms: or white button mushrooms work fine as well and if you’re not a mushroom fan, just omit them!
Mexican Crema: see section below for more details
Sour Cream
Smoked Paprika
Salt and Pepper
Cilantro
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
What is Crema?
Crema is the Mexican version of French crèmefraîche, a little bit tangy and creamy. It is slightly soured and thickened cream, milder and less thick than American sour cream. The flavor is a lot more mild in my opinion and a touch buttery. You will find it in the meat and Mexican ingredients section of your grocery store. There’s not really a great substitute for it in this recipe, so try your best to find it!
How to Make Pollo con Crema
This recipe is so super simple! I just love it! Here are the basic steps:
Season and cook the chicken on the stove top until brown.
Remove the chicken from the pan and sauté the peppers, onions and mushrooms.
Add the ingredients for the sauce, return the chicken to the pan and stir everything together. Simmer until chicken is cooked through.
Serve hot with fresh cilantro sprinkled over the top.
Keep scrolling to the end of the post to see these instructions in complete detail. You can also save or print the recipe there.
Tip for Getting the Best Results
Cut the chicken in the similar sized chunks so that they cook evenly.
Cook everything in the same pan so that the whole dish gets all the flavors from every ingredient. And bonus…fewer dishes to clean!!
Cut the bell peppers and onion into similar sized slices.
While you are sauteing the veggies, scrape up the little brown bits left behind from cooking the chicken. They are packed with flavor!
Pollo a la crema can be eaten on it’s own as a main dish, or it can be served with warm tortillas and eaten like a burrito or taco.
Some great side dishes to eat with pollo con crema are:
Storing and Reheating
Leftover pollo a la crema should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It will keep for up to 5 days.
This recipe also freezes extremely well! Let it cool completely and then place in an airtight container or ziploc bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat as stated below.
I prefer to reheat this dish on the stove top. I will add a little more crema and maybe a little chicken broth to keep it from drying out. If you are reheating just a serving, I would probably just zap it in the microwave.
Tender, seasoned chicken and sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms all bathed in a creamy and smoky sauce that will have your tastebuds begging for more! This easy pollo a la crema is a chicken dinner recipe that always wins!
If You Love This Recipe, Try These Other Favorites…
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutesmins
Cook Time: 20 minutesmins
Total Time: 30 minutesmins
Description
This one pan pollo a la crema recipe is a delicious dish that combines tender chicken, flavorful vegetables, and a creamy sauce. Perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal!
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Mix the seasonings together and sprinkle over both sides of the chicken.
3-4 Chicken Breasts, Salt and Pepper, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
Heat oil in large frying pan. Sauté chicken until browned on each side. Remove to a plate.
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Add peppers and onions with a little more oil. Sauté until onions are tender and translucent and peppers are softened. About 5 or 6 minutes.
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, 1 Red or Orange Bell Pepper, 1 White Onion
Add the mushrooms and sauté until browned then season with salt and pepper to taste.
1 Cup Baby Bella Mushrooms, Salt and Pepper
Add the chicken, crema, sour cream, and seasonings. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thickened.
Have you ever wondered where those flakes come from in those little packets that you use to top your pizza? Or that marvelous red powder that we use to flavor so many dishes?
Or how about what gives Crystal and Frank’s RedHot sauces their zing?
They all come from a group of chilis known as cayennes.
They’re not just for drying and sauces, though using them that way is extremely popular. Cayennes are also delicious eaten fresh. That is, if you like things hot.
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The citrusy, smoky, heat comes on fast and leaves just as quickly, which makes it more universally popular than those peppers with a lingering heat that builds and builds until you can’t take it anymore.
If you’re looking to add these long, lovely chilis to your garden, here’s what we’re going to discuss to make that happen:
Before we talk about soil, water, sun, and all that, we should clarify what exactly we’re talking about when we say “cayenne.”
What Is Cayenne?
“Cayenne” can be used as a catch-all term for a group of small red peppers in the Longum group.
It’s also a term for moderately spicy dried peppers or powder. Technically, there is a ‘Cayenne’ cultivar that is considered the standard, but most people refer to “cayenne” as a style.
Any pepper that is red, two to four inches long, narrow, slightly curved, and moderately spicy might be called cayenne, and there are dozens of cultivars. Thai peppers are considered cayennes, for example.
Cayennes are generally about five to 10 times hotter than a jalapeno at 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). But there are some cultivars that are far milder and a few that are much hotter.
You can also influence the heat level with the length of time that you let the fruit mature.
If you’d like to learn more about the SHU system and how heat is measured, as well as how and why the capsaicin in the fruits causes a burning sensation in our bodies, visit our guide to growing hot peppers.
Speaking of capsaicin, that’s the chemical that produces what we perceive as spicy heat, a chemical irritant that the plant produces to keep predators away.
It’s what pepper spray is made of and it is produced in high concentrations in the pepper’s placenta, which is the whitish stuff that holds the seeds.
Cultivation and History
The name “cayenne” purportedly comes from the city in French Guiana where it was first cultivated.
Or maybe the town was named for the pepper. It’s not really clear, though they’re certainly related somehow.
What we know for sure is that botanist and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper referred to a “cayenne pepper” in “Culpeper’s Complete Herbal” in 1652.
Cayenne, French Guiana, was named in 1777. So it seems like the city might be named after the chili and not the other way around.
Culpeper believed the “cayenne pepper” could promote digestion and health, and claimed that it originated in India, though all peppers truly originated in South and Central America.
He warned that they were so spicy that they caused a “blister in the mouth and throat” and the “vapour from them occasions sneezing, coughing, and even vomiting.”
Cayenne peppers were first offered in the seed trade by Joseph Breck and Son in 1883.
Cayenne Pepper Propagation
Propagating cayenne peppers from seed is easy, but you need to plan well ahead. If you don’t have the time or space, you can usually find starts in pots at most well-stocked nurseries.
Let’s go into a little more detail for both options.
From Seed
Cayenne peppers – in fact, all peppers! – are such a dream to grow from seed. The seeds are easy to extract from the fruit or you can purchase them for a song, and they’re large enough to handle without much trouble.
The one thing that has changed my growing game is remembering to sow more seeds than I think I’ll need. I always place two or three seeds per pot and then just thin the seedlings out, if needed.
Or, you could sow in twice as many pots as you need. You can always give away extras to the neighbors.
While pepper seed germination is fairly reliable, it takes a while. If you start your cayenne pepper seeds indoors too late and then find out that they didn’t germinate, you might be out of luck for the season because you’ve run out of time.
To start, gather your supplies and prepare about eight to 12 weeks before the last predicted frost date in your area.
Fill four-inch pots with seed-starting mix. I like to use biodegradable pots because they’re good for the environment and they reduce the risk of shock when you transplant.
