Last updated on March 12th, 2021
Why bother to freeze bell peppers in autumn? Well, just think of all the time and money you’ll save in winter, whenever you need sliced or diced peppers for pizza, chili, and other cold-weather meals! I tackle the freezing job this way:
How to Freeze Bell Peppers
Wash, rinse, and dry a bunch of peppers. Unlike green beans, bell peppers do not require blanching before freezing.
Slice off the walls of the peppers…
And discard the inner core. I throw my cores on the compost pile, so there’s no waste.
You can cut the walls into any shapes you like. Thin strips are great for stir-fries…
While smaller bits are terrific for chili, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, and etc.
Pour the pieces onto a baking sheet…
And spread them out with your impeccably clean hands.
Freeze for 1 – 2 hours. 
Then break up the frozen bits with your hideous, claw-like hands.
Transfer the works to airtight containers, and pop them in the freezer!
Since we froze our peppers first on the baking sheet, the individual pieces won’t stick together in clumps. When a recipe calls for cut up peppers, you can simply reach into a container and grab the amount you need!
Frozen this way, bell peppers will stay fresh and wonderful for at least 6 months.
For more pepper-preserving details (and to hear about my mother’s 60-year-old freezer!), please watch the video above. I appreciate your company!
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Was this food-preserving tutorial helpful to you? You can let me know by posting a comment below. xKevin
Pat G says
Kevin,
I think the peppers that are more mature are better-sweeter. Give me yellow, orange, red, and purple over green peppers any day. Keep your freezer tips coming. Thanks.
Happy Sunday,
Pat in smoky California
Pat says
Love freezing peppers. I would love to know if you do stuff peppers to freeze?
Pat
Mary V says
I am red pepper person, they taste so much sweeter. I store mine in freezer bags take up less space when some are removed. Kevin you need to fill your freezer more, more efficient the fuller it is. Start making some premade meals to add . You can remake your spaghetti sauce ahead too, then just boil pasta and the sauce is already made. When the color weather comes, soups are great to freeze too. I use large ball jars , tip make sure they are at room temp before freezing. That is a tip because I had a jar crack in the freezer. Stay safe.
Mariska L says
Thanks for the freezing tip. I’m going to try vacuum sealing in one cup measurements because there is no room left for a sheet pan in my freezer.
I’m being more careful now of what’s going into my compost pile as far as seeds go. This year my freebies from the compost pile included butternut squash, a few tomato varieties and cucumbers all of which I did not plant this year. Life finds a way, you gotta’ love it
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Pat – I made and froze stuffed red and yellow peppers for my YouTube audience last week. Click here to watch the fun: Freezer Meal: Stuffed Peppers.
Roberta says
I find a vacuum bag system keeps food fresher and takes up a lot less room than containers. You can use little baskets to keep all the food organized.
Pat says
Love the ‘hideous claw like hands’. I always get a little lift when I see in my email a new post from you. Gonna freeze peppers today.
Celia says
Love this! At first I was thinking I don’t have enough green peppers from my garden to make it worth my while, but stocking up from the farmers market is a great idea and boy how I would love to have nonperishable peppers At the ready available throughout the winter for chili/pizza/spaghetti. I should search, but do you have a thin crust recipe that you like?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Celia – I use homemade Naan for thin-crust pizza. Click here for the recipe: Naan Pizza.
Linda says
I freeze peppers in strips as you do your pieces. But I then lay the frozen strips on paper towels, roll up, and put in freezer bags. Peppers throw some water after freezing and the paper towels help absorb some of that. I freeze green beans after blanching the same way. I put a folded paper towel in bottom of the quart size freezer bag and put the beans in the “cradle” of the towel. One prepared meal I freeze is “beef stew base”. I saute the onions, garlic, diced carrot, chopped celery, some worchestershire sauce,beef cubes, and spices. After browning, I add about 1 cup of water and cook for about 20 minutes. Cool. Freeze in container. At meal time, I defrost, put in pan, add potatoes, carrots, 2 cups stock, and whatever other vegetables you want; simmer for about and hour. There are so many possibilities for make ahead meals. Thanks for sharing your tips with us.
anita says
Thanks for this timely and informative post/video. My rental freezer is tiny, but I’m going to do this.
