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Roasting peppers and chilies is an easy culinary skill that any home cook can master. While you can roast, grill, or broil peppers to get the same results, this Air Fryer Peppers method is foolproof. It’s the fastest, easiest, safest way and makes the least mess. This recipe works for bell peppers as well as any chilies including poblanos, jalapeños, and serranos.
Meggan’s notes
Roasted peppers are a key ingredient in many Mexican and Spanish recipes including fajitas, Chile Rellenos, Romesco sauce, and more. Whether you leave them whole or slice them into strips, making Air Fryer Peppers is the fastest way to get the job done.
You can follow the extra steps for peeling the peppers if needed. For example, peppers for fajitas, sandwiches, and salsas may not need to be peeled, but the ones for rajas, Romesco sauce, and Chile Relleno do. It just depends on your recipe.
Even though you can buy jarred roasted peppers at many grocery stores and online, some shortcuts aren’t worth taking. Jarred peppers are packed in a brine, and that flavor infuses any dish you might be making. I cannot think of a single recipe that tastes better with jarred roasted peppers, but feel free to leave a note and prove me wrong!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Peppers: You can either slice the peppers or leave them whole to peel. This process for how to roast peppers works for any fresh chile pepper including bell peppers, poblano peppers, jalapeños, or serranos (cooking times may vary depending on the size). Red, orange, yellow, green, purple; any color you prefer works great. Personally, I love a mix for visual and flavor variety.
- Olive oil: Even though you’re air-frying, you still need a bit of fat for optimal taste and texture. I keep light olive oil on hand as my default cooking oil. A drizzle of avocado oil, peanut oil, or cooking spray (be generous) works here, too.
Step-by-step instructions
To roast sliced peppers:
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, add sliced peppers, olive oil, and salt and pepper (I like at least ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Toss to combine.
- Transfer the peppers to the air fryer basket (work in batches if necessary).
- Air fry at 400 degrees until the peppers are fork-tender with browned edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Shake the basket halfway through to ensure even cooking.
To roast and peel whole peppers:
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees. Add bell peppers to the basket.
- And air fry until the skin is charred and blistered, but not ash white, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand until the skin starts to loosen and the peppers are cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
- Wearing gloves or using a clean kitchen towel, carefully rub off and discard the blackened skin. Leave the stem and seeds intact if desired for your recipe; otherwise, remove and discard them.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Air Fryer peppers recipe makes about 2 cups, enough for four 1/2-cup servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Add herbs and spices: With the air-fried sliced peppers, salt and pepper set the stage. Feel free to customize from there to match your planned use for your cooked peppers. Other dried herbs and spices can take these peppers around the globe. I’ve tried, and love, dusting my oil-dressed pepper slices with chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian Seasoning, or Taco Seasoning before adding them to the air fryer basket.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whole air-fried peppers are awesome in any recipe that calls for jarred roasted red peppers. (My Shakshouka is one example.) You can also slice and dice them to add to soups, stews, pasta sauces, casseroles, and dips.
Air-fried pepper slices are a treat piled on top of steaks, hoagies (sausage and pepper sandwich, anyone?), rice bowls, or salads. Add them to a platter of cooked shrimp or chicken, add a side of warm corn tortillas, and all of a sudden, you have fajitas! I also adore Air Fryer Peppers as a topping for pizza or tacos.
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Air Fryer Peppers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound bell peppers or chilies, cut into 1/2-inch slices or whole (see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (omit for whole peppers)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper (omit for whole peppers)
Instructions
To roast sliced peppers:
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, add sliced peppers, olive oil, and salt and pepper (I like at least ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Toss to combine. Transfer the peppers to the basket of an air fryer (work in batches if necessary).
- Air fry at 400 degrees until the peppers are fork-tender with browned edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Shake the basket halfway through to ensure even cooking.
To roast and peel whole peppers:
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees. Add bell peppers to the basket and air fry until the skin is charred and blistered, but not ash white, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand until the skin starts to loosen and the peppers are cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
- Wearing gloves or using a clean kitchen towel, carefully rub off and discard the blackened skin. Leave the stem and seeds intact if desired for your recipe; otherwise, remove and discard them.
Notes
- Peppers: You can either slice the peppers or leave them whole to peel. This process for how to roast peppers works for any fresh chile pepper including bell peppers, poblanos, jalapeños, or serranos (cooking times may vary depending on the size).
- Yield: This Air Fryer peppers recipe makes about 2 cups, enough for four 1/2-cup servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.