This Pickled Banana Peppers recipe is an excellent starting point on your pickling journey. It’s easy to prepare, straightforward, adaptable, and foolproof! Add these sliced peppers to sandwiches, bowls, shawarma wraps, hot dogs, and hamburgers.
This recipe is based on my refrigerator pickles recipe. Refrigerator pickles are meant to be stored in the fridge, not the counter or pantry. Make sure to also try my 10-minute quick pickled jalapenos! And if you’re looking for more pickling inspiration, my 11 Essential Pickling Recipes post is a good place to start.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
This is a simple pickled peppers recipe. Truly, nothing is easier! Might just be the easiest recipe on my website. It’s also very adaptable to individual tastes so feel free to experiment. Just make sure to keep the water and vinegar ratio unchanged.
- Peppers: This is a banana pepper recipe, so use either sweet or hot banana peppers. You can even use a mix of sweet peppers and hot peppers. But if you don’t have banana peppers, don’t worry, this will work with any pepper. Check out some of my other hot pepper recipes including my Fermented Hot Sauce, Shatta (Middle Eastern Chile Paste), and Sambal (Indonesian Chili Paste).
- Spices: A combination of black pepper and mustard seed adds that classic pickle flavor profile.
- Vinegar: I use plain white distilled vinegar to make my pickling solution. But you can use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or even champagne vinegar. Don’t use dark colored vinegar for this recipe.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Prepare this Easy Pickled Banana Peppers Recipe
Step 1. Make the brine. In a measuring cup, combine vinegar, water, salt and sugar. Stir or whisk to dissolve. You can also warm up the liquid in a microwave or on a stovetop to help dissolve the salt and sugar, but it’s not necessary.
Step 2. Pack the jar. To your clean mason jar, add the black peppercorns, mustard seeds and garlic. Pack in the pepper rings.
Step 3. Pour the brine. Pour the pickling solution over the peppers, making sure to cover them up all the way.
Step 4. Cover and pickle. Cover your mason jar and place it in the fridge. The peppers will need at least 2 days to pickle. They will soften over time into that soft banana pepper consistency you see in packaged pickled banana peppers.
Expert Tips
- Make sure your equipment is clean. Wash the mason jar with warm soapy water. You don’t need to sterilize the jar when making a refrigerator pickle like you do when water bath canning, but it wouldn’t hurt if you did. To sterilize the jars, boil them in a large pot of water for 10 minutes and carefully remove them with tongs to drain.
- Use glass mason jars! Avoid pickling in plastic or metal containers. Glass is the safest. You can use a large mason jar or smaller jars if you plan to gift these peppers. If using smaller jars, make sure to divide the ingredients equally and to use the same brine ratio. Feel free to scale the recipe down for a small batch.
- Change up the flavor profile. Feel free to add other spices to the jar. Coriander and Bay could work well. Check out some of my other spicy pickled recipes like Picked Jalapenos and Escabeche (Mexican Pickled Vegetables). If you like a sweet and sour flavor, try my Pickled Sweet Peppers!
- Remember this is a refrigerator pickle. The final product has to be stored in the refrigerator for it to be safe for consumption.
- Quick pickled banana peppers? If you’re looking to speed up the pickling process, bring the brine up to boil on high heat then pour the hot brine over the sliced banana peppers and seal the jar. The hot pickling solution will soften the peppers and they will be ready within a few hours. Let them come to room temperature before enjoying.
- Grow your own! Ