This zesty sweet pepper salad is made with a medley of garden peppers, red onion, and fresh dill in a tangy olive oil, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard dressing. It's excellent as a side salad or used as a topping for toasted bread or wraps.
This post may contain affiliate links. Making a purchase through one of these links helps support this blog.
I was scrolling through Instagram and came across a post from one of Jersey’s farms. They were posting about an upcoming festival with homemade pepper and eggplant goodies available in their country store. There was a mini bell pepper salad that looked so good! Since the farm is about an hour away from me, I decided to make my own version with some of the peppers growing in our garden. Of course, not knowing the exact ingredients in the farm’s salad, I had to totally wing it.
The farm's salad looked simple enough - thin pepper strips, red onion, and a sprinkle of fresh dill tossed in what appeared to be an oil-based dressing. The peppers and onions looked slightly softened, which made me think they were tossed in the dressing and left to marinate. The hardest part about recreating this salad was figuring out what kind of dressing to make, but I ultimately went with a flavorful oil and vinegar combination with a zesty punch of Dijon mustard.
This salad also happens to be perfect for this time of year when pepper plants are still producing like crazy. While mini bell peppers inspired the original recipe, you can use just about any sweet pepper that's growing in your garden. I used a variety of gorgeous green peppers for plenty of crunch and natural sweetness, along with red onion and fresh dill. After a little time in the fridge, the vegetables soak up all of that tangy dressing while still keeping a nice, crisp bite.
Zesty Sweet Pepper & Dill Salad
If your plants are bursting with peppers, this zesty pepper salad is such an easy way to enjoy them. It only takes a few minutes to slice the peppers, onions, chop the dill, and whip up the dressing. The fridge does most of the work for you, allowing the flavors to meld together. Give the salad at least 30 minutes before serving, or even make it a few hours ahead of time for even more flavor.
I will never get tired of shopping my backyard for ingredients. So to start this salad, I headed out to the garden to pick a bunch of sweet peppers - sweet banana peppers, Costa Rican sweet peppers, as well as some coolapeños.
After picking the peppers, I rinsed them and removed the stems and seeds. Then, I sliced the peppers into thin strips. I also cut red onion into strips and chopped up fresh dill.
In a small mixing bowl, I whipped up a dressing. I whisked olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, oregano, honey, salt and pepper together until combined. Then, I poured the dressing over the pepper mixture and tossed to combine.
I covered the pepper salad and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes so the peppers could slightly soften and the salad would soak up all of those tangy, zesty flavors. Just before serving, I tossed the pepper salad again and added a light garnish of more fresh dill.
Zesty Sweet Pepper & Dill Salad
Equipment
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 small mixing bowl
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 3 cups mini sweet peppers or other garden-grown sweet peppers
- 1/3 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsps. fresh dill chopped
For the dressing:
- 3 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsps. red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic clove minced or grated
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. honey
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Remove stems and seeds from peppers. Slice peppers into thin strips.
- Add peppers, red onion, and fresh dill to a medium mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, oregano, honey, salt, and black pepper. Whisk until combined.
- Pour dressing over pepper mixture and toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the peppers and onions to lightly marinate.
- Toss again before serving.
Serve this salad as a fresh side dish with grilled chicken, burgers, or sandwiches. It's also delicious spooned over toasted bread, or added to wraps for added flavor. Store leftover salad in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge up to 3 days. The peppers will soften the longer they sit in the dressing, but they'll soak up all of that tangy flavor!
Did you make this Zesty Sweet Pepper & Dill Salad recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
