Roasted red peppers are delicious, and the roasting process significantly enhances their flavor. Canning them in jars lets you enjoy that flavor throughout the winter. This canning recipe is for a pressure canner, since peppers are a low-acid food in the canning world. If that’s not for you, the *Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving* has a Pickled Roasted Peppers recipe you may like. Also, our Lecho – stewed pepper in tomatoes is a great recipe.
Harvesting an abundance of colorful peppers in our cold climate and short growing season is rare. More often than not, peppers are still green at harvest. However, growing peppers in a tower garden is a great solution. Because aeroponics accelerates growth by about 30%, we can successfully cultivate vibrant, colorful peppers. You can read more about this here.
The roasted pepper recipe
To fill about 4-pint jars, you will need the following ingredients:
- 5 pounds of peppers
- 4 – 6 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons of dry herbs (oregano, parsley, basil, or a mixture of your choice)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
Feel free to experiment with the recipe, since the additional ingredients aren’t essential for safety. If you enjoy some heat, consider roasting hot peppers. You can use peppers of various colors, so choose your favorites.
Recipe instructions
Red sweet peppers are the best choice for the roasted peppers-in-a-jar recipe. Bull’s horn, or King of the North, are great varieties. But you can also choose other bell varieties, as available. As you see in my pictures, I am not particularly picky about the variety, as long as it’s somewhat colorful.
Use parchment paper, or spray the baking/roasting pan with some oil to prevent sticking. A nonstick pan might not need it.
Wash, core, seed, and cut the freshly harvested peppers lengthwise. Place them on a baking sheet, cut side down. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves as well.
Roast the peppers and garlic cloves at 400F (200 C) in an oven (10 – 20 minutes) or under a broiler (6- 8 minutes) until the skin blisters. Remove from heat and place the peppers in a lidded container or closed bag for 15 minutes. After that, peel the peppers and cut into desired-size slices.
In a saucepan, combine the peppers, mashed garlic, and dry herbs like oregano, basil, or parsley – you choose. Make sure to add all the yummy juice from the roasting pan. Season with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of salt.
Pack loosely into clean jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Cover with boiling water, leaving 1 inch headspace.
Cover the jars with lids; screw on bands finger-tight.
Pressure Canning the roasted peppers in a jar
Meanwhile, prepare the canner according to your brand’s instructions. In the example, I used a Presto pressure canner. After adding the needed amount of water to the canner, place your jars into the canner. If you are using many small jars, place a canning rack between layers.
Tip: The pepper recipe makes about 4 pints, or 8 half pints. That does not fill the canner. To save energy and time, you can safely combine canning other recipes that need the same time. For example, fill the bottom layer of the canner with potatoes, and the top with peppers. Both need 35 minutes. See how to can potatoes here.
Once all the jars are in the canner, close the lid (checking that everything is in place first), aligning the V mark on the cover with the mark on the body handle. Press down and turn the lid until the handles align. If you are using a different pressure canner, follow your instructions.
Turn on the stove to medium-high to high and heat the canner till steady steam comes out of the vent pipe. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Turn down the heat a bit, but keep the steam flowing.
After 10 minutes, place the pressure regulator on the vent. Turn the heat back to high and leave it high until you reach the desired pressure.
The canner will seal first, then the dial gauge needle will start to move till it reaches the pressure you need. The canner pressure regulator will start to wiggle at the set pressure.
Peppers need to be processed at
11 pounds of pressure(psi) at an altitude below 2,000 feet.
12 pounds at 2,001-4,000 feet
13 pounds at 4,001-6,000 feet
14 pounds at 6,001-8,000 feet.
Processing time is the same for all altitudes. 35 minutes for pints.
Turn the heat down to medium when pressure is reached, then set the timer. Make sure the pressure remains constant throughout the entire processing time.
When the time is over, turn off the stove. I do not move the canner because it’s too heavy for me, but you can if needed. Let the pressure come down, don’t touch the regulator or the lid, it will come down on its own.
Once the pressure is down, wait another 10 minutes before opening the lid. Don’t rush anything. After opening, wait another 10 minutes before removing the jars.
Ideas for using the roasted peppers in a jar
You can add roasted peppers in a jar to any recipe that calls for roasted peppers. However, my favorite way to enjoy them is on a sandwich. They are delicious with just butter or cream cheese, or combined with cheese, tofu, scrambled eggs, or whatever you feel like.
The texture is soft, but not just mushy. The flavor is delicious. Even the brine has flavor; make sure not to discard it, but add it to a soup or sauce.
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