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We Tried the Viral “Upside-Down Method” for Cutting Bell Peppers and It Totally Works

Cory Fernandez
Cory FernandezAssociate Food Editor
Cory is the Associate Food Editor at Kitchn. Previously an editor at Food Network Magazine, Cory loves making cold brew at home, trying out new soup recipes, zhuzhing up Trader Joe's finds, and putting everything seasoning on something. When he's not in the kitchen, you can find…read more
published Oct 20, 2023
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green bell peppers in an orange garden container
Credit: kaiskynet

Bell peppers are sweet rather than spicy, and like onions, garlic, and celery, often help to round out dishes like shrimp fajitas, pepper steak, and chicken à la King. The sweeter red and yellow versions may even end up in your kid’s bento box lunch! If you’ve never really put much thought into how to cut said bell peppers, though, allow me to introduce you to the simplest, most effective way to cut clean slices without lots of seeds stuck everywhere.

What’s the Best Way to Cut a Bell Pepper?

According to TikToker, theloriconway, this method is the only way to cut a bell pepper: for speed, efficiently, and cleanliness, that is. Usually, many people often cut a bell pepper while they’re right-side up, and then slice off each of the four sides. In this video, however, theloriconway cuts a bell pepper upside down to get quick, even slices, without dealing with seeds. 

  • First, cut the stem off of the bell pepper. 
  • Next, lay the bell pepper upside down, with the stem end lying flat on the cutting board. 
  • Then, use a chef’s knife to cut the bell pepper into three parts, cutting through the grooves that are in between the rounded ends of the pepper (the cut should somewhat resemble the shape of the letter “Y”).
  • Lastly, pull each of the pieces apart and away from the stem end. This results in seed-free pieces, perfect for slicing, chopping, and dicing. The stem end holds all of the seeds in place. 
Credit: Cory Fernandez
Bell Pepper Cut Right-Side Up
Credit: Cory Fernandez
Bell Pepper Cut Upside-Down

Takeaways from This Method

This TikTok method did result in less sporadic seeds than my usual method. One of the main concerns expressed in the comments under the video is that it wastes a good amount of the edible parts of the bell pepper. However, when I tested this method for myself, I didn’t find that this was too much of an issue. Instead, I found this method to yield clean, seed-free slices from the bell pepper.

This article originally published on The Kitchn. Read it there: We Tried the Viral “Upside-Down Method” for Cutting Bell Peppers and It Really Works