You're Probably Cutting Bell Peppers Wrong– Here's The Right Way

While they're not as supremely Southern as pimientos, bell peppers are a staple in so many Southern-style recipes. Bell peppers are one of the three key elements of the “holy trinity,” after all!

Commonly available in red, orange, yellow, and green—and sometimes in their rare white, purple, and brown glory—bell peppers are naturally sweet and remarkably versatile. These capsicum family members are sometimes called “sweet peppers,” which is an apt moniker. They’re more sweet than spicy—and they’re also loaded with an intense amount of seeds. 

If you, too, have ever sliced into a bell pepper only to have it overflow with contents quicker than a piñata, you know how frustrating it can be to contain all those seeds.

Since this is the case, we were drawn in immediately when we saw @theloriconway sharing the ultimate way to cut a bell pepper.

The Trick Everyone Needs To Try

With more than 9.9 million views and counting, we’re clearly not the only ones reeled in by this trick.

“Show me the one life hack that you randomly saw one day that is now an unconscious standard practice in your life,” a voiceover says over the video by Lori Conway, creator of the blog Crazy Busy Mama.

Best Way To Cut a Bell Pepper

This is the best way to cut a bell pepper, according to Conway, since it’s quick, clean, and efficient. To follow her lead, we grabbed a bell pepper, rounded up a knife and a cutting board, and carved out 15 seconds. Yes, you can actually complete this meal prep step in the time it takes to watch the TikTok video.

Most people slice a bell pepper stem-side up, either in half or by trimming off the four mostly-flat sides. Conway says it's high time to flip your lid—er, pepper.

1. Using the knife, slice off just the stem of the bell pepper leaving all of the pepper itself intact.
2. With the bell pepper stem-side down on the cutting board, use the knife to cut through the three or four grooves that divot down between the rounded ends of the bell pepper. (Your knife cuts should somewhat resemble a peace sign.)
3. Pull each of the pieces apart and away from the stem end, snapping each one off individually. 

You should now have three or four seed-free bell pepper pieces, as the seeds and membranes will be connected to the stem end. If you notice a fair amount of bell pepper flesh remaining at the top, carefully trim this away to slice and use. Compost the remaining piece of pepper; carefully placing a hand underneath as you transfer it to the pile to snag any errant seeds.

Conway captions the video, “🫑🤯No other way to cut a bell pepper!!” After trying the savvy strategy ourselves, we have to agree. It resulted in far less seed scattering than our previous stem-up slicing technique.

We’re grateful to have discovered this TikTok trick just in time to celebrate the rest of bell pepper season (July through September) with reckless abandon. Coming soon: A massive mountain of Pineapple-Pepper Slaw!