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• To reduce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs determination in dried peppers is important. • Using heat pump-assisted drying, the PAHs content of dried red pepper is reduced. • PAHs content reached minimal after 18 and 4 h of hot and cooler air drying, respectively. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are primarily produced during the incomplete combustion of organic matter. PAHs are suspected endocrine disruptors and possible carcinogenic materials. The major sources of human exposure to PAHs are inhaled fumes and food. The aim of this study was to provide an alternative drying method to mitigate PAH formation in dried red peppers. We prepared dried red pepper samples using air-drying and heat pump-assisted drying methods, and measured the concentrations of four PAHs (PAH4), benzo[ a ] anthracene (B[ a ]A), chrysene (CHR), benzo[ b ]fluoranthene (B[ b ]F), and benzo[ a ]pyrene (B[ a ]P), in the resulting pepper samples. The PAH concentrations ranged from 3.61 to 18.0 µg/kg and from 2.22 to 8.35 µg/kg in the air-dried and heat pump-dried pepper samples, respectively. Overall, the results have shown that dried peppers contain PAH4, that the drying conditions for these contaminants should be optimized for mitigating the PAH formation in dried red peppers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]