Greek Side Dishes
Piperies Tiganites Recipe (Greek Fried Green Peppers)
Πιπεριές τηγανητές pee-peh-ree-ES tee-gah-nee-TES · Piperies tiganites
Photo: Fried green peppers by quinet, CC BY 2.0. Placeholder until original photography is shot.
In short
Piperies tiganites are whole small green peppers, fried in olive oil until the skin blisters and the flesh turns soft and sweet, finished simply with salt and lemon. It is one of the simplest, fastest Greek meze items, needing only peppers, oil and a hot pan.
Piperies tiganites shows just how far three ingredients can go in Greek cooking: small green peppers, olive oil and salt, fried whole until the skin blisters and the inside turns sweet and soft. There is no filling, no elaborate technique, just heat applied properly to a good pepper.
Long, thin, mild green frying peppers, sometimes labelled Turkish or Italian frying peppers, are exactly right here, since they are sweet rather than hot and thin-walled enough to cook through quickly. A standard blocky bell pepper is too thick and takes considerably longer without the same result.
This is quick meze food, ready in under fifteen minutes, and it disappears fast whenever it hits a table alongside ouzo or a cold beer.
Key preparation steps
- Choose thin-walled, mild green frying peppers.
- Fry whole in olive oil until blistered on all sides.
- Season with salt while hot.
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon.
Choosing the right pepper
Long, thin green frying peppers, mild rather than hot, are what this dish needs, since they cook through quickly and have a genuinely sweet flavour once fried. A standard thick-walled bell pepper is the wrong choice here, taking far longer to cook through and never quite achieving the same blistered, collapsed texture.
Frying whole
Fry the whole peppers, stem left on, in a generous amount of olive oil over a medium-high heat, turning regularly, for about ten to twelve minutes, until the skin has blistered and browned in places on every side and the flesh has turned properly soft.
Finishing
Drain briefly and season generously with salt while still hot, since salt sticks and dissolves better on a warm surface. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over at the table, and eat with your hands, holding the stem, the way this dish is traditionally enjoyed.
Tips from my kitchen
Use the right pepper
Long, thin, mild frying peppers cook through quickly and turn genuinely sweet. A thick bell pepper takes far longer and never gets the same texture.
Salt while hot
It sticks and dissolves far better on a warm surface than once the peppers have cooled.
Eat with your hands
Holding the stem and eating around it, skin and all, is the traditional way this dish is enjoyed.
Piperies Tiganites Recipe (Greek Fried Green Peppers)
Πιπεριές τηγανητές · by Kalliopi Andreou · updated 2026-07-31
- Prep
- 10m
- Cook
- 12m
- Total
- 22m
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over a medium-high heat.
- Add the whole peppers and fry, turning regularly, for 10 to 12 minutes, until blistered and browned in places on every side and soft throughout.
- Drain briefly on kitchen paper and season generously with salt while hot.
- Serve with lemon wedges.
Nutrition, per 1 side portion
- Calories
- 142
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Sat fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
These figures are calculated estimates based on the ingredients listed, not laboratory analysis. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion size.
Frequently asked questions about Piperies tiganites
What kind of pepper should you use?
Long, thin, mild green frying peppers, sometimes sold as Turkish or Italian frying peppers, which cook through quickly and turn sweet once fried. A thick bell pepper is the wrong choice.
Do you eat the skin?
Yes, the blistered skin is meant to be eaten along with the soft flesh inside, which is part of the appeal of this simple dish.
Can you bake piperies tiganites instead of frying?
Yes, tossed in oil and roasted at a high heat until blistered, though you lose a little of the direct pan-fried character.
