Before I went to culinary school, I had never roasted a pepper in my life. The first time one of my recipes called for roasted peppers, I decided to give it my best shot and went and placed my peppers over the big classroom grill. A more experienced classmate quickly pulled me aside, showing me the proper way to roast peppers – over a flame on the stovetop! I had never seen it done before, and was pretty intimidated the first time.
Now a confident culinary graduate, I realize there are many many more people out there just like the “old” me – eager to learn, but embarrassed to admit they don’t know some basic techniques. First off, you should never be embarrassed to ask anything on this blog, because I started out as the most clueless cook imaginable! We all start somewhere, right? So let’s get on with it. Now you can never say that no one taught you how to properly roast your peppers, and you can stop buying that oily jarred stuff.
How To Roast A Pepper
The ONLY thing you need for roasted peppers are: PEPPERS! Okay that’s not entirely true. You also need tongs, a bowl, and plastic wrap, but hopefully you already have those things.
I should add that this is typically done with sweet peppers, like bell – not spicy peppers. Heating spicy peppers intensifies the spiciness of them, so roasting them would likely make your mouth catch on fire!
The first step is getting your burners going. Turn them on and crank them up to medium high heat! Depending on how many peppers you are roasting, you can use one or two burners. I’d say you can figure on roasting 2 peppers per burner.
(If you don’t have a gas stove, this can also be done in the broiler. Put the peppers on a sheet tray and place under the broiler, rotating every few minutes as the tops blacken! Follow the rest of the instructions once your peppers are black all over.)
The key thing to remember when roasting is that you are working with a HOT open flame. Safety is a MUST! Use a long pair of tongs to place your peppers on the burner, balancing them on the metal prongs over the flame. Don’t worry, you want the flame to be hitting the peppers! My peppers were small, so I roasted 3 on one burner…
(I did multiple rounds of peppers, so don’t be alarmed that the quantity and color of peppers is changing!) When you start to see the bottoms of the peppers blacken and bubble…
Carefully use your tongs to turn them and rotate them around the flame – you want the entire pepper to be blackened by the end!
It’s kind of like a vegetable version of roasting marshmallows! You may get a few sparks and see some embers on the pepper, but I assure you the pepper will NOT catch fire unless you leave it on there for an extremely long amount of time. Don’t fear the flame.
Like I said, our goal is to have 90% blackened peppers as our final product. The more black they get, the easier they will be in the next step – I promise.
Once your peppers are good and blackened, transfer them to a bowl…
And quickly cover with plastic wrap. Make sure it is tightly sealed!
Let the peppers sit off to the side for at least 15 minutes covered. While you wait, you can prep the rest of your meal. After time has passed, come back to the bowl and uncover – the peppers should be somewhat wilted and soft now.
Transfer the peppers to a cutting board. If the peppers are still hot, or if you don’t like
getting dirty, you many want to consider using gloves for this next step. Take a pepper in your hand and, using your fingers, peel off all of the blackened skin.
You should end up with a big pile of ashy pepper peel…
And an almost clean pepper. It is very hard to get 100% of the char off the peppers, and that’s okay. It adds to the flavor of the final dish! Despite your temptation, do NOT rinse the peeled peppers under water to get the rest of the char off – it will strip the peppers of the essential oils you worked so hard to extract!
Peel all of your peppers this way, until there is very little black left.
Then carefully use a knife to cut the peppers into strips or cubes, depending on what you are making.
Voila – you have successfully roasted your own delicious peppers!
What Do I DO With My Roasted Peppers?
Roasted peppers can literally be used in a MILLION different applications. They are great mixed in with grains or beans, used cold as a salad topper, tossed in with some chickpeas to make flavored hummus – the possibilities are endless!
Here is how I used my peppers, just to give you an idea. I tossed them with tomato wedges, fresh slivered basil, sauteed mustard greens, and a bit of goat cheese. Tossed the whole thing in a vinaigrette of sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and grapeseed oil!
The smokiness of roasted peppers give any dish a wonderful rustic feel, and they add such a deliciously distinct flavor.
Now you can feel confident that you can roast your own peppers too, and you have this wonderful ingredient to add to your dishes and recipes.
