Pickled Banana Peppers – Easy, Tasty Recipe
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One of the easiest, tastiest snacks you can make is pickled banana peppers! We always have a jar in our fridge to dress up sandwiches and eggs. It is not uncommon for us to throw a pickled banana pepper on top of a buttery cracker and a piece of cheddar cheese. Midnight snack anyone?
Banana peppers are one of our favorite varieties to grow in the garden. They’re tasty, prolific, and can be used in many recipes. Unlike some of the spicier peppers that we grow, we have no issue offloading banana peppers to friends and family.
Some people might be afraid of pickling with fear that it is too difficult. However, the process is much easier than you may think! You can pickle banana peppers using a quick pickling method, or by water bath canning. It all depends on how long you wish to keep your peppers good for.
We eat up our pickled banana peppers quick, so we typically opt for the quick pickling process. These pickles are also known as refrigerator pickles. They are not shelf stable, and they are stored in the fridge and consumed quickly.
If you are looking for a guide to preserving your peppers for long-term storage, we recommend following the USDA guide to home canning.
Pickled Banana Peppers (Video)
What You Will Need To Pickle Banana Peppers
- 10 Banana Peppers (Depending on size)
- 2 cups white vinegar (5%)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon pure salt (pickling salt)
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar (optional but recommended)
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorn
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- Mason jars with lid
- Saucepan
Note: This is a basic brine recipe. We encourage you to experiment with different spices! You can try adding dill, oregano, turmeric, or different varieties of peppers. Get creative and have fun with it.
When To Pick Banana Peppers For Pickling
If you’re growing banana peppers in your garden, you’ll want to make sure you pick them at the optimal time. Always wait for the banana peppers to mature before harvesting them for pickles. They should be a pale yellow color and have reached their mature size of 4-5 inches.
If you leave your banana peppers on the plant for too long, they will eventually turn to an orange-red color. It is fine to pick them at this stage, but for the best pickles, we suggest harvesting them at their pale yellow color. Banana peppers are good to eat at any stage of growth, so don’t overthink it too much! We also have a complete guide on when to pick banana peppers.
What To Do With Pickled Banana Peppers
The possibilities are endless! We love snacking on pickled banana peppers right from the jar. Pickled banana peppers also taste great on top of a pizza (especially Hawaiian or pepperoni!). If you’re looking to spice up plain scrambled eggs in the morning, throw some on top or mix them into an omelets.
Pickled banana peppers are also delicious on tacos, burritos, and sandwiches. They add a zingy punch of flavor without being too heavy. If you have a favorite way to use pickled banana peppers, let us know in the comments so we can try it out. We always have a jar in the fridge around harvest time!
Check out our list of banana pepper recipes to get even more ideas.
How To Pickle Banana Peppers
We also have an easy-to-follow video tutorial on pickling banana peppers on YouTube. Here is our basic procedure for quick pickled banana peppers.
Step 1: Sterilize your jars
In order to sterilize your jars, boil them for 10 minutes (without the lid on). Make sure the jar is completely submerged in the pot of water. After the 10 minutes have passed, remove the jar carefully (use tongs!), and place them on a towel with the rim side up.
Step 2: Clean and slice your peppers
Carefully inspect all of your peppers for signs of rot or mold. Clean your banana peppers thoroughly and prepare them for slicing. If you are using spicy banana peppers, you may want to wear gloves for this step. The best way to loosen the seeds of your banana peppers is to roll them gently back and forth on a cutting board. Then, slice off the top of the banana peppers and use a chopstick to remove the seeds and core.
We like to slice our banana peppers 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick.
Step 3: Fill your sterilized jar with your sliced banana peppers
After you have a big pile of sliced banana peppers, you can fill your jar and prepare them for pickling! You will want to pack them nice and tight and leave a bit of room at the top.
Step 4: Prepare your brine
This is where all the flavor happens! Combine your water, vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic and spices in a medium saucepan. Stir well to make sure everything is combined. Bring your brine to a boil. After the brine boils, you can remove it from the heat.
