Peppers are one of the vegetables that do not need blanching for the freezer, and the same goes for the freeze dryer. Wash, dice and load. They keep their red, yellow and green colors and their sweet flavor, and they rehydrate as soon as they hit a pan with some moisture.
At over 90% water, a pound of peppers gives only about 1½ ounces dried, so a tray of mixed colored peppers is a pantry luxury that weighs almost nothing.
Prep and loading
- Wash, core, seed and dice ⅜ inch, or cut strips for fajitas.
- Spread in a single layer.
- Mixed colors make a nice bag; they all finish at about the same time.
How to tell it’s done
- Pieces are brittle and light, skin side included.
Not sure? The weight check compares two weighings and the expected dry weight for bell peppers.
Problems and fixes
Skins stayed leathery
Pepper skin is the last part to dry. Smaller pieces or a few extra hours.
Rehydrating and storing
Rehydrate: Add dry to anything with liquid. By weight, 100 g of dried bell peppers takes back about 1113 g of water to return to fresh weight; the rehydration calculator does any amount.
Store: Mylar or jar with an oxygen absorber.
Ways to use it
- Omelets and scrambles
- Chili and fajitas
- Pizza topping
- Ground into sweet pepper powder
How much fits per batch
At a normal single layer, bell peppers load at roughly 2 lb of fresh food per square foot of tray. That works out to:
| Machine | Fresh per batch | Dried per batch |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest Right Countertop 360 | 5.0 lb | 6.6 oz |
| Harvest Right Small | 6.0 lb | 8.0 oz |
| Harvest Right Medium | 9.4 lb | 12.4 oz |
| Harvest Right Large | 15.4 lb | 1.27 lb |
| Harvest Right X-Large | 31.3 lb | 2.58 lb |
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central: peppers, sweet, red, raw (water content)
- Utah State University Extension: Can I Freeze-Dry That? (2026)
- Penn State Extension: Let’s Preserve: Freeze-Drying
- National Center for Home Food Preservation: freezing (blanching times)
- Iowa State University Extension AnswerLine: Preserving by home freeze drying
Water content rounded from USDA FoodData Central (peppers, sweet, red, raw). Cycle times are typical ranges at default settings; thickness, load and your room change them. How we put these together.