How to Freeze Peppers

Peppers are so easy to freeze and store to reduce food waste. Learn how to freeze peppers for easy food prep too! Freezing peppers can save you both money and time!

Learning how to freeze peppers wasn't something I thought I would ever need to do. When I wound up buying a bunch of bell peppers at the store with the hope of making fajitas, but then I didn't get any tortillas in my curbside order, I wasn't sure what to do.

I left the bell peppers out on the counter in the hopes of grabbing some tortillas, but they were finally at the point when I needed to use them, freeze them, or throw them away.

So I decided it was time to freeze the peppers to use for later.

Last year I learned how to freeze onions, and this was just as easy, and followed a similar method!

What kind of peppers can you freeze?

Most kinds! Freezing peppers works well with so many types. Jalapeno, poblano, bell, serrano all work great. Just make sure to label your container before you stick it in the freezer so that you know what kind they are! When they are sliced or diced, it's a whole lot harder to know if you're pulling out a slightly sweet green bell pepper or a spicy jalapeno.

Why freeze peppers?

Freezing peppers is so easy if you buy too many and realize you won't have a chance to use them before they go bad! It's the perfect way to reduce food waste.

It's also so helpful for when you want to prep ingredients ahead of time. Having frozen bell peppers in my freezer makes it so easy to pull some out when I need, and use the exact amount I need. Makes it so much quicker, since they are already chopped and ready to go!

How do you use frozen peppers?

You can use frozen peppers in so many dishes!

You have the option of thawing them in the refrigerator before using them, or just popping them into a dish frozen.

I find that they require a tiny bit of extra time, but warm up pretty quickly. I like to use them when I'm sautéing vegetables, roasting them in the oven, or even in air fryer dishes.

Freezing instructions:

Freezing peppers is so easy to do!

First, slice off the top of the bell pepper, and then remove the inside center and all the seeds.

Then, chop the rest of the pepper into your desired size! You can slice them into strips, like I did, or you can dice them into chunks. Just think about how you may use them, and prepare them that way.

I typically do strips, that way I can always dice them into chunks later on. (Note: you can cut frozen pepper strips pretty easily if you have a good knife).

The next step is to spread them out onto a sheet pan, baking tray, cookie sheet and freeze them. This keeps the peppers from sticking together. If you were to just place them in a freezer bag right away, the moisture would clump them together.

If you're not worried about the peppers freezing together, you can skip this step, but I always do it this way because I don't always use all my bell peppers at once. I may pull out half of the bag to use, and leave half in. Another benefit of freezing them separately is that they heat up more evenly (if you don't thaw them), because they aren't stuck together.

After they've been in the freezer for 1-2 hours, place them in a freezer-safe bag and label and date them. That way you always know when they are from and which peppers you have in your bag!

How long do peppers last in the freezer?

Frozen bell peppers can last for 6-12 months in the freezer safely. I typically like to use them within 6 months, just to make sure they aren't getting the dreaded freezer burn. This is why you definitely want to put the date on your bag, so you know what the "use by" date is.