How to Make Roasted Red Peppers

Learn how to make roasted red peppers in just a few easy steps in your oven.

Homemade roasted red peppers are healthy, delicious and wonderful added to soups, salads, hummus, sandwiches, pizza, avocado toast, scrambles and more.

Roasting bell pepper brings out their natural sweetness making them a wonderful addition to a variety of dishes. This easy recipe is vegan and oil-free.

How to Make Roasted Red Peppers

Roasting red peppers takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.

What you’ll need

• red peppers – or any other color or type of pepper
• a baking tray
• a storage container – I like Weck jars or mason jars for storing.

You can also roast red peppers stovetop on a gas stove or on a grill but we’ll just be covering the oven method today. Let’s go through it step by step.

Prep the Red Peppers.

The first step is to prep the red peppers for roasting. Here’s how:

1. Cut the bell peppers in half from the stem down.
2. Remove the seeds and stems.
3. Smash the peppers so they lay flat and place on a baking tray with the skin facing up.

Do I need to use foil on the pan?

I don’t use foil or any other liner when I roast red peppers, especially since we’ll be roasting a quite a high temperature.

Quick Note: If you want to line the pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, for easier clean up, I would recommend roasting the peppers at 450 degrees F instead of broiling them, just to be safe.

Roast the Red Peppers.

Now we’re ready to roast! Here’s what the roasting process looks like:

1. Prepare an oven rack just a bit higher than half way in the oven. You don’t want it too close to the top or the peppers will char before they’re cooked.
2. Turn the oven on to “Broil” and place the peppers in the oven.
3. Broil for 12-15 minutes, checking every 5-minutes. Depending on your oven, they may take a bit longer.

When the skins are blackened and the peppers are soft, they’re done. Pull them from the oven and let them cool enough to handle.

What about steaming the peppers?

Many recipes call for steaming the peppers after roasting to help the skins come off easier. I never found this to make much, if any difference so I just let them cool then peel them.

If you are having a hard time peeling your peppers, you can try steaming them by gathering them up on the pan and placing a mixing bowl over them for 15 minutes before removing the skins.

Some methods also suggest placing them in a paper bag, in a pot with the lid on it or in a bowl with a plate placed over it. Any of those methods work just fine but like I said, I’ve never had an issue peeling them without steaming.

Peel the peppers.

After the peppers have finished roasting and are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off and discard. It’s a little messy but most of the skin should peel away easily. There are always some bits that don’t want to come off as easy but there’s no need to remove every, tiny speck of skin.

I do find the more charred and blackened they are, the easier they are to peel, so be sure to leave them in the oven until they’re almost completely charred.

Slice and store the peppers.

That’s about it! Now you can slice or dice the peppers and use right away or store in the fridge.

How long to roasted red peppers last?

Homemade roasted red peppers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you cover them in oil, they can be stored for up to 2 weeks.

Can you freeze roasted red peppers?

Yes! Roasted red peppers can be frozen in a airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. For easy use later on, lay them flat in a single layer with a piece of wax or parchment paper in between each layer. They can be thawed at room temperature or in the fridge.

How to Use Roasted Red Peppers

Here are some delicious ways to use roasted red peppers:

• added to wraps and sandwiches
• blended into soups
• added to salads and buddha bowls
• in dips and sauces
• added to tofu scrambles

Here are some recipes you can use these peppers in :

• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
• Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
• Mediterranean Farro Salad Bowls
• Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

They’d also be a yummy addition to this Mediterranean quinoa bowl, savory vegan breakfast bowl or avocado breakfast bowl.

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