🌶️ Chillies

From mild poblano to the Carolina Reaper: every chilli, fresh and dried.

50 pages in this section

📊 Chilli Compare Put any of these chillies side by side on one Scoville chart, grouped by heat. Compare →

Trinidad's superhots, said to be enough to season seven pots of stew

7 Pot chillies are a family of superhot Capsicum chinense chillies from Trinidad, named for the claim that one pod can season seven pots of food. Strains such as Douglah …

🌶️ Heat 1,000,000–1,800,000 SHU

Ají amarillo

Peru's golden chilli, the foundation of Peruvian cooking

Ají amarillo is a hot, fruity Capsicum baccatum chilli from Peru, orange-yellow when ripe and the essential base of Peruvian dishes such as papa a la huancaína, ají de ga…

🌶️ Heat 30,000–50,000 SHU

Ají dulce

The Caribbean seasoning pepper with habanero perfume and almost no heat

Ají dulce is a nearly heatless Capsicum chinense pepper of the Caribbean and Venezuela, looking like a small habanero and smelling like one, used for flavour in sofrito, …

🌶️ Heat 0–1,000 SHU

Ají panca

Peru's dark, mild, berry-sweet dried chilli

Ají panca is a mild, dark red-brown Peruvian chilli, used dried or as a paste. Berry-like, smoky and sweet with little heat, it colours and flavours anticuchos, adobos an…

🌶️ Heat 500–1,500 SHU

Aleppo pepper

Oily, fruity, moderately hot flakes from Syria and southern Turkey

Aleppo pepper is a coarsely crushed, semi-dried Capsicum annuum chilli from northern Syria and southern Turkey, with moderate heat, fruity and slightly salty flavour and …

🌶️ Heat 10,000 SHU

Banana pepper and Hungarian wax

Two look-alike yellow peppers: one sweet, one with a real kick

Banana peppers and Hungarian wax peppers are long, yellow, waxy Capsicum annuum peppers that look almost identical. Banana peppers are sweet and mild; Hungarian wax can b…

🌶️ Heat 0–15,000 SHU

Bell pepper

The sweet, heatless Capsicum: green when unripe, red, yellow or orange when ripe

The bell pepper is a large, blocky, sweet Capsicum annuum with no heat at all, eaten raw or cooked worldwide. Green peppers are simply unripe; red, yellow and orange ones…

🫑 Heat 0 SHU

Bird's eye chilli

The small, fierce chilli of Southeast Asian cooking

Bird's eye chillies are small, pointed, very hot chillies used across Southeast Asia and Africa. The name covers several varieties of Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutesc…

🌶️ Heat 50,000–100,000 SHU

Byadgi chilli

Karnataka's wrinkled, deep-red chilli, prized for colour rather than heat

The Byadgi chilli is a mild, deeply wrinkled, dark-red Capsicum annuum chilli from Karnataka, India, valued for its colour. It is a staple of south Indian cooking and oft…

🌶️ Heat 1,500–15,000 SHU

Carolina Reaper

The American superhot that held the world record for a decade

The Carolina Reaper is a superhot Capsicum chinense chilli bred in South Carolina and recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's hottest chilli from 2013 until 2…

🌶️ Heat 1,400,000–2,200,000 SHU

Cascabel

The round, rattling dried chilli of Mexico, nutty and mild

Cascabel is a small, round, dried Mexican Capsicum annuum chilli whose loose seeds rattle when shaken. It has mild heat and a nutty, woody, slightly tangy flavour suited …

🌶️ Heat 1,000–3,000 SHU

Cayenne pepper

The slim red chilli behind the world's standard hot powder

Cayenne pepper is a thin, hot red Capsicum annuum chilli, best known dried and ground into the bright, sharp powder used worldwide to add clean heat with little flavour o…

🌶️ Heat 30,000–50,000 SHU

Chile de árbol

A slim, bright-red Mexican chilli that stays red when dried

Chile de árbol is a slender, hot Capsicum annuum chilli from Mexico that keeps its bright red colour when dried, used for fiery table salsas, chilli oils and salsa macha.

