How Many Calories Bell Pepper

Bell peppers — also known as sweet peppers or capsicums — are colourful, crunchy and low-calorie vegetables that fit seamlessly into a healthy diet. Available in red, green, yellow, and orange varieties, bell peppers are commonly eaten raw, roasted, stir-fried, or stuffed. Despite their natural sweetness, they are surprisingly low in calories and rich in nutrients. Understanding how many calories are in bell peppers by weight and colour can help you make smart food choices, especially if you're managing your calorie intake or aiming for nutrient-dense meals.

Calories in Bell Peppers by Colour and Weight

The calorie count of a bell pepper depends on its size, colour and preparation. On average, a medium raw bell pepper weighing around 120g contains:

• Red bell pepper: approximately 37–40 calories
• Green bell pepper: approximately 24–27 calories
• Yellow or orange bell pepper: approximately 30–35 calories

Red bell peppers tend to have slightly more calories than green due to their higher natural sugar content, developed during ripening. Green peppers are harvested earlier and have a slightly more bitter taste, which also reflects in their lower calorie count.

If you slice up 100g of raw bell pepper, you’re looking at around 20 to 33 calories, making them one of the lowest-calorie vegetables you can eat in volume. Roasting or grilling them without oil doesn’t significantly change the calorie content, but adding oil or stuffing them with rice, cheese or meat will naturally raise the total.

Nutritional Breakdown of Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are nutrient-dense but low in energy, which makes them ideal for weight management and overall health. A medium-sized red bell pepper provides around 1g of protein, 0.5g of fat, and 9g of carbohydrates, of which roughly 6g are sugars. They also offer 2 to 3g of dietary fibre, which supports digestion and satiety.

Where bell peppers really shine is in their micronutrient profile. A single red bell pepper provides more than 150% of your daily vitamin C needs, and also contains vitamin A, B6, folate, potassium, and antioxidants like beta-carotene and lutein. These compounds support immune function, skin health, eye protection and help reduce inflammation.

How Bell Peppers Are Grown and Prepared

Bell peppers are grown from flowering plants in warm climates and picked at different stages of ripeness. Green peppers are the youngest and ripest first. If left on the plant, they mature into yellow, orange and then red peppers. This natural colour transition is why red peppers are sweeter — they’ve had more time to convert starch into sugar.

Bell peppers are usually eaten raw in salads, sliced into stir-fries, grilled on the barbecue or stuffed and roasted. Their thick, juicy walls hold up well in cooking, and they retain a lot of their nutrients even when lightly sautéed. However, frying them in oil or serving them with high-calorie fillings like cheese or breadcrumbs can add hundreds of calories to the dish.

Benefits of Eating Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are packed with health benefits. Their high vitamin C content supports the immune system, helps the body absorb iron, and contributes to collagen production. The antioxidants in red and orange peppers, particularly beta-carotene and capsanthin, help protect cells from oxidative damage.

They are also rich in fibre and water, which makes them highly filling for very few calories — a major plus if you're trying to control your appetite or lose weight. The diverse colours also make them appealing visually, which can increase meal satisfaction and encourage more vegetable intake overall.

Because they’re naturally sweet but low in sugar, bell peppers are a great substitute for higher-calorie snacks like crisps or chocolate, and can be paired with hummus or cottage cheese for a more balanced snack.

Downsides of Bell Peppers

For most people, bell peppers are very well tolerated, but some individuals may experience digestive discomfort or bloating when eating them raw, especially in large amounts. This is usually due to the fibre and skin, which can be harder to digest for sensitive stomachs. Cooking the peppers can reduce this effect.

Another potential issue is that they’re part of the nightshade family, which some people with autoimmune conditions or inflammatory issues choose to avoid, though this is not supported by strong scientific evidence for the general population.

Impact on Your Diet

Bell peppers are one of the most weight-loss-friendly and nutrient-rich foods you can include in your diet. They’re incredibly low in calories per volume, meaning you can eat a large portion for minimal energy cost. Because of their water and fibre content, they help increase satiety and support digestive health.

Including a variety of coloured peppers in your meals can also help improve your micronutrient diversity, particularly when compared to bland or overly processed vegetables. They’re suitable for nearly every diet — vegan, vegetarian, keto, low-carb, paleo, gluten-free — making them one of the most versatile vegetables available.

