Freezing peppers is a great way to preserve your summer pepper harvest and enjoy your garden’s abundance all winter long.
It’s that time of the year here in Texas, the peppers are coming in from the garden like crazy and there is no way we can eat all of them while they are fresh.
When it comes to preserving peppers, the easiest and quickest way is to freeze them.
What I love about freezing peppers is that they do not turn mushy after being frozen. Sweet peppers and hot peppers both freeze well.
After being frozen, they are not as crisp as fresh peppers, but when cooked into dishes, or added to salsa, they taste just fine.
During the winter I love being able to pull frozen bell pepper strips out of the freezer and sautéing them with onions for fajitas. They still taste fresh and have great texture.
Frozen peppers can be used in the same way that you would use them fresh in cooking. They are great added to sauces, fajitas, soups, salsas and on top of pizzas.
So go grab all the peppers you want to preserve and learn how to quickly preserve them.
How to Freeze Peppers
Select and rinse the peppers. Only choose the freshest peppers that are blemish free. Rinse them well and allow them to air dry.
Prepare the peppers. When preparing the peppers, keep in mind how you will be using the peppers later on. For example, I like to cut my bell peppers into strips and freeze them. I just remove the seeds, stems and membranes, slice the thickness that I want and freeze them.
This gives me the ability to cook them in strips or dice them if needed.
Frozen peppers that are thawed slightly are really easy to cut.
I also like to freeze jalapenos whole as well as diced. When freezing your peppers try to cut them in a way that will be convenient to you when you go to use them later on.
Freezing the peppers. Place the peppers in freezer bags, remove as much air as you can and seal them. Or you can portion, and vacuum seal them.
Be sure to label and date your peppers.
Place them in the freezer until needed. Now you have preserved your pepper harvest and can enjoy your fresh peppers through the year.
