How To Roast Red Peppers on a Grill
This post shows you how to roast red peppers on a grill, and freshly-roasted red peppers are much better than roasted red peppers from a jar! And the process for roasted red peppers on a grill is really quite easy!
PIN How To Roast Red Bell Peppers on a Grill to try it later!
Before I tell you how easy it is to roast sweet bell peppers on a barbecue grill, let me first reassure everyone that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with roasted red peppers that come in a jar. In fact for years I kind of pooh-poohed the idea of roasting your own peppers, and then I had one of those big packages of six bell peppers you get at Costco, and suddenly I just felt like roasting some peppers.
It took me a few tries to get a process I thought was actually easy, and while I’m not going to claim I’ll never use the jarred red peppers again, there’s no doubt that the flavor of the freshly roasted peppers is just wonderful. Keep reading for my tips on How to Roast Red Peppers on a Grill, and check below for more ideas for using those roasted red peppers!
What ingredients do you need?
All you need for roasting red peppers on a grill is some red bell peppers and a grill. I used a gas barbecue grill; you can probably make this on an electric grill or a wood-pellet grill too, but I haven’t tried that.
More Roasted Peppers on the Grill:
Check out How to Roast Green Chiles on a Grill if you’re a fan of those slightly-spicy peppers. Or use Cooking Tips for more how-to posts like this one.
Favorite Recipes with Roasted Red Peppers:
Grilled Garlic Chicken with Red Pepper Aioli
Roasted Red Pepper Dip with Feta
No-Pasta Salad with Zucchini and Italian Sausage
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives
Tips for Roasting Red Peppers on a Grill:
- The first time I tried roasting peppers, I kept them whole. This worked just fine, but I found it was hard to get the skin evenly charred, and areas that didn’t get as much heat were a bit harder to peel. I also decided removing the seeds would be much easier if you did it before you roasted the peppers.
- The second time I roasted peppers, I cut them in half. That was better, but I still wanted a slightly flatter shape.
- The method that worked best for me was to cut the whole peppers in fourths like you see in the first photo above, then cutting the seeds out of each quarter piece and slightly trimming both ends where the pepper curls up.
- Preheat the gas or charcoal barbecue grill to high before putting the peppers on. Then lay the peppers on, skin side down, making sure not to put them too close together. (The photos shown skin side up are only to illustrate how charred they’re getting, roast your peppers skin side down the whole time!)
- Most of my peppers took 20-25 minutes to get that full-charred look I wanted, but time your peppers by how they look because your grill may be hotter or colder than mine. This next shot was after 12 minutes. You can see that the pepper on the right is about half charred, but the one on the left is barely starting to roast.
- After a while it’s obvious I’m going to need to rotate peppers on the grill to get them all charred black like I want them to be. When all the peppers are quite black, take them directly off the grill and put them in a small glass or heavy plastic bowl.
- Immediately cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a tight fitting lid) and let the hot peppers sit for about 15 minutes. The steam will loosen the skins so they’ll peel right off.
- Here’s one pepper peeled with the removed charred skin to the left of the pepper. You can see there are some areas where the pepper flesh started to slightly char, which adds a lot of smoky flavor.
- Here are all eight pieces peeled, which probably took me no more than 3-4 minutes to do. I rinsed my hand a few times, but it’s important not to rinse the peppers because that rinses off some of the smoky charred flavor.
- This is the stack of roasted pepper strips I got from two sweet red bell peppers. Discard the charred black skins.
- If you don’t have a gas grill, peppers can also be roasted in the oven, under a broiler, or even on top of a gas burner.
- If you’re lucky enough to have an abundance of peppers in your garden, roasted peppers can be frozen. I would seal them in a bag using the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer if you have one.
How To Roast Red Peppers on a Grill
This post will show you How to Roast Red Peppers on a grill, and the freshly-roasted red peppers are so flavorful and surprisingly easy to make!
Ingredients
- 2 large red bell peppers
Instructions
- Cut the whole peppers in quarters, cut out the seeds from each piece, and slightly trim both ends where the pepper curls up.
