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Roasted-dried peppers (Capsicum annuum L.), known as “chile pasado”, are a common food item consumed in Mexico. During processing, physicochemical changes affect the quality of this foodstuff; these changes are related to the pepper varieties used. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of three green peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) varieties (Anaheim, Mirasol and a G1 hybrid from a cross between Anaheim and Mirasol) on their physicochemical and structural properties during the roasting-drying process. The hypothesis was that using new and more suitable pepper varieties during the roasting-drying process, would result in better yields and quality of roasted-dried peppers. The experimental design was completely randomized with two replicates per treatment and the experimental unit was a sample of each pepper variety. Peppers were roasted under fixed conditions and dried at 75 °C. Yield, water activity (aw), moisture content, texture, pH, acidity, microstructural analysis, antioxidant activity, phenolic and capsaicinoid content, pungency, and the rehydration ratios were evaluated. Data were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA and a mean comparison using the Tukey’s test. The physical, chemical, and structural characteristics of hybrid G1 were similar to those of Mirasol. Roasting caused texture loss and increased antioxidant activity and phenolic and capsaicinoid contents. During drying, Mirasol and hybrid G1 showed decreased phenolic content and antioxidant activity and increased capsaicin content. The loss of firmness in dried-rehydrated tissues was 94.1-96.8 %. Hybrid G1 had improved yield compared with Mirasol; however, Anaheim peppers showed the highest yield. Additionally, phenolic and capsaicinoid content were higher in hybrid G1 than in Anaheim. Hybrid G1 exhibited advantageous functional characteristics that could be used in roasting and drying processes for the production of food ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]