If you’d like to grab some, Arbico Organics carries four-inch, square CowPots in quantities of 12, 180, or 450.
If you decide to use your own cayenne pepper seeds, scrape them out of the center of a fruit and remove any of the placenta that remains attached.
You can plant them fresh or let them dry on a paper towel to store for later.
Whether purchased or harvested yourself, you should give the seeds a quick rinse in a 50:50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and water. This kills any pathogens that might be hiding out.
If you want to test the viability of your seeds, place them in a bowl of water. Those that sink are good to go. Those that float might not be viable. Feel free to toss any floaters out or be sure to double up on those seeds.
Sow the seeds a quarter of an inch deep and gently water the medium, taking care not to disturb the soil.
Cayenne pepper seeds need warmth to germinate, so place them on a heat mat unless you can maintain the soil temperature at around 70°F otherwise.
The seedlings need exposure to at least eight hours of sunlight. More is better, up to 12 hours. If you can’t provide that, give them supplemental lighting.
Depending on the wattage, you’ll generally want to place the lights just above the pots. As the seedlings emerge, you’ll need to move the lights further and further away.
The cayenne plants will tell you if they’re unhappy. The seedlings will be leggy if they don’t have enough sun and the leaves will burn, with yellow or brown patches, if the light is too close.
Keep the soil moist but not wet as the seeds germinate. Don’t forget that biodegradable pots dry out quickly and a heat mat increases evaporation as well, so you’ll need to stay on top of watering.
Germination can take weeks, so don’t go tossing everything out and writing off cayennes forever if nothing happens after a week or two.
If at any point flowers start to form after seedlings have sprouted, pinch those right off.
Once the seedlings are about six inches tall and the last predicted frost date has passed, you can start the hardening off process.
This takes about two weeks because cayenne pepper seedlings are extremely sensitive to cool temperatures. You don’t want to rush it and risk losing your seedlings after you’ve put in all this work, so be patient.
On the first day, take the seedlings outside and place them in a protected area in full sun for 30 minutes. The next day, leave them out there for an hour.
Keep adding 30 minutes each day for two weeks. Now you can plant them in the ground or into a larger container.
Transplanting
Once the last predicted frost date has passed and the soil is above 60°F, you can put those cayenne peppers into the ground.
You can even do it a bit earlier than this if you can cover the seedlings with protective growing plastic or place black plastic or mulch around the plants to raise the temperature.
Dig holes a foot apart about the same size as the growing container. If you have heavy soil, loosen it up a bit with some well-rotted compost, digging at least a foot down and wide.
You can also grow your cayenne chilis in larger containers. That way, if you need to move them out of bad weather, you can.
Since they’re perennials, you can enjoy cayennes for years and years this way if brought indoors. If you decide to pot them up, a two-gallon container is a good size per plant.
Choose a heavy pot that won’t tip over when the plant is mature, and one that has good drainage. If you reuse a container, be sure to wipe it out with soapy water or sanitize it using a bleach solution.
Plant a cayenne pepper in each hole you made and firm the soil up around them. Water well to settle the soil and add more soil, if necessary.
If you’re using a biodegradable pot, you don’t have to remove the plant from the pot, but rip away or trim any excess container material that sits above the ground.
If temperatures even flirt with dipping to 50°F, cover the seedlings to protect them or move them indoors if you have them in containers.
How to Grow Cayenne Peppers
In my experience, the trick to growing hot, juicy cayenne peppers is high temperatures with lots of moisture. Or maybe it’s low moisture and high temperatures. Confused?
So, all chilis produce that marvelous capsaicin in response to stress. Remember, it’s part of the plant’s defense system.
You can stress the cayenne pepper plant by either reducing moisture to the point where the leaves start to droop, or you can expose them to extreme temperatures.
Since it’s easier to control moisture than temperature, that’s the direction most people go in.
But here’s the trick: You don’t want to expose the plant to water stress until the fruit has set.
You might read elsewhere online that you should let the leaves start to droop before you water your cayenne peppers again, but don’t take it that far. Just reduce the amount you typically water by a third or so.
In my region, the temperatures rarely climb above the mid-80s, so I reduce the amount of water I give my plants. I wait until the leaves are notably droopy before I water.
I live in a region with a short growing season in that we only have a month or two when temperatures regularly climb above the 70s. And peppers like it hot!
So, I place grower’s plastic over my cayenne peppers and close it up on cooler days to trap the heat.
I also place black plastic around the plants in the ground to heat up the area. With this system in place, I can plant a month earlier than my neighbors and grow a month or two longer.
I was plucking my last chilis in November last year when everyone else had tossed their plants in early October.
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
There isn’t much you need to do to maintain cayenne plants.
If they seem a bit floppy, you can stake them or put a cage around them, though I find cayennes are usually fine without support, except for the cultivars with exceptionally large fruits.
We’re going to talk about some of those, next.
Cayenne Pepper Cultivars to Select
Many people imagine that there is just one “cayenne” pepper, but there are lots in this group, from super hot ‘Ring of Fire’ to pretty ‘Purple.’
Here are a few of the best:
Buena Mulata
It’s not clear where it originated, but modern ‘Buena Mulata’ seeds come from seed collector and artist Horace Pippin who saved and traded them in the 1920s.
From there, Dr. William Woys Weaver, an expert on rare seeds, held onto a few and introduced them to the market.
The four-inch fruits are beautiful, but the plant isn’t as highly productive as the OG. That just makes them all the more precious.
This is one of my favorite cayennes and I grow it every year. It’s a stable cultivar, so you can save your own seeds and enjoy the kaleidoscope of color over the growing season.
The fruits start out green, transition to yellow-orange, turn red, and finally settle into their mature striking purple hue. With each color transition they have a different flavor.
You can pluck the unripe fruits if you want a grassy nibble with just a hint of heat.
Or let them fully ripen over about 85 days for that jewel-like purple, which is even deeper and bolder than the ‘Purple’ cultivar.
Dragon
‘Dragon’ fruit is shorter and thinner than that of the traditional cayenne cultivar, but equally as spicy.
It was bred by combining the standard cultivar and a Thai pepper, creating a treat with a smoky bite.
The three- to four-inch fruits are ready in about 60 days, so what are you waiting for? Visit Burpee for a pack of 25 seeds.
Espana
The long red fruits of ‘Espana’ can reach up to seven inches long in just 65 days. This hybrid cayenne is much milder than other cayennes, coming in closer to a jalapeno.
The flesh is also slightly thicker than your standard-issue, which I think makes it ideal for roasting on an open flame.
Bring home a 300 milligram packet, or a quarter-, one-, or four ounce-package from True Leaf Market.
Golden
With beautifully smooth, golden yellow skin, ‘Golden’ cayenne is a sight to behold.