- Preheat the gas or charcoal barbecue grill to high before putting the peppers on. Then lay the peppers on, skin side down, making sure not to put them too close together.
- Most of my peppers took 20-25 minutes to get that full-charred look I wanted, but time your peppers by how they look.
- I waited until peppers were about half charred, and then rotated them after about 12 minutes so different ones were in the hotter spots on the grill. You can turn them over for part of the cooking time, but it's not necessary.
- When all the peppers are quite black, take them directly off the grill and put them in a small glass or heavy plastic bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a tight fitting lid) and let the hot peppers sit for about 15 minutes. The steam will loosen the skins so they'll peel right off.
- After I waited 15 minutes, it took me no more than 3-4 minutes to remove the skins. I rinsed my hand a few times, but it's important not to rinse the peppers because that rinses off some of the smoky charred flavor.
- Discard the charred black skins.
- If you don't have a gas grill, peppers can also be roasted in the oven, under a broiler, or even on top of a gas burner.
Notes
If you're lucky enough to have an abundance of peppers in your garden, roasted peppers can be frozen. I would seal them in a bag using the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer if you have one.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Roasted red peppers are a great choice for any low-carb diet, Keto, or low-glycemic diet plan, or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Cooking Tips to find more posts like this one.Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This tip about roasting red peppers was first posted in 2008! I’ve done it many times since then, and the post was last updated with more information in 2022.
52 Comments on “How To Roast Red Peppers on a Grill”
Looking delicious.. thank you for sharing this method.
Glad you like it!
I love to eat red bell pepper. I hear that it can help prevent cancer. i will following your guide to roast it. Thank for share !
Hope you enjoy Kathy. I don't know about preventing cancer, but the freshly roasted peppers are delicious!
So yummy…Awesome Kalyn. I recently try this roast red bell peppers on our camping and everyone love it. Thanks so much for your useful post!
So glad it was useful for you!
wow! very nice recipe. Your blog is full of entertainment and helpful information that can allure to anyone anytime. Continue posting!
I haven't had trouble with the peppers drying out or getting too done, but if you have a gas grill you could solve it by turning the heat lower. Haven't heard of this type of pepper, but they sound great!
I agree that prepping the peppers and cutting them into segments before roasting is easier and less messy but I have not had good success with this method; the segments tend to dry out and scorch or burn rather than just char the skin. Also agree that the irregular shape of whole bell peppers can be a problem. I use Carmen, or sweet Italian, peppers which are longer and have flatter sides; they are fantastic.
If you haven't bought a smoker yet, until you get one you can just use an inexpensive smoker box, sold for around $10 at Lowe's and other hardware stores. It's a small stainless steel container with a perforated sliding lid. You fill it with wood chips of your choice (also at the hardware store), turn one side of the grill on high, set the box over the flame, close the lid, and wait till smoke starts to pour steadily out of the holes. You can also use a foil packet of wood chips and poke holes in it with a skewer. I don't bother soaking the chips first.
When the smoke starts to flow, cook/smoke on the opposite side of the grill, at the appropriate temperature for the food. For delicate fish and seafood, once the smoker gets going turn the heat underneath it down to medium–low and leave the grill off on the other side—low and slow does the trick.
I've tried maple, pecan, and fruit woods for a subtle flavour, but my hands-down favourite is mesquite, which is unmistakably bold. So far, I've smoked salmon, eggplant and other veg, and vertical-roasted chicken. Now preparing smoked eggplant for baba ganouj, and I have a bunch of peppers from a neighbour's garden, which I'll add to the grill.
Thanks for the tip about seeding and quartering the peppers. I'll also use a grill wok (the perforated, slant-sided kind) to hold them. Eggplant, halved lengthwise, goes in foil with the top open a bit.
Eva, you're welcome. Glad you had fun trying my method.
This was so easy and great! My first time ever roasting pepper and it worked perfectly. Thanks a bunch 🙂