This article will teach you how to freeze habanero peppers, the aromatic, floral, bright orange hot peppers 100 times hotter than jalapeños. Keep reading to find out the best way to preserve your crop of precious peppers, plus some ideas to use them!

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What are Habanero Peppers?
Spicy habanero peppers are small (¾ to 2 ½ inches long) and most commonly bright orange or red chili peppers. They can be found in other colors, such as yellow or purple. When they are unripe, they are green, and they change color as they mature.
Named the Guinness Book of World Records' hottest peppers in 1999, habaneros are extremely spicy. They have since been surpassed by the scorpion pepper and the Carolina Reaper.
Reaching 100,00 to 350,000 on the Scoville scale, habanero peppers are commonly used for hot sauce, salsa, and other spicy foods. A jalapeño, for reference, is rated 2,000 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale, and bell peppers are rated 0.

Habaneros are primarily produced on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, and also grow in really hot climates, like those of Costa Rica, Belize, and parts of the United States.
The name "habanero" comes from the Cuban city La Habana, or Havana, as it is known in English-speaking countries. It was given this name because it was once a common trade product in Cuba.
Similar Types of Peppers
Scotch bonnets and habanero peppers are often confused because they are quite similar. They are, in fact, two varieties of the same species, but have different pod types--that is, the exterior fruit of the pepper, and not the internal white membrane or seeds.

Because of this, the two peppers have a similar heat level, flavor, and thin, waxy skin, and can be used in similar applications.
If you are looking for other peppers similar in heat, but with a different flavor profile, try serrano peppers. It is far milder than a habanero pepper but spicier than jalapeños and commonly available at the grocery store.
How to Freeze Habanero Peppers
The shelf life of raw habanero peppers is, at max, about 2 weeks. If you have an abundance of fresh habanero peppers, freezing your peppers is the easiest way to preserve them.
Some suggest that you blanch your peppers prior to freezing them whole, but I see the best results when I freeze fresh habaneros.
Here are the 5 easy steps to follow:
Step One When freezing habaneros whole, it is a good idea to select only peppers of the best quality. Discard any peppers with brown spots, or signs of mold, damage, or rotting.
Step Two Remove the stems from your habaneros. You can pluck them directly off of the peppers using your fingers or a pair of tweezers. This will save space in your freezer bag to allow you to freeze more peppers at a time.

Step Three Clean them well under running water and be sure to pat them dry with a paper towel. You can wear gloves during this step to ensure you don't get any of the capsaicin on your hands and then accidentally on your face or in your eyes.

Step Four Once you've prepared them for the freezer, place the individual peppers in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze.

Step Five After they are fully frozen, store habaneros in a Ziploc freezer bag or other freezer-safe bags and remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. You can do this with a vacuum sealer if you have one available.

I find that these are the easiest methods to remove air from a plastic bag.
Other Methods of Preserving Habanero Peppers
Try pickling habanero peppers. This recipe for pickled serrano peppers will translate well to pickled habaneros.
You can dry habanero peppers for use later as well. If you have one available, use a dehydrator. This is the easiest method.
If you do not, first wash and dry them thoroughly.
Slice the peppers into thin slices or into quarters. Place the pepper slices and/or cut peppers on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 140°F for about 4 hours.
Once the peppers are completely dry, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before storing them in an airtight container or bag until ready to use.
Storage and Reheating
As with most produce, frozen hot peppers will last a long time. But we've all had that one bag of frozen veggies forgotten in the recesses of the freezer that became completely freezer-burned even though the bag was sealed.
I recommend you freeze peppers for up to a year before use.
There are 3 methods for using frozen habanero peppers:
- Defrost in Refrigerator When you plan to use the peppers, thaw the whole peppers in the refrigerator overnight.
- Defrost at Room Temp Leave the frozen peppers on a plate at room temperature until they have defrosted. There will be moisture present from the thawing, so be sure to pat them dry before using.
- Straight from the Freezer If you plan on using them straight from the freezer, I recommend cooking the habaneros. Simply add the peppers directly to the dish without thawing.
I do not recommend you refreeze habaneros, so just defrost as many peppers as you're planning to need at any given time.
Remember that habaneros may have lost a bit of their kick during the freezing and thawing process. You can add an additional pepper to boost the heat if this is the case.
How to Use
Use in sauces and dips:
You can make a fiery habanero sauce, like this Pineapple Habanero Sauce. It's a bright, tangy, spicy homemade hot sauce I use on everything from grilled meats to eggs to salads.

Try them in a salsa, like this Pineapple Habanero Salsa. The fresh peppers mellow when roasted with sweet pineapple, onions, and garlic, creating a perfect balance of sweet and heat!
Use in a cooked meal:
Greta says
I loved this article about the habanero pepper. When I buy I always buy a lot, so this was very informative. Thanks for your help.
Genevieve says
So happy this was helpful!
Dana says
We usually end up with an overabundance of peppers from our plants. This is the perfect way to store them for later in the year. Thanks for the tips!
Genevieve says
You're so welcome!
Cam says
Thanks for these tips! Helped me a lot!
Genevieve says
Fantastic, thanks Cam!
Sharina says
Thanks Gen for making this so easy to make! My freeze habanero peppers turned out so well. We used it as a dip and it was a hit!
Genevieve says
Great, thank you!
Glenda says
I love being able to freeze aromatics, spices and herbs to use later. It saves so much that would otherwise be wasted. They still cook up beautifully in our favorite recipes. Thank you for sharing all your tips!
Anastasha says
Thank you for these tips! I have a small family and small items like peppers go bad fast so knowing how to freeze peppers will help us not waste so much food and save on money!
Genevieve says
I'm so glad this was helpful, Anastasha.
Lara says
Thank you so much for these tips! Just put my extras in the freezer. I always over estimate the amount I need since they're so hot.
Genevieve says
Haha, me too! They are pretty fiery. Thanks Lara!
Gina says
I made a habanero salsa a few weeks ago and had more than I needed. I never got around to using them and ended up throwing them out. If only I had seen this first! Now I know for next time 🙂
Genevieve says
Yay, no more wasted peppers!
Traci says
Thank you so much for these great tips! I often buy more than I need and they end up going to waste. Excited to be able to freeze and use them later!
Genevieve says
Totally understand. Recipes will call for 1 or 2 peppers and you're stuck with 10 more, haha. Glad this is helpful!
Glenda says
This is great. Thanks for the pepper freezing tips! I ended up using it for jalapenos because that's what I had extra of. It worked perfectly! We are definitely manual air removing people, so I appreciated the link to easy hacks.
Genevieve says
Great to hear you were able to use this for your jalapenos, too! Love that you used the tips. 🙂