How to Freeze Green Bell Peppers

You can freeze unprocessed green bell peppers, but if you want to cook this crop after thawing, you should use boiling water to blanch it before freezing. In addition, green bell peppers are also frozen in many other forms. Here are some basic implementation guidelines.

Table of Contents

Prepare

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Choose ripe green bell peppers. The bell peppers you choose should be dark green and firm.

Choose bell peppers as fresh as possible. Garden-harvested bell peppers work best, but you can also buy them at the market or supermarket and choose whole bell peppers.
If you can’t freeze bell peppers right away, temporarily refrigerate them and try to freeze them the same day.
Don’t use green bell peppers that are pale, tender, or rotten. Avoid bell peppers that are overripe or have been left out for days.

Wash bell peppers. Rinse bell peppers under cold or warm water.

Use your fingers to gently rub the surface of the bell pepper to remove dirt. Avoid using a produce scouring brush to scrub bell peppers, as the stiff bristles can scratch or damage the skins.
Dry the bell peppers with a paper towel.

Split the seeds and cut the bell peppers into pieces of your choice. At least the stem and seeds should be removed and the bell pepper cut in half.

Use a sharp knife to cut around the stem. Slowly remove the stem, while removing the seeds.
Cut the bell peppers in half widthwise, side to side. Wash the bell pepper one more time to remove any remaining seeds. If needed, you can use a sharp knife to cut off any remaining seeds.
You can halve the bell pepper or cut it into smaller pieces. For example, cut the seeds, cut into small pieces about 1.3cm, cut into long strips or cut into circles. Slicing bell peppers will depend on individual preferences and also on the shape you want to have when the bell pepper is defrosted.

Blanch green bell pepper

Determine if you need to blanch the bell peppers. Only blanch bell peppers if you want to cook them after defrosting.

If you want to use green bell peppers in fresh, unprocessed dishes, you should not use the blanching step. Skip the blanching step and go straight to frozen bell peppers. Fresh frozen green bell peppers will have a crunch after thawing. ^{[1] X Research Source}
However, blanching is an important step if you want to use bell peppers in prepared dishes. Blanching green bell peppers clears away enzymes and bacteria that cause nutrients, flavor, and color to disappear over time. Thus, bell peppers will keep their current condition and nutritional values longer when frozen.

Pour water into a large pot. Boil water on the stove over high heat.

Fill the pot 2/3 full with water. If the amount of water is significantly reduced while blanching the bell peppers, you need to add more hot water so that the water level is still 2/3 of the pot.
Wait for the water to boil before moving on to the next step.

Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Place a tray of ice cubes, or about a dozen ice cubes, in a large bowl. Pour in cold water until 2/3 full.

Continue adding ice cubes as needed to maintain a cold temperature throughout the process.
The size of the bowl should also be the same as the pot you use.

Blanch green bell peppers. Put green bell peppers in boiling water and blanch for a short time.

Cut green bell peppers in half need to blanch for about 3 minutes. As for bell peppers that are cut into strips, small pieces, or circled, blanch for about 2 minutes. ^{[2] X Trusted Source National Center for Home Food Preservation Go to source}
Calculate the time to blanch the bell peppers as soon as you put them in the water.
That amount of water can be used to blanch 5 batches of bell peppers.

Quickly dip the bell peppers in the ice water. As soon as the blanching time is over, use a slotted spoon to remove all the bell peppers from the boiling water to the ice.

The ice will quickly lower the temperature of the bell peppers and stop the blanching process.
Wait for the bell peppers to cool for the same amount of time as the blanching time.

Wait for the bell pepper to drain. Put the bell peppers in the basket and wait for the water to drain.

Or, use a slotted spoon to remove the bell peppers from the bowl of cold water and arrange in several layers of clean paper towels.

Frozen green bell pepper

Arrange green bell peppers on a tray. Arrange the sliced green bell peppers or small pieces in a single layer, so that they do not overlap or touch each other.

This step makes it easier to measure out or allows you to use a portion of the bell pepper instead of having to use the whole thing.
If you let pieces of peppers touch each other while freezing, they will stick together making it difficult to separate pieces unless defrosted.

Freeze a whole tray of green bell peppers. ^{[3] X Research Source} Place the bell pepper tray in the freezer and let it sit until the bell peppers are frozen solid.

Freeze means that bell peppers cannot be broken or cut with a knife.
This process may take several hours. Cut bell peppers and large pieces will take longer to freeze than small pieces.

Place green bell peppers in a freezer bag or container. Remove frozen green bell peppers from the tray and place them in a resealable plastic bag or freezer-safe plastic container.

If you have blanched bell peppers before, you should leave a space of 1.3cm from the mouth of the bag/box as the bell peppers will be larger in size when frozen. However, if you don’t blanch the bell pepper, you don’t need to leave that space.
Glass containers should not be used as this material will break when used in the freezer.
If you’re using a plastic bag to store green bell peppers, you’ll need to get all the air out before closing. Any remaining air can cause the bell peppers to freeze.
Ideally, use a vacuum bag, but it’s not required.
Put a label with the current date on the bag or box so you can keep track of how long the bell peppers have been frozen.

Freeze bell peppers until needed. Thaw bell peppers before using or cook them directly while still frozen.

Unblanched green bell peppers can be stored for up to 8 months.
Blanched green bell peppers can be stored for 9 to 14 months, depending on the tightness of the bag/box and how cold the freezer is.

Other methods

Frozen stuffed green bell peppers. Stuff hollow green bell peppers with a mixture of minced meat, rice, and ketchup. Freeze green bell peppers until needed.

Combine 450g minced beef or sausage, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 500ml tomato sauce, 1 cup diced onion, 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, and 2 cups rice. Mix ingredients together in a large bowl.
Blanch 6 to 8 bell peppers. Cut off the stem and seeds. Then blanch the bell peppers in boiling water for about 3 minutes.
Stuff the meat mixture into the bell peppers. Use an equal amount of the mixture to stuff each bell pepper.
Place stuffed green bell peppers on a tray and freeze for a few hours or until frozen solid.
Wrap each frozen bell pepper with plastic wrap, then put it in a freezer bag/box, and place it in the freezer to keep for several months.
When it’s time to cook, remove the plastic wrap and bake the partially defrosted stuffed bell peppers at 200°C for about 30 to 45 minutes. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Squeeze the green bell pepper into pieces. Roast and puree green bell peppers to compress into pieces, saving you storage space.

Wash bell peppers and remove seeds.
After drizzling the green bell peppers with olive oil, you will roast the bell peppers at 220°C for about 50 to 60 minutes.
Wait for the roasted green bell peppers to cool down before pureeing in a food processor or blender.
Spoon the chopped bell peppers into a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Freeze bell pepper pieces for 1 or 2 hours until frozen solid.
Use a spatula to scoop the green bell pepper pieces out of the baking tray. Then put in a sealed bag or container that can be used in the freezer.
Freeze bell peppers for 12 months or until needed.
When needed, add green bell pepper flakes to soups, stews, sauces, salsa, chutneys or other liquids. The bell pepper pieces will disintegrate during processing, making the dish more grilled.

Things you need

Tissue
Sharp-headed knife
Pot
Big bowl
Hole spoon
Tray
Stencils
Flour Mixer
Bags or containers that can be used in the freezer
Food wrap

Steps

Prepare

Blanch green bell pepper

Frozen green bell pepper

Other methods

Things you need

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