Roasted Peppers: How to Roast Peppers

Roasted peppers add a ton of flavor to your recipes. Learning how to roast peppers red or green, with or without tomatoes and onions will improve your stew recipes. Who knew roasting red bell peppers can make your kitchen smell so good and your stews taste amazing.

Roasted Peppers

Roasted peppers are a great way to add a flavorful twist to ordinary dishes. Whether you are roasting just red peppers or you are roasting peppers with onions or tomatoes, you are sure to love the flavors these roasted peppers will add to your stews.

Peppers can be roasted in the oven, on the grill or in an air fryer. Whichever method you choose, get started already. For the purpose of this post I will be sharing how to roast peppers in the oven.

Why you should Roast Peppers

• If for nothing else, the taste. Roasted peppers taste so good.

• It blends really smooth and thick looks somewhat like Canned Tomato puree
• Gives you hands free time. If you were to cook your blended peppers on the stove top you would need to keep a constant eye on it stirring and worrying about it getting burnt.
• It's advantageous in the winter months where the heat of the oven won't bother you. In the summer months, I don't think so.

How to Roast Peppers

Depending on your end goal, you can roast peppers on their own or with other ingredients like fresh tomatoes, onions and hot peppers.

If you are making a small batch for a salad or sandwich roasting the peppers will be best on the stove top, grill or air fryer. Large batches for Nigerian stews are best in the oven.

How to roast peppers on the stove top or grill

Wash and dry the peppers light up the grill or stove top burner, then place peppers on burner (open flame) let pepper roast till skin blackens. Flip to roast other sides

How to roast peppers in the air fryer

Wash and dry peppers, (4 medium or 3 large peppers) remove seeds, cut them into halves and place them on the air fryer basket, cut side down. Air fry at 400 F for 25 mins, making sure to flip half way through cooking time.

How to to roast peppers in the oven

If roasting a large quantity of peppers I recommend using your oven. When roasting peppers for stew, depending on the kind of stew I am making, I can roast just red bell peppers, onions and hot peppers for my tomato free stew or green bell peppers, onions and hot peppers for Ayamase stew or a mix of red bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and hot pepper for my fish stew and oxtail stew.

• To roast red peppers, onions and the other ingredients, wash red bell peppers, onions, fresh tomatoes and peppers and garlic (if using)

• Cut up into smaller bits. Spread on baking sheet and roast for 1 hr in a 400 F oven or 90 mins at 350 F. Rotate tray half way through cooking time.

• Let it cool. Blend till smooth. Use immediately or freeze in a freezer friendly container for up to 3 months.

How to use Roasted Peppers

Roasted peppers can be used however you choose

• great on their own as a snack

• Side dish with other veggies,
• As a part of a salad or sandwich
• Blended and used in sauces and stews

FAQs

What type of pepper can you roast?

You can roast baby kind of pepper you like. Red, green, yellow, and orange bell peppers and lots more.

How long to roast peppers

This depends on the end recipe. If roasting on the grill or stove top it may take up to 3 mins to roast all sides.

Hope you get to try roasting peppers for stews and that you found the post helpful. If you did, leave me a comment and share this guide with family and friends your favorite Facebook groups.

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Print Recipe

Roasting Peppers for Nigerian stews

Have you tried roasted your peppers, tomatoes and onions for your Nigerian stews? If you haven't please do. You will never go back. I wonder why it took me so long to give it a try.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Course: Stew

Cuisine: Nigerian

Author: Chichi Uguru

Ingredients

• 15 Large Red bell peppers
• 8 Medium Plum tomatoes
• 4 Medium Onions
• 5 habenero peppers

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450°F/ 232°C or gas mark 8
• Wash and cut up Red Bell peppers, tomatoes and onions into smaller bits. Leave the habenero peppers whole.
• Line them in a 2 baking sheets
• Bake in the oven for 40 mins to hour. ( takes this long because this is a large batch)
• Half way through baking time, rotate, then switch the tray on top to bottom and vice versa
• When bake time is complete, Turn off heat and leave to cool in the oven.
• After cooling for about 10 mins Your roasted peppers are ready to be blended.
• Blend till smooth. Use immediately or freeze for later. You can now freeze for later.
• If you are using immediately for stews  like I did in my oxtail stew find recipe blend with more water because it will be a thick paste if you don't.

Notes

Tips;

If you are blending for storage Blend till smooth with little water then freeze. See this very comprehensive post on stew bases

If you are using immediately for stews  like I did in my oxtail stew blend with more water because it will be a thick paste if you don't. Alternatively water down with meat stock while cooking.