Top Ten Sizzling Heirloom and Organic Pepper Varieties

Garden season is around the corner and there’s no better way to usher in the warm weather than by choosing which heirloom and organic peppers to plant in your garden. To help you decide, we made this list of our favorite hot peppers. Some are so hot, they sizzle!

Post in the comments below to let us—and everyone else—know your favorite way to prepare peppers. In a salsa, perhaps? Pickled? Or maybe just raw and dipped in hummus?

1. Fatalii

Fatalii Pepper
Fatalii Pepper

Sizzling hot!- These bright, golden orange fruits have few seeds and a citrus-y flavor that’s sizzling hot. At Seed Savers, it doesn't get any hotter than this!

2. Habanero Red 

Habanero Red Pepper
Habanero Red Pepper

Sizzling hot!- Also known as Lucifer’s Dream, this variety produces huge numbers of rippled-flesh peppers. They have a fruity flavor while still being way hotter than jalapenos!

3. Habanero Mustard 

Habanero Mustard Pepper
Habanero Mustard Pepper

Very hot- This pepper variety isn't only spectacularly hot, it is also incredibly beautiful. They start out green and tinged with purple then ripen to a mustard-y orange and finally bright orange.

4. Habanero Peach 

Habanero Peach pepper
Habanero Peach pepper

Very hot- This variety has a bright, golden, peach-colored flesh and is a favorite variety for container growing.

5. Joe’s Round

Joe's Round Pepper
Joe's Round Pepper

Very hot- Don’t let these adorable clusters of barely-an-inch-wide fruits fool you, they give off serious heat. This productive heirloom pepper grows in bundles, ripening from green to red, and is recommended for pickling or salsas.

6. Jalapeno Traveler Strain

Jalapeno Traveler Strain Organic Pepper
Jalapeno Traveler Strain Organic Pepper

Hot- These hot heirloom peppers grow to be only about three inches long but they still pack a punch! They ripen from green to red.

7. Joe’s Long Cayenne

Joe's Long Organic Pepper
Joe's Long Organic Pepper

Hot- These bright red, red-hot peppers are the width of your finger but grow to a foot long. They’re recommended for fresh eating or drying, which ever you prefer. 

8. Georgia Flame

Organic Georgia Flame Pepper
Organic Georgia Flame Pepper

Hot- With flame in its name you won’t be surprised that this heirloom variety brings the heat. Its crunchy flesh makes for a sensational salsa.

9. Thai Hot

Thai Hot Pepper
Thai Hot Pepper

Hot- This heirloom’s name does all the talking for it. These fruits grow to be half an inch in length, but you’ll grow about 200 per plant.

10. Orange Thai

Thai Orange Organic Pepper
Thai Orange Organic Pepper

Hot- A perfect choice to dry and use for seasoning, these tiny organic peppers are a spectacular sight when they ripen from green to bright orange.

Browse all 60 pepper varieties from our catalog.

Green Thumb Tips: Here at Seed Savers we recommend sowing seeds indoors 8 weeks before the last frost. Plant ¼” deep and seeds will germinate in 14 days. They germinate best in warm soil, so gentle bottom heat may be helpful until seedlings emerge. Transplant outdoors 12-24” apart  when soil is warm. Peppers prefer full sun.

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