It has the same heat as the standard cayenne, so you can use it anywhere you want a burst of yellow. Imagine these peppers dried or ground into a powder. Pure gold.
Let them mature fully to develop the best color and heat. It takes a bit more time for the six-inch-long fruits to mature, so you’d best get started.
Pick up your seeds at True Leaf Market. They carry 500 milligram, quarter ounce, ounce, four ounce, and pound quantities.
Joe’s Long
At up to a foot long, the fruits on ‘Joe’s Long’ cayennes are longer than almost any other cayenne cultivar.
They’re about as big in circumference as a pinky finger at the stem end and 10 inches long, so you can have a lot of cayenne bang for your buck.
Their long, thin shape also makes them perfect for drying, and each 24-inch plant gives you lots of fruits to work with.
‘Joe’s Long’ is an heirloom cayenne introduced by Joe Sestito from Troy, New York, after he obtained an Italian plant that had been popular with the Toronto seed-saving community for several years.
Dr. Carolyn Male, an active member of Seed Savers Exchange, gave it to the non-profit in 1996.
Long Red Slim
With six-inch-long, extremely narrow fruits like bright red pencils, this cayenne cultivar lives up to its name.
‘Long Red Slim’ has heavily wrinkled skin, and the fruits might curl and twist, making them an interesting addition to the kitchen, either dried or in a big bowl.
They’re ready to devour in 75 days, and you can pick up 100 seeds from Burpee. Bring on the heat!
Long Red Thin
You could easily confuse ‘Long Red Thin’ with ‘Long Red Slim,’ and they do look extremely similar.
Like its similarly-monikered friend, it has narrow, six-inch-long fruits with heavily wrinkled skin. They, too, will curl and twist.
The main difference is that they’re slightly milder, though still not what you should consider mild.
They take 70 days to mature, but the heat develops fairly early. Once the red color starts to develop, you can pop them off the plant and dig in. Or let them develop fully for more heat and color.
Pick up 250 milligrams, one ounce, or four ounces of seed at True Leaf Market.
Orange
Take the original cayenne, use your magic wand to turn it bright orange, iron out the wrinkled skin, and add just a little bit of extra heat and citrus. Voila! You’ve got ‘Orange’ cayenne.
The six-inch cayenne peppers grow on a plant that is a bit larger than most other cultivars at four feet tall. That means tons and tons of gorgeous peppers!
The fruits tend to be extremely uniform, which makes drying or chopping easy-peasy.
Head on over to Eden Brothers and bring home a small packet or ounce of seeds and get started.
Purple
Who said a cayenne pepper has to be red? If you love a good purple veggie, with all its nutritious deliciousness, pick ‘Purple.’ It’s pretty enough to be appreciated as an ornamental.
The fruits start out green, gradually transition to red, and finish off purple when they’re mature, at which point they reach about six inches max in length on a three-foot-tall plant.
Visit True Leaf Market to pick up a 300 milligram packet, a quarter-ounce, or an ounce package of seed.
Sweet
‘Sweet’ has extremely thin skin, perfect for drying. Plus, the cayenne peppers are extremely long at 12 inches on a relatively small two-foot shrub.
Perfect for someone who likes the flavor of cayenne but doesn’t want all that spice, instead of offering up pure heat, this cultivar is a lot milder with a touch of sweetness.
The straight, cherry-red fruits are great looking too, especially hanging in a group. Shove a needle through the top and thread a bunch together to use them as a display.
While they’re delicious if used as you would any other sweet pepper, imagine putting them on a veggie tray and daring your friends to dig in.
They aren’t just a novelty, though. The sweet, smoky flavor is worth having around dried or fresh.
Definitely give these a try. Visit True Leaf Market for a 300 milligram, quarter ounce, or ounce packet.
Thick
I’ll give you one guess as to what makes this cayenne stand out. Yep, it’s the thickness.
It’s extremely thick, twice as wide as any other cayenne, but with the same five-inch length. These are the widest cayenne chilis you can grow.
The three-foot-tall shrub produces lots of fruits that go from dark green to fire-engine red. They’re middle-of-the-road spicy, with enough heat to punch up dishes but not so much that you’ll be crying and gasping for the milk.
Because of all that fantastic capsaicin, most mammals won’t come near your chilis. But birds will.
I find that they are less interested in the cayenne types unless they fall from the bush. Maybe the shape is too awkward for them to get a good bite out of?
Whatever it is, some netting placed right as the fruits start to change color is enough to deter them.
Now, insects on the other hand…
Insects
Not only do they spread disease, but it seems like invertebrates are totally unbothered by capsaicin. Darn!
Although cayennes tend to be fairly resilient and disease-free, those pathogens that do infect them can really cause problems. Let’s talk about bacteria first.
Bacterial Spot
Not that I like any disease, but I especially dislike bacterial spot. It doesn’t play fair.
The early symptoms of small brown spots on the leaves are pretty indistinct. They could be anything, really.
Then, as the disease progresses, those spots become larger and raised. You’ll see them on both the fruits and the leaves.
The other reason I hate it is because there is no known cure. Caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas vesicatoria, X. euvesicatoria, X. gardneri, or X. perforans, it spreads through water and dead plant material, and it can live in the soil.
Your best bet at avoiding it is to rotate your crops. There are many diseases you can avoid using crop rotation, so don’t put anything in the nightshade family in the same place more than once every four years.
You should also avoid splashing water on the plants and be careful to water at the soil level.
Bacterial Wilt
Another bacterial disease, bacterial wilt is caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. This pathogen can live on all nightshades, including weeds such as black nightshade (Solanum nigrum).
It causes the plant to rapidly turn yellow, wilt, and die. And there’s nothing you can do about it besides pull and dispose of the plants. Like bacterial spot, the pathogens can live in the soil for a long time, so crop rotation is crucial.
It also lives in the soil and dead plant material, and can spread in water.
Blossom-End Rot
Blossom-end rot looks like a symptom of disease. There’s even “rot” in the name. But it’s a physiological condition that develops when the plant misallocates calcium.
Many gardeners assume that you simply need to add more calcium to the soil and the problem will be solved.
That makes logical sense, since it occurs when there isn’t enough calcium in the fruits. But it’s usually caused by a problem that makes it difficult for the plant to develop a robust root system and take up water.
This could be anything from cold soil to root damage to drought. You won’t even know there’s a problem until the fruits start to develop and the end turns brown and soft.
We have a guide to blossom-end rot in tomatoes that you may want to read. The cause and available solutions are all the same with cayenne peppers.
Feel free to check that out to learn how to avoid this problem in the future, since there isn’t anything you can do once the fruits are symptomatic.
Mosaic Virus
Despite their names, cucumber (CMV) and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) both infect pepper plants, including cayennes and both are spread by pests that feed on nightshades like aphids and thrips.
