America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Three Tips for Roasting Chile Peppers

After developing our method for roasting and peeling bell peppers, we were eager to try it on other pepper varieties.

After developing our method for roasting and peeling bell peppers, we were eager to try it on other pepper varieties. We found that roasting very thin-walled varieties, such as Cubanelle peppers and serrano chiles, turned out to be more trouble than it was worth because their flesh diminished so much that the roasted peppers were difficult to peel. Plus, the yield was puny. We recommend sticking to varieties such as poblano, Anaheim, Fresno, and jalapeño. These roasted chiles make great additions to salsas, chilis, scrambled eggs, salads, and sandwiches. Since the shapes of all these peppers are tapered rather than boxy like that of bell peppers, we recommend a slightly different method for cutting and roasting them.

1. The tops of large chiles may be roasted in the same way as bell pepper tops, but the tops of smaller chiles don’t hold up to roasting and should be discarded.

2. Do not remove the pointed bottom of the pepper. Instead halve the pepper lengthwise, remove the seeds and ribs, and flatten the pepper skin side up on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.

3. Smaller chiles such as jalapeños may roast more quickly than larger chiles such as poblanos, so be sure to keep an eye on them.

This is a members' feature.