Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread

Marie Overton
May 4, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Jul 11

This savory roasted sweet pepper spread is amazing and reminds me of the fresh Mediterranean recipes that I love so much. It looks like a tomato sauce but it doesn’t taste like one. I would eat this roasted sweet pepper spread on anything but it is especially good on chicken, fries, or pasta. It’s one of those recipes that you are proud to share with others. Any time you add a roasting step it takes a little more time to make the recipe but it is so worth it.

Wooden bowl with red tomatoes beside three jars of red sauce on a dark surface, against a brick backdrop. Text: wisdompreserved.life.

Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread

This recipe makes 5 Half-Pints of Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread.

Ingredients:

A person wearing a "Maria" apron is cutting red bell peppers on a wooden board. More peppers are in a metal bowl. Kitchen setting.

9 large Sweet Peppers seeded and halved
1.5 pounds of halved Tomatoes
1 bulb of Garlic, with the top cut off
1 Onion, with the top cut off
2 tbsp dry Basil
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1/2 c Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil

Preparing Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread:

Hands holding a tray of charred orange bell peppers over an open oven. Kitchen setting, beige apron, and blue sleeve visible.

Roast the peppers in the oven skin side up on broil until skin begins to blacken.

Person in an apron placing roasted red peppers into paper bags on a kitchen counter. Hexagonal tile backsplash, relaxed cooking setting.

Remove the peppers from the oven and place them in a paper bag on a tray with a tall lip to prevent the juice from spilling.

Olive oil pouring beside garlic, onion, and tomatoes on a countertop. Cutting board with garlic peelings. Text reads "Olive oil".

Roast tomatoes skin side up, onion, and garlic on an oven tray. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the onion and garlic then place the tray in the oven on broil until the tomato skin begins to blacken.

Roasted tomatoes with charred tops on a baking tray, alongside baked garlic and onion. A hand holding tongs is visible above a granite counter.

Remove the tomatoes, onion, and garlic from the oven and place the tomatoes in a paper bag on a tray with a tall lip to prevent the juice from spilling.

Hands peel charred skin off roasted red peppers on a wooden board. A bowl collects skins, and a blender holds a peeled pepper.

Peel the skin off the peppers. If I get a really tenacious piece I don’t worry about it too much. The blender will take care of it.

Hands peeling roasted red peppers over a bowl on a speckled counter. Nearby, peeled peppers sit in a blender. Cozy kitchen scene.

Then peel, and seed the tomatoes.

Hands holding a blender jug filled with peeled tomato slices, set on a speckled countertop. Bright, fresh colors create a vivid scene.

Place the tomatoes and peppers in the blender and blend them together.

Hands peeling garlic on a wooden cutting board with cloves around. A pot of orange soup sits nearby on a speckled countertop.

The garlic should be light brown at the edges. Allow it to cool enough to touch and then squeeze the bulbs and the softened cloves should slip right out of the cut tops.

Chopped garlic on a wooden board beside a pot of orange sauce. A knife is mid-action on a speckled countertop.

After all the cloves are removed they need to be finely minced. The onion should also be finely chopped with 1/3c of the finely chopped onions measured out for current use. I set the rest of the roasted onion aside and use it for dinner. Yum!

A pot of orange soup with spices being added on a speckled countertop. A hand holds a jar, pouring more ingredients.

Combine all the ingredients in a pot and heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are softened and it has your desired thickness.

Canning Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread:

Using a jar funnel, fill the half-pint jars leaving 1/4-inch of headspace.

Hands clean jar tops filled with orange sauce on a speckled counter. Eight jars with lids nearby. Cozy kitchen setting.

Clean the rims with a clean cloth to ensure a good seal. Place lids on top and screw rings on until they are finger-tight.

(For quality, American made Superb canning lids and jars follow this link and use the coupon code WP20 to get 20% off your purchase.)

Place the jars in a boiling water canner, covering them with 1-2 inches of water. Process for 10 minutes at sea level. (Adjust the processing time if you are above 1000 feet.)

After processing, allow to cool in the water bath with the heat off and the lid removed for 5 minutes.

Once your jars have completed processing, space the jars about an inch apart on the counter for 24 hours to cool and completely seal.

Tamales with red sauce on a white plate, set on a woven mat. Nearby, canned sauce jars and a red bell pepper on a wooden surface.

If your jar did not seal, then place it in the refrigerator and use it immediately. Store the sealed jars in your pantry to enjoy for the next 1-3 years. After three years the nutritional value of canned food diminishes. The quality is best in the first year.

If you have any questions about canning with a pressure canner or how to adjust the pressure or processing time for altitude, take a look at our canning basics videos.