🌶️ Heat 15,000–30,000 SHU

Chilli flakes

Crushed dried chillies, the world's most familiar way to add heat

Chilli flakes are dried chillies crushed with their seeds into coarse flakes. Styles range from generic crushed red pepper to Turkish, Korean and Sichuan flakes, each wit…

🌶️ Heat 15,000–50,000 SHU

Chilli pepper

The fruit of the genus Capsicum, from sweet bell pepper to Carolina Reaper

Chilli peppers are the fruits of Capsicum plants, domesticated in the Americas and carried worldwide after 1492. Five species are grown, spanning every heat level from no…

🌶️ Heat 0–2,690,000 SHU

Chiltepín and pequín

The tiny wild bird peppers of Mexico and the American Southwest

Chiltepín and pequín are tiny, very hot Capsicum annuum chillies, close to the wild ancestor of the species. Chiltepín is round and often wild-harvested; pequín is slight…

🌶️ Heat 30,000–100,000 SHU

Chipotle

Smoke-dried jalapeño, Mexico's smoky chilli

Chipotle is a ripe red jalapeño that has been smoked and dried, giving a medium-hot chilli with deep woodsmoke flavour, sold whole, ground or canned in adobo sauce.

🌶️ Heat 2,500–8,000 SHU

Datil pepper

The fruity, fiery chilli of St Augustine, Florida

The datil is a very hot, sweet-fruity Capsicum chinense chilli grown for generations in St Augustine, Florida, where it seasons Minorcan clam chowder, pilau, hot sauces a…

🌶️ Heat 100,000–300,000 SHU

Dorset naga

A superhot selected in an English county from a Bangladeshi chilli

The Dorset naga is a superhot Capsicum chinense chilli selected in Dorset, England, in the early 2000s from a Bangladeshi naga chilli, and reported at around a million Sc…

🌶️ Heat 900,000–1,000,000 SHU

Espelette pepper

Piment d'Espelette, the protected chilli of the French Basque Country

Espelette pepper (piment d'Espelette) is a mild, sweet-fruity Capsicum annuum chilli grown around Espelette in the French Basque Country, protected by an AOP and used gro…

🌶️ Heat 4,000 SHU

Facing heaven chilli

Chao tian jiao, the upward-pointing dried chilli of Sichuan cooking

The facing heaven chilli (chao tian jiao) is a short, hot Capsicum annuum chilli whose pods grow pointing upwards. Dried, it is the essential red chilli of Sichuan dishes…

🌶️ Heat 30,000–50,000 SHU

Fatalii

The lemon-yellow African cousin of the habanero

The Fatalii is a very hot yellow Capsicum chinense chilli from central and southern Africa, with a sharp citrus flavour and a quick, intense burn. It is prized by growers…

🌶️ Heat 125,000–400,000 SHU

Fresno chilli

The Californian red chilli that looks like a jalapeño and is sold ripe

The Fresno is a medium-hot Capsicum annuum chilli bred in California in the 1950s. It resembles a jalapeño but has thinner walls and is usually sold ripe and red, bright …

🌶️ Heat 2,500–10,000 SHU

Ghost pepper

Bhut jolokia, the northeast Indian chilli that started the superhot era

The ghost pepper, or bhut jolokia, is a superhot Capsicum chinense chilli from northeast India, officially recognised in 2007 as the world's hottest at around one million…

🌶️ Heat 800,000–1,041,000 SHU

Gochugaru

Korean red chilli powder, the colour and warmth of kimchi

Gochugaru is Korean red chilli powder or flakes made from sun-dried Capsicum annuum chillies, with a sweet, fruity, slightly smoky flavour and moderate heat, used in kimc…

