Guindilla Peppers substitute

Best substitute

Pepperoncini (pickled Tuscan peppers)

Use the same amount as the guindilla peppers you are replacing

Best for gilda skewers with anchovy and olive

Close match

For the pickled pale-green kind, pepperoncini are the closest supermarket substitute at 1:1, with pickled banana peppers next and cornichons or caper berries as the non-pepper option on a gilda skewer. For the small dried red kind, one guindilla equals one chile de arbol, or about 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or a scant 1/8 teaspoon cayenne. Work out which one your recipe wants first: tang and crunch means pickled piparras, heat in hot oil means the dried red chili.

Other guindilla peppers substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Pickled Banana Peppers
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Visually almost identical to piparras and available everywhere.
What changes
They are sweeter, softer and effectively heatless, so a dish made with them tastes noticeably milder and more candied, and they lose their bite faster in a warm dish. Fine when the pepper is decorative or salad-bound, less good when you want the sharp vinegar edge against oily fish.
Best for
salads and sandwiches, garnish and skewers where looks matter, mild pintxos, potato salad
Drain very well, since the brine is sweeter and will carry that sweetness into whatever you add them to. Add a splash of sherry vinegar to the dish to compensate.
3Cornichons
Different taste
Use 1 for every pepper
Not a pepper at all, but on a gilda or an antipasto skewer they do exactly the same job: a sharp, salty, crunchy bite that cuts through oily anchovy and rich olive.
What changes
What they cannot do is taste like a pepper, so the skewer reads French rather than Basque, and there is no chili warmth at all.
Best for
gilda-style skewers, charcuterie and cheese boards, salads, garnishing rich or fatty dishes
Choose the small, firm, tart kind rather than sweet gherkins, which will make the skewer taste of pickle relish.
4Pickled Jalapenos
Different taste
½ the amount
Right vinegar tang and the right pickled-pepper texture, but a completely different heat level, and a green vegetal flavor that piparras do not have.
What changes
A stew that should taste gently tangy comes out clearly spicy, so halve the quantity and scrape the seeds and ribs out.
Best for
stews and braises, sandwiches, when heat is welcome, chopped into a dressing
Use whole pickled jalapenos rather than nacho rings, which are thin and go limp. Rinse them if the brine is heavily seasoned.
5Capers or Caper Berries
Different taste
1 caper berry per pepper, or 1 teaspoon capers per pepper
Caper berries are the smartest non-pepper swap for gildas because they are the same size and shape, hold their crunch and bring the same briny pop.
What changes
The flavor is more floral and mustardy than vinegary-fresh, and there is no chili at all, so the skewer tastes more perfumed and less sharp.
Best for
gilda skewers, pintxos, salads and dressings, finishing a fish dish
If using salted capers, rinse and soak them first. Caper berries have a small stem that makes a natural handle for a skewer.
6Chile de Arbol, Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne (for dried red guindilla)
Different texture
1 dried guindilla equals 1 chile de arbol, or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or a scant ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
This is the swap when your recipe is gambas al ajillo, bacalao, or any dish where a small dried red pepper is dropped into hot oil for heat.
What changes
Arbol is the closest in shape and behavior and infuses oil the same way. Flakes and cayenne deliver the heat but no fruitiness and, in the case of cayenne, no visual whole-chili element.
Best for
gambas al ajillo, garlic oil infusions, bean and cod dishes, any recipe using guindilla purely for heat
Add the whole dried chili to cold or barely warm oil with the garlic so it perfumes the oil slowly. Dropping it into smoking oil scorches it in seconds and makes the whole pan bitter.

What is Guindilla Peppers?

Guindilla Peppers is Guindilla is a Spanish name that covers two different peppers: the slim pale-green Basque chilies sold pickled in vinegar, also called piparras or guindillas de Ibarra, and the small dried red guindilla used to add clean heat to Spanish dishes.

Cooking tips

Read the recipe to work out which guindilla you need. If it is skewered, sliced into a salad or served alongside anchovies, it is the pale-green pickled piparra and you want tang and crunch. If it is dropped whole into oil or a stew and fished out later, it is the small dried red one and you want heat.
Do not throw out the brine. A spoonful of piparra or pepperoncini pickling liquid stirred into a Spanish bean stew, a potato salad or a vinaigrette at the end gives the sharp lift that the peppers themselves are there to provide.
For a proper gilda, skewer an anchovy fillet, a manzanilla olive and a pickled pepper. The pepper's job is acid against the oily anchovy, so if you are substituting, pick the tartest thing you have rather than the sweetest.
Pat pickled peppers dry before adding them to a warm dish. Wet peppers dilute the sauce and go floppy instead of staying crisp, and a limp piparra loses most of the reason it is on the plate.
If you are pickling guindillas or any peppers at home, use a tested recipe and do not change the ratio of vinegar to water or swap in a lower-acid liquid such as wine or citrus juice. Altering the acidity of a home-preserving recipe creates a real botulism risk. You can change the pepper variety freely; you should not change the acid. Follow National Center for Home Food Preservation guidance.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave guindilla peppers out?

It depends on the version. If it is a dried red guindilla dropped into hot oil for gentle heat, you can leave it out and the dish will simply be milder, which is fine. If it is a pickled piparra on a gilda or served alongside a rich stew, its job is acid and crunch against fat, so leaving it out makes the plate feel heavy and flat. In that case any tart pickled thing, even a cornichon, is better than nothing.

Are guindillas and piparras the same thing?

In practice, mostly yes. Piparra is the Basque word for the slim pale-green pepper that is picked young and pickled, and in Spanish shops these are sold as guindillas or guindillas de Ibarra. The confusion comes from the fact that guindilla is also used for a separate small hot dried red chili. If the label shows pale green peppers in a jar of vinegar, that is the piparra.

Are guindilla peppers spicy?

The pickled pale-green ones are barely spicy at all, roughly at the level of a pepperoncini, and are eaten mainly for their vinegary crunch. The small dried red guindilla is genuinely hot, in the same range as a chile de arbol. So if a Spanish recipe seems to be treating a guindilla as a mild vegetable, it means the pickled kind, and if it treats it as a heat source, it means the dried one.

What is the difference between guindillas and piquillo peppers?

Both are Spanish, but they behave completely differently. Piquillos are short, fat, sweet red peppers that are roasted, peeled and jarred, and they are used for stuffing, blending into sauces and layering into tortillas. Guindillas are slim and either pickled for tang or dried for heat. They are not interchangeable; a piquillo will bring sweetness where a guindilla should bring acid.

Can I use fresh green chilies instead of pickled guindillas?

Not directly, because you would lose the vinegar, which is most of the point. If fresh mild green chilies such as Anaheims or Hungarian wax peppers are all you have, you can quick-pickle them: slice them, cover with equal parts white wine vinegar and water plus a good pinch of salt and sugar, and leave them in the fridge for at least an hour. Treat that as a same-week refrigerator pickle, not a shelf-stable preserve.

Related substitutes

More peppers substitutes

Guindilla Peppers substitute

Other guindilla peppers substitutes

2Pickled Banana Peppers

3Cornichons

4Pickled Jalapenos

5Capers or Caper Berries

6Chile de Arbol, Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne (for dried red guindilla)