Where Bell Peppers Fall on the GI Index

Bell peppers have a very low glycaemic index, generally below 20, making them a low-GI food. They do not cause blood sugar spikes and are safe for people with diabetes or insulin resistance. Their low carbohydrate content combined with fibre and antioxidants helps stabilise energy levels and support better metabolic health.

Even when cooked, bell peppers maintain their low-GI status unless prepared with high-GI ingredients like white rice or sugar-laden sauces.

Healthier Alternatives or Pairings

Bell peppers don’t need much improvement, but they can be paired with other nutrient-rich foods for more balance. Add them to omelettes, grain bowls, or wraps to bulk out meals without raising calories. If you’re looking for similar crunch and hydration, cucumber, celery, or cherry tomatoes offer the same benefits in terms of water content and volume.

If you want a heartier snack, try stuffed peppers with lean protein and whole grains like quinoa or brown rice. Just avoid drowning them in cheese or frying them in oil if you’re aiming for a low-calorie option.

Portion Size Can Be Deceptive

Because bell peppers vary so much in shape and size, calorie counts can be easy to underestimate. A small pepper might weigh as little as 80g and contain just around 20–25 calories, while a large pepper, particularly a red one, can weigh over 200g and contain closer to 60–70 calories. This difference matters when you're tracking calories closely or logging food into an app, as the assumption that "one pepper" is a standard unit can lead to underreporting.

Weighing your portion or using visual cues — such as how much sliced pepper fills a cup or bowl — is more accurate than assuming each pepper is equal in calories.

Peppers vs. Other Low-Calorie Vegetables

Bell peppers are often grouped with vegetables like cucumber, courgette, lettuce, and celery due to their low calorie count. However, bell peppers offer a stronger mix of nutrients than most of these. Unlike iceberg lettuce or cucumber, which are mostly water, peppers offer high levels of vitamin C, carotenoids, and polyphenols.

While they contain slightly more natural sugars than greens, they’re still much lower in calories and sugar than root vegetables like carrots, beetroot, or sweetcorn. This makes them ideal for people looking for variety, texture and flavour without dramatically increasing calorie intake.

Raw vs. Cooked Bell Peppers

Raw and cooked bell peppers have similar calorie counts when prepared without oil. Cooking does not change their calorie density significantly — a 100g serving of cooked peppers still contains roughly 30–35 calories. However, cooking reduces water content, which can make the portion look smaller, leading you to eat more by weight.

The biggest calorie jump comes from the use of oils or sauces. For example, frying peppers in olive oil or serving them as part of a stir-fry can easily add 100–150 calories, depending on how much fat is absorbed during cooking. Roasting them dry or grilling with minimal oil is a better option if you’re trying to keep calories low.

Bell Peppers in Liquid and Processed Form

Bell peppers are also found in soups, sauces, relishes and purees, and it’s worth noting that their calorie count can change in these forms. Roasted red pepper soup, for instance, often includes cream or butter, which raises the calorie total per serving well beyond the calories in the peppers themselves.

Similarly, jarred roasted peppers or antipasti versions are typically packed in oil, which adds extra fat. Always check the nutritional label when buying these products, as the calories can quickly climb from a light 30-calorie serving to over 150 calories due to added ingredients.

Bell Peppers and Hydration

An underrated benefit of bell peppers is their water content — they’re made up of roughly 92% water. This makes them hydrating, especially in hot weather or after exercise. Eating foods with high water content can help you feel full with fewer calories and reduce the need to reach for snacks between meals.

In this way, bell peppers function similarly to watermelon, cucumber or strawberries — all of which provide volume and hydration without significant caloric cost.

Summary

Bell peppers contain 20 to 40 calories per 100g, depending on the colour and ripeness. They are a low-calorie, nutrient-dense vegetable that fits into nearly every healthy diet. With high vitamin C, fibre and antioxidants, they support immunity, digestion and appetite control. Their glycaemic index is extremely low, making them ideal for blood sugar stability. Whether eaten raw, cooked or stuffed, bell peppers offer flavour, colour, and nutrition — all for a very modest calorie count.