🌶️ Heat 4,000–8,000 SHU

Guajillo

The bright, tangy red workhorse of Mexican dried chillies

Guajillo is the dried form of the mirasol chilli, a smooth, glossy, brick-red Capsicum annuum pod with mild to medium heat and a tangy, berry-like flavour used in countle…

🌶️ Heat 2,500–5,000 SHU

Guindilla

The pickled green pepper of the Basque Country, and Spain's word for a small hot chilli

Guindillas are long, thin Basque Capsicum annuum peppers from Ibarra, picked green and pickled in vinegar, and famous in the Gilda pintxo. In wider Spain the word also me…

🌶️ Heat 1,000–2,000 SHU

Guntur chilli

The hot red chilli of Andhra Pradesh, and the market that trades it by the mountain

Guntur chilli is the hot, thin-skinned red Capsicum annuum chilli of Andhra Pradesh, India, best known as Guntur Sannam. It gives Andhra food its famous fire and is trade…

🌶️ Heat 35,000–40,000 SHU

Habanero

The lantern-shaped chilli with tropical fruit and serious heat

The habanero is a very hot Capsicum chinense chilli, lantern-shaped and usually orange, with a fruity, floral aroma. It is the signature chilli of Mexico's Yucatán penins…

🌶️ Heat 100,000–350,000 SHU

Jalapeño

Mexico's most familiar green chilli, and the parent of chipotle

The jalapeño is a thick-walled, medium-hot Capsicum annuum chilli from Mexico, eaten green, pickled or stuffed, and smoke-dried when ripe and red to make chipotle.

🌶️ Heat 2,500–8,000 SHU

Kashmiri chilli

The deep-red, mild chilli that colours Indian curries

Kashmiri chilli is a mild, wrinkled, deep-red Capsicum annuum chilli from Kashmir, used whole or ground across India to give dishes such as rogan josh and tandoori a vivi…

🌶️ Heat 1,000–2,000 SHU

Madame Jeanette

Suriname's crumpled yellow chilli, a staple of Surinamese and Dutch kitchens

Madame Jeanette is a very hot, fruity Capsicum chinense chilli from Suriname, crumpled and usually yellow, with a mango-like aroma. It is central to Surinamese cooking an…

🌶️ Heat 125,000–325,000 SHU

Maraş biber

The deep-red, oily pepper flakes of Kahramanmaraş

Maraş biber is a Turkish Capsicum annuum pepper from Kahramanmaraş, sun-dried and crushed into moist, oily, deep-red flakes with a fruity flavour and moderate heat, close…

🌶️ Heat 10,000 SHU

Mulato

The darkest of the dried poblanos, sweet with chocolate and liquorice

Mulato is a dried chilli made from a poblano variety that ripens brown rather than red. Darker and sweeter than ancho, with notes of chocolate and liquorice, it is one of…

🌶️ Heat 1,000–3,000 SHU

New Mexico chile

The long green and red chile of the American Southwest, roasted every autumn

New Mexico chile is a family of long, mild to hot Capsicum annuum varieties bred in New Mexico, roasted green each autumn or dried red for sauces and strung into ristras.

🌶️ Heat 500–10,000 SHU

Padrón and shishito peppers

Small green frying peppers, mostly mild, occasionally not

Padrón and shishito peppers are small, thin-walled green Capsicum annuum peppers from Galicia and Japan, blistered in oil and salted. Most are mild, but the odd one is su…

🌶️ Heat 50–2,500 SHU

Paprika

Ground dried peppers, from Hungary's national spice to the Spanish kitchen

Paprika is ground dried red Capsicum annuum peppers, from sweet and mild to hot. It is the national spice of Hungary, essential in Spanish cooking, and valued everywhere …

🌶️ Heat 0–3,000 SHU

Pasilla

The dark, raisin-wrinkled 'little raisin' of Mexican cooking

Pasilla, or chile negro, is the dried chilaca chilli: long, black-brown and wrinkled, with mild heat and a rich, bittersweet flavour of raisins, cocoa and liquorice used …