Off-topic: I like your checked shirts, especially the blue one! Also, thanks for the Avery/Binky video.
MARY EVELYN WOIT says
Just a note to tell you I did the blueberry buckle last week, wlith blueberries this week I did it with peaches. Wonderful, tasty, not to sweet, and is so easy. Thank you so much. Also, do my strawberries and blueberries to freeze like you showed us.
Edna Vaines says
You are very cleaver and I love that you share your money saving ideas with us. Thanks Kevin.
Susan Kalia says
Kevin, I love your website, recipes, house tours and garden advice!! I’ve been a fan of yours for years! I have only one thing I’d love for you to think about in your kitchen/garden practices: single use plastic, plastic containers and plastic baggies. Take a look at websites which show the plastic inundation of our oceans, the death of birds, penguins and other wildlife because they eat plastic. The ocean waves grind down plastic into micro particles which are eaten by whales instead of krill; are devoured by every level of the food chain from minute sea creatures on up, and carried up the food chain into our own food. We can stop this (although we can’t reverse what’s already been done) by severely limiting – or stopping – our use of plastics altogether. A sacrifice? Yes. Doable? Yes.
Thanks for listening Kevin. So many people listen to you that you could do a great service by advocating for this cause!
Susan Kalia, MD, MPH
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Linda – Great tips — thank you!
Hi Anita – So glad you like the checkered shirts. I need more of ’em!
Hi Mary Evelyn Woit – Great to know the buckles worked out for you!
Hi Edna – My pleasure!
Hi Susan – I could not agree with you more. As a matter of fact, I just went out and purchased more glass freezer containers.
Susan says
I can’t be the only person who thought this. Don’t we all want a video of you making your mother’s pizza!
And of course I keep diced green peppers and diced onions in my freezer. Really speeds up cooking.
Lori Schmidt says
The red, yellow and orange peppers are sweeter and also have a higher vitamin C content. All peppers start out green but take longer to turn to their color of “choice”. The fact that they take longer to turn to their color is why they are always more expensive than the “plain old green” ones.
Here is an excerpt i found on the red bells :
“Red bell peppers boost your immune system due to high vitamin A, C and antioxidant properties, including beta carotene, which helps maintain healthy skin and vision. In fact, these mighty red vegetables contain 1.5 times more vitamin C, 8 times more vitamin A and 11 times more beta carotene than green bell peppers.”
Yum I am freezing peppers today!
Celia says
Hi Kevin,
I forgot to ask earlier does this work on jalapeños just as well? Or have you tried? (It’s the one thing we have a plethora of. )
Thanks, Celia
Celia says
Hi Kevin,
We had chili last night inspired by your suggestion. I will try out the home made naan recipe this week, my daughter will be over the moon! She’s a naan freak.
I forgot to ask earlier does this work on jalapeños just as well? Or have you tried? (It’s the one thing we have a plethora of. )
Thanks, Celia
Celia says
Hi Kevin,
We had chili last night inspired by your suggestion. I will try out the home made naan recipe this week, my daughter will be over the moon! She’s a naan freak.
I forgot to ask earlier does this work on jalapeños just as well? Or have you tried? (It’s the one thing we have a plethora of. )
Thanks, Celia
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Celia – Yes, you can use the same technique to freeze your abundant jalapeno crop. Enjoy!
Mary G Williams says
Just in time!!! Only yesterday, as I looked at my green pepper bounty, I wondered if there was a way to preserve them. Voila!
Lynne says
Celia,
I freeze some jalapenos whole. That way I still have the seeds and membranes for dishes where I want the extra heat. They slice or dice easily when partially thawed and I get less of the burning juice on my hands. I’m still using jalapenos I froze last summer during a glut which is fortunate since this year my peppers are really, really late!
Dori says
You put that core in the compost? You could save it in your freezer along with your other peelings and stems and make a great stock. Incidentally, I still use the freezer I bought in 1964, the cheapest Kenmore, still works fine, but I have to defrost it once a year.