An overabundance of produce is a shame to waste. If you found a great deal on bell peppers or your plants were very successful, consider freezing the excess for use all year round.

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

Preparing Bell Peppers

  1. 1
    Choose bell peppers that are ripe and crisp. Use overripe peppers immediately in your cooking.[1]
  2. 2
    Rinse the surface of the bell peppers in cool running water.[2]
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  3. 3
    Cut them in half with a sharp knife. Remove the seeds and the membrane inside the pepper.[3]
  4. 4
    Cut them in vertical strips or dice them, depending upon how you like to use bell peppers in recipes.[4] You can also do a portion of each and freeze them separately.[5]
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

Freezing Bell Peppers

  1. 1
    Find a cookie sheet that will fit in your freezer. Rearrange the contents of your freezer to ensure the cookie sheet has a flat space on which to rest for an hour.
  2. 2
    Cover the cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the tray.
  3. 3
    Spread out your strips or your diced bell peppers. Ensure that they aren’t in clumps. Each piece of pepper will need air to circulate around the entire piece.[6]
  4. 4
    Flash freeze the peppers by placing them inside the freezer. Your freezer should be 0 degrees or below.
  5. 5
    Leave them in the freezer for 30 minutes to one hour. Check that they are individually frozen when you remove them.[7]
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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

Storing Frozen Bell Peppers

  1. 1
    Lift the bell peppers from the parchment paper with a spoon or flat spatula.
  2. 2
    Pour the peppers into small freezer bags, approximately one-half to one cup (90 to 175 g) at a time.
  3. 3
    Squeeze all the air out of the freezer bag. Seal it tightly. If you have a vacuum-sealing machine, it will keep your bell peppers even fresher.[8]
  4. 4
    Label the bag with the contents and date.
  5. 5
    Store the vegetables in your freezer for up to eight months. While freezing the peppers may cause a slight loss in texture, you can usually cook bell peppers after freezing them without issue.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    Can peppers be cut in half, cleaned, and frozen for stuffed peppers?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Yes, that would be fine.
  • Question
    Can bell peppers be frozen whole?
    Qamar
    Qamar
    Top Answerer
    Yes, they can. Cover the bell pepper with foil and store it in the freezer until ready to use.
  • Question
    Will the peppers make my freezer smell like peppers?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    It depends on the type of pepper, but if you keep it in an airtight container or Ziploc, the chances are minimized.
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Things You'll Need

  • Bell peppers
  • Water
  • Cutting board
  • Knife
  • Cookie sheet
  • Wax paper/parchment paper
  • Freezer
  • Freezer bags
  • Spatula
  • Vacuum-sealing machine (optional)
  • Marker

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 191,492 times.
46 votes - 93%
Co-authors: 11
Updated: March 8, 2023
Views: 191,492
Article SummaryX

To freeze bell peppers, start by rinsing them under cold water and cutting them into strips or cubes. Then, cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper so the vegetables don't stick, and spread out your chopped peppers on the paper. Next, place the tray in the freezer for 1 hour. When the peppers are frozen, transfer them into freezer bags, squeeze all of the air out, and seal the bags. Finally, label the bags with the date and store them in your freezer for up to 8 months. For tips on how to remove the seeds from your peppers, read on!

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