✔ Updated · 42 peppers, mild to hottest, with Scoville ranges
From sweet bell peppers to the record-breaking Pepper X, here are 42 types of peppers ranked mild to hottest. I've added Scoville ranges, flavor notes and how I actually use each one.
The main types of peppers are sweet peppers (bell, banana, pimento, Cubanelle), mild chiles (poblano, Anaheim, Padron), medium-hot chiles (jalapeno, serrano, Fresno, cayenne), hot chiles (Thai bird's eye, habanero, Scotch bonnet) and superhots (ghost pepper, Carolina Reaper, Pepper X). Heat is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), from 0 for a bell pepper to about 2.7 million for Pepper X.
- Mildest: bell pepper, 0 SHU.
- Most popular hot pepper: jalapeno, 2,500 to 8,000 SHU.
- Hottest (Guinness, 2023): Pepper X, about 2.69 million SHU on average.
- Dried chiles get new names: poblano becomes ancho, jalapeno becomes chipotle.
How Pepper Heat Is Measured: The Scoville Scale
Pepper heat comes from capsaicin, and it's measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The scale started in 1912 as a taste test; today labs measure capsaicin directly. Every pepper below has a range, not a single number, because heat changes with the variety, the weather and how ripe it is.
Quick kitchen truth: most of the heat sits in the pale ribs and seeds. I scrape those out when I want the flavor of a jalapeno without the fire, and I always wear gloves for anything hotter than a serrano.
| Heat level | Scoville range | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| No heat | 0 | Bell, mini sweet, Corno di Toro |
| Mild | 100 to 2,500 | Banana, pepperoncini, shishito, Anaheim, poblano |
| Medium | 2,500 to 30,000 | Jalapeno, Fresno, serrano, chile de arbol |
| Hot | 30,000 to 350,000 | Cayenne, Thai bird's eye, habanero, Scotch bonnet |
| Superhot | 850,000 and up | Ghost pepper, Carolina Reaper, Pepper X |
Sweet Peppers (No to Low Heat)
1. Bell Pepper
0 SHU. Sweet, crunchy and heat-free. Green ones taste grassy; red, yellow and orange are riper and sweeter.
Get the recipe →2. Mini Sweet Peppers
0 SHU. Snack-size red, orange and yellow peppers with thin walls and few seeds. Great raw with dip or blistered.
3. Cubanelle
100 to 1,000 SHU. Long, pale green Italian frying pepper with thin walls. Mild and sweet, lovely fried, stuffed or in sofrito.
4. Pimento (Cherry Pepper)
100 to 500 SHU. Heart-shaped and sweet, the red filling in stuffed olives and the star of pimento cheese.
5. Banana Pepper
0 to 500 SHU. Long, yellow and tangy. Usually pickled into rings for sandwiches, subs and pizza.
6. Pepperoncini
100 to 500 SHU. A wrinkly pickled Italian pepper, slightly bitter and tangy. The classic on Greek salads and antipasto.
7. Shishito
50 to 200 SHU. Thin-skinned Japanese pepper. Blister in a hot pan with salt; roughly one in ten packs a little surprise heat.
8. Piquillo
500 to 1,000 SHU. Small Spanish red pepper, usually sold roasted and peeled in jars. Sweet and smoky; stuff it with cheese or tuna.
9. Corno di Toro
0 to 500 SHU. The "bull's horn" Italian sweet pepper. Long, red and very sweet, wonderful roasted or grilled.
Mild Chile Peppers
10. Padron
500 to 2,500 SHU. Spain's tapas pepper, fried in olive oil with flaky salt. Mostly mild, but the odd one bites.
11. Anaheim
500 to 2,500 SHU. Long green chile, mild and fruity. The go-to for chiles rellenos, green chile stew and canned diced green chiles.
12. Poblano
1,000 to 2,000 SHU. Big, dark green and earthy. Roast it for rajas or stuff it for chiles rellenos. Dried, it becomes the ancho.
13. Hatch Chile
1,000 to 8,000 SHU. New Mexico's famous roasting chile, sold mild to extra hot each late summer. Smoky and buttery once roasted.
14. Kashmiri Chili
1,000 to 2,000 SHU. Mild Indian chili prized for its deep red color. It colors curries and tandoori marinades more than it heats them.
15. Hungarian Wax Pepper
1,000 to 15,000 SHU. Looks like a banana pepper but can run much hotter. Great pickled, stuffed or grilled.
16. Espelette
500 to 4,000 SHU. French Basque pepper, usually sold as a dried red powder. Gentle warmth and a sweet, fruity flavor.
Medium-Hot Peppers
17. Jalapeno
2,500 to 8,000 SHU. The most familiar hot pepper in the US. Bright, grassy heat for salsa, nachos and poppers. Red ones are riper and sweeter.
Get the recipe →
18. Fresno
2,500 to 10,000 SHU. Looks like a jalapeno but has thinner walls and a fruitier, smokier heat. Lovely sliced raw on tacos.
19. Serrano
10,000 to 23,000 SHU. Slim and bright green, noticeably hotter than a jalapeno. Classic in pico de gallo and fresh salsas.
20. Aleppo Pepper
About 10,000 SHU. Syrian chili sold as oily, coarse red flakes. Fruity, mildly salty and a gentle burn; sprinkle it on everything.
21. Chile de Arbol
15,000 to 30,000 SHU. Skinny, bright red Mexican chile, usually dried. Clean, sharp heat for salsas and chili oil.
22. Aji Amarillo
30,000 to 50,000 SHU. Peru's sunny orange pepper with a fruity flavor. Blended into creamy sauces for chicken and potatoes.
23. Cayenne
30,000 to 50,000 SHU. Long, thin red pepper that is usually dried and ground into the cayenne powder in your spice rack.