Step 5: Pour your brine over the peppers
The smoothest way to do this is by using a funnel. I would also recommend putting your jar of peppers on a pan or in a large bowl. This will make it easier to clean up if there is any spillage. At this point, you can pour your hot brine into the jar over your banana peppers. Make sure all the spices get in there too! You may have a bit of brine leftover which you can discard.
Use a spatula to go around the edge and remove the air bubbles.
Step 7: Seal and store
If you are looking to pickle banana peppers for long-term storage, you would prepare a water bath for your peppers at this point. However, we are going to store these pickled banana peppers in the fridge and consume them rather quickly. At this point, they are ready to eat! However, we suggest letting them sit in the fridge for a couple of days, so all the flavors infuse.
Other Pickled Pepper Recipes
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Mason jars
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 10 Banana peppers
- 2 cups White vinegar 5%
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tbsp Pure salt Kosher, pickling, sea salt
- 1/2 tbsp Sugar Optional but recommended
- 1 tsp Mustard seed
- 1 tsp Black peppercorn
- 1/2 tsp Celery seed
- 3 cloves Garlic crushed
Instructions
- Sterilize your jars by boiling them for 10 minutes (without the lid).
- Clean and inspect your banana peppers. Gently roll them on a cutting board to loosen the seeds. Slice the tops off the banana peppers and use a chopstick to de-seed them.
- Slice your banana peppers into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch saucers. Fill your sterilized jar with the peppers.
- Prepare your brine by bringing the vinegar, water, garlic, sugar, salt, and spices to a rolling boil. Remove the brine from the heat when it comes to a boil.
- Carefully pour the hot brine into the jar of peppers. Use a paper towel dipped in vinegar to wipe around the jar lid and clean up any spillage.
- Seal the jars and allow to cool before placing in the fridge. Allow them to infuse for a couple of days before digging in. These are refrigerator pickles and should be consumed within a month.
See how simple it is to pickle banana peppers? After trying this recipe at home, we’re sure you will never buy store-bought pickled banana peppers again. Let us know in the comments if you try this recipe and any variations you may have made. We encourage you to experiment with different spices and have fun!
Do you have to remove seeds and membrane from peppers? Also, I’m adding other peppers, without the calcium chloride, will the peppers retain their crispness in the refrigerator?
Banana peppers tend to have a lot of seeds and innards, so removing them make them much more enjoyable to eat after being pickled. The peppers will definitely stay crisp for several weeks in the fridge, especially when using yellow peppers (as opposed to ripe red ones).
Can this recipe be safely water bath canned for long term room temp storage?
Hi guys.. Just want to make sure I understand.. I can put these through a water bath canner.. To use later in winter months with gumbo..
I love to have pickle banana peppers. Therefore how do I get the seeds for planting in my garden. I shall be grateful if you can send me the seeds. Thanks sir and ma.
Looks like a recipe I’ll definitely try!
OMG! This recipe is so delicious, we have difficulty waiting to eat them. This recipe is really easy and I recommend everyone try it at least once. Then I’m sure you’ll make it again!
20 minutes plus a COUPLE OF DAYS…click bait. Basic recipe.
I should be able to put these in a hot water bath and process for 10 minutes? I like to make a larger batch for the winter months.
My husband and I love pickled banana peppers, so this is going to be a real treat.
We have been blessed with a lot of peppers this year and I think this is going to be better than freezing them. Thanks a bunch! From North Carolina The Dunlows!
That sounds great! Congratulations on the harvests, I hope y’all enjoy the pickled peppers 🌶️
Using a chop stick to remove the core is a pain. It is much easier if you use a potato peeler. You can remove the ribs, too, if you wish. Also, if you have some leftover jalapenos, remove the stem end, slice them vertically and remove the seeds and ribs, and fill the cavity with crunchy peanut butter. Makes a wonderful snack. Sometimes I sprinkle some raisins of it (i.e., a derivative of Ants-On-A-Log).
I want to do my banana peppers for Ling term
This recipe is great! The peppers were delicious. Thank you for this post, but your website is so advertisement heavy that it glitches and moves with the ads and it hard to even see/find the recipes between all the ads. I probably won’t stay on your site and look for other recipes because of the ads. As I’m typing, one is covering the comment box and I cannot see what I’m typing…very annoying. Please consider reducing the ads.
