Freezing peppers from the garden is an easy way to prolong the harvest. It also saves time and money on meal preparation and food budgeting.
Our family loves eating fresh from the garden during the summer months. But I was eager to extend that eating window beyond the short growing season. I wanted my family to enjoy the organic, pesticide free produce during the winter when the garden is under three feet of snow.
This also happens to be the time when produce is most expensive at the grocery store. So, if I could grow just a little more or if the garden produced more than I had anticipated or could use fresh then freezing some vegetables for later use was the best approach.
I especially like freezing peppers. It takes hardly any time and it makes meal prep so easy having all of the seeding and chopping already done for you. Freezing does make for a softer end product so adding to cooked dishes is the best choice.
FREEZING PEPPERS
I prefer to use the unheated method for freezing peppers because I like having them as close to their natural state as possible. Mushy vegetables are just not what I enjoy eating. Furthermore, they are devoid of vital vitamins and minerals.
4 EASY STEPS TO FREEZE GARDEN PEPPERS
Choose crisp bell or sweet peppers. They can be the immature green peppers or the mature yellow, red or orange sweet peppers.
WASH AND CUT PEPPERS
Wash peppers. Cut the top part of the pepper off. Gently run a sharp knife around the inside of the pepper. Twist the seed core and remove. (This method removes the seeds all at once without a mess.)
Cut pepper in half and then in narrow strips. From here, I like to dice or cut into chunks. I find the peppers can be incorporated into recipes more easily this way.
PACKAGE PEPPERS
Once the peppers have been chopped, you can spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and flash freeze in your freezer for a few hours. Add the frozen peppers to a quart size freezer bag. Be sure to remove any air from the bag, seal and label the contents.
However, you can also add chopped peppers immediately to a quart size freezer bag. Again, be sure to remove air from bag, seal and label the contents.
I find the plastic Ziplock bags allow you to remove only the quantity desired. Filling the bags without over stuffing them allows you to neatly stack the bags. You can organize your freezer space by using different size bins however, I have found that re-purposing the various size shoe boxes do an equally good job.
If you prefer to use a plastic freezer container instead, fill container full leaving no space on top of the food. You want the peppers to be tightly packed right up to the top to prevent air from getting in. Apply the lid, label and freeze.