If you haven’t been using Roasted Red Peppers to enhance your recipes, you’ve been missing out! These easy to make roasted bell peppers add bright and vibrant taste and aroma to a number of various recipes. Use red or colorful bell peppers, roast them, and them mix with delicious garlic, herbs, and oil marinade in a jar. I always keep this traditional condiment in the refrigerator to use as an appetizer, side dish, topping, and so much more!
Roasted Red Peppers
Using Roasted Red Peppers in my cooking is one of my secret weapons. It almost feels like I’m cheating, because this simple addition can make even the most bland, boring dishes taste like they’re from an Italian restaurant! It’s a little like Roasted Garlic in that way – once it’s been added to a dish, the whole thing is so much more delicious. This is one of those basic recipes every home chef should have in their back pocket.
With the bold Italian flavor notes, Roasted Red Peppers are a dream when simply served on a piece of toasted crostini. That combination with a glass of wine makes for one seriously good cocktail hour! It’s also incredible when tossed into salads, blended into dips, layered into sandwiches, and so much more. The possibilities for Roasted Red Peppers are limitless, so use your imagination and feel free to get creative with this condiment all summer long!
The best part of this recipe, besides how delicious the results always are, is how easy it is to actually roast the peppers. This is the definition of a hassle free recipe! Besides the peppers themselves, you only need garlic, salt, olive oil, and a few dried herbs to enhance the natural flavors of the roasted vegetables. The beauty here lies within the simplicity of it – you want ingredients that compliment the peppers, rather than overpower them.
How to Roast Red Peppers
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Bell Peppers – You can use all red peppers, or incorporate some yellow or orange into the mix.
- Garlic – This recipe is simplistic, which means that all of the ingredients will stand out. You can use more than 4 garlic cloves if you wish, but you don’t want them to overpower the peppers.
- Salt – For the best flavor, use coarse or flaky sea salt.
- Olive Oil – Try to use a good quality olive oil since it’s a key ingredient here.
- Dried Herbs – They’re optional, but I like the herbaceous Italian flavor that oregano and parsley lend the peppers.
Cooking Directions
How to Roast Red Peppers in the Oven:
In the oven, you can either roast the peppers by baking or broiling them. I like to broil them because it always yields a perfectly cooked pepper with charred skin.
Place lightly oiled peppers onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. (Please remember to check the temperature that your parchment paper can withstand. Some parchment paper can take higher temperatures than others.)
The trick to broiling the pepper is a simple 2 step process – using low broil heat and high broil heat. Start on low broil and turn the peppers quarter of the way, using long tongs, every 5-7 minutes. Then, turn on the high broil heat and let it char for a couple of minutes on each side. This will ensure perfectly cooked pepper throughout. You don’t want charred skin and raw pepper inside!
Also, don’t add the garlic until closer to the end, or the cloves will burn.
How to Roast Red Peppers on the Grill:
The same premise mentioned above also applies to roasting the pepper on the grill. When roasting peppers, I always use the the two temperature zones. Also, grilling red peppers also adds a pleasant smoky flavor that is absolutely intoxicating!
Make sure to have a cool zone, over indirect heat, and a hot zone, over direct heat on the grill. Start the peppers on the cool zone and cook them for about 4-5 minutes per side. Keep the lid closed while peppers are cooking. Then, move the peppers over to the direct heat side and let them roast until each side is nicely charred, but not burnt. Turn them as they char, then take them off the grill.
Steam the peppers:
This is an important step to finishing the Roasted Red Peppers process! Immediately after you take the peppers off the grill or out of the oven, place them onto a plate and cover it with a bowl. Make sure it fits well, because it should be airtight. Let the peppers sit and steam for 10-15 minutes.
Alternatively, you can place the peppers into a food storage container with a lid and let it sit if you don’t have a plate and bowl that are flush with one another.
