Oven Roasted Shishito Peppers

Why we love shishito peppers (and you will too!)

Frankly, I don't remember what first inspired me to give shishito peppers a try; they certainly weren't something I grew up eating.

Likely seeing a fellow food blogger's Instagram post influenced me to pick some up, with the inkling that my pepper-loving spouse would probably love them.

Turns out, that inkling was correct! And I instantly loved them too - shishito peppers aren't spicy and they're SO easy to prepare.

Now we seek them out every late summer at the farmer's market AND I grow our own in the garden. We can never have too many shishitos around while they're in season!

So, here's why shishito peppers should have a place in your late summer/early fall rotation:

How to make oven roasted shishito peppers the easy way

Simplicity makes shishito peppers a great side dish or appetizer, so I chose to carry that through the preparation as well.

Making shishito peppers in the oven should be as easy as making them on the stovetop - otherwise, why opt to make them in the oven?

When making shishitos on the stovetop, I cook them over high heat for just a couple minutes. In other words, just long enough to blister the outsides. It literally takes minutes.

Oven-roasted shishito pepper should be just as quick an easy!

So, the keys are:

- High, dry heat.

- Short cook time.

Pretty simple.

And with that in mind, altering my normal stovetop method for the oven was easy!

To roast shishito peppers in the oven, you'll simply pop them under a hot broiler for a few minutes, flipping halfway through.

You can either use a cast iron skillet (my preferred method), oven-proof skillet, or a baking sheet, so this method should work for pretty much everyone!

The cook time is almost the same as making shishitos on the stovetop (about 6 minutes total), but the advantage of the oven-roasted method is that it's hands-off.

Are shishito peppers spicy?

Nope!

On the scoville scale of heat units, shishitos rank towards the very bottom. They're closer to bell peppers (0) than jalapenos (2,500-8,000), landing in the low hundreds.

That said, EVERY once in a while you'll bite into a shishito pepper that's surprisingly spicy.

Not my favorite when it happens to me, but it definitely makes eating them thrilling!

What do shishito peppers taste like?

They taste similar to a jalapeno, but without the heat!

When are shishito peppers in season?

Shishito peppers are typically in season in late summer and early fall.

You can grow them or find them locally from July to late September and sometimes early October, depending on when the first frost happens.

Where can I find shishito peppers?

Find them at your local farmer's market during their harvest season.

Otherwise, if you don't have a farmer's market near you or can't find shishitos, you can often find them at Asian markets.

Depending on where you're located, Target or Walmart may carry them to in prepackaged bags.

Finally, if all else fails, you can always try growing them, whether in the ground or in a pot. We plant several shishito plants every year so we can enjoy the harvest all summer and fall without having to hunt them down at the farmer's market.

What to serve shishito peppers with

When we make them, we tend to eat them tossed simply in sea salt.

However, you'll see in the photos that I've served them with a dip. Roasted shishitos pair great with aioli! So for this blog post, I picked up a jarred garlic aioli to snack on them with.

Other ideas for how to serve shishito peppers include:

More easy, gluten free side dishes to whip up

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