How To Freeze Peppers For Future Use

A step-by-step guide on freezing hot or bell peppers for future use.

Zack requested a few hot peppers for the garden this year, so I got two hot banana pepper plants, two jalapeño pepper plants, and two habanero pepper plants, thinking we’d have enough to use occasionally. A couple months and hundreds of hot peppers later, I’m trying to figure out what the heck else to make with hot peppers.

The most I have is habanero, which is also the hottest. They smell sweet at first, but don’t let them deceive you, those things are ruthless. I obviously can’t keep up with all the peppers, so that means one thing: freezing them.

Peppers are really one of the easier vegetables to freeze, especially because they require no blanching. They’re perfect for adding to soups, eggs, casseroles, stewed tomatoes, salsa—really anything—throughout the whole year.

So how exactly can you do this?

Step one: Wash and cut your peppers. I have a handy chopper that saves LOADS of time chopping the peppers, but you can always just do it with a knife. Cut off all the stems and bad spots and remove the seeds, then chop them to your desired size or shape.

Step two: On a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, add peppers and spread them out as much as possible. Add this to the freezer for at least 30 minutes. This helps the peppers freeze individually instead of clumping together.

Step three: Add peppers to freezer bags and remove as much air as possible (I use a straw and suck the air out). Label the bag, add it to the freezer, and you’re done!

Whether you’re like me and have an endless supply of peppers in your garden, or you find a great deal on them at the market, freezing them is a piece of cake and will be much appreciated throughout the rest of the year! Now, to figure out what to do with all these frozen peppers…

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Do you freeze any vegetables? What other vegetables would you like a guide to freezing?

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