The Mirasol pepper is a Mexican landrace chile with upright pods that give it its name, meaning 'looking at the sun.' Fresh pods are slender and red; when dried they become the popular guajillo chile, second only to ancho in Mexican cuisine. It delivers mild-to-medium heat with fruity, nutty flavor ideal for moles and salsas.
Mirasol peppers are a highly variable landrace variety of Capsicum annuum native to Mexico, primarily grown in the central states of Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Durango, and San Luis Potosí. The name 'mirasol' refers to the characteristic upright growth of the pods on the plant, resembling sunflowers facing the sun. Fresh pods start green and mature to bright red or orange-red, typically 2–5 inches long and ½–1 inch wide, with thin skin that dries easily. In dried form, they are known as guajillo chiles, prized for their rich color and delicate flavor. The peppers offer a distinctive nutty, fruity taste with berry-like notes and a mild-to-medium heat level of 2,500–5,000 Scoville Heat Units. They are widely used in traditional Mexican mole sauces, salsas, marinades, stews, and meat dishes, and also appear in Peruvian cooking. Plants are productive, bushy, reaching 18–30 inches tall, with heavy yields in 70–80 days. Fresh green pods can be used like serranos, while ripe red ones are often dried or roasted. The variety is noted for excellent natural coloring properties and is one of the most common chiles in Mexican cuisine.
No photos of Mirasol Pepper here yet. Got one? Share it with us.
A traditional Mexican landrace whose upright pods inspired the name 'mirasol' (looking at the sun). Fresh peppers are used locally while the dried form, guajillo, became a staple second only to ancho in Mexican cooking, especially for moles and sauces. Variants like Pueblo Mirasol have been cultivated in Colorado since the early 1900s.
Promote a product tied to Mirasol Pepper? This slot is open.
Reach out →Bright and fruity with hints of berries or strawberry, rich nutty undertones, and a full-bodied yet delicate chili flavor that provides excellent color without overwhelming heat.
Huge shout-out to the breeders, growers, researchers, and seed savers linked below — their independent work is what lets us fact-check our own. Go visit them.
These references are used to verify what we publish — not as the source of the content itself. Seed catalogs, breeder pages, research papers, and cultivar databases let us cross-check every fact before it lands here. Open any card to read the original or dig deeper.