Once the pests feed on the cayenne plant, it’s too late. The pathogen has moved into the plant’s system. So, it doesn’t help to eliminate pests once they’ve been feeding. You need to keep them away in the first place.
The best way to do this is with fine netting, but reflective mulch helps, too.
Once the disease takes hold, the leaves of the plant will develop unusual yellow, light green, or dark green mottling. The plant’s growth will be stunted. Plus, now that it’s infected, the disease can spread to other nightshades as well as cucurbits.
You’ll need to pull and safely dispose of any infected plants, because there is no cure and it can spread rapidly.
Harvesting
Once the cayenne peppers attain their mature color, you can harvest them.
If you want the hottest cayennes possible, grab them off the plant promptly once they reach their full size and mature color.
This typically happens about 50 days after the fruit sets, but you can also check the seed packet to see what size the fruit should grow to.
If you leave chilis on the plant longer, capsaicin levels start to drop. If you pluck them too young, the capsaicin levels will also be lower. If you prefer a milder cayenne, keep that in mind.
To harvest, gently pull a cayenne pepper away from the plant by gripping the top or the stem attached to it. You want the cap to remain attached because the fruit will last longer that way.
If you intend to dry them immediately in a dehydrator, you could go ahead and pull them off the plant, leaving the cap behind – just be careful not to break the branches!
Preserving
Cayennes are perfect for drying. Hang them in bunches by leaving a bit of stem on them when you harvest or poke a needle and thread through the top and hang them to dry.
You can also plop them whole or sliced into a dehydrator.
Dehydrate at 125°F until they feel dry and hollow. This takes anywhere from four to 10 hours, depending on how large your pepper pieces are. Whole peppers take the longest.
Cayenne peppers can also be pickled, frozen, or packed in oil.
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
I think cayennes are perfect wherever you want some smoky heat that isn’t going to cause tears and snot to run down your face.
Comfort food classics like chili, pulled pork, mac and cheese, and etouffee are all good candidates.
They work well in sweet dishes, too. One of the best macarons I ever had was made with the ‘Purple’ cultivar. Or add them to a honey vinaigrette. Get the recipe at our sister site, Foodal.
The shape and thin skin makes them easy to dry and each fruit packs a punch, but cayennes didn’t become so popular based on their heat and shape alone.
They have a complex flavor and with enough variety to offer up oodles of choices, whether you want something mild and sweet or hot as hades.
How do you like to use your peppers? Share with us in the comments!
Want to explore the Capsicum genus further? We have several guides to growing peppers that will be right up your alley. Here are just a few:
Stuffed Pepper Soup is an inexpensive and delicious soup that will warm your belly from the inside out.
A fun twist on a traditional stuffed peppers, this soup has sausage and ground beef simmered in a zesty broth with peppers and tomatoes. Add in rice and serve it hot!
This easy Stuffed Pepper Soup is quick to make and needs less prep work than traditional stuffed peppers.
It’s flavor packed, hearty and budge friendly!
This versatile recipe can use a variation of veggies and any kind of ground meat.
Ingredients for Stuffed Pepper Soup
Meat: I use both beef and Italian sausage for great flavor. Feel free to use turkey sausage, all beef, or even ground turkey or pork. If skipping the sausage, add extra seasonings.
Onion and Garlic: These add flavor to the soup; fresh garlic is best, but garlic powder works in a pinch.
Tomatoes: A combination of crushed and diced tomatoes gives the soup body. No need to drain. Crushed tomatoes can be replaced with tomato sauce.
Beef Broth: Use either beef broth or beef stock in this recipe. Replace beef with chicken broth if desired.
Bell Peppers: I use red and green peppers, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Red, yellow, and orange peppers are sweeter, while green peppers are a bit more zesty.
Rice: Use cooked white or brown rice – cooking it separately ensures it doesn’t get mushy in the soup. Leftover long grain rice works great here. Keep it low-carb with cauliflower rice if you’d like!
How To Make Stuffed Pepper Soup
Stuffed pepper soup only takes about 35 minutes and can be made in just one pot with only a few minutes of prep!
Brown beef, onions, and garlic in a large pot. Drain.
Add remaining ingredients (per recipe below) except rice and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.
Finally, stir in the cooked rice and parsley and heat for about 5 minutes.
The rice is cooked separately, meaning this soup reheats and freezes beautifully. If you’re planning for leftovers, add hot rice to each bowl and top with the soup. If you’re planning to serve the whole batch, stir the rice into the pot!
Got Leftovers?
Fridge: This recipe can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Freezer: Stuffed pepper soup can be made in batches and frozen, it reheats well. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat. Tip: Freeze in individual servings and enjoy a quick lunch for one!
More Beefy Soups
This stuffed pepper soup recipe is a favorite all year long – here are some more delicious soup recipes you much try!
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Stuffed Pepper Soup
Stuffed pepper soup has sausage and ground beef, lots of tender sweet bell peppers, and tomatoes. Add in rice and serve it hot!
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 35 minutesminutes
Total Time 55 minutesminutes
In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the beef, sausage, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
Stir in the broth, Italian seasoning, bell peppers, crushed and diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes or until peppers are tender and the soup has slightly thickened.
Stir the rice* and parsley and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until heated through. Taste and season with salt and additional pepper if desired.
If planning for leftovers, add hot rice to each bowl and top with the soup. Rice should be stored in a separate container. This recipe uses 2 cups of cooked rice which is approximately ⅔ cup of raw long grain white rice. Optional garnishes: Try a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese, fresh herbs like basil, or a dollop of sour cream. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Does eating every other day prevent the metabolic slowing that accompanies weight loss, or does it improve compliance over constant, day-to-day caloric restriction?
Rather than cutting calories day in and day out, what if you instead ate as much as you wanted every other day or for only a few hours a day? Or, what if you fasted two days a week or five days a month? These are all examples of intermittent fasting regimens, as you can see below and at 0:10 in my video Alternate-Day Intermittent Fasting Put to the Test, and that may even be how we were built. Three meals a day may be a relatively novel behavior for our species. For millennia, “our ancestors could not eat three meals every day. They consumed meals much less frequently, and often consumed one large meal per day or went for several days without food.”
Intermittent fasting is often presented as a means of stressing your body—in a good way. There is a concept in biology called hormesis, which can be thought of as the “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” principle. Exercise is the classic example: You put stress on your heart and muscles, and as long as there is sufficient recovery time, you are all the healthier for it. Is that the case with intermittent fasting? Mark Twain thought so: “A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors. I do not mean a restricted diet, I mean total abstention from food for one or two days.”
But, Twain also said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” Is the craze over intermittent fasting just hype? Many diet fads have their roots “in legitimate science,” but over time, facts can get distorted, benefits exaggerated, and risks downplayed. In other words, “science takes a back seat to marketing.” At the same time, you don’t want to lose out on any potential benefit by dismissing something out of hand based on the absurdist claims of overzealous promoters. You don’t want to throw the baby out with the baby fat.
