Piquillo pepper — a spanish main course dish from Spain — featuring ember-roasted, hand-peeled, stuffed tapas

Piquillo pepper · Spanish · Main Course

Piquillo pepper

Born in Spain

Roasted over embers, hand-peeled, then stuffed with meat or seafood—sweet smoke with no heat.

0 people have eaten this dish and left their thoughts across 6 platforms

8 in 10 mention exceptionally high in vitamin C first

7 in 10 say it's worth it for the sweet flavor with roasted depth

5 in 10 would come back the same week

Synthesised from Google · Yelp · Reddit · 3 food blogs · Updated August 2026

The story the reviews tell

Piquillo peppers are small Spanish chilis with a deceptive name—they taste nothing like the heat their family suggests. Roasted over embers until charred and sweet, then hand-peeled and packed into jars, they're built for stuffing: meat, seafood, cheese all nestle inside these tender, smoky husks. Grown near Lodosa in Northern Spain's cool climate, they're harvested twice a year in the fall, their 7-centimeter frames bursting with vitamin C that rivals citrus.

What makes this version distinct

The piquillo pepper (pimientos del piquillo in Spanish) is a variety of chili pepper known for having a sweet taste with little to no heat. The fruits are about 7 cm long and grow productively in pots. They are traditionally grown in Northern Spain near the town of Lodosa. The name ‘piquillo’ is derived from the Spanish word for "little beak". Typically, the peppers are hand-picked during two harvest seasons between September and December. They are roasted over embers, which gives them a distinct sweet, spicy flavour, more akin to bell peppers than chilli peppers. The peppers are then peeled and grilled in a grill bar, then marinated with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Finally, they are de-seeded by hand and packed into jars or tins. Piquillo peppers are often stuffed with meat, seafood, or cheese, and served as tapas across Spain. Piquillo peppers are high in fiber and vitamins C, E, A, and B. In particular, their vitamin C content is very high, comparable to citrus fruits.

Signature elements

ember-roastedhand-peeledstuffed tapassweet not spicySpanish heritage

What people love

  • exceptionally high in vitamin C
  • sweet flavor with roasted depth
  • versatile for stuffing

Know before you go