Instead of paying a premium for store-bought, learn how to roast red peppers yourself! It’s easy and there are SO many delicious ways to use your roasted peppers!
Jarred roasted red peppers are one of those things I often don’t have on hand when I need them. Can you relate? It’s the same story with several other things, which is why I developed the very best recipes for items like tahini paste, marzipan/almond paste, teriyaki sauce, Chinese black bean sauce and hoisin sauce. Not only can I whip them up whenever I need them, they taste about a gazillion times better than the store-bought stuff!
But back to roasted peppers. Does anything beat the flavor of fresh peppers that have been charred and blackened in the oven? Roasted peppers are one of those things that make the culinary world go round. If you’ve added them here and there to spruce up your dishes you know exactly what I mean.
How Do You Use Roasted Red Peppers?
Lots of ways! Add them to your pasta salads, potato salads, tossed salads. Add them to your sandwiches, place them on bruschetta or add them to a pasta dish.. Make a roasted red pepper aioli or add them to your next batch of hummus. Make a roasted red pepper pesto with the usual ingredients (pine nuts, basil, garlic, Parmesan, etc) and enjoy it on crackers or tossed in pasta. Puree them with some almonds and cream and chicken stock for a delicious pasta sauce. Or puree them with some cream cheese for a cracker and veggie spread. Add them to a tapenade, on pizza or flatbread. Fold them into omelets or frittatas. Add them to a potato hash or your favorite chicken casserole. The sky’s the limit!
Here are just a few recipe examples featuring roasted red peppers:
Portuguese Potato Hash with Linquica, Peppers & Olives
Roasting your own peppers is the perfect way to put a bumper crop of peppers to use or to take advantage of those grocery store sales.
This method for roasting bell peppers works for most kinds of peppers. All peppers vary in their thickness of skin and flesh and so roasting times will vary, you’ll need to check on them. But other peppers that work well for roasting are Poblanos, Anaheims, Hatch-style chiles, paprika chiles, jalapenos and pimientos.
Let’s get started!
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Cut the peppers in half and remove the stems, seeds and membranes.
Lay the peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet, cut side down. Parchment paper is considered safe up to 400 degrees without the risk of scorching, but I often push the limits to 450 degrees. If you want to remove all risk, use foil.
Roast the red peppers for 15-20 minutes or until the skins are very dark and have collapsed.
There’s no need to rotate or turn the peppers.
Once the skins are blackened remove the peppers from the oven.
At this point most people recommend placing the roasted peppers in a paper bag to steam for about 10 minutes to help loosen the skin. I’ve never found that to be necessary, but I guess it depends on how stubborn your particular peppers are. Simply let the peppers cool for a few minutes until comfortable enough to handle and then peel the skins off and discard them. They’ll slip off easily.
You can slice or dice the peppers in advance or store them in halves. Stored in the fridge in an airtight container they’ll keep for up to about a week. If you store them covered in oil in the fridge they’ll keep for at least 2 weeks. For longer storage you can freeze them in ziplock bags.
Enjoy your freshly roasted peppers!
How To Roast Red Peppers
Ingredients
- Bell peppers or other peppers of your choice (see note in description box above)
- A foil-lined baking sheet
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Cut the peppers in half and remove the stems, seeds and membranes. Lay the peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet, cut side down. Roast the red peppers for 15-20 minutes or until the skins are very dark and have collapsed. (There is no need to rotate or turn the peppers.) Once the skins are blackened remove the peppers from the oven.
- At this point most people recommend placing the roasted peppers in a paper bag to steam for about 10 minutes to help loosen the skin. I've never found that to be necessary, but I guess it depends on how stubborn your particular peppers are! Simply let the peppers cool for a few minutes until comfortable enough to handle and then peel the skins off and discard them.
- You can slice or dice the peppers in advance or store them in halves. Stored in the fridge in an airtight container they'll keep for up to about a week. If you store them covered in oil in the fridge they'll keep for at least 2 weeks. For longer storage you can freeze them in ziplock bags.
Terri says
Took mine almost 40 minutes to char them enough. Skin came off fairly easily. Can’t wait to start using them!
Carolyn Cianci says
I follow this way but I use parchment paper to lie them down skin side up. They won’t stick to the parchment.
Ali says
Used to bbq two bushels of red peppers every Summer.. charred them on the grill and froze the whole thing!!!
When you need them.. thaw slightly and just squeeze at end and they came out free of the seeds and innerds 👍🏻
So easy and had peppers all year.
frank iker says
Wondering if when freezing roasted red peppers if adding some oil is a good thing?
Thank you.
Frank
Tania says
I pack mine in plastic containers (re-used cottage cheese containers) and freeze them without any oil added, just some of the juices from roasting and they keep very well. I have thawed and re-frozen them without any adverse effects (planned to make a roasted red pepper dip but ran out of time so popped them back into the freezer!). I have always roasted mine red peppers whole in the oven and it’s always a mess to try to remove the skins and the seeds later, so I am eager to see if this recipe works out better. Some of my peppers have thinner flesh than other ones, so it could be tricky…
Anonymous says
I char the peppers under the broiler. I do use a paper or plastic bag to steam them. I put peeled cloves of garlic in the bag to infuse them with a little garlic flavor. Then I peel them, slice them, toss with s&p, oil, and serve with fresh mozzarella or provolone cheese as an appetizer.
Shannon says
What type of oil do you pack them in? I want to make some to have on hand for a while.
Kim G says
Very easy recipe. I did use the brown bag as some of the skin was severly charred and other parts barely blistered. Skin was easy to peel off.
Arl says
I tried just one red pepper in a toaster oven and it took 20 minutes and the skin just came off easily. I don’t know if I would try more than 2 in a toaster oven. Some people who had problems with getting the skin off maybe did not bake it long enough. Make sure the skin is charred and where it isn’t charred it should be blistered.
Julie says
Tastes great but took over 30 minutes at 450 to collapse. Also, they stuck to the foil really badly so there was some waste. Was I supposed to oil the foil?
Eugenia says
I’ve found foil then sheet of parchment. No oil.