Red bell pepper and tomato are both salad-drawer regulars and both technically fruits — closer in nutrition than most people expect.
| Nutrient | Red Bell Pepper | Tomato |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 31.3 kcal | 18 kcal |
| Protein | 0.9 g ✓ | 0.88 g |
| Total Carbohydrate | 6.65 g | 3.89 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.16 g | 1.2 g ✓ |
| Total Sugars | 4.2 g | 2.63 g ✓ |
| Total Fat | 0.13 g | 0.2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g ✓ | 0.03 g |
| Sodium | 0 mg ✓ | 5 mg |
Notable compounds in each
When to choose each
These two are close enough that the differences barely register — red bell pepper has a slight edge on protein, saturated fat and sodium, while tomato is marginally ahead on fibre and clearly lower in sugar. Red bell pepper is the standout for vitamin C among raw vegetables generally; tomato brings its own well-known lycopene content, particularly concentrated when cooked. Both are low-calorie, everyday staples worth eating liberally.
Common questions
Which has more vitamin C, red bell pepper or tomato? Red bell pepper, by a wide margin — it’s one of the richest raw vegetable sources of vitamin C available, well ahead of tomato and even citrus fruit gram for gram.
Does cooking tomatoes destroy their nutrients? Not entirely — cooking does reduce vitamin C content, but it actually increases the bioavailability of lycopene, tomato’s signature antioxidant, which is why tomato sauce and paste are often considered just as valuable nutritionally as fresh tomato.
Nutrition values are USDA FoodData Central approximations — see our editorial approach for how we source and verify data.