After the peppers have been steamed, the skin should be easy to peel off. Peel the skin off of the peppers and discard the skin and seeds. Slice peppers into strips and place them into a glass jar. Make sure to save the pepper juices that leak out, it adds great flavor!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I use Roasted Red Peppers?
For an incredible appetizer, serve your peppers over freshly baked crostini! You can also dice them and mix them in with your Bruschetta. I also enjoy blending these peppers into pasta sauces or slice them thin and toss it right into your summer pasta dishes.
Blend it into Hummus and White Bean Dip.
Of course, you could also slice your peppers thinly and toss them into fresh green salads or pasta salads.
They’re also wonderful when added to all sorts of sandwiches, wraps, burgers, hot dogs, pizzas… You get the idea!
Storing Roasted Red Peppers
Store Roasted Red Peppers in oil, in a gals jar with a lid, and they will last for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator! Make sure to keep the jar airtight and always use a clean fork to get some peppers out to extend the shelf life.
If you want to make an extra batch and freeze them for later, you can easily do that. Store the peppers with or without oil. Either way, place the peppers into a freezer zip-top bag, get all the air out, and seal air-tight. Label and freeze. You can also store them in a freezer food storage container with an airtight lid.
To thaw, transfer the frozen peppers into the refrigerator and let them thaw slowly. Once thawed, keep them in an air-tight container and consume within 2 weeks.
Roasted Red Peppers
Roasted Red Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 red bell peppers or orange, or yellow mixed in
- 4 garlic cloves
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano optional
- 1 tsp dried parsley optional
- olive oil To fill the jar
Instructions
Roasting peppers:
- Set the rack in the oven to about 8 inches away from the broiler and turn the broiler to low.
- Line the baking sheet either with high temperature parchment paper or silicone baking mat (that can handle high temperatures). (You can also use aluminum foil if needed.)Note: some parchment papers can's handle heat from high broiler and start to burn, be careful not to use those!
- Place peppers and garlic cloves onto the baking sheet and into the oven. Cook for about 5 minutes per side, turning the peppers a quarter of the way.
- Turn the broiler to high, take the garlic off the baking sheet, and let the skin of the peppers crisp and char for a minute or two per side, turning the peppers once one side chars.
Steaming the peppers:
- Immediately after you take the peppers out of the oven, place them onto a plate and cover with a bowl turned upside-down. Make sure it fits well because it should be air-tight.
- Let the peppers sit and steam for 10-15 minutes.
- After the peppers have been steamed, the skin should be easy to peel off. Peel the skin off the peppers and discard the skin and the seeds.
- Slice peppers into strips as desired, season with coarse salt, and place into a glass jar. (Make sure to save the pepper juices that leak out and add some to the jar, it will add great flavor.)
- Add the roasted garlic cloves into the glass jar as well.
- Add in the dried herbs, if using, and a little more salt if desired. Pour in olive oil just until it covers the peppers (or more if you wish to use some olive oil in dressings.) Close tight and give it a little shake to mix.
If you wish to roast the peppers on the grill:
- Make sure to start your grill with two temperature zones, a cool zone, over indirect heat, and a hot zone, over direct heat.
- Start the peppers on the cool zone and cook them for 4-5 minutes per side. Do keep the lid closed while peppers are cooking.
- Then, move the peppers over to the direct heat side and let them roast until each side is nicely charred but not burned. Turn them as they char and then take them off the grill. Steam the peppers right away.
Storing:
- Roasted red peppers in oil will last for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator! Make sure to keep the jar air-tight and always use a clean fork to get some peppers out.
Nutrition
Fernie says
I have done this but I canned the peppers. I think I used EVOO & vinegar as it has been so long I forget but make sure to use salt & my husband did not like garlic so I didn’t use it. I use garlic in dishes that only I eat. I did them on the grill as it is easier to do more ata time. They are great & I love them. I have a motto for me: if you can buy it at the store canned you can do it.
LyubaB says
Awesome! Thanks for your input, I haven’t canned much but would like to!