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

Cory Fernandez
Cory FernandezAssociate Food Editor
Cory is a New York City–based associate editor at The Kitchn, who covers food trends, lifestyle, wine, liquor, spirits, food-related travel, and food features. Before working at The Kitchn, he worked as an editor at Food Network Magazine and was a contributor to The Pioneer Woman Magazine. Cory also occasionally develops recipes, tests products, and contributes SEO content for The Kitchn.
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published Aug 17, 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. This is why they’re commonly used in dishes like shrimp fajitas, pepper steak, and chicken à la King. If you’ve never really put much thought into how to cut said bell peppers, though, let us introduce you to this simple yet effective method (thanks to TikTok), which yields 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.

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