ShelfLife
How long do peppers last?
Whole bell peppers keep 4 to 14 days in the fridge, depending on how fresh they were when you bought them. Hot peppers keep about 1 week. Both freeze well: 6 to 8 months for bell peppers, 9 months for hot peppers.
| Food | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|
| Bell peppers | 4–14 daysfrom purchase | 6–8 monthsfrom purchase |
| Hot peppers (chili, jalapeño) | 1 weekfrom purchase | 9 months |
Fridge at 4 °C (40 °F) or colder, freezer at −18 °C (0 °F). Freezer times are for best quality: food kept frozen stays safe, but slowly loses taste and texture. These times are USDA guidance, not a guarantee. When in doubt, throw it out.
How to tell if peppers have gone bad
- Soft, wrinkled or sunken skin. Slightly wrinkled peppers are still fine to cook.
- Slimy patches, or dark, wet, sunken spots.
- Mold, often around the stem or inside.
- A sour or rotten smell.
How to store peppers
- Keep whole peppers unwashed and dry in the crisper drawer: moisture makes them spoil faster.
- Green peppers usually keep longer than red, yellow or orange ones, which are riper.
- Store cut peppers in a sealed container in the fridge and use them within a few days.
- Hot peppers last longer kept dry: don't wash them until you use them.
Can you freeze peppers?
Yes, and you don't need to blanch them. Wash, dry, deseed and slice or chop them, freeze them in a single layer on a tray, then bag them. Bell peppers keep 6 to 8 months and hot peppers 9 months. They lose their crunch, so use them straight from frozen in cooking: stir-fries, sauces, soups and fajitas.
Questions
Can you eat a wrinkled pepper?
Yes, if it isn't slimy, moldy or bad-smelling. It has lost moisture and crunch, so cook it rather than eating it raw.
How long do cut peppers last?
A few days in a sealed container in the fridge. Cut peppers dry out and go soft quickly.
Do peppers need to be refrigerated?
For more than a day or two, yes. At room temperature they soften and wrinkle within days.
Add peppers to ShelfLife, and get a reminder before they go soft.
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Storage times: USDA FoodKeeper (Food Safety and Inspection Service), public domain. Text by ShelfLife.