Religious fasting is the most studied form of intermittent fasting, specifically Ramadan, a month-long period in which “Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise until sunset.” The effects are complicated by a change in sleeping patterns and also thirst. The same dehydration issue arises with Yom Kippur when observant Jews stop eating and drinking for about 25 hours. The most studied form of intermittent fasting that deals only with food restriction is alternate-day fasting, which involves eating every other day, alternating with days consuming little or no calories.
At rest, we burn about a 50:50 mix of carbohydrates and fat, but we usually run out of glycogen—our carbohydrate stores—within 12 to 36 hours of stopping eating. At that point, our body has to shift to rely more on our fat stores. This metabolic switch may help explain why the greatest rate of breakdown and burning of fat over a three-day fast happens between hours 18 and 24 of the 72 hours. The hope is to reap some of the benefits of taking a break from eating without the risks of prolonged fasting.
One of the potential benefits of alternate-day fasting over chronic calorie restriction is that you get regular breaks from feeling constant hunger. But might people become so famished on their fasting day that they turn the next into a feasting day? After your fasting day, if you ate more than twice as much as you normally would, that presumably would defeat the whole point of alternate-day fasting. Mice fed every other day don’t lose weight. They just eat roughly twice as much food in one day as non-fasted mice would regularly eat in two days. That is not, however, what happens in people.
Study participants were randomized to fast for a day and a half—from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the second morning after beginning. Fasting for 36 hours only led to people eating an average of 20 percent more the day after they broke the fast, compared to a control group who didn’t fast at all. That would leave the fasters with a large calorie deficit, equivalent to a daily caloric restriction of nearly a thousand calories a day. This particular study involved lean men and women, but similar results have been found amongst overweight or obese subjects. Researchers typically found only about a 10 to 25 percent compensatory increase in calorie intake over baseline on non-fasting days, and this seems to be the case whether the fasting day was a true zero-calorie fast or a modified fast day of a few hundred calories, which may lead to better compliance.
Some studies have found that participants appeared to eat no more, or even eat less, on days after a day-long mini-fast. Even within studies, great variability is reported. In a 24-hour fasting study where individuals ate an early dinner and then had a late dinner the next day after skipping breakfast and lunch, the degree of compensation at the second dinner ranged from 7 percent to 110 percent, as you can see in the graph below and at 4:40 in my video. This means that some of the participants got so hungry by the time supper rolled around that they ate more than 24 hours’ worth of calories in a single meal. The researchers suggested that perhaps people first try “test fasts” to see how much their hunger and subsequent intake ramp up before considering an intermittent fasting regimen. Hunger levels can change over time, though, dissipating as your body habituates to the new normal.
In an eight-week study in which obese subjects were restricted to about 500 calories every other day, after approximately two weeks, they reportedly started feeling very little hunger on their slashed calorie days. This no doubt helped them lose about a dozen pounds on average over the duration of the study, but there was no control group with whom to compare. A similar study that did have a control group found a similar amount of weight loss—about ten pounds—over 12 weeks in a group of “normal weight” individuals, which means overweight on average. For these modified regimens where people are prescribed 500 calories on their “fasting” days, researchers found that, from a weight-loss perspective, it did not appear to matter whether those calories are divided up throughout the day or eaten in a single meal.
Instead of prescribing a set number of calories on “fasting” days, which many people find difficult to calculate outside of a study setting, a pair of Iranian researchers came upon a brilliant idea of unlimited above-ground vegetables. Starchy root vegetables are relatively calorie-dense compared to other vegetables. Veggies that grow above the ground include stem vegetables (like celery and rhubarb), flowering vegetables (like cauliflower), leafy vegetables (like, well, leafy vegetables), and all of the fruits we tend to think of as vegetables (like tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplant, string beans, summer squash, and zucchini). So, instead of prescribing a certain number of calories for “fasting” days, researchers had subjects alternate between their regular diet and helping themselves to an all-you-can-eat, above-ground vegetable feast (along with naturally non-caloric beverages, like green tea or black coffee) every other day. After eight weeks, the subjects lost an average of 13 pounds and two inches off their waist, as you can see below and at 6:59 in my video.
The same variability discovered for calorie compensation has also been found for weight loss, as seen in the graph below and at 7:10 in my video. In a 12-month trial in which subjects were instructed to eat only one-quarter of their caloric needs every other day, weight changes varied from a loss of about 37 pounds to a gain of about 8 pounds. The biggest factor differentiating the low-weight-loss group from the high-weight-loss group appeared to be not how much they feasted on their regular diet days, but how much they were able to comply with the calorie restriction on their fast days.
Overall, ten out of ten alternate-day fasting studies showed significant reductions in body fat. Small short-term studies show about a 4 to 8 percent drop in body weight after 3 to 12 weeks. How does that compare with continuous calorie restriction? Researchers compared zero-calorie, alternate-day fasting head-to-head to a daily 400-calorie restriction for eight weeks. Both groups lost the same amount of weight, about 17 pounds, and, in the follow-up check-in six months later after the trial had ended, both groups had maintained a similar degree of weight loss; both were still down about a dozen pounds, as you can see below and at 8:10 in my video.
The hope that intermittent fasting would somehow avoid the metabolic adaptations that slow weight loss or improve compliance doesn’t seem to have materialized. The same compensatory reactions in terms of increased appetite and a slower metabolism plague both continuous and intermittent caloric restriction. The longest trial of alternate-day fasting found that “alternate-day fasting may be less sustainable” than more traditional approaches. By the end of the year, the drop-out rate of the alternate-day fasting group was 38 percent, compared to 29 percent in the continuous calorie-restriction group.
Although alternate-day fasting regimens haven’t been shown to produce superior weight loss to date, for individuals who may prefer this pattern of calorie restriction, are there any downsides? Find out in my video Is Alternate-Day Intermittent Fasting Safe?.
I packed a lot into this one. Bottom line: Fasting doesn’t appear to provide an edge over traditional calorie cutting, but if you prefer it, why not give fasting a try? Before you do, first check out Is Alternate-Day Intermittent Fasting Safe?.
What about total fasting? For that and even more, check out the related videos below.
I have a whole chapter on intermittent fasting in my book How Not to Diet—order now! (All proceeds I receive from my books are donated to charity.)
The secret to this Better Italian Stuffed Peppers recipe isn’t anything crazy, so why does no one do it? I guess it took a hater of stuffed peppers to make the magic happen.
Stuffed bell peppers were all the rage years and years ago but I haven’t been seeing recipes lately and so I wanted to bring back an old favorite. It’s a great way to eat a little lighter and those peppers getting all roasted and tender bring so much flavor without all the fussy work.
