How to Grill Bell Peppers

If you are reading this, you’ve undoubtedly got your grill ready and want to make a simple yet delicious grilled side dish. Grilled bell peppers are one of the most popular side dishes at barbecues during the summer. All you have to do is throw them on the grill, and they come out sweet, tender, smoky and charred.

Read on to discover how to grill bell peppers and make your main grilled dishes pop.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Grill Peppers?

Grilled bell peppers are so great that you would think they are plastered with spices and seasoning, but that isn’t the case. All you need for this recipe is pepper and salt to spark the tastebuds using this healthy vegetable. With that, you need the following ingredients:

Kosher salt
Olive oil
Red onions (this ingredient is optional, but it elevates this recipe)
Bell peppers (you can use all different colors to make this side dish a lot more attractive)

What Can You Eat With Grilled Bell Peppers?

You Can Make Your Grilled Peppers an Entire Meal

Grilled peppers can be the perfect easy and healthy side dish when making a grilled dinner. When you are already grilling, placing some veggies on the grill can be easy. With that in mind, here are a few recipes to consider:

Grilled shellfish: you can add your grilled peppers to any grilled shellfish, be it Cajun shrimp, grilled shrimp, grilled shrimp tacos, grilled scallops, or blackened shrimp.

Grilled salmon: you can add your grilled peppers to your grilles salmon or easy cedar plank salmon recipe.

Alternatively, you can use your grilled pepper as a garnish for any vegetarian dish, such as a portobello burger or veggie burger.

You could choose to add your grilled bell peppers as part of fajitas. All you have to do is add fajita seasoning and fill your tortilla with roasted peppers and refried beans.

Have some leftovers? Here’s how long you can store your vegetables in the fridge for.

While this might seem like a cop out, one of the great features of roasting peppers is that you can serve it as a side dish. Alternatively, you can serve mini peppers with grilled zucchini to create a healthier dish. You can also chop them up and mix your red bell peppers with rice. Regardless of the serving method you choose, you are bound to enjoy this recipe.

When it comes to grilled peppers, there are two methods of grilling recipes. The first one requires you to frill peppers right on the grill grate, while the other requires you to use a grill basket.

Instructions

It takes about 5 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cooking time to roast bell peppers. The following instructions are the best to cook peppers.

First, preheat the grill to medium heat with a temperature of around 375° to 450°F. If you use the grill basket method, you must place it on the grill during the preheating process. Alternatively, you can place your tin foil on the grill to warm up with the grill.

Then follow the steps associated with your chosen grilling method.

Grate Method

This grilling method is best suited for grilling bell peppers. You can cut your bell peppers into quarters and directly place them onto the grates. This is perhaps one of the quickest ways to roast bell peppers.

The grill grate method is great if you intend to cut your red bell peppers into large pieces. To do this, you can cut your bell peppers into quarters before mixing them with salt and olive oil.

The peppers can then be placed directly onto the grill grate. Ensure that each pepper has enough space; keeping them too close would increase the cooking time.

Grilling time on medium heat takes about 10 minutes for the mini peppers to be tender.

Grill Basket

This method, also known as the tin foil method, is wonderful for sliced onions, particularly if you include onions in your recipe. This method ensures that your onions do not fall into the grill. You should note that the tin foil method does take slightly longer; however, you get a slow-cooked and sweet flavor from your grilled veggie.

As stated earlier, this method is best if you slice your grilled peppers. It can also be great if you are grilling onions as well. If you are grilling onions, you can use red onions as their inherent sweetness can complement the bell pepper. If you don’t have a grill basket, you can use tin foil to hold the peppers in place. Follow the steps below to cook peppers.

First, slice the peppers and/or onions into thick strips. The strips should be about 1.5 inches thick. Mix the strips with salt and olive oil. You can begin grilling peppers, turning them over a couple of times during the 15-minute cooking time.

If you don’t have a grill basket, you can use tin foil by folding a large piece in half and making several holes. To ensure your veggies do not roll off, create a rim about 1 inch around the edge to form a tray.

How to Grill Bell Peppers: What to Remember

Bell peppers, regardless of their colors, are available all year round at grocery stores. Nevertheless, there are some months when bell peppers are a lot cheaper to purchase than others. This is typical during the harvest season: summer and fall. This is the most effective way to save money.

It turns out that cooking and shopping based on seasons and sales can help stretch your grocery budget. All the little things can add up over time, making a massive difference in your budget.

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