Freezing bell pepper slices

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Caslon

Executive Chef
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
3,284
Location
Ring of fire. So. Calif.
I see that bell peppers are $0.99 ea. at this time. Last summer the red and orange ones were near $2.00 ea. I want to freeze them now and use them within two months for bbq shish-ka-bobs (prices might rise and convenience). I've not blanched and frozen vegetables before. I have vacuum bags. Also, I use the quick freeze method (placing the pieces on a pan so they freeze up quicker). I found the following link and would like to know if that's the way you do it, or want to add anything. Do I need to blanch them at all for my purposes? I've already frozen some meat chunks for kabobs. :)

How to Freeze Green Peppers: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow
 
Last edited:
I see that bell peppers are $0.99 ea. at this time. Last summer the red and orange ones were near $2.00 ea. I want to freeze them now and use them within two months for bbq shish-ka-bobs (prices might rise). I've not blanched and frozen vegetables before. I have vacuum bags. Also, I use the quick freeze method (placing the pieces on a pan so they freeze up quicker). I found the following link and would like to know if that's the way you do it, or want to add anything. :)

How to Freeze Green Peppers: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

I grow peppers in my garden, and freeze the extras in the fall. I don't grow bell peppers, but they should be the same. Just so you know, they will not be crisp when you thaw them, at least from my experience. So, they will be for cooking, not for a salad. I freeze jalepeños, cayenne and poblanos, mostly. I scorch and peel the poblanos before freezing.

I first put my peppers in the freezer for about 30 minutes, with no wrapping. Then, I vacuum seal the frozen peppers and pop them back in the freezer. Vacuum sealing before freezing didn't work as well for me. Pre-freezing seems to work best.

CD
 
I see that bell peppers are $0.99 ea. at this time. Last summer the red and orange ones were near $2.00 ea. I want to freeze them now and use them within two months for bbq shish-ka-bobs (prices might rise and convenience). I've not blanched and frozen vegetables before. I have vacuum bags. Also, I use the quick freeze method (placing the pieces on a pan so they freeze up quicker). I found the following link and would like to know if that's the way you do it, or want to add anything. Do I need to blanch them at all for my purposes? I've already frozen some meat chunks for kabobs. :)

How to Freeze Green Peppers: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

You should be fine without blanching them, Caslon. I often prep and cut up bells in various sizes to quick freeze separately on a sheet pan. I've cut them in large enough chunks to use in kabobs, haven't blanched them, and they've come out just fine grilled. Like you mentioned, vacuum sealed after quick freezing works best so that they stay as dry as possible.

I also dice them in smaller pieces and freeze for use in pasta sauces, chili, and omelettes . It's pretty handy to grab a handful of frozen chopped bells. :)
 
Last edited:
You should be fine without blanching them, Caslon. I often prep and cut up bells in various sizes to quick freeze separately on a sheet pan. I've cut them in large enough chunks to use in kabobs, haven't blanched them, and they've come out just fine grilled. Like you mentioned, vacuum sealed after quick freezing works best so that they stay as dry as possible.

Thanks. Now all I need to do is cut up some red onions and quick freeze them too for my frozen shish-ka-bob kit. It's mainly for the convenience. Not having to drive to the store if I feel like bbq kabobs. ;)
 
Last edited:
Now I want to freeze mushrooms for future bbq kabobs. Has anyone done this? Here's a Google search result for doing so.
I guess I have to cook them first??? Should I just leave out mushrooms from my frozen kabob kit?

https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-freeze-mushrooms-1388441

I wouldn't freeze whole mushrooms for future 'kabobs. Shroomies are one of those things that you should just go buy fresh, IMO.

Here's a couple of not so great pics from a couple of years ago. :LOL: There's some controversy about grilling everything on one (beef) 'kabob, but I've done it for years. I wouldn't use frozen mushrooms though.

tri tip 'kabobs 1.jpg

kabobs.jpg
 
Last edited:
Cheryl, now you just cut that out! :yum:

I freeze peppers all the time.

I recall having a frozen vegetable blend with mushrooms, the blend was fine, but the mushrooms tasted and toothed like rubber. I agree, get and skewer them fresh.
 
Okay, but damnit, I want mushrooms as part of my frozen kabob kit. What if I just flash freeze them? I only need them to last a month or two. I bought them already, so here goes with that.
 
Last edited:
Hm. Thinking.

Would pickling them in a brine work before freezing them in your kabob kit work?

What the heck, try freezing a couple and sticking them on your skewer as an experiment.
 
Last edited:
Mushrooms slime when you thaw them...good for cooking soups and stews, maybe sautéed, but not kabobs.
 
I'm lazy and I sauté 'shrooms before freezing them. I don't remember why I didn't like them just frozen raw, but I must have disliked the result to remember to always sauté them first. ;) :LOL:
 
I'm lazy and I sauté 'shrooms before freezing them. I don't remember why I didn't like them just frozen raw, but I must have disliked the result to remember to always sauté them first. ;) :LOL:

Thanks for this info. So, just put a little oil in the pan and saute the whole mushrooms prior to freezing? Would this work for kabobs tho?

The reason I'm asking is because I have this idea to somehow make kabobs on the skewer that can than be frozen, then thawed for later use. I wouldn't try thawing them in the microwave, but rather, let them thaw out slowly in the fridge. It's just an idea I'm toying around with.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for this info. So, just put a little oil in the pan and saute the whole mushrooms prior to freezing? Would this work for kabobs tho?

The reason I'm asking is because I have this idea to somehow make kabobs on the skewer that can than be frozen, then thawed for later use. I wouldn't try thawing them in the microwave, but rather, let them thaw out slowly in the fridge. It's just an idea I'm toying around with.

Am I missing something here? It sounds like you want to freeze the whole thing while they are still on the skewers? Kabobs and the skewers?
 
I freeze pepper slices, use them all the time, cut them up and freeze.

For your kabobs, just replace the mushrooms with pineapple chunks, pineapple does freeze pretty well. And it tastes just like.....pineapple.
 
For your kabobs, just replace the mushrooms with pineapple chunks, pineapple does freeze pretty well. And it tastes just like.....pineapple.

Noted.
Pineapple with meat? I thought pineapple was better for chicken kabobs. I flash froze some shrooms, not thawed them out yet. So...flash frozen whole mushrooms thawed out for kabobs will be mushy, no matter what? Ok.

I recently froze up 3.. red, orange, yellow, green bell peppers and red onions in kabob size. I flash froze them and have them in a gallon bag. A fully filled gallon bag. I also have frozen cubes of meat too. . I sure like the earthy taste of at least a mushroom or two on a skewer. :yum:

Anyways. I'm still trying to build a frozen kabob. I'm in the preliminary stage. The trial and error stage. It may turn out all error. :LOL:
 
Last edited:
Thanks for this info. So, just put a little oil in the pan and saute the whole mushrooms prior to freezing? Would this work for kabobs tho?

The reason I'm asking is because I have this idea to somehow make kabobs on the skewer that can than be frozen, then thawed for later use. I wouldn't try thawing them in the microwave, but rather, let them thaw out slowly in the fridge. It's just an idea I'm toying around with.
I don't know if they would work for kebabs. I slice the mushrooms before sautéing them. I usually use butter or a mix of butter and EVOO. I imagine it would work well with any decent oil.
 
Back
Top Bottom