Bell Peppers
Peak season in the Midwest · down 6% this week
This vegetable is at its local-harvest peak from July through October, and is generally in stores from June through November. This week it's peak season in the Midwest — buying it in season usually means better quality and, as the regional prices below show, a lower price.
Per a typical 120g serving, scaled from the per-100g figures in USDA FoodData Central (Peppers, sweet, red, raw).
- 1 SoutheastCheapest $1.05/ea
- 2 Midwest $1.13/ea
- 3 Southwest $1.27/ea
- 4 Northeast $1.33/ea
- 5 Northwest $1.36/ea
- 6 Southcentral $1.42/ea
Buying bell peppers in the Southeast saves about 26% versus the Southcentral this week.
- How to pick a good one
- Heavy, firm, and glossy, with a green stem that has not dried out. Thick-walled peppers feel substantial for their size and yield more usable flesh per dollar. Wrinkles near the stem are the first sign of age.
- What a good price looks like
- Green peppers are consistently cheapest, often 75 cents to $1.50 each, because they are picked unripe. Red, orange, and yellow are the same plant left on the vine longer and usually run $1.50 to $2.50. Green is a real saving where the pepper is cooked into something, but it is grassier and more bitter raw — the colour premium is worth paying when the pepper is the point.
- What you actually get
- A large bell pepper is about 200 g and gives roughly 1.25 cups chopped. Core, ribs, and stem are about 18% of the weight. Two large peppers serve four in a stir-fry. Roasting collapses them to about a third of their raw volume.
- How to store it
- Whole peppers keep one to two weeks in the crisper. Once cut they deteriorate quickly, so keep cut pieces sealed and use them within three days.
- In the kitchen
- Cut the top and bottom off, stand the barrel on end, and slice down through one side to unroll it into a flat sheet — the ribs and seeds come away in one piece and you get clean, flat panels with no awkward curved cuts. For roasting, char them whole over a flame until black, then steam them covered for ten minutes and the skins rub off under your thumbs.
- Getting the most out of it
- Red, orange, and yellow peppers are ripened green ones, which is why they cost more and taste sweeter. If a recipe cooks them down, buy green and save the money; if they are the star raw, pay for red. Roasted and peeled, they freeze well in oil.
- Favorite Spaghetti SaladRecipe by Spend With Pennies~$0.54 / serving 4 in-season
- Avocado Peach SalsaRecipe by Cookie + Kate~$0.57 / serving 6 in-season
- Gallo PintoRecipe by Skinnytaste~$0.59 / serving 2 in-season
- Roasted Red PeppersRecipe by Love & Lemons~$0.64 / serving 1 in-season
- Mexican Macaroni SaladRecipe by The Recipe Critic~$0.66 / serving 7 in-season
- Three Bean SaladRecipe by Well Plated~$0.68 / serving 4 in-season
See all 1575 recipes with bell peppers →Filter by diet, time, budget, and macros.
Price from the USDA National Retail Report. Nutrition per typical serving, computed from USDA FoodData Central.
Bell Peppers — FAQ
When can you buy bell peppers in season?
This vegetable is at its local-harvest peak from July through October, and is generally in stores from June through November. This week the Midwest has bell peppers marked peak season.
What's the price of bell peppers right now?
As of the week of September 4, 2026, the price of bell peppers in the Midwest is $1.13/ea, down 6% from last week. It's cheapest in the Southeast at $1.05/ea.
How many calories and how much protein are in bell peppers?
A typical 120g serving of bell peppers has about 31 calories, 1.2g protein, 7.2g carbohydrates, 0.4g fat, and 2.5g fiber, per USDA FoodData Central.
What can I make with bell peppers?
SeasonSort indexes 1575 recipes that use bell peppers, each with its cost per serving computed from this week's prices — starting from about $0.06 a serving. The cheapest are listed on this page, with a link to the full filtered list.