5 from 3 reviews

These easy Mexican sautéed peppers only take 10 minutes to make, and they are naturally gluten-free, vegan and paleo.

Easy Mexican Sauteed Peppers in blue and white bowls

Table of contents

Why We Love This Recipe For Mexican Sautéed Peppers

Confession: I had every intention of making a simple sauteed zucchini recipe for you today, but these purple and green bell peppers stopped me in my in my tracks on my way through the produce department this morning. As I gasped and started filling my cart with them, the cute young woman who was restocking the berries nodded approvingly and told me that these were the best peppers.

I told her that I felt 100% obligated to get them. Maybe because they are the first local peppers I have seen this season, or maybe it was my body craving vitamin C after a weekend of late nights. Or maybe I had a sixth sense about the plan for the zucchini. For whatever reason I bought them and these scallions.

Even when I got home, I still thought I was going to make zucchini for you. I bought pounds of it at the Farmers’ Market on Saturday. And I had even typed up a hypothesis draft for zucchini with Mexican seasonings. But, upon ransacking the fridge for 10 minutes, I realized that the zucchini wasn’t in there anymore. Oh yeah, that casserole Jessie made on Saturday night! That’s where they must have gone. It was so good, how could I have forgotten?

I have to say I wasn’t bummed in the slightest and only had to change the recipe by a handful of words. And these sautéed peppers were so good! They are tender, but not overly so. These would be perfect with grilled chicken or flank steak. I had leftover taco meat and sliced avocado with them for lunch. Or if you want to keep your meal vegan, pair them with this awesome Mexican Coleslaw and Mexican Potato Salad by Allergylicious.

After making these Mexican Peppers, you should definitely also try my Low-Carb Mexican Stuffed Peppers. They’re the perfect weeknight meal!

green and purple peppers with stack of bowls

Key Ingredients for This Recipe

Bell peppers

For this recipe I used green and purple bell pepper, but you can use yellow, orange, and red too if you’d like. My suggestion is to try and find local peppers in season at a farmers market or grocery store near you, but it’s definitely not a must! If you use another variety of pepper with thinner flesh, like an Italian Long pepper or cubanelle, you’ll need slightly less cooking time.

Mexican seasoning

Mexican seasoning is most commonly made out of herbs and spices such as cilantro, chili powder, Mexican oregano, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, and cloves. It’s practically the same as taco seasoning, and can be found in the Mexican food isle next to tortillas and taco sauce.

Additional Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup sliced scallions or green onion
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
  • ¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
sauteed peppers in a stack of bowls

Step by Step Instructions to Make These Mexican Sautéed Peppers

Step 1: Sauté peppers & scallions

Heat oil in a large skillet or straight sided sauté pan over high heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, add peppers and scallions and cook, stirring often until the peppers are crisp tender and blistering in spots, 4 to 5 minutes.

Step 2: Finish & serve

Sprinkle with Mexican seasoning, oregano and salt and cook until the spices are fragrant and the peppers are just tender, 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

FAQs and Expert Tips

Which Mexican seasoning should you use?

I made my own Mexican spice blend today, but the Tolucan Chorizo Spice from Teeny Tiny Spice Company would be phenomenal with these sautéed peppers too. If you like spicier food, try upping the amount of ground chipotle. If you are making your own blend and don’t have chipotle, you can use ¼ part cayenne instead.

How to cook the peppers perfectly:

Don’t overcook these sautéed peppers! These should be crisp tender, so they only need 4 to 5 minutes in a hot pan.

How to reheat sautéed peppers:

The best and easiest way to reheat them is to warm them through in the microwave. Start with a minute and a half on high power, stir and then add as much time as needed to heat through 30 seconds to a minute. If you’re not a fan of using the microwave, you can reheat them on the stove top. Just make sure the saucepan or skillet is covered to help them warm up quickly without cooking them further.

mexican sauteed peppers in a bowl

More Mexican Recipes and Pepper Recipes:

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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Easy Mexican Sauteed Peppers, Only 10 minutes to make, paleo, vegan and gluten-free on Healthy Seasonal Recipes

Easy Mexican Sautéed Peppers

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5 from 3 reviews

Print Recipe

Description

Easy 10-minute Mexican sauteed peppers with scallions. Such a simple side-dish to go with grilled meat. Paleo, vegan and naturally gluten-free.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 cups sliced bell peppers
  • 1 cup sliced scallions or green onion
  • 1 tablespoon Mexican seasoning see note*
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet or straight sided sauté pan over high heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, add peppers and scallions and cook, stirring often until the peppers are crisp tender and blistering in spots, 4 to 5 minutes.
  2. Sprinkle with Mexican seasoning, oregano and salt and cook until the spices are fragrant and the peppers are just tender, 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Notes

Reheating:

The best and easiest way to reheat them is to warm them through in the microwave. Start with a minute and a half on high power, stir and then add as much time as needed to heat through 30 seconds to a minute. If you’re not a fan of using the microwave, you can reheat them on the stove top. Just make sure the saucepan or skillet is covered to help them warm up quickly without cooking them further.

  • Prep Time: 4 minutes
  • Cook Time: 6 minutes
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 3/4 cup
  • Calories: 128
  • Sugar: 31 g
  • Sodium: 824 mg
  • Fat: 8 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 52 g
  • Fiber: 16 g
  • Protein: 10 g

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