Freeze Bell Pepper??

Wash them, slice them up & put in a freezer bag. I do it all the time. You can do this with celery too. Or green or yellow peppers.....

I freeze sweet bell peppers all the time; they're my new favorite veggie! I wash them and slice or chop them however I think I will be using them and then freeze then in quart size freezer bags. When its time to cook, I pull out the bag and bang it on the counter to get some loose and then just take out what I need. I don't even defrost them. I just put them in the pan frozen and they come out great. I have not noticed any mushiness or different taste.

What store has them on sale? I hope it is one that I can find here in GA!

With all veggies, prior to freezing them, I blanche them.

Slice, chop, dice, or in any other way cut them up into smallish pieces. (Chunks of broccoli, slices of or chopped peppers, onions, squash, etc.) Plunge raw veggies into boiling water. As soon as they turn that "fluorescent" color -typically 60 seconds to 2 minutes-, plunge instantly into icewater (to halt the cooking process). Lay out on cookie sheet and allow to dry. Freeze. Pour into large ziplock freezer bag.

Blanching keeps the veggies mostly crisp. If you put them in the freezer raw the juices expand and shred the cell membranes making them floppy and mushy.

You can freeze them, but when you thaw them they will not be "crisp" like eating a freshly sliced pepper.

Wash the peppers and cut up into whatever size you want (You might want thin slices for tacos, diced for hash browns, chunks for chili,. etc). Then, I would suggest lining a cookie sheet or cutting board with wax paper. Blot the peppers dry with paper towels and place skin side down on the wax paper and place the cookie sheet or cutting board with peppers on it into the freeze. Freeze for about an hour, then place in freeze zipper bags.

I buy chopped bell peppers in the bag in the frozen section so I would think you could.

Hi,

Wow! I just happened to use my frozen bell peppers last night for the first time. I was thinking the same thing.... will it work? I was leaving on vacation the next day and realized I had some peppers in the fridge and if I waited to cook them until I got back, they'd be rotten.

So... I sliced the peppers thinly and long (I used multi-colors) and an onion and cooked them in a non stick pan with a tiny bit of oil. Add a bit of salt, garlic powder and Italian seasonings. I cooked them until they were soft. After it all cooled, I placed it in a frozen ziploc baggie and placed it in the freezer.

So.... it was an easy dinner last night. I grilled chicken on the grill and warmed up my peppers. (I took the bag out the night before and left it in the fridge to thaw out.) I placed everything and cheese on flour tortillas and warmed it up. The fajita tasted great because I put a little butter on it so when it browned a bit it had a lot of flavor.

I will definitely cut more types of veggies up now and freeze them for later because it saves you money AND it was so great to have that part of dinner already done. (the washing and cutting up part.)

BTW- Aldi's always have 3 peppers (a red, orange and yellow one) for about $3.50. They used to sell them for $2.50 but I think they realized they could still get enough customers to buy them at a dollar more. (These colors are usually more $ than green ones. I think they all taste delicious, though.)

You can freeze them and use them for cooking but not fresh. Once frozen the cell structure breaks down so they mush. We freeze all our peppers at the end of the season cause there are usually too many to eat.

Anyway, clean them, cut them in half and seed them. Then put them on a tray in your freezer until the surface freezes. Then throw them in a ziplock. You have to partially freeze them first so they don't stick together.

You can roast the bellpeppers in your oven. Does not have to be done on a grill per say.

Just toss with olive oil, put it on a cookie sheet. Put oven on like 400 degrees, roast until it is charred. Then peel it if you want or just eat it like that. Sprinkle with salt if you want.
That's what I do.

I have never cooked them before freezing. I just wash and cut up the same as I would for my recipes: long slices or diced and put into freezer bags. I thaw in the micro, but if you are sauteeing, just put them in frozen. They will be a little watery, but taste fine in any recipe were you cook them. I would cook them before adding to other ingredients to get the moisture out.

Yes, just dice them.

If you do freeze them dice and/or slice them up how you will use them. They do lose their freshness and crispyness, the taste is kind of the same just mushy. I can taste the mushy differance if I eat the raw fresh and eaten after frozen with out mixing them into a dish. Mixed in with other things I notice less of the taste differance.

Yes, freeze them. We do the same thing when they come on sale. I cut and dice mine, all colors and mix them together then freeze them in snack bags. That way usually one snack bag will go into one dinner verse freezing all of them into one bag together and opening and closing the bag. However you decide should be fine. I dont eat them raw once they have been frozen, i think they will loose that crispness.

We also freeze corn, cabbage, okra and others.

I clean them, dice them, and freeze em raw - any color pepper.
They hold well and are great in everything!

Wow, I wish red bells were on sale here. :(

Oh, if you don't want to grill them outside - if you have a gas stove top you can roast them on the stove top. Or, roast them in the oven.

I have frozen fresh bell peppers for several years now. Simply clean them, pat dry, and dice. I like to use a good freezer zip-loc type bag and remove the air, as much as I can. My favorite use is in omelets so they get fried a bit. I also take out just the amount of frozen bell peppers that I want and let them get closer to room temperature, drain off the excess water, and toss into the pan.

I see a comment about the frozen bell peppers being limp (not so crispy) and I believe that. If you don't mind it that way, freezing the bell peppers that are on sale will save you money!

Enjoy!

It's fine to freeze them, but they will loose their crispness. However, if you only use them when cooking, the crispness factor won't matter. I've been freezing the peppers we are growing in our garden all summer. I keep them in the ziplock airlock bags. Each time I open the bag I just suck the air back out when done.

I'm sure you can. I don't like peppers bu I buy a mix of frozen red, gree, and yellow peppers and onion to cook up for hubby when I make certain meals.

Google how to freeze peppers.

Yes! They freeze well. However, I don't really care for the texture if you plan to eat them raw after being frozen. That's just my personal preference. I always clean them, dice them and freeze in a freezer bag. I put them in soup, stir fry, pizza, etc. You can do the same with onion, by the way!!

The peppers needs to be cooked first before they are frozen. I grow bells and japs in my garden. I grill them, sauté them, or roast them before I freeze them. I do not peel them, though. Once they are roasted or grilled, the peel falls off easily on its own.

You can also jar them in small canning jars with some tomatoes and garlic and they are ready for use in tacos and soup.

I think you can blanch them like you would do before freezing other veggies (boil water, boil veggies for 30 sec to 1 min and them plunge in an ice bath). Dry and then freeze. I have not tried this method with peppers, but I have done it with beans, peas and broccoli from my garden. I may, though, since we can't grill and my oven is dead.

Also, you can cut them and dry them out in this wonderful heat on a cookie sheet and have dehydrated peppers. Store in a zip top bag in the freezer.

Good Luck!

I freeze them and then cook with them, I have never tried them raw though. But for cooking they freeze beautifully :)

I'd love to know this too. I've no luck in freezing bell peppers...they always come out soggy. I'd love to see any answers.