Bell pepper season has officially started, and I am pretty excited about it. It’s hard to think of another vegetable I like this much that’s also so versatile (tomatoes might be a close second!). We enjoy eating bell peppers in so many dishes from fajitas to gumbo to grilled panini sandwiches to pizza (as a topping) and even as raw slices dipped in some hummus or homemade ranch. Plus my other favorite thing about bell peppers is that the season feels fairly long compared to other fresh produce. I don’t know about you but I feel like strawberries, peaches, and raspberries are here and gone in a flash. So if you’re one to procrastinate you’ve still got a little time left to stock up and preserve fresh bell peppers before the season ends.
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How to Preserve Bell Peppers for the Winter:
- Roast and then Freeze. My all time favorite method is to seed the peppers, slice them, roast them, and then freeze them. There are dozens of uses for these frozen slices of summer (including the dishes mentioned above). And the best part is you don’t have to plan ahead if you suddenly want a roasted bell pepper on your grilled panini sandwich. All it takes is a quick rinse under lukewarm water and the bell pepper will (mostly) come back to life.
– - Canning Recipes. I am a newbie to canning, but I recently made the pictured green tomato relish that called for red bell peppers and the outcome was the bomb (in a good way). The relish tastes like the best salsa you’ve ever had and if you take the time to can the end result it will last up to a year. You could freeze the cooked relish as well. There are also some simpler recipes out there for just canning slices of plain bell peppers.
– - Freezing in Prepared Dishes. It’s hard to beat dinner that’s previously been made using fresh ingredients and then stocked away in your freezer. So rather than freezing the peppers by themselves consider incorporating them into soups like chili, gumbo, or tortilla soup or main dishes like fajitas, stuffing, or quesadillas, and then freeze the end result. You’ll thank yourself later when the only thing between you and a delicious wholesome dinner is defrosting and reheating!
Please share your favorite ways to use and preserve bell peppers in the comments below.
Roasted Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- bell peppers
Instructions
- Preheat broiler to high.
- Wash peppers by giving them a quick rinse under water.
Seed and slice peppers then transfer the pieces to a baking sheet.
Place tray 5 – 6 inches under the broiler and cook until at least 50% of the skin appears blackened. This takes about 8-10 minutes in my oven.
Remove from oven, and place in brown paper bag to steam for at least 5 minutes. Once cool enough to handle peel off as much of the skin as you can and discard.
Freeze roasted bell pepper slices on a baking sheet and then transfer them to a ziplock bag or other freezer-proof container once they are frozen (so they don’t stick together) or use them right away.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
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Our local organic grocer had huge boxes for $6 of peppers and I had no idea what to do with them, my biggest fear of doing this is soggy peppers when I defrost. Is soggy peppers a problem or are they okay frozen raw or roasted?
Hi Cathy. The texture does change when you freeze peppers but they are still great for cooking and roasting… not so great raw. :)
End of the season and we took even the little peppers off the plants. What a bountiful harvest!! Roasted frozen peppers is a great idea! Thanks! So far have frozen stuffed peppers, whole peppers to be stuffed(red and green for Christmas), pepper pieces. Even made some pepper sauce (like tomato sauce), frozen in small freezer containers. Red pepper jelly is fantastic with cream cheese, with or without ham or turkey slices on a soft burrito, rolled up and sliced into little rolly-polly sandwiches.
Hi there. You want to make sure you use wide mouth jars and leave room at the top for the food to expand. :)
Hi I like the idea of freezing soups and cooked foods. Is there anything you do special after putting the soup in the jar and putting it in the freezer? Just want to make sure it doesn’t get freezer burn
I absolutely love roasted capsicums (that’s what we call them here) and have roasted my own (home grown) in the past. Can you tell me how long you can freeze them for? Thanks. :)
Hi Jaya. I try to rotate items out of my freezer by three months but frozen vegetable are fine up to 10 months. ~Amy
Organic peppers are soooo expensive at the grocery store. It never accured to me to preserve them. The next time they go on sale, I think I’m going to stock up and try roasting and then freezing.
Hi Elena. I think it would work fine. I have frozen them before but already stuffed or sliced for stir-fry. ~Amy
Hi … Can the whole bell pepper be frozen without slicing it to
Make stuffed peppers Over the winter ?
I freeze whole peppers all the time for stuffed peppers. Slice off top, take out seeds, throw in pot of boiling water for few minutes, flash freeze them on a cookie sheet and then I would stack them inside each other in qty of four (or however many you take out at a time) and throw them in a freezer bag.
Hi Pritish. I use parchment to separate them and put them into a ziplock bag removing as much air as possible. ~Amy
how to preserve home made tortillas in freezer?
My pepper plants are in a large pot. If I bring in the plants (in the pot) how do I care for the plant to keep the peppers growing?
The pepper plant will need lots of light south facing is best. It may produce flowers if there is enough light but you have no bees or bugs in your house to pollinate. You will need to do that by hand if you want peppers. I’ve never done it but using a soft paintbrush or a feather I’ve heard works.
Hi Darlene. I am not sure I understand your question. Do you mean bring them in out of the weather? ~Amy
Can you do this with other peppers, too, such as jalpeno’s?
Hi Amy. Yes, absolutely. :) ~Amy
We get an abundance of them in our garden as well, but all we do is slice or chop them, separate them in to meal portions, place them on a cookie sheet in one layer, freeze them on the sheet for about 2 hours then dump them in to a freezable ziplock. By freezing them in one layer you avoid having them stick together and creating condensation and ice. They stayed good for over 2 months (at which point we ran out).
I love to make roasted red pepper hummus! It’s really good and is helping me learn to like peppers….still not a huge fan, but trying! :)
You could also just throw the peppers right on the stove. It’s pretty amazing how it works. You place the pepper on an open flame and let the skin get charred, then put them in a paper bag and shake to help get the skin off. Rinse them, seed them, and you’re good to go! Funny I just wrote a post on Friday about how easy it is! I was glad to read about how to preserve them though, I did some canning but it ended up taking forever! Freezing is definitely more my speed.
Stupid Question. When broiling the peppers do I put them skin side up so I can peel it off once its chard?
Hi Kristen…yes. They should peel off pretty easily. Jill
I read a post about pesto. I just made a bunch of it. Do you think it’s safe to freeze in a jar…then give it away during Christmas time and not hinder the taste?? I’ve never frozen it before and wonder if the taste isn’t comprised. I’d put it in the deep freezer. Then i imagine it needs to be refrigerated
right?
Please help!
Sophia
I make large batches of spinach pesto and freeze in glass jars. Longest it has stayed in the freezer at our house though is about 3 months and it tastes perfect!
Hi Sophia. I think it would be fine, but, I would probably do a tester one for yourself and see how it defrosts and tastes come December. That way you’ll know for certain before you give them as gifts. Jill
I love to freeze summer peppers and then use them in the winter for Smoky Veggie Chili!
http://eating-made-easy.com/2010/07/06/smoky-veggie-chili-and-cornbread/
I have never thought about roasting peppers before freezing. I usually dice and freeze with onions for my chili. Thanks for the recipe. As far as the zucchini goes, I steam it for 6-8 minutes, puree it, and freeze after it cools. We then add it to different sauces. Gives it wonderful flavor.