Padron peppers (aka pimento de padron, pimiento de padrón or just “padron” peppers) originate from the province, Galicia, in the northwestern Spanish municipality, Padrón. They are small green peppers averaging about 3 inches in length. The color ranges, starting out bright green and maturing to a vibrant red. The interesting thing about padrón peppers is that most of them are very mild peppers with no heat, but a small percentage of them will give you a shock of heat. The only way to know if a padron pepper is hot is to give it a taste. It all has to do with the peppers’ particular growing conditions. However, if you get a hot one at 2,500 SHU, that is about half as hot as an average jalapeno. I’ve personally enjoyed padrons for a long time and have been pleasantly surprised by a spicy kick, but as a regular chilihead who enjoys spicy foods often, I don’t feel they’re very hot. How to Cook Pimiento de Padron Peppers Wonderful as a snack or a side dish. You can also slice them open and stuff them with a bit of cheese and either bake them, grill them, or set them into a hot pan and cover them, then wait for the cheese to get nice and melty. The skins will char up nicely. Goat cheese is a great choice here. A purist would say, however, that if the peppers are not grown in Padron, Spain, they are not true padrons. They still taste great to me. Here are some peppers that I grew in my garden after they’ve ripened to red. What Peppers are similar to the Pimento de Padron? The shishito pepper is most like this pepper in many ways, including size, shape and color, and in that shishitos will also surprise you every now and then with a little blast of heat. You can use shishito peppers as a good substitute for padron peppers. NOTE: This post was updated on 317/20 to include new information. It was originally published on 10/8/15.
