How To Roast Bell Peppers

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Whether roasting bell peppers seems self-explanatory to you or not, I have a great method for making them! One of my favorite things to do is make a large batch of these and store them in my fridge all week long to throw in pasta sauce, salads, wraps, sandwiches and more. They are ridiculously easy to make, affordable and pack in lots of flavor!

Why you should try roasting bell peppers:

Of course we all know you can buy roasted bell peppers at the grocery store, so why make your own? When you make these yourself, not only are they much fresher than store-bought, they’re also way cheaper! Sometimes the most simple things are what really transforms a dish and that’s how I feel about these. Their roasted flavor and soft texture never gets old when added to other dishes!
Simple ingredients for this easy recipe:

Simple ingredients for this easy recipe:

• Bell peppers any color
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Italian seasoning: Optional and I usually don’t even add it!

These come together in just a few basic steps:

• Cut each of the raw peppers in half and remove the ribs and seeds.
• Arrange them in a single layer, face down inside a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
• Once they’re done roasting in the oven, cover them immediately with a lid or plastic wrap. You can also transfer them to a ziplock bag and seal it shut.
• Allow the peppers to steam: This loosens the skins.
• Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel back the skin of each pepper and discard the peeled skin.
• Now you should be left with the beautiful roasted flesh of the peppers!
• You can follow the same steps with poblano peppers as well.

Other ways to roast bell peppers:

Oven roasting peppers isn’t the only way to go about this, it just happens to be my preferred method because roasting them slowly allows their natural sugars to really come through in the final product. Another common way to get similar results is by placing your peppers on the open flame of a gas burner and rotating them until they’re blackened on all sides. You then transfer them to a bag and allow the skins to sweat. Once they’re cooled, pull the the skins off just like we do in this recipe. Try the same process using your outdoor grill as well!

FAQ:

Can I roast any color of bell pepper?

Yes! All colors work here but my favorite one to roast is yellow. In my opinion, they are a delicious balance of being both fruity and sweet! Different colors of bell peppers tase different, with green being the most bitter and red being the most sweet. Here’s why:

All the colors of bell peppers are the same pepper, just in different stages of ripeness. This is the order from least to most ripe.

• Green peppers
• Yellow peppers
• Orange peppers
• Red peppers

In terms of nutrients, the rule of thumb is that the more ripe the pepper is, the more nutrients it has (this stands true for many other fruits and vegetables too).