11 Best Hot Peppers To Grow

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We have grown hundreds of different hot pepper plants over our 10+ years of gardening. Through this experience, I have learned that not all hot pepper varieties are created equal. So, if you’re having trouble deciding which seeds to buy, I’ll share some of the best hot peppers to grow. Let’s get started!

Note: If you’re looking for seeds for any of these peppers, most can be found at one of our favorite pepper seed sellers.

1. Serrano Peppers

• Heat level: ~10,000 SHUs

Serrano peppers are easy to grow and provide heaps of hot chilies from even a single plant. They are also most commonly enjoyed in their green (unripe) form, which means they can be harvested earlier than some other hot pepper types.

The plants are on the smaller side, but tend to be very bushy and dense with fruits. If you’re newer to gardening, serranos make a perfect starter pepper variety. If you like your peppers sweeter, you can wait for your serranos to ripen and turn red before picking them!

2. Habaneros

Heat level: 250,000+ SHUs

If serranos are not hot enough for you, step things up and try growing habanero peppers. These popular hot peppers are fairly easy to grow in the home garden, and make great container plants.

Plus, if you’ve never eaten a habanero pepper, the flavor is truly unique. These peppers have a flowery aroma and taste much more pungent than most common peppers. Just be careful when slicing your fresh habaneros – the juices can cause a skin burn!

3. Cayennes

Heat Level: ~50,000 SHUs

Cayenne peppers are a staple in our garden every season. We use the fresh chilies in cooking, but more importantly I love to dehydrate them to make homemade cayenne powder.

Since cayenne peppers are so popular, there are lots of different types to choose from. One season, we grew and tested 7 different cayenne varieties to find our favorite type, and agreed on a clear winner (shown in the picture above). But most cayenne pepper plants are highly productive, producing bright red chilies with lots of different uses.

4. 7 Pot Peppers

Heat Level: 500,000+ SHUs

If you like making hot sauce recipes, or just love the burn, then 7 pots may be the best hot peppers to grow. I particularly love the yellow or orange 7 pot varieties for their delicious, lemon-like flavor and aroma.

These plants can take up a lot of space in the garden, and can produce hundreds of peppers on a single plant. Of course, this will depend on the size of the container used to grow the plants (the bigger the container, the bigger the plant). They also need extra time to fully ripen their fruits, so make sure to plant your 7 pot seeds early!

5. Jalapeños

Heat Level: ~3,500 SHUs

While I love growing special and unique pepper varieties, jalapeños are still one of my very favorites. Especially since we trialed 8 different jalapeños and found our absolute favorite, the Goliath jalapeño.

Jalapeños are reliable plants, and the peppers are incredibly useful for making recipes. For example, I always make a big batch of pickled jalapeños every year, which last for months in the fridge. You can also make a tasty jalapeño hot sauce, or dice them up for a spicy salsa.

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6. Ghost Peppers

Heat Level: 1,000,000 SHUs

Ghost peppers may seem intimidating to grow, but it is no more complicated than growing habaneros. In fact, ghost peppers have the ability to grow into huge, highly-productive plants.

However, there are a couple important things to consider if you want to grow ghost peppers at home. First is the growing duration. Ghost peppers need a very long season to produce ripe peppers, so planting early is key. Second is that the size of the pot directly affects the size of the plant. However, they can easily be grown in a smaller container if you’d rather downsize your harvest of superhot peppers.

7. RB003

Heat Level: ~1,000,000 SHUs

You’ve probably heard of the Carolina reaper, but why not grow something that looks even gnarlier? This is the RB003 cross created by Ross Barber. It has an incredible appearance with wrinkled skin and a long, twisted tail.

Our plants grew an abundance of these amazing-looking superhot peppers. These are fantastic for making extra-spicy hot sauce, or superhot powder.

8. Sugar Rush Stripey

Heat Level: 25,000+ SHUs

If you want to grow a fancy pepper, then look no further than the sugar rush stripey. This is one of the rare peppers that becomes striped when it ripens. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but they are also very tasty.

This variety comes from the Capsicum baccatum species, which has a characteristic fruity flavor. When picked perfectly ripe, the stripey has an amazing crunch, and quite an impressive kick, too. The only downsides I have noticed with the plants are that they take a long time to ripen, and they can suffer from disease. But it’s worth the extra effort!

9. Cobanero Chiles

Heat Level: 30,000 SHUs

The Cobanero may be one of the most underrated hot peppers you can grow. These small Mayan chilies grow on extremely sturdy plants, and produce in large numbers. They start off a dark green color and ripen to a brilliant red.

Our favorite thing about the Cobanero pepper is the unique flavor. They taste fruity and floral, with hints of smokiness and a sharp bite of heat. They make my favorite pepper powder to use in cooking – I sprinkle it on everything.

10. Hatch Chile Peppers

Heat Level: 1,000-10,000 SHUs

We only recently started growing Hatch green chile. Technically, true “Hatch” chiles can only be grown in the Hatch Valley region of New Mexico, where these peppers are celebrated every year at harvest time. And with good reason.

Green Hatch chiles have an amazing flavor when roasted. They can be added to almost anything, but I particularly like adding them to pasta dishes, omelets, sandwiches, and more. Be sure to harvest your Hatch chiles while they are still green (after they reach a full size) for the best flavor!

11. Weird Pepper Crosses

If you want to grow something no one else grows, explore some of the strange crosses that are available. Browse MattsPeppers.com, TownsEnd, or maybe try crossbreeding peppers yourself!

One of the main reasons to grow hot peppers is to grow something you can’t buy in a grocery store. If you don’t mind a little variance in your plants, it can be a lot of fun to grow some experimental plants! Try exploring the dark-foliage peppers, like the purple reaper.

I hope this article inspires you to grow your own hot peppers. There are endless options to choose from, but all of the listed peppers have been well worth the effort in my eyes. Happy gardening!