Roasted Red Peppers

If you’re looking for ways to incorporate more veggies into your diet, then these roasted red peppers make it easy, as they are jam packed full of flavor! Roasting them with a bit of avocado oil and some Celtic sea salt adds a sweet smokey depth of flavor that’s hard to describe in words, it’s just something you have to try. When Mattie, my 13 year old, tried them for the first time, she said they tasted like candy, and pretty much ate a whole baking sheet in one sitting, so there you go!  I won’t promise that they will taste like candy to you, but they do taste pretty darn good!

These roasted peppers will be your new go-to, as they literally take no time to prep and bake up! They’re a great stand alone healthy snack, or make a stellar side dish that pairs with just about anything!  I make these at least 4-5 times a week, (if not more) as I use them in just about EVERYTHING. I thought I would toss in a few examples below of what I’ve been pairing them with to give you some ideas of what you can do.  If you follow me on instagram, then you’ve seen these below combinations and more!

I love tossing them in a salad. The roasted peppers warm up the salad, and taste better than adding in a cold pepper.  I also love tossing in some warm quinoa to the salad.

I’ve paired them with a bit of sautéed kale, quinoa, roasted broccoli and my lemon vinaigrette for a healthy power packed lunch.

I love topping them on some avocado socca. I will post the socca recipe soon, as this is my go-to gluten-free bread! I even make BLT’s with socca.

I’ve paired them with some spinach, leftover sautéed zucchini, squash, chicken and quinoa.

We top them on our teriyaki rice bowls. I will post the chicken teriyaki recipe soon!

I toss them in mine and Steve’s favorite vegan pesto pasta dish!  I will post the vegan pesto pasta dish soon!

The list goes on and on… I promise if you make these, then they will become one of your go-to veggies. Hey, we’re supposed to eat the rainbow when it comes to fruits and veggies, so go roast some red, yellow and orange peppers and get your flavor on!

Roasted red peppers

• 3 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, sliced into thin strips
• roughly 1/2 tablespoon avocado oil – I like Primal and Chosen – make sure you read the label and buy pure avocado oil, as some brands contain blends, and you don’t want that
• few pinches of fine Celtic sea salt

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash pepper, and holding from the top near the stem, slice the pepper straight down each side to form 4-6 big pieces. This keeps the seeds and ribs intact in the center and not all over your counter.  

Slice the big pieces of pepper into thin slices. That’s it!

Toss sliced peppers onto the baking sheet, drizzle them with avocado oil and a few pinches of sea salt, and mix them all together.

You can add freshly ground pepper, or any other seasonings, but we find that we love them simply with sea salt. The amount of sea salt and avocado oil you add is really to taste. Mattie and I like our peppers a bit on the saltier side, but that’s just us.

Roast the peppers in the preheated oven for roughly 12-20 minutes, giving them a toss with some tongs around the 10 minute mark, until tender and slightly charred on the skins. To be honest, these peppers sometimes take 12 minutes to roast up to perfection and other times 20 minutes. I don’t have an answer for it, but just wanted to note that in case you run into the same thing.

Note: I also want to let you all know that I usually just toss the peppers into the oven while it’s pre-heating, and just keep an eye on them. It’s just a quicker way to get things done.

Eat them straight off the baking sheet, or let cool and store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I personally leave the skins on for these snacking peppers, as the skin adds a pop of flavor and texture.

Below are 2 awesome sandwich recipes from my blog that you can pair these peppers with.

Roasted red pepper panini with cilantro-lime mayonnaise.

Grilled cheese with roasted red pepper and avocado.

If you want a simple recipe for roasted peppers to use in sauces and soups then you will want to try this one, as you will blacken them and then remove the skins.

Give these bad boys a try and let me know what you think, and what you pair them with!