Easy Italian Oven Roasted Red Peppers Recipe (2024)

Published: Oct 17, 2020 · Modified: Jul 30, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Making Italian roasted peppers in your home oven is a very simple recipe; they are called peperoni arrostiti. They are much better than canned roasted peppers because they do not need white vinegar to be preserved. You can taste the sweetness of their flesh which remains firm and chunky, and the skin is easily removed. I seasoned them with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and basil and served them on an antipasto platter, as Italian appetizers on bruschetta or as a side dish to meat or cheese. They are also suitable for a vegan or vegetarian meal.

In the Roman markets during the Summer, you find these large scarlet red peppers shaded with green and purple stripes, absolutely beautiful.

They are called peperoni di Pontercorvo, a town in the province of Frosinone near Rome. They start to appear in June and will last for the summer.

The variation of colors is a beautiful feature; they create an Italian style rainbow on your dinner table.

Their sweet, slightly tangy flavor is unique and only needs a few ingredients to complement it. That is why I prefer to roast them myself.

The ones stored in jars need vinegar to prevent bacteria growth. It is convenient to have a jar in the pantry, but the vinegar breaks the natural sweetness of the peppers.

To have the best flavor, I prefer to roast them at home.

These roasted red peppers are widely used in Italian cuisine. For more Italian recipes with peppers, you can check chicken with peppers, stuffed peppers, grilled vegetables, baked ratatouille and Giambotta Italian vegetable stew.

If you want to preserve the peppers before the end of summer, make red pepper jelly and serve it with cheese during the winter.

Ingredients

• Red peppers: When you buy peppers, check each one carefully to ensure they are nice and firm everywhere with no damage to the flesh. You can also use bell peppers and green or yellow peppers.

This recipe uses only four ingredients for the seasoning:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh basil: you can also use oregano
• Fresh garlic
• A pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Rinse the peppers and place them in a very hot oven, under the grill or on an open flame.

2. Once the skin on the top of the pepper is burned, turn them around and put them back in the oven

Hint: You can cover the pan with aluminum foil or baking sheet, but there is no need to grease it.

3. Keep turning them until all sides of the peppers are burned

4. Place the warm peppers in a paper bag. Do not use a plastic bag otherwise, they will keep cooking in their steam

Hint: The skin has to burn uniformly; otherwise, you will not be able to remove it from the flesh

5. Keep the bag closed until they cool down. Their own steam will help to separate the skin from the flesh

6. Once cold, you can easily remove the charred skin from the peppers

Hint: The inside of the peppers will be very hot, do not clean them until they are cold

7. Remove the seeds, cut them into long strips

8. Place the sliced peppers in a large bowl and season with salt, extra virgin olive oil, and basil

Hint: you could roast the peppers cut into slices and the seeds removed; however, by roasting them whole, the flesh remains chunkier and firm

How to serve them

These Italian roasted peppers are perfect for serving as an easy appetizer at buffets and dinner parties.

They can be made one day in advance, so the flavors have time to combine.

Let them rest for a couple of hours before serving them.

They can be served cold or at room temperature, so you can arrange them on a buffet table before your guests arrive.

These peppers are great for barbecue meat, like the Picanha barbecue, or barbecue chicken breast.

For a vegetarian meal, you can put them on pizza, homemade focaccia, serve them with a cheese platter or in a pasta salad.

Sweet roasted peppers and cheese are the best combinations to have.

This delicious recipe is also included in the challenge: 7 Vegetarian Side-dishes for a Stress-free Party

Storage

They can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

Top tips

• When you buy peppers, check each one carefully to ensure they are nice and firm everywhere with no damage to the flesh.
• You can also use bell peppers and green or yellow peppers.
• You can cover the pan with aluminum foil, but there is no need to grease it.
• The skin has to burn uniformly; otherwise, you will not be able to remove it from the flesh
• You could roast the peppers cut into slices and the seeds removed; however, by roasting the whole pepper, the flesh remains chunkier and firm
• The inside of the peppers will be very hot, do not clean them until they are cold

Top tips for peeling the peppers

• The best way to cook red peppers in your kitchen oven is to roast them at high temperature, under the grill or on an open fire.
• The raw skin of the peppers is very hard to break down during digestion, which is why it is best to remove it from the flesh.
• You should aim at burning the skin off while roasting, leaving the flesh almost uncooked. That is why the heat of the oven should be intense.
• Make sure the skin is burned everywhere, as it is hard to peel it off if it is not burned.
• Once the skin is removed from the charred peppers, their flesh will remain firm, sweet, and luscious

FAQ

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