Motherhood with Joy
My friend recently had her little boy in the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia. Anytime a child, especially one that’s still a young toddler ends up in the hospital, my heart lurches into the reality of time and love. It seems only yesterday and somehow a million years ago that I was lying in a hospital fighting to survive along with an unborn baby doing the same thing, but at my own expense. I lack an awful lot in life, certainly when it comes to parenting, but times like these always remind me of one thing, and I hope it will make sense to say it, at least I’m here.
I may not make perfect decisions or respond to situations perfectly, but oh how I perfectly ache to be a good mother. To remember to love them and to strive a little more to extend that love to those outside of my home. As I honor the gift of motherhood I find myself wondering, what is the secret to motherhood with joy?
My friend’s son made it out of a much longer stay in the hospital than expected. She had so much on her plate and could have lost faith in tomorrow, in medicine, even in God, but she continued on, giving all she could muster each day for him.
I guess that’s it. All I can do it strive each day to begin again and remember that though tempted to lose faith in many things, myself, people and the world, God never loses faith in those things. Maybe I won’t end up with adult children that think I was the best mom, but maybe they will think I was trying to love them. Maybe that’s enough. Just to try to love.
The Secret to the Best Stuffed Peppers
Now what’s this babble got to do with stuffed peppers?
Well, I failed at making them and hated eating them no matter who made them. I lost faith in recipes like this one. Until one day the thought came to me that I could char the peppers, thus bringing more flavor and a new texture that was more pleasing to the palette. That’s the secret!
How to Roast Peppers on the Stovetop
My favorite way to char bell peppers is right on the stovetop of a gas stove. I like to cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds and membranes, and then place them right over the flame with the heat on high skin side down. Turn them with tongs until they are charred on all sides.
Place the peppers in a bowl and cover them with plastic wrap so they can sweat. The skin will loosen as the peppers steam.
If you don’t have a gas stove, you can char peppers in the oven using the broil setting. Turn the peppers every couple of minutes so they get charred on all sides.
Stuffed Peppers Ingredients
It doesn’t take many ingredients to make this easy stuffed peppers recipe, but it has layers of flavor that are divine! You will find the measurements for each ingredient in the recipe card at the end of this post. Here is what you will need:
Bell Peppers: feel free to use any color of bell pepper
Italian Sausage: we usually use the sweet Italian sausage, but if you like some heat, you can use spicy sausage
Onion: just a yellow onion works great
Garlic: minced small
Chicken Broth: this helps cook the rice and keeps the stuffing moist
Plum Tomatoes: I love the fresh pop of flavor that comes from fresh tomatoes in this stuffing.
Brown Rice: you can use any kind of rice (long grain, basmati, jasmine, etc.) or other grain
Italian Seasoning: using this blend of seasonings makes adding flavor so simple
Salt: adds flavor
Basil (fresh): if you need to swap this out for dried basil, use about 2.5 tablespoons
Mozzarella: you can add more flavor by swapping 1/2 cup of the cheese with parmesan
How to Make Stuffed Peppers
Prep: Preheat the oven, halve and remove the seeds from the peppers.
Char: Add loads of flavor to the peppers by charring them on the stovetop or under the broiler. This step is optional but really elevates the flavor!
Cook: Brown the sausage in a nonstick skillet on the stovetop over medium high heat. Remove the sausage to a plate and drain the grease.
Sauté: Place the skillet back on the stove and sauté the onion and garlic, then add the spices.
Simmer: Add the broth, tomatoes and rice to the skillet and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and summer until the rice has softened.
Rest: Remove the skillet from the heat and let the dish rest until the rest of the broth has been absorbed.
Combine: Stir in the cooked sausage, onions, garlic and half of the basil and half the cheese.
Assemble: Scoop the rice and sausage mixture into the charred peppers and place them in a baking dish.
Bake: Bake the peppers for 30 minutes. Then switch the oven to broil. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the peppers and broil for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.
Garnish: Add the remaining basil over the top. Serve!
These instructions are also found in the recipe card at the end of the post in full detail.
Which Peppers Can I Use?
You can use any color of bell pepper that you want…green, red, orange or yellow…or a mix of all of them! I absolutely love the bright colors of bell peppers!
Do Green Bell Peppers Have A Different Flavor Than Red?
Red bell peppers are the same thing as green bell peppers. Red bell peppers have just been left to ripen longer than green bell peppers.
Green peppers tend to be a little bitter, but bell peppers sweeten as they ripen. A red bell pepper is much sweeter than a green bell pepper.
Is Brown Rice Healthier Than White Rice?
All rice consists almost entirely of carbs, with small amounts of protein and practically no fat.
Brown rice is usually considered much healthier than white, because it is a whole grain that contains the bran and germ.
Most of the nutrients in rice is contained in the bran and the germ.
Other Additions/Variations
Stuffed peppers are totally flexible depending on what your family loves. You can swap out ingredients or add other vegetables. Here are some ideas:
Veggies: red onions, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, zucchini, slice carrots
Proteins: chicken, ground beef, ground turkey
Others: olives, capers
Cheese: feta, parmesan
Grains: using any kind of rice you like, quinoa or orzo are great too
You could also skip the protein altogether and use vegetable broth and make is a vegetarian meal!
Storing and Reheating
Classic stuffed peppers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 5 days. They also freeze extremely well. Make sure they have cooled completely, then place in a freezer safe container. They will keep for up to 3 months.
They can be reheated in the microwave or in the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F, place the stuffed peppers (refrigerated or frozen) in a baking dish, cover with foil and warm up in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until heated through (you’ll need to add a few extra minutes if frozen).
If you consider yourself a stuffed peppers hater like I once was, then I challenge you to make this stuffed peppers recipe and try them again. I’m on a mission to make lovers out of everyone! Oh, and char the pepper first…you’re going to love how it tastes and the extra flavor it adds!
More QUICK AND EASY DINNER IDEAS:
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutesmins
Cook Time: 55 minutesmins
Total Time: 1 hourhr5 minutesmins
Description
The secret to this better Italian stuffed peppers recipe isn’t anything crazy, so why does no one do it? I guess it took a hater of stuffed peppers to make the magic happen.
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Filling
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through. Drain and remove to a plate. Return the pan to the stove.
12 ounces Italian Sausage
Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat, add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes.
1 Small Onion, 2 Cloves Garlic, 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Add spices, stir thoroughly.
3/4 teaspoon Salt, 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
Stir in broth, tomatoes, and rice. Bring to a simmer, cover & reduce heat. Simmer until rice is softened, but still moist (10 min.)
1 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth, 4 Plum Tomatoes, 1/2 Cup Brown Rice
Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until the rice absorbs the remaining liquid (10 min.)
