Last summer, I ended up with two cases of bell peppers. I made stuffed peppers, and used some in a couple of dinners. The rest I dehydrated and froze. When I dehydrate bell peppers, I try to store them in an (aff link) airtight container. This doesn’t have to be anything special, a plastic zip bag with a (aff link) desiccant oxygen absorber, will do just fine.
Dehydrating peppers is fairly easy. The brunt of the work is slicing them thinly. Having a mandolin slicer will cut down on the work immensely.
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Dehydrating tips
- Use only fresh ingredients.
- Get a dehydrator with plenty of trays to work with.
- Use Organic if possible.
- Store in an airtight container with a desiccant oxygen absorber, away from light.
- In higher humidity areas, it may take longer to dehydrate.
- Precise cuts from a mandolin or similar device will help to ensure that you have the same size cuts each time. Note: Larger pieces will take longer to dry.
How to Dehydrate Bell Peppers
If you are going to be storing your bell peppers for more than three months, it is recommended that you blanch them before dehydrating.
- Wash peppers and pat dry or leave on counter to dry for a little while.
- Prepare your dehydrator trays. Cut out parchment paper to fit onto the trays.
- Lay them near your cutting station. So you can place fresh cuttings right onto the trays.
- Slice off the top of the bell peppers, cut around the stem, and slice the pieces small.
- Slice the pepper in half, and remove seeds.
- Slice in long thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick.
- Place in the dehydrator, and follow the temperature and time directions for your unit.
- On my excalibur, vegetables get set on 125ºF and they dry for about 8-10 hours.
Dry until they no longer feel slimy. Sometimes I have to remove pieces that are totally dry and leave some pieces to dry for a bit longer.
Since I cut them by hand some pieces ended up being larger than others, which took more time to dry.
Store in an airtight container away from light.
Uses for Dehydrated Bell Peppers
- Throw bell peppers into soups, and stews.
- Add them to eggs, to add some flavor.
- Put them in spaghetti sauce.
- Add them to your the pot when boiling noodles. This will reconstitute them, and they will help flavor the overall dish.
Let Me Know What You Think
I would love to know what you think, Please leave me a comment or a question below… Thank you for visiting. 🙂
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Looks like they’d be perfect for a quick weeknight chili. Thanks so much for sharing, I didn’t realize they’d hold together through the dehydrator. I’ve always sautéed them with onions and bagged for the freezer, but shelf stable is so much better.
Oh they are and spaghetti too! I love having them to just throw in our meals! They are a pretty good snack too, if you like that kind of thing. I am such a big fan of bell peppers, I love them just about any way them come. Thanks for stopping by Ashley!