Pickled Peppers, hot or sweet (2024)

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Let us guide you through the basics of pickling peppers, covering everything from selecting the right ingredients to the step-by-step process of creating jars of crunchy, tangy peppers.

Whether you’re looking to spice up your sandwiches, add pizzazz to your pizzas, or simply savor the satisfaction of making something delicious from scratch, you’re in for a flavorful journey

Peppers are among the easiest vegetables for canning. They are so great with so many different foods.

At the end of the season, you end up with so many peppers. Even mid-season, you can make a jar or two at a time and enjoy them all winter.

This technique is called quick pickling, and there is no need to process them in a canning pot. Read on for important storage information.

Growing Peppers

Last year was a great year for growing peppers in upstate NY. It was hot and dry, which peppers are excessively fond of. The drier the year, the hotter the pepper. This year is turning out to be the same, so these peppers should be super hot, too!

Want to learn more about growing your own peppers? If you love growing your own produce, these posts are packed full of information about how to get that big harvest by the end of the season! Don’t miss our How to Start a Garden Series!

The first section is Planning Your Garden. Second is Preparing the Garden Site.

The third is Choosing Plants and Planting Your Garden. The fourth is Garden Maintenance.

The last is Harvesting a Garden and Preserving the Harvest, this article has over 100 FREE recipes for preserving your harvest!

What Types of Peppers to Use

Jalapeños
Hungarian wax
Banana peppers
Ghost peppers
Scotch Bonnet
Serrano
Hatch peppers
Bell peppers
most hot and mild peppers will work well

How to use these peppers

These pickled peppers can be used in so many ways. They are great in sandwiches, stews, and soups. Add some to your chili for an added kick. I put a small ramekin of them on charcuterie boards.

We love them on pizzas, and they are great when added to salads for a spicy, briny kick.

You can add them to tacos, burritos, fajitas, and enchiladas. Mix them with tomatoes for a quick pico de gallo.

The above photo is the first major picking from this year, which is why there are no red or orange peppers. Some peppers turn from green to yellow to orange to red with age. Generally, the hottest peppers are the oldest, red peppers.

These are all Hungarian Wax Peppers and a couple of green bell peppers.

The Hungarian Wax peppers have a similar heat level to jalapeños but can even be hotter.

What you need

apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (you can also substitute white wine vinegar)
Kosher salt: USe plain kosher or pickling salt.
fresh or dried oregano
garlic
optional: peppercorns, bay leaves

How to make pickled peppers

So, briefly, let’s go on to the technique. The first thing you want to do is wash the peppers. Also, wash and sterilize the jars and warm the lids (you must sterilize the jars since these are quick-pickled). Get the rest of your ingredients together.

Step One:

Remove one hot jar at a time and add whole or sliced peppers. Use a clean knife to arrange them so that you can squeeze as many in the jar as possible. (Save enough room to add the remaining ingredients while allowing for about ½-inch headspace.) Pro tip: Lay jars on their sides to make packing whole peppers a breeze.

Step Two:

Add dried or fresh oregano; we have used both. Then add two tablespoons of fresh oregano and the Kosher or canning salt to the jar.

Step Three:

Then, fill the jar halfway with cider vinegar (about a cup for pint jars or 2 cups for quart jars) and add a few crushed garlic cloves.

How to store jars

I have been making these for decades and have never had any problem with the shelf life of these peppers. They last for at least three years. I usually keep them in the basem*nt, which is cool and dry.

Peppers are a low-acid fruit, so if you want to make these peppers shelf-stable, they need to be pressure-canned.

We refrigerate them if they aren’t pressure-canned. We’ve done some AB testing with the quick-canned and found them crispier when refrigerated. Even when compared to jars kept in our cool root cellar.

The ones stored in the refrigerator have retained more of their vibrant color than the ones in the basem*nt or root cellar.

They last for quite a long time- even years.

Pro tips to ensure your success

-Important Note: Wear food-grade gloves when slicing hot peppers!!

-Depending on the heat of the peppers that you are canning, these peppers can be very hot! Remember that the peppers will be hotter in hot, dry years. Perhaps not for the faint of heart.

-Rinsing sliced peppers can reduce a little bit of their heat level, but this is risky because it sprays small particles of capsaicin around in the air and can literally asphyxiate you. It is probably not worth the small bit of capsaicin that you will remove. In a dry year, the peppers will be hot.

-A better way to reduce the heat level of your peppers is to pickle green jalapenos only. Orange and red jalapenos are older and will be hotter. Peppers that develop ribs (beige to brown stripes on the skin are said to be older and hotter.)

-Also, scoop out and remove the ribs and seeds; much of the heat resides there. You can do this with a small melon baller or paring knife.

-Using a Canning tool kit can save you from potential burns.

-Do not reuse single-use lids. They may not be safe.

This recipe is for Cold-Packed Peppers. They can also be processed in a canning pot, but they get soggy.

-We have done lots of testing on the storage of these peppers and found they are best stored in the refrigerator.

Tools I Use

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Other Delicious Pickles

pickled onion
candied jalepenos
pickled garlic scapes
pickled radishes
Kosher pickles
Crispy Sweet Pickles
Homemade pickling spice
pickled green tomatoes

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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.

Enjoy. And have fun cooking!

Pickled Peppers

Easily Pickle Hot Peppers for use all year long!

See Step by Step Photos Above!Most of our recipes have step by step photos and videos! Also helpful tips so that you can make it perfectly the first time and every time! Scroll up to see them!

4.97 from 26 votes

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Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 20 peppers

Calories: 7kcal

Author: Beth Neels

Cost: $5

Ingredients

▢ 20 about hot peppers
▢ 2 c. cider vinegar
▢ water
▢ 2 tsp. oregano, dried
▢ 1 tbsp kosher salt
▢ 2-3 small garlic cloves, crushed

Instructions

Place Peppers in a clean, sterilized 1 qt. canning jar.
Fill jar 1/2 way with vinegar.
Add, spices and garlic. Quantities are NOT critical! Just eye it!
Fill remainder of the jar with boiling water.
Wipe edges of jars.
Place sterilized lid on jar and screw on band, fingertip tight.
Store in the refrigerator. Can be stored for at least 1 year.

canning jars- Pint

canning jars- Quart

measuring spoons

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Notes

Notes:

Important Note: Wear food grade gloves when slicing hot peppers!!

Depending of the heat of the peppers that you are canning, these peppers can be very hot! Keep in mind that in hot, dry years, the peppers will be hotter. Perhaps not for the faint of heart!

Rinsing sliced peppers can reduce a little bit of their heat level, but this is risky because it sprays small particles of capsaicin around in the air and can literally asphyxiate you! It is probably not worth the small bit of capsaicin that you will remove. In a dry year, the peppers will be hot!

A better way to reduce the heat level of your peppers is to only pickle green jalapenos. Orange and red jalapenos are older and will be hotter. Also, slice peppers in half and remove the ribs and seeds, much of the heat resides there.

This recipe is for Cold Packed Peppers. They can also be processed in a water bath canning pot, but I find they get soggy.

I have done lots of testing on the storage of these peppers and find they are best stored in refrigerator.

Peppers are crispier when used within 6 months, or so.

Nutrition

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Originally published March 10, 2017. Updated March 25, 2024