Stir in cooked sausage, onions and half of the basil and half of the cheese.
1/2 Cup Fresh Basil, 1 1/2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese
Divide filling amongst peppers. Place the peppers in a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.
Switch your oven over to broil, top the peppers with remaining cheese and place under the broiler to melt (2-3 min.) Garnish with remaining basil.
1/2 Cup Fresh Basil, 1 1/2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese
* 1 can fire roasted tomatoes (drained) can be used. ** If you want some extra flavor, char the peppers before stuffing them.
Course: 200+ Easy Appetizers Recipes, Over 500 Family Dinner Recipes Ideas
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Thank you to Park Seed for partnering with me on this post. As always, all words and thoughts are my own.
You might be asking yourself what begonias and peppers have in common that they’d end up in the same article. A lot actually, at least when it comes to starting them from seed, which makes them good seed-starting partners.
SEED-STARTING SIMILARITIES
Begonias and peppers are good seed starting partners for a few reasons.
They should be started from seed at about the same time. Peppers should be started about 8 to 12 weeks before your last frost, a bit earlier for bell peppers and a little later for hot peppers, but I start them all at the same time. Begonias should be started about 10 to 12 weeks before your last frost. By batching it all at the 10-week mark I simplify things a bit, and particularly in the case of begonias, it’s OK to be a little on the late side because they’ll start performing in the garden quickly. If you don’t know your last frost date you can look it up here, or you can use the From Seed to Spoon app to just see the dates for starting various crops based on your location.
Begonias and peppers are both heat lovers, so you can sow them in the same tray and give them the same conditions, about 70 to 80 degrees of bottom heat from a heat mat.
As you grow them on inside under lights they’ll both appreciate a good amount of light, although you can remove them from the heat mat after they germinate.
HOW TO SOW PEPPERS
If you’ve ever grown tomatoes from seed, you know most of what you need to know about peppers, and that’s not a surprise given that they are close relatives. Sow them about a quarter-inch deep in seed-starting mix or, if you’re using the Park’s Original Bio Dome like I did, you can just put them in the hole in the special sponges.
I sow two pepper seeds to a cell and will thin the weaker seedling out later.
Keep seed-starting mix evenly moist or leave about an inch of water in the bottom of the Bio Dome, then cover them with a humidity dome and set them on a heat mat until they germinate in about seven to 10 days.
HOW TO SOW BEGONIAS
Begonias are sown differently from peppers. Since the seeds need light to germinate, they should be sown right on the surface of the soil, or on top the Bio Sponge.
But don’t expect to see the seeds on top the soil, because begonia seeds are incredibly small, almost like large dust particles. Anytime I’m dealing with a very small seed, I put the seeds into a small container (I used the lid of the toothpick jar in this case) and use a toothpick to pick up an individual seed then lightly wipe it on the surface of the soil.
A toothpick makes picking up itty bitty seeds easier.
If you can find pelleted begonia seeds, it’s well worth the extra cost, although you’ll probably still need to do the toothpick trick.
Even pelleted begonia seeds are incredibly small.
AFTER SOWING
After sowing, set the seed tray on a heat mat under a grow light (the begonias need light, but if you are only starting peppers, the light isn’t necessary until after they germinate). Keep them evenly moist and remove the dome when most of the seeds have germinated.
Cover cells with a humidity dome (one is included with the Bio Dome) until seeds germinate.
If you’re growing in cells with seed mix, you’ll need to transplant the small plants to pots (3-inch or so) when the roots fill the cell. Use regular potting mix at this point. You can also start using a dilute fertilizer at this point.
If you’re growing in a Bio Dome, you’ll want to fertilize with the included fertilizer pack but you may not need to move the small plants up to pots. When it’s safe to plant them outside, just pop them straight into the garden.
WHAT I’M GROWING
After a few years of growing peppers I’ve figured out what types of peppers I’ll actually use and that determined my selections.
Mexican Sunrise is a hot Hungarian pepper, with a nice amount of heat (which for me is enough to know it’s there and not enough to make me afraid to eat it). It’s tolerant of cooler conditions, which is helpful in my not-too-hot garden. It’s an All-America Selections winner, which means it’s been tested in trial gardens all over North America and found to be the best performing variety of its kind. I’ve found it to be extremely productive.
Mexican Sunrise
Pot-a-peño is a small jalapeño pepper perfect for containers, but also great in gardens where you don’t want to dedicate a lot of space to peppers. It has great flavor and, although I’ve grown plenty of super hot peppers, this is at a level that I love to use to actually flavor dishes, rather than use as a party game. You can eat them green or red. This is also an All-America Selections winner.
Pot-a-peno
Candy Cane Red peppers were just too pretty to pass up. This sweet snacking pepper is a new variety for me and it has variegated foliage and fruit. The peppers ripen to a variety of colors, including green and red striped. You can’t buy that in the grocery store!
Candy Cane Red
Kitchen Minis Fresh Bites Yellow are the cutest little pepper plants. They were new last year and I grew a couple of them in a planter filled with quick-grab edibles by the back door. Sure, the peppers were delicious, but they were beautiful as well, and that is reason enough to grow these small plants.
Kitchen Minis Yellow
Both of the begonias I’m growing are new-to-me varieties that I’m eager to add to the garden.
Viking Explorer Rose on Green is another All-America Selections winner, and a sister to other Viking Explorer begonias I’ve grown and loved in the past. It grows into a sizable plant—20 inches high by 24 inches wide—that is absolutely covered in flowers all season. Although it will do best in dappled sunlight, it’s quite adaptable to different lighting situations. The seeds are pelleted.
Viking Explorer Rose on Green
Pizzazz White is exactly the kind of annual I like to have lots of on hand to scatter around the garden to fill holes and brighten up dark corners. It’s a bedding begonia that I’ll use for those empty, front-of-the-border spots in the shade.
Pizzaz White
In most areas, it’s not too late to start either of these, alone or together.
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Using fresh pomegranates, I’itoi onions, jalapeños, lemons, and parsley from the garden, I experimented with and changed up this recipe I found online. We made the dip for my family’s Thanksgiving celebration – and it was a hit! I quickly typed up the changes I made to the recipe so I wouldn’t forget how to make it.
I made this dip for two subsequent gatherings, and both groups loved it. One person said the dip made her list of the “best things I’ve ever eaten.” High praise for a humble pomegranate dip. Hope you like it too. Enjoy!
½ cup finely chopped I’tioi onions (can also use green onions)
¼ – ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro or chopped fresh parsley
¼ – ½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 cups pomegranate arils
* Add more or less jalapeños to adjust the heat level. Always wear gloves when handling hot peppers.
Pomegranate Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip
Directions:
Stir cream cheese until smooth. Stir in sugar, cumin, and lemon juice. Add jalapeños, onions, and cilantro. Spread in an even layer into a small dish or 8 x 8 pan. Top with pomegranate arils. Serve with veggies or crackers.
