Italian Frying Pepper Review: Flavor, Yield, and Growing Tips

Italian frying peppers in green and yellow

Also known as the Friggitello, Friariello, and various names like Corno, and Italian Sweet Pepper (so many names…), whatever you call the Italian frying pepper, they are elongated peppers anywhere from 3 to 7 inches that vary in color from green to yellow or red depending on the specific variety you grow.

Color aside, they are all known for their lack of heat and thick walls that allow them to keep their sweet pepper flavor and a little crunch even when they’ve been fried.

The variety I grew (simply labeled “Italian Frying Pepper”) proved to be a real standout among all the peppers this year. Not just for flavor or yield, but for the length of time they produced peppers. I started harvesting them in mid-August and as of right now (mid-December) they are still producing! So, if you’re in a warmer winter USDA hardiness zone like zone 9 where I am, this one might be a good addition to your garden next year.

Read on for everything you need to know.

Italian Frying Pepper Plant Basics

Italian frying peppers are on the larger, longer time-to-harvest end of sweet peppers. The seed packet listed 75 days to harvest, but I found it to be closer to 90 days. I planted the seeds in the greenhouse in early May, and transplanted them into the garden on May 30. First harvest was on August 17th, almost 80 days later.

The Italian frying pepper plant is tall and leggy, but still growing strong in December

The mature plants are 3 to 3½ feet tall and rather leggy compared to other sweet pepper varieties. The leaves are also larger than other pepper plants. As a result, I found these peppers required a little more water and leg room than some of the other sweet pepper varieties, but not so much that I felt like I had to take special steps. I was able to grow 6 plants comfortably in a 4 ft x 6 ft raised bed. I probably could have crowded two more plants in there, but I’m glad I didn’t because they seemed to enjoy spreading out with the extra room.

Once they started flowering in late July, they didn’t let up. By late August, with all six plants in production, we were harvesting 12 – 18 peppers a week, each 6-7 inches long and 1-½ – 2 inches wide. As we harvested from the older portions of the plants, they continued with new growth, producing flowers and fruit at each leaf node along the way.

After they reached around 18-inches high, they benefited from support. Without it, the peppers farther away from the main stem would get heavy and pull the plant down to the soil where bugs would nibble on the ends of the immature peppers.

It’s December and this plant is still growing peppers

In late summer the fruits were susceptible to sun scald, but the large leaves typically offered enough shade to keep the sunburn to a minimum. A couple at the south end of the bed had to be shaded with a bit of shade cloth, but once the season rolled on and the sun wasn’t quite as intense, they didn’t need any cover at all.

Diseases and Pests

These Italian frying peppers are heirlooms rather than hybrids, so they are particularly hardy compared to some of the other varieties. I had no major problems other than the usual Argentine black ants farming aphids on them. Even though I was never able to completely eliminate them, a little organic soap-and-oil spray was enough to keep the buggers in check. By the time late October/ early November rolled around Mother Nature’s cooler weather and rains eliminated what remained of the pest problem for me.

Some pest damage on the leaves; not as pretty and green as they were a couple of months ago, but still producing fruit

Italian Frying Peppers Produce for a Long Time

Speaking of Mother Nature, perhaps what is most remarkable about these peppers is that they didn’t stop growing and flowering once we got into autumn. Even with the shorter days and chillier nights, they kept right on growing. Even with a rather rainy and cool November, these plants kept right on flowering and fruiting. As I mentioned above, it’s mid-December now and, even though they’ve dropped a few leaves and the fruits are slightly smaller, these plants are still producing. That’s 117 days of continuous production!

More importantly, they’re still flowering at this late date, so, unless we get a hard frost, they’ll probably still be fruiting right into the new year—maybe longer.

Still producing flowers in December!

Hefty Crop Yields

As I mentioned above, my six plants collectively produced a dozen or more fruits each week, each weighing 2-3 ounces, or roughly equivalent to 2-3 pounds of fruit per week. Even though the fruit became slightly smaller as the season went on, we’re still in the range of 1½-2 pounds of peppers per week. So at 17 weeks of production, we’ve harvested somewhere between 35 and 40 pounds of peppers from just six plants.

Six plants kicking out 6-7 pounds of peppers each isn’t too shabby if you ask me.

Milder Flavor that Other Sweet Peppers

These peppers are pretty mildly flavored with zero heat and just a touch of green, peppery bitterness. We let some of them hang on the plants long enough to go from green to yellow to see if they sweetened any further, but didn’t find them any tastier. Also, once picked, the yellow ones started to go south very quickly, so we stuck to harvesting them when they were green with maybe just a touch of yellow at the shoulder.

Italian frying peppers (top right) with some of this year’s other sweet peppers

I can understand why these peppers are used for frying because, while they’re flavor is on the mild end compared to other sweet peppers like bell and “lunch box” minis, they really shine when grilled or fried with a bit of olive oil and garlic. The fruit remains a bit firm rather than going limp, and the thick walls release their sugars, giving them a really savory-sweet flavor with a bit of crunch.

We also found these peppers hold up really well when pickled either by themselves or in a giardiniera. They remain firm and flavorful, making them great snackers alone or as part of a charcuterie board.

Sage’s Conclusion

Italian frying peppers were a definite stand out this year. Even though they were several weeks longer to harvest, their yield and length of production far exceeded any of the other peppers in the garden. They all gave up for the season back in October, but these guys are still going strong just a couple of weeks before Christmas. And while the fresh flavor isn’t quite as pronounced as it is in some of the bell / cubanelle varieties, they are quite delicious fried, grilled, and pickled.

Personally, I give them a 5 out of 5 stars and plan on growing them again next year. Given that they’re still going strong now leading into winter, it might be these same plants next year!

If you’re a zone 9 gardener like I am, these are a great choice for a full season pepper. If you’re in a colder zone, the long time-to-harvest means you’ll probably want to get them started indoors about 8 weeks before you transplant them outside, but I bet they’ll still be a great choice.