24. Tabasco Pepper
30,000 to 50,000 SHU. Small, juicy and upright-growing, the pepper behind Louisiana-style vinegar hot sauce.
Hot Peppers
25. Rocoto
30,000 to 100,000 SHU. Looks like a small apple or bell pepper but carries real heat. Black seeds give it away. Peru's rocoto relleno is famous.
26. Thai Bird's Eye Chili
50,000 to 100,000 SHU. Tiny but fierce. Essential in Thai curries, stir-fries and dipping sauces like nam pla prik.
27. Pequin
40,000 to 60,000 SHU. Little oval chile with a citrusy, smoky bite. Often crushed dried into salsas and hot sauces.
28. Piri Piri (African Bird's Eye)
50,000 to 175,000 SHU. Small, fiery chili behind Portuguese and Mozambican piri piri sauce for grilled chicken.
29. Habanero
100,000 to 350,000 SHU. Lantern-shaped with a fruity, floral flavor and serious heat. Brilliant in mango or pineapple salsa, in tiny amounts.
30. Scotch Bonnet
100,000 to 350,000 SHU. The habanero's Caribbean cousin, squatter and slightly sweeter. The heart of jerk seasoning.
Superhot Peppers (The World's Hottest)
Handle these with gloves and eye protection in mind, keep them well away from kids, and use a tiny amount. One superhot pod can heat an entire batch of hot sauce, like our ghost pepper hot sauce.
31. Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia)
855,000 to 1,041,427 SHU. From northeast India; held the world record in 2007. Use a sliver, gloves on.
Get the recipe →
32. Naga Morich
About 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 SHU. A close relative of the ghost pepper from Bangladesh and northeast India, with a fruity aroma and brutal heat.
33. 7 Pot
About 1,000,000 to 1,800,000 SHU. Trinidad superhot, named because one pod can supposedly spice seven pots of stew.
34. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
1,200,000 to 2,000,000 SHU. Wrinkled red Trinidad pepper with a stinging tail; it briefly held the hottest-pepper title.
35. Komodo Dragon
Reportedly 1,400,000 to 2,200,000 SHU. UK-grown superhot that sneaks up on you: fruity first, then the slow, building burn.
36. Carolina Reaper
1,400,000 to 2,200,000 SHU. The former world record holder (2013), averaging about 1.6 million SHU. Bright red, bumpy, with a scorpion tail.
37. Dragon's Breath
Claimed about 2,480,000 SHU. A Welsh-grown pepper reported as extreme in 2017, but its heat was never confirmed by Guinness World Records.
38. Pepper X
About 2,690,000 (average) SHU. The current Guinness World Records hottest pepper (2023), bred by Ed Currie, the grower behind the Carolina Reaper.
Common Dried Chiles
Many chiles change their name once dried, which confuses everyone at the store. I keep a few in my pantry for sauces: toast them in a dry pan for 30 seconds, then soak in hot water for 20 minutes before blending.
39. Ancho
1,000 to 2,000 SHU. A dried poblano: dark, wrinkly and raisin-sweet. The backbone of red enchilada sauce and mole.
40. Chipotle
2,500 to 8,000 SHU. A smoke-dried jalapeno, sold whole, ground or canned in adobo sauce. Instant smoky depth for chili and marinades.
41. Pasilla
1,000 to 2,500 SHU. The dried chilaca chile, long and almost black. Rich, earthy and a little bitter, used in mole and salsas.
42. Guajillo
2,500 to 5,000 SHU. Dried mirasol chile with tangy, berry-like flavor and brick-red color. Use it for birria, pozole and red salsas.
How to Handle Hot Peppers Safely
- Wear gloves for anything from serranos up, and never touch your eyes, nose or contact lenses until you've washed your hands well.
- Cut on a separate board and wash the knife and board in hot soapy water straight after.
- Ventilate when roasting or frying very hot peppers; the fumes can make you cough.
- Too hot to handle? Dairy like milk, yogurt or sour cream is the classic fix. Water mostly spreads the burn around.
- Storage: keep fresh peppers unwashed in the fridge crisper for 1 to 2 weeks, or freeze whole chiles for up to 6 months.
Recipes to Use Your Peppers
Sweet peppers star in our stuffed bell peppers and roasted red pepper soup. Jalapeno fans should make oven-baked jalapeno poppers, and cayenne lovers will want our Nashville hot sauce. For a bowl of red, try our Texas Roadhouse-style chili.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main types of peppers?
Peppers fall into sweet peppers like bell, banana and pimento, and hot chile peppers like jalapeno, serrano, cayenne, habanero and the ghost pepper. Almost all cooking peppers come from five Capsicum species, with Capsicum annuum covering bells, jalapenos, poblanos and cayenne.
What is the hottest pepper in the world?
Pepper X holds the Guinness World Records title as the hottest pepper, confirmed in 2023 at an average of about 2.69 million Scoville Heat Units. It beat the Carolina Reaper, the previous record holder at roughly 1.64 million SHU on average.
What is the mildest pepper?
The bell pepper is the mildest, at 0 Scoville Heat Units, because it carries a gene that stops it from making capsaicin. Mini sweet peppers and Corno di Toro are also heat-free, and banana peppers, pimentos and shishitos are only barely warm.
Which is hotter, a jalapeno or a serrano?
A serrano is hotter. Jalapenos run about 2,500 to 8,000 SHU, while serranos measure about 10,000 to 23,000 SHU, so a serrano can be several times as hot. Use about half a serrano in place of one jalapeno.
Are green and red peppers the same pepper?
Often, yes. Many green peppers are simply unripe, and they turn red, yellow or orange as they ripen on the plant. Ripe red peppers taste sweeter and fruitier, and in hot chiles like jalapenos the red ones can taste a little hotter too.