Want a printable copy of the recipe?
Pomegranate Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip
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There is a certain type of person who loves hot sauce. And for the spicy mouth, sometimes more is better – but is it ever too much? Eating spice food creates a “high”. Capsaicin, the core of the heat, causes pain and triggers the body to think it’s in danger. In response, the body releases endorphins, which are pleasure causing hormones, this is the body’s way of trying to eliminate the “threat” it feels when you eat spicy food.
Today, there is a new champion in the pain/pleasure hot sauce world. According to Guinness, Pepper X, which, like the Carolina Reaper, was developed by Currie and his PuckerButt Pepper Company, has an average rating of 2,693,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). That absolutely incinerates the Reaper, which has an average rating of 1.64 million SHU. (By comparison, a jalapeno can have a Scoville rating of between 3,000 to 8,000 SHU, while hotter habaneros typically clock in at around 100,000 SHU.)
To put this edible weapon into perspective, here are the next 5 hottest chilis in the world…and the idiots who tried to eat them.
1. Carolina Reaper
Scoville Heat Units: 2.2 million
The chili pepper, which is 100-times hotter than a jalapeño, made it into the Guinness World Records in 2012 for being the world’s hottest.
2. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
SHU: 2,009,231
Back in 2012, when this pepper held the record for being the world’s hottest, Gizmodoreported that the peppers were so hot, a team of researchers from New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute went through multiple sets of gloves during the harvest of this pepper because the Scorpion’s capsaicin kept penetrating the latex and soaking into the skin of their hands.
RELATED: Mouth On Fire? Here’s How Cannabis Can Help
3. 7 Pot Douglah
SHU: 1,853,936
Also known as 7 Pot Chocolate, this pepper is named for its ability to spice 7 pots of stew.
4. 7 Pot Primo
SHU: 1.469 million
Named after horticulturist Troy Primeaux, who created this pepper back in 2006, it reportedly has a nice fruity flavor, if you can get past the heat
Dorito Taco Salad is a delicious salad we’ve been serving at potlucks for as long as I can remember!
Everyone loves a great taco salad recipe and this version is a definitely a crowd favorite!
Seasoned ground beef, fresh lettuce, pinto beans, veggies and of course Doritos all sauced up with a zingy dressing make this an exciting change to your daily menu!
I truly love salads, but sometimes they can become a bit boring. This Dorito Taco Salad definitely spices up the ‘same old salad’ slump that we tend to get into. Not only is is easy to make, but it is delicious too!
I absolutely love anything that is taco inspired from pasta to casseroles… and especially salads!
Something about that beautiful blend of spices found in taco seasoning (especially my DIY taco seasoning mix) paired with crisp fresh lettuce just tastes SO good! Of all of the taco inspired dishes I make, this one definitely tops the list because everyone always raves about it!
How to Make Taco Salad
If you happen to have leftover taco beef from a prior recipe, it’s perfect in this taco salad recipe. In fact, I often make a double batch of taco meat to store in my freezer for extra quick meals on busy weeknights.
It takes me just seconds to defrost it for quick tacos, taco salads or even for a tray of Loaded Tater Tot Nachos!
The remaining ingredients are simple and easy to keep on hand. Pinto beans and sliced black olives in the canned variety are always staples in my pantry. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, peppers and sour cream are items I always have on hand.
And OF COURSE you can’t forget the Doritos, we love the Nacho Cheese Flavor in this taco salad but you can use your favorite flavor!
How to Make Taco Salad Ahead of Time
This meal can be prepared ahead of time! The secret is to assemble everything in layers and simply toss before serving. Using the layered method keeps ingredients from becoming soggy.
Your bottom layer will be the cooked and seasoned ground beef topped with the dressing.
Next layer the pinto beans and sliced olives.
Follow this with the peppers and tomatoes.
Next layer is the lettuce and the onion.
Add the cheese on top.
Leave out the Doritos until just before serving.
Using the layering method above, you can assemble this Dorito salad and refrigerate for a quick and easy meal at the end of a busy day or to take along to a backyard BBQ party or potluck. Simply toss to coat everything just before serving and wait for the compliments to pour in!
What Goes In a Taco Salad
You can modify this recipe however you’d like or based on what you have on hand! I have used diced chicken breast in place of ground beef (or ground turkey), I also use different types of peppers and I like to kick up the heat a notch using spicy Doritos!
Use the veggies you love (corn is great in this recipe too) and make it your own masterpiece! It is just so easy to prepare and to top it off it tastes fantastic!
6 Taco Inspired Dishes You MUST Try
Love Taco Inspired Dishes? Me too… and here are some of my absolute favorites!
1. Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells Tender pasta shells stuffed with deliciously seasoned beef, salsa and cheese baked until bubbly.
2. Taco Pasta Salad Pasta salad with a taco twist, fresh veggies and our favorite Doritos! Must try!
3. Taco Tater Tot Casserole This casserole features seasoned beef and loads of vegetables topped with a yummy tater tot crust and baked until golden.
4. Taco Casserole with a Surprise Crust Taco night just got a whole lot more delicious… spoiler alert: if you like Doritos, you’ll love this one!
5. French Bread Tacos French Bread Tacos combine all the taco flavors you love with the delicious, crusty bread you can’t get enough of!
6. Layered Dorito Casserole Layered Doritos Casserole has layers of seasoned beef in a rich and zesty sauce topped with loads of cheese.
While assembling the ingredients is super easy to begin with, to make it even easier I love to use my favorite chopping tool! It makes chopping a breeze and you are guaranteed consistent bite sized pieces every time!
I use a whole 10 oz bag of Doritos in this recipe because I love the flavor they add. You can certainly use as much or as little as you’d like! Don’t get stuck making the same old salads this summer. Add Dorito Taco Salad to your menu and delight your family and friends!
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Dorito Taco Salad
Dorito Taco Salad is the best potluck dish and always gets rave reviews! Loads of seasoned ground beef, veggies, beans and Doritos in a zesty dressing!
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 25 minutesminutes
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Brown the ground beef until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
Stir in the taco seasoning packet and water. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, peppers, black olives, pinto beans, tomatoes, cheddar and green onions.
Top with the seasoned and cooled ground beef.
Slightly crush the Doritos and sprinkle on top. Drizzle with catalina dressing and toss to coat evenly.
Garnish with sour cream and additional green onions is desired.
Serve immediately.
Toss just before serving to avoid the Doritos from becoming soggy.
My technique is to add dried mushrooms into the pasta water when I’m making spaghetti. Between the reductions of 20 percent or so from the drying and 60 percent or so from boiling for ten minutes and straining, more than 90 percent of agaritine is eliminated.
But, again, this is all 
