Shishito Pepper Salad with Sizzled Mint & Sesame
Shishito peppers are one of my favorite bases for a warm salad. They are light, easy to cook, and some have a hidden spice in them that won’t hurt (I promise), but just adds an extra kick! They char beautifully, which is how you have probably seen them served. In restaurants, I usually see blistered shishitos served whole, instead of chopped up like in this shishito pepper salad. There’s nothing wrong with this per se, but it just feels like there are so many other ways to eat shishito peppers! I prefer multiple kinds of shishito-service, but in this salad specifically, I thought I would switch it up.
Shishito peppers are a mild pepper, and you will usually find them green, although sometimes they can be red, or a mixture of both. The peppers start red, but as they ripen, that’s how you get to their signature green color. I find them in most grocery stores, but if you’re stumped, you can usually find them at Asian specialty grocers as well!
By Exeter Produce
Jul 17, 2025Prep Time
10Cook Time
15Servings
2Nutritional Info
T
his is my favorite quick and easy dinner if you are looking for something filled with protein, truly nourishing, and packed with flavor. It’s plant-based, easy to make, and surprisingly filling – most likely thanks to the olive oil and butter beans. (Ahem – mediterranean diet who??) But, of course, amid all its flavors, I couldn’t skip the pickled red onion. This salad has plenty of *zing* to it, but the punch of sweet, salty and briny flavor the onions give is simply irreplaceable.
Ingredients
Equipment
1 large sauté pan
Ingredients
1 pound shishito peppers stems removed
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander pods
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 (15-ounce) can butter beans drained and rinsed
1/4 cup picked red onions for serving
Aleppo pepper flakes optional, for serving
Method
In two batches, blister the shishito peppers. Set a pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the peppers undisturbed for 4-5 minutes, or until they form char marks, agitate the pan and cook again until all sides are blistered. Transfer to a cutting board.
When the peppers are cool enough to handle, chop them up crosswise into bite-sized pieces.
Keep the pan over medium heat and add 2-3 more tablespoons of olive oil. Add the sesame seeds and toast, stirring often, until they are golden.
Add the mint, coriander, red pepper flakes and a hefty pinch of salt. Give everything a swirl, then turn off the heat.
Add the vinegar and honey and stir into the sesame mixture. Taste and season.
Add in the shishto peppers and mix to coat. Add in the butter beans and mix again.
Plate into two bowls and top with the red onions (don't skip these, their *zing* is irreplaceable!) and sprinkle with Aleppo pepper as you prefer.
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Located in Southwestern Ontario, Exeter Produce is a grower and packer with over six decades of food handling experience.
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