Padrón
Also known as: padron pepper, pimientos de padrón, Galician pepper
The padrón is the defining tapa pepper of Spanish cooking — a small, slightly wrinkled green chile from Galicia best known for its lottery factor. Most pods are mild and vegetal; about one in ten is unexpectedly hot. Blistered in olive oil and finished with sea salt, they're one of the most iconic Spanish bar foods.
Scoville
500–3K SHU
Heat
Mild
Origin
europe
Species
C. annuum
Type
Fresh pod
Plant height
24–30 in
Heat profile
Mild heat — 500–3K SHU
See the full scoville scale →Flavor profile
Vegetal and slightly fruity, with a mild grass-and-green-pepper character — and the well-known one-in-ten chance of meaningful heat.
Padrón peppers are to Spanish tapas what shishitos are to Japanese izakaya cooking — and the two are botanically similar enough that you can substitute either for the other. The Galician proverb 'os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non' ('Padrón peppers, some are hot and some are not') captures the appeal perfectly. American restaurants have embraced them alongside shishitos, often serving the two together as a 'pepper lottery' plate. They're easier to find at Spanish-leaning restaurants and at upscale supermarkets than they used to be.
Color
Bright green, occasionally ripening to red
Did you know
Padrón peppers are grown almost exclusively in the Herbón parish of A Coruña, Galicia — production is protected by an EU 'Pemento de Herbón' designation of origin, making it one of the few EU-protected chile peppers in the world.
How to use it
- —Blistered in olive oil and finished with flaky sea salt — the iconic Galician tapa
- —Pan-charred and served with Manchego cheese
- —Grilled and folded into Spanish tortillas (egg-and-potato omelets)
- —Mixed with shishitos for a 'pepper lottery' plate
- —Pickled in sherry vinegar for tapas spreads
Pairs well with
Substitutes
Can't find padrón? Try one of these.
How to grow it
Growing padrón at home
USDA zones
Perennial in 9–11, annual in 4–8
Germinate
10–18 days
To harvest
~65 days from transplant
Plant height
24–30 in
Sun
full sun
Water
moderate
Container
Container-friendly
Easy and productive — similar growing requirements to shishito. Plants tolerate the Galician cool, damp summers better than many chiles, which is part of why they thrive on the Atlantic coast. In US gardens, picks are best when small (1–2 inches); larger pods get progressively hotter. Container-friendly with a 3-gallon pot.
Where to find it
Buying padrón
Fresh
Increasingly common at upscale US grocers (Whole Foods, Sprouts) during summer; year-round at Spanish specialty importers. Less universally stocked than shishito but trending up.
Dried
Not commonly dried — padróns are a fresh pepper.
Seasonality
Peak fresh July–September; year-round availability where greenhouse production exists.
Seed sources
- Baker Creek
- Renee's Garden
- Spanish heirloom seed importers
Look for small, firm, dark-green pods with slight wrinkling. Padróns sold in Spain are typically smaller than US-grown versions. Larger pods are still good but more likely to carry heat — Spanish cooks generally pick them young to keep the lottery favorable.
History & origin
Where padrón comes from
Padrón peppers were brought to Galicia by Franciscan monks returning from Mexico in the 16th century. They were planted in the parish of Herbón, near the town of Padrón, where the climate and soil produced a specific small, mild cultivar that became culturally distinct from other Spanish peppers. The EU's Protected Designation of Origin status (granted in 2010) restricts the 'Padrón pepper' name to peppers grown in this specific area, though similar peppers are now produced elsewhere in Spain and sold under broader names.
Cook with it
Recipes that use padrón.
other · inferno
May 20, 2026Trinidad Moruga Bicol Express
A fearlessly hot take on the beloved Filipino pork and chili stew, using Trinidad Moruga scorpion peppers to push this comfort food into serious heat territory while keeping all the rich coconut cream and funky shrimp paste that makes it so satisfying. 65 min · 0 saves.
other · mild
May 20, 2026Nigerian Indomie Pepper Stir-Fry
Instant ramen noodles get the Nigerian treatment with scotch bonnet peppers, tomatoes, and egg in this beloved street-food style dish that transforms humble ingredients into something deeply satisfying. 22 min · 0 saves.
italian · inferno
May 20, 2026Spaghetti all'Arrabbiata with Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppers and Pan-Seared Scallops
This isn't your nonna's arrabbiata—we've taken the classic Roman "angry" pasta and made it absolutely incendiary with Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers, then balanced all that fire with sweet, buttery scallops. 40 min · 0 saves.
Similar peppers
Other mild peppers
Frequently asked
Common questions about padrón
What's the famous Galician saying about padrón peppers?
'Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non' — 'Padrón peppers, some are hot and some are not.' It's a centuries-old reference to the cultivar's unpredictable heat: most pods are mild, but a small percentage are unexpectedly fiery. The saying is so well-known in Spain that 'padrón' has become shorthand for unpredictability.
How spicy are padrón peppers?
Mostly mild — 500–2,500 Scoville Heat Units, similar to a poblano on the low end. About one in ten pods will be hotter, sometimes reaching jalapeño territory. There's no visible way to tell which is which. Larger, older pods are more likely to be hot than small young ones, but it's still a lottery.
How do you cook padrón peppers?
Blistered: heat olive oil in a pan until shimmering, throw in whole padróns, toss until skins blister and char in spots (3–4 minutes), finish with flaky sea salt. Eat them whole, stem and all (or use the stem as a handle). The classic Galician preparation. They're also good grilled, fried in olive oil with garlic, or charred and folded into tortilla.
Are padrón peppers the same as shishitos?
Closely related cousins, not identical. Both are mild peppers with the same lottery factor (~1 in 10 hot). Padróns are typically slightly larger and can carry slightly more heat on average. They originated separately — padrón in Spain via Mexican monk imports, shishito in Japan — but the cultivars are similar enough to be functionally interchangeable in most recipes.
Pantry examples
If you want to taste padrón in a bottle or pantry product
These are optional examples of how this pepper shows up in real products. The profile above stands on its own even if you never shop from this section.
Bright finisher
Tajin Clasico Seasoning
Citrusy chile seasoning for fruit, grilled corn, rims, cucumbers, and the kind of summer snacks that disappear fast.
View example ↗