✓ Reviewed against PDSA, Blue Cross & Animal PoisonLine guidance · Last reviewed: 2026-07
Can dogs eat bell peppers?
The full picture
Sweet bell peppers are a great dog treat — crunchy, sweet, low-calorie, and packed with vitamins A and C plus beta-carotene. Red peppers are the most nutritious (ripest), but yellow, orange, and green are all fine. Remove the stem and seeds first — they're not toxic but harder to digest. Slice into dog-appropriate pieces. Skip chilli peppers, jalapeños, and any spicy peppers — capsaicin irritates dogs' mouths and stomachs. Stuffed peppers from human meals usually contain onion, garlic, and cheese.
Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are the sweetest and most palatable for dogs and are genuinely nutritious in small amounts — they're higher in vitamin C than most other vegetables dogs are commonly given. Green bell peppers are less ripe and more bitter, which some dogs won't eat readily, but they're not more dangerous. As always, plain and unseasoned is the rule — it's what the pepper is cooked or served with, not the pepper itself, that usually causes a problem.
Risks to watch for
- Stem and seeds harder to digest
- Spicy peppers (chilli, jalapeño) irritate
- Stuffed pepper fillings toxic
Potential benefits
- Vitamin A, C, E
- Beta-carotene
- Low calorie
- Crunchy texture
Hidden sources to check
- Stir-fry or fajita leftovers — bell peppers are often cooked with onion, garlic, or spicy seasoning
- Stuffed pepper dishes — usually filled with rice, cheese, or meat mixtures containing onion/garlic
- Pepper seeds and the stem/core — not toxic, but tougher to digest and worth removing for smaller dogs
Safe portion size
A few strips for a small dog, a small handful for a large dog.
And while you're thinking about what's good for your dog, keeping on top of flea and parasite prevention is just as important as diet.