The Scotch Bonnet (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) is a variety of chili pepper similar to and of the same species as the habanero. A cultivar of the habanero, it is one of the hottest peppers in the world. Found mainly in the Caribbean islands, it is named for its resemblance to a Scotsman's bonnet. Most Scotch Bonnets have a heat rating of 150,000–325,000 Scoville Units.

These peppers are used to flavour many different dishes and cuisines worldwide.

Fresh ripe Scotch Bonnets or Habaneros change from green to colours ranging from pumpkin orange to scarlet red. Ripe peppers are prepared for cooking by cutting out the seeds inside the fruit which can be saved for cultivation and other culinary uses.

Scotch Bonnets look almost identical to a similar pepper called the "seasoning pepper", often eaten whole and raw, but this species has much less spice, and is used for its flavour, not heat. Eating whole, raw scotch bonnet peppers is not advised for those unaccustomed to eating very spicy food. As well as the symptoms mentioned above, diarrhea may result.

Other uses of the name
The name Scotch bonnet is also given to the Marasmius oreades mushroom, best known as the fairy ring mushroom. It is also the marine mollusk Phalium granulatum found from North Carolina through the

Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean generally in sandy locations. The official state shell of North Carolina.

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