Thank you for the feedback and trying our recipe – I will look into the issue with ads overlaying the recipe right away!
Hi. How many quart jars does this recipe make? Thank-you.
@Sarah, I only got 1. I had 3 jars of peppers. I made 2.5x this recipe to fill them with liquid
Easy to prepare and make…..can’t wait to try them they are in fridge now
I made a batch of these today, my second time using this recipe. Four XL sweet banana, one XL hot banana and two jalapenos made one packed Mason jar. Good stuff.
My jalapenos are very disappointing this year, I only have one store bought plant (Bonnie) and the peppers have ZERO heat to them. I think they mixed up the tags or I just got a dud.
I’m afraid the storebought plants (and especially fresh jalapeños from the supermarket) are continuing to decrease heat. I can’t stand it! I’m glad there are still hot jalapeño seeds available. Glad you enjoy the pickled peppers!
@John E., same. Our jalapeños had zero heat. I added them with the banana pepper, now I’m just waiting to try them.
@John E., Peppers get hotter if it is dryer. Try not to water too often.
Just processed a batch. All sealed up, and now we wait (the hardest part 😜).
Thank you for sharing! I love this recipe. I’ve had an amazing harvest and have made 3 jars so far! Do you pickle jalapeño peppers the same way?
Yes, we do!
how many jars and what size does this make
How many 8 oz jars does this make?
Also , it call for 10 banana peppers , that is not many, did anyone use weight instead?
I dont want to use sugar , did anyone NOT use sugar?
@Jan, use stevia
I like to take banana peppers and mix red, yellow and orange bell peppers along with thin sliced radishes and carrots to my pickle recipe for a mixed salad that I finely chop and use in sandwiches, salads and cheese toast.
Can you use the crispX ? To keep them crispy?
If they are sealed in the sterilized jars, why can’t they be kept in the cabinet with other canned vegetables
Ideally you would steam the cans for ~10 minutes before tightening down the seals. However, I have heard of some people just pouring boiling brine and storing at room temp.
@peppergeek, mine sealed
I put them in fridge
Want to move to pantry
Dont want to lose them
So good
Just need to slice thicker
Not processor
@Cheyenne Stewart, to properly can, you’d have to also use a water bath and make sure the recipe is safe for long term canning. Refrigerator pickling is easier if you aren’t sure of long term safety of recipe or don’t want to do a water bath
@Cheyenne Stewart, after following the recipe you would then place your closed jars into a boiling water canner to finish processing, usually about 10 minutes
Would I be able to add onions?
Definitely!
Instead of a crunchy pepper,,can you lighty boil them for a softer pepper then proceed with process?
Yes, you can cook them for 3-5 minutes in the simmering brine to soften up the pepper chips.
Can you can these ?
Yes they’re plenty acidic for canning
So if I water bath can them they are acidic enough to be shelf stable?
These are the best homemade pickled banana peppers I’ve made and the only ones I prefer over store bought. I throw in a jalapeño or Serrano pepper with the banana peppers to up the spice, but other than that the recipe is spot on!! Thanks!
That’s great to hear! I agree adding something with a little kick is a good idea 🔥
Calcium Choride is not in this recipe however it is typically used in ice water to soak pickles in prior to the pickling process to help retain crispness
@Scott, do you soak them after cutting and for how long
I’ve substituted shishito peppers for the banana peppers. I kept them while and put one or two slits length wise. They were quite good as refrigerator pickles.
Can these be put in hot water and boil in jars for longer shelf life.
I canned off a few of these and jalapenos this summer. However, I didn’t use calcium chloride and, while flavorful, they are very mushy as a result. Can they be turned into hot sauce to salvage them? The soggy texture isn’t very palatable.
Yes you could make a sauce or maybe a sweet/spicy relish using the pickled peppers
@Jamie, Where is calcium chloride in the recipe?
@Mary C Huegel, did you get an answer? I’m wondering same.
@Mary C Huegel, did you ever get an answer??
@Mary C Huegel, did u get an answer?
Would this recipe work with habaneros?
Yes it would. They would just be much spicier 🙂