It’s time to ring the bell. Bell peppers, of course. Bell peppers ranked as the No. 8 most popular pizza topping in America, according to our pizzeria operator survey published in our 2024 Pizza Industry Trends Report. In some areas of the U.S., bell peppers break into the Top 5 Pizza Toppings.
Most pizzeria toppings list include these peppers that are in the Grossum Group of the Capsicum annuum. Let’s dive into a few more fun facts about bell peppers. They are in the nightshade family Solanaceae and they are native to the Americas. Bell peppers are loaded with Vitamin C. Red, yellow and orange bell peppers are all variations of the green bell pepper at various stages of ripeness and are typically sweeter than the green. Did you know that Paprika is made from bell peppers? If you haven’t played with dusting a bell pepper pizza with paprika or even smoked paprika, here is your invitation to try it.
Raw vs Cooked Bell Peppers
How you prep your peppers is up to you. Whether you use them raw or cooked may impact how you cut them. Generally, peppers are diced, sliced or cut into rings. Thickness varies.
Avoid large chunks or cuts when you are applying bell peppers raw onto a pizza. They will not have time to fully cook, unless you are going for the crunch of a pepper.
The mild flavor of the bell pepper makes it a good complement for other toppings. It doesn’t overpower other flavors. This is why you see so many supreme, deluxe and the works pizzas include green bell peppers. Peppers are raw in this application.
If you are looking to enhance the flavors of the bell peppers, cooking will bring out the sweetness. Cooking will also evaporate excess water in the pepper. You can saute them but a better method for a pizza kitchen is to roast them in your pizza oven. Simply leave whole and place on a roasting pan. Or quarter the peppers and remove the seed. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until you get a nice char on the skin. When removing peppers from oven, some choose to peel the skin off. But many prefer to keep the skin on.
Take peppers across the menu
Bell Peppers can be used in everything from appetizers and salads to sandwiches and pastas. Get the most of your pepper inventory with dishes that make bell peppers shine. There is one areas I’d like to see more bell peppers appear in and that is sauces.
An easy sauce that will wow customers is a pepper pesto. The spin on a traditional pesto is full of flavor and perfect on a pizza with chicken and spinach. Here’s the recipe:
Get the Roasted Red Pepper Pesto recipe.
John Gutekanst has shared a sauce from Rome that is dynamite on pizza or on sandwiches. For an upcharge, offer it as a dipping sauce. Here is his recipe.
Get the Roman Roasted Pepper Sauce recipe.
The possibilities in pizza topping combinations that work well with bell peppers is endless. One of the most popular pizza combinations is a sausage and peppers pizza. Let’s create a simple, yet flavor-packed pizza recipe that kicks up the flavors of sausage and complements the bell pepper. Here’s the recipe:
Get the Spicy Sausage and Sweet Pepper Pizza recipe.
DENISE GREER is Executive Editor of Pizza Today.
