What to Do With Anaheim Peppers: Recipes and Cooking Ideas

If you are deciding what to do with anaheim peppers, start with their thin walls and mild, slightly sweet flavor. Roast them for smoky strips, sauté them for quick fillings, or stuff whole peppers for a main dish. The complete recipe below pairs roasted Anaheim peppers with a savory beef-and-rice filling and a simple roasted pepper sauce.

What to Do With Anaheim Peppers

Anaheim peppers work best when cooked quickly or roasted until tender. Their thin flesh softens faster than a bell pepper, while their long shape makes them easy to fill.

Roast: Char the skins, then use the peppers in sandwiches, tacos, salads, or sauce.
Stuff: Fill whole peppers with seasoned meat, rice, beans, cheese, or vegetables.
Sauté: Slice them into onions for fajitas, omelets, pasta, quesadillas, or grain bowls.
Blend: Combine roasted peppers with broth, garlic, lime juice, or cream for a smooth sauce.

Anaheim Pepper Flavor and Heat

Anaheim peppers are usually mild, with roughly 500 to 2,500 Scoville heat units. Individual peppers vary, especially when grown under different conditions. Green Anaheims taste grassy, fresh, and lightly sweet. Peppers left to ripen red become sweeter and more fruity.

The thin walls cook quickly but can become soft after extended roasting. For a smoother sauce or spread, remove the blistered skin after roasting. The skin is edible, so leave it on for sautéed strips or stuffed peppers that need to hold their shape.

Remove the stem, seeds, and pale inner ribs when you want less heat or a smoother texture. For sautéing, simply cut away the stem and scrape out the seeds before slicing. When stuffing, remove the seeds before cooking but keep the outer skin intact. For a sauce, peel the roasted peppers after steaming them briefly in a covered bowl, then remove all seeds and ribs.

How to Cook Anaheim Peppers: Roast, Peel, and Sauté

To roast: Heat the oven to 425°F. Rub whole or halved peppers with oil and roast them on a sheet pan for 15 to 25 minutes, turning once. They are ready when tender and blistered in several places. For deeper char, broil them for one to two minutes at the end, watching closely.

Transfer roasted peppers to a bowl and cover it for 10 minutes. The trapped steam loosens the skin. Peel only the peppers destined for sauce, dips, or a silky filling. Leave the skin on peppers for tacos, sandwiches, and stuffing.

To sauté: Cut seeded peppers into strips and cook them in one tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat for five to seven minutes. Add sliced onion, garlic, or corn during the final few minutes. Stop when the strips are tender but still hold their shape. Overcooked Anaheim peppers turn watery and lose their fresh flavor.

Anaheim Pepper Recipe: Stuffed Peppers

This Anaheim pepper recipe makes six stuffed peppers with enough roasted pepper sauce for serving. It serves four as a main dish.

Ingredients

8 medium Anaheim peppers, divided into 6 for stuffing and 2 for sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cooked white or brown rice
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Method

Heat the oven to 425°F and lightly oil a baking sheet or shallow baking dish. Cut a lengthwise slit in each of the six stuffing peppers. Scrape out the seeds and ribs, keeping the stems attached. Halve the remaining two peppers, then remove their stems, seeds, and ribs.
Brush all eight peppers with one tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange them on the pan and roast for 18 to 22 minutes, turning the six whole peppers once. The peppers should be tender with blistered patches, but not collapsed.
While the peppers roast, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for three to four minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the ground beef or turkey, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Cook for six to eight minutes, breaking up the meat, until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F. Stir in the cooked rice and 1/2 cup of the cheese. If the mixture looks dry, stir in two tablespoons of broth.
Place the roasted peppers in a covered bowl for 10 minutes. Peel the two halved peppers for the sauce. Leave the skins on the six peppers for stuffing so they retain their structure. If any pepper has split or become too soft, use it in the sauce instead.
Spoon the filling into the openings of the six peppers. Arrange them in the baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for eight to 10 minutes, until the cheese melts and the filling is hot throughout.
Blend the two peeled peppers with the broth, sour cream, lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Blend until mostly smooth. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if needed. Spoon the sauce onto plates and place the stuffed peppers on top.

The finished peppers should be tender enough to cut with a fork while still holding their filling. If the pepper skins split slightly, the dish will still taste good; use extra sauce to keep the filling moist.

Anaheim Chili Recipe and More Uses

For a fast Anaheim chili recipe, sauté two seeded, diced peppers with one diced onion and two minced garlic cloves. Add one pound of ground meat, one teaspoon of cumin, one teaspoon of chili powder, a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, and one drained can of beans. Simmer for 20 minutes, then finish with lime juice and shredded cheese.

Roasted sauce: Blend four peeled, seeded roasted Anaheims with 1 cup broth, one garlic clove, 1/4 cup sour cream, and lime juice. Serve with enchiladas, grilled chicken, eggs, or roasted potatoes.
Quesadillas: Sauté sliced peppers with onions, layer them with Monterey Jack between tortillas, and cook until crisp and melted.
Breakfast: Add diced, seeded peppers to scrambled eggs, frittatas, or breakfast potatoes during the final five minutes of cooking.
Vegetarian filling: Replace the meat in the stuffed-pepper recipe with two cups of cooked black beans, one cup of corn, and an extra 1/2 cup of rice.
Sandwiches and tacos: Roast the peppers, remove the stems and seeds, and slice them into strips. Keep the skin on for a firmer bite, or peel it for a softer texture.