Open almost any spice cabinet and you’ll find it: a small jar of deep red powder labeled paprika. It’s a staple—sprinkled over deviled eggs, stirred into stews, dusted onto roasted potatoes for color. And yet, despite its ubiquity, a surprising number of people still aren’t quite sure what paprika actually is.
Some assume it’s an exotic blend of spices. Others think it’s artificially colored. A few even suspect it’s related to peppercorns. The truth is far simpler—and somehow more surprising.
Paprika is made from peppers.
Not mysterious peppers. Not rare peppers. Just peppers.
The Pepper Behind the Powder
Paprika comes from dried and ground varieties of Capsicum annuum, the same species that gives us bell peppers, jalapeños, and cayenne. The difference lies in the specific cultivars used and how they’re processed.
Most paprika is made from sweet red peppers that have been allowed to fully ripen. Once harvested, the peppers are dried—traditionally by air or smoke—then ground into a fine powder. That vibrant red color? Completely natural. It’s the concentrated pigment of ripe pepper flesh.
So in a way, paprika is simply bell pepper in powdered form—though certain varieties can be much more complex.
Why the Confusion?
Part of the mystery comes from paprika’s mild flavor. People expect something red and bold to taste fiery, but standard paprika is often sweet and gentle, with little to no heat. That subtlety makes it feel less like a pepper and more like a “color spice.”
Then there’s the labeling. Supermarket jars rarely explain the source ingredient. They say “paprika,” not “ground dried red peppers,” which makes it seem like a category unto itself rather than a single-ingredient spice.
To complicate matters, there are different styles:
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