Enjoy!
59 Comments so far
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Would you believe I was actually out of culinary school when I first did this? It is so easy too! A little intimidating at first, but when you realize it makes for magnificent peppers…you want to do it all the time! The salad looks delicious too!
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…or put ‘em in a paper bag to cool down. My most excellent big sister taught me this trick.
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How cool! I never knew :)
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Thanks for the tutorial! I would have never known how to do that :-)
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What a great cooking lesson! Really enjoyed this. I’m going to have to share it with my fiance – he’ll be excited to try it out for himself.
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Very awesome tutorial! I’ve never tried this with yellow or green peppers but as soon as I see some at a farmer’s market I’m going to give it a go! I love roasting red peppers and putting the slices on sandwiches; the flavor is just so outstanding!
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I will never buy roasted red pepper again! :) These look so good, and so simple too! I love the red peppers roasted! Yum, theyre great in salads with artichokes and chickpeas!
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Thank you so much for this tutorial. My husband just bought a ton of peppers and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them. :)
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Great blog entry and thanks. Going to give a try!
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I can’t wait to try this – I’ve been really wanting grilled veggies this summer but I don’t have a grill. This is an awesome idea for getting that roasted flavor on the stove.
Also, I’m a new reader to your blog (and a new blogger), but I love your how-to’s and am interested in your running (particularly maintaining a vegan diet while marathon training – I’ve run 4 in the past few years and am trying to incorporate less meat in my diet).
Thanks for your great tips and recipes!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:38 am
Awesome – welcome to the blog! :)
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What a great tutorial! Thanks Emily – I can’t wait to try this!!
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What a great step by step guide!!! Thanks for sharing :)
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I love roasting peppers and then throwing them in mac n cheese with any other good veggies I have on hand :-) Yum!
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Love the tutorial! Roasted peppers are soooo good :)
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Thanks Em! I have always wondered and always spend retarded amounts of money for them in a can at the store, now I can be even more thrifty :)
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Yum!! I seriously love roasted peppers. I’ve seen this method done many times on TV, but haven’t tried it myself. For some reason I feel like they don’t get soft enough this way. Yours look perfect though, I’ll def be attempting this method next time!
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Umm, won’t they taste the same if roasted in a tray in the oven? :-) Also, less fuss this way, surely?
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:35 am
I did mention above that another option is to broil them in the oven. That method will take a LOT longer though, and will be harder to get even blackening on all sides. But it’s definitely an option for those who don’t have a gas stove.
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Have you ever charred eggplants? What’s the best way of doing that? I’m guessing it would work over a burner because they’d take so long..
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:37 am
Usually eggplants are charred for a looooong time in the oven. I had never really considered doing it on the stovetop, but I guess you could. I think the advantage of the oven is that by having them in there for a long time, the eggplants get super soft and mushy – for delicious things like baba ganoush!
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Thank you SO much for this, girl! The first time I tried to roast peppers for hummus, I did it in the oven…but never peeled the peppers! I was so clueless. My roommate kept asking why the hummus was so stringy…can’t wait to try this!
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I will have to try this (even though I am terrrrified of our gas stove- ha!). I bet it adds a lot to the flavour of the peppers – yum :)
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Thanks so much for this tip…I have a yellow pepper in the fridge that is going to get it’s tail roasted now!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:27 am
Hahahaha love it.
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Have you ever left a pepper roasting for an “extremely long amount of time”? Something about the way you put that made me feel like it was coming from a voice of experience. ;)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:27 am
Haha I have seen it happen in class. People would start things and forget them all the time – LOTS of fires! :)
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Awesome! Do you think it would work the same with corn? I just got 5 gorgeous ears in my farm share and found a delicious grilled corn salad recipe. Downside: I live in an urban apartment without a grill. Upside: I’ve got a gas stove and a grill pan. Thoughts??
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:27 am
I would be nervous that the corn husks actually WOULD catch on fire. I would definitely soak them first if you’re going to try. The peppers won’t catch because they are naturally full of moisture, but corn husks aren’t. You can do anything on a grill pan! Just watch out for direct open flames.
