Bell peppers, or, depending on where you live, "capsicum," are a vegetable that adds vibrancy, flavor, and mild sweetness to any meal. As a bonus, it's an excellent way to get nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber. The only bummer is deseeding them before using them in a dish. While the seeds are safe to eat raw or cooked, their texture and bitter flavor often steer people away. Whether you already have an excellent method to deseeding a bell pepper or not, I'm here to tell you there's an easy way to save time during meal prep.

First, press the bell pepper stem inward by using both your thumbs. The stem should cave inward with enough force. Then, still using your thumbs, pull the pepper from both sides to open it so it splits into two halves. Next, grab both halves so the interior of the pepper is facing down. Finally, tap both halves once or twice to ensure all the seeds are on the table before you. Once finished, the pepper core should have all or most of the seeds intact, and the two halves should be seedless and ready to eat or cook with. Easy as that!

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While removing the pepper's stem might seem like a one-and-done method, there are other tricks to deseeding a bell pepper, depending on preference. To avoid using only your hands to deseed the pepper, you could also cut the top off so the bottom half of the stem and core shows. Then, simply scoop out the rest of the innards using a spoon. Make sure to scoop around the inside of the pepper to ensure no seeds are left behind.

Another way to deseed is to cut the pepper in quarters. Once it's divided, slice each quarter into strips. Make a slit on each piece of pepper (minus the top and bottom) and run a sharp knife between the flesh and core, ensuring they're entirely apart. You should be left with clean bell pepper strips to sautée, dice, or eat as is. So next time you're in the mood to use bell peppers in a dish, try one of these deseeding methods to get the job done.

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