🌶️ Heat 1,000–2,500 SHU

Pepperoncini

The mild, wrinkled, pickled pepper of Greek and Italian-American tables

Pepperoncini are small, mild, wrinkled yellow-green Capsicum annuum peppers, usually sold pickled. The name causes confusion: in Italy, peperoncino means hot chilli, not …

🌶️ Heat 100–500 SHU

Piquillo pepper

The little red beak of Navarre, roasted over fire and sold in jars

The piquillo is a small, sweet, barely hot Capsicum annuum pepper from Lodosa in Navarre, northern Spain, roasted whole, peeled by hand and jarred, and famous stuffed wit…

🌶️ Heat 500–1,000 SHU

Piri piri

The African bird's eye chilli, and the Portuguese-African sauce named after it

Piri piri is the African bird's eye chilli, a small, very hot Capsicum frutescens, and the name of the Portuguese and Mozambican sauce and marinade of chilli, garlic, lem…

🌶️ Heat 50,000–175,000 SHU

Poblano and ancho

Mexico's great mild chilli, fresh and dried

The poblano is a large, mild, dark-green Capsicum annuum chilli from Puebla, roasted and stuffed fresh; dried when ripe red it becomes the ancho, the sweet backbone of mo…

🌶️ Heat 1,000–2,000 SHU

Rocoto

The hairy-leaved, black-seeded Andean chilli that likes the cold

The rocoto is a thick-walled, apple-shaped Andean chilli of the species Capsicum pubescens, with black seeds, hairy leaves and purple flowers, hot and juicy, and central …

🌶️ Heat 30,000–100,000 SHU

Scotch bonnet

The Caribbean's fragrant, fiery chilli, essential to jerk

The Scotch bonnet is a squat, very hot Capsicum chinense chilli of the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, prized for its sweet, fruity aroma in jerk, pepper sauce and West Af…

🌶️ Heat 100,000–350,000 SHU

Serrano pepper

The slender, sharper cousin of the jalapeño

The serrano is a slim, bright-tasting Capsicum annuum chilli from the mountains of central Mexico, hotter than a jalapeño and the classic chilli for raw salsas and guacam…

🌶️ Heat 10,000–25,000 SHU

Smoked paprika (pimentón)

Spain's oak-smoked red pepper powder, the flavour of chorizo

Smoked paprika, or pimentón de la Vera, is Spanish Capsicum annuum pepper dried slowly over oak smoke and ground, giving a deep red powder with a rich smoky flavour, swee…

🌶️ Heat 0–3,000 SHU

Tabasco pepper

The juicy Capsicum frutescens behind the famous Louisiana sauce

The Tabasco pepper is a small, hot Capsicum frutescens chilli, named after the Mexican state, whose juicy pods are the basis of the aged Louisiana hot sauce and of Southe…

🌶️ Heat 30,000–50,000 SHU

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

The Trinidadian superhot named the world's hottest by the Chile Pepper Institute in 2012

The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion is a superhot Capsicum chinense chilli from Moruga, Trinidad, named the world's hottest by New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institu…

🌶️ Heat 1,200,000–2,000,000 SHU

Urfa biber

The dark, smoky-sweet 'sweated' chilli of southeastern Turkey

Urfa biber (isot) is a Turkish Capsicum annuum chilli from Şanlıurfa, sun-dried by day and wrapped by night until almost black, giving mild heat and flavours of raisin, c…

🌶️ Heat 7,500 SHU

Ñora

The small round dried pepper of Murcia, heart of romesco and Murcian pimentón

The ñora is a small, round, sweet Capsicum annuum pepper from southeastern Spain, dried until brick red. It is soaked and scraped for romesco and rice dishes, and ground …

🌶️ Heat 0–1,000 SHU