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Great tutorial — thanks! We planted our peppers a bit too close to our tomatoes and they’re getting shaded out, so most of my peppers’ will have to come from the farmers’ market this summer.
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I’m a lurker who loves your blog but has never commented. I’m allergic to peppers (I know, grim) — love the idea of roasting this way. Are there any other vegetables this method would work well with?
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:26 am
I’ve never seen anything else roasted in this way, since it’s really just a way to char and remove the peel. Maaaaybe eggplant? But don’t take my word on that.
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haha, I just freaked out a little when I saw you put the pepper right on the stove! … but I read more and though- brilliant! I gotta try that :)
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Amazing! But what if – like me- you have an electric hob?! I can’t join the pepper party! :-(
Julia
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:25 am
You can do the same thing in the broiler! I mentioned it in the first part of the post. You can still be in the pepper party! :)
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Great lesson! Question – do you have any idea what I can do with frozen veggies? I bought about 15 bags on impulse last week and all the instructions say are to microwave for 7 minutes. Is there anything else I can do with these? Can I roast frozen veggies?
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:24 am
You CAN roast frozen veggies, but you need to do it longer, and at a higher temp. They will go through a wet, soggy phase in the middle but just keep them in there and eventually they will start to brown and get crispier. I usually roast frozen at 400 to 425, depending on how big the veg is. I also use a lot of frozen veg for stir-frys on the stovetop!
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I love roasted peppers! I wish we had a gas flame stove top though. it’s so much easier than the broiler!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:23 am
Agreed. I have an electric stove at home and I haaaaaaaate it.
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Emily, I’m so so happy you posted this! I LOVE roasted peppers, but I will admit that I’ve just bought them from a jar. How sad! I always assumed that you used the oven to make your own…no idea you could do it on the stove top! I have just bookmarked this post – I’ll definitely be using it as a reference! Thanks again! :)
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You make it look so easy! I’m still a little scared, but now that I know it’s normal to have them black and charred, maybe I’ll try it.
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:22 am
I was scared the first time too. :)
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Emily, I love your lessons! Easy ingredients, easy to follow instructions, and something I will actually do.
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Greatly enjoyed this tutorial, hope there will be more of these to come on the blog!
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Ok, I’m definitely a cooking noob. I have neither a gas stove or a broiler. So….am I stuck without getting to do this until I can get a house with those things?
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:22 am
If you have an oven, you should have a broiler. Are you sure you don’t? There is usually a broil setting on the knob of your oven – check to make sure.
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Amber K Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Um….ok I did say I was new at this! There is actually a “broil” setting on my oven and I had NO CLUE that meant I had a “broiler.” Ok, I shall go hide my red-face now. LOL =)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Haha no red face! Just be excited that it turns out you have a fun appliance you never knew you had! :) FYI – when you broil something, leave the door cracked open, otherwise the oven will fill with SMOKE! :)
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THANK you. While I’m learning my way around the kitchen and love to cook, I had no clue this was how peppers were roasted. Great tutorial, can’t wait to try :)
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This might be my *favorite* thing that I’ve learned from reading foodie blogs!!! Born ‘n raised in New Mexico – surrounded by roasted green chiles (although, they use a Roaster, most of the time…if thats a word? haha) and I have NEVER seen this type of tutorial for peppers! LOVE IT! Definitely trying this – thank you for posting! :)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:21 am
Awesome! :)
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wow, seriously something I never would have thought to do!
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Thanks for showing how to do this!! Good info to know! :)
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Thanks for sharing these directions – you make it look so easy! I just might have to try roasting peppers this weekend.
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I did this with a poblano pepper last night… thank you for the revolutionary move! I also CAN’T wait to try your energy bars!!
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I am going to have to try this! You make it look so simple! Thanks for the little tutorial! :0)
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[...] crust pizza with red sauce, sweet turkey sausage, peppers, onions and roasted red peppers (thanks, Emily!) that was pretty freakin’ sweet, [...]
Thanks so much for the tips. I am going to try this tonight.
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I tend to find green peppers bitter…..when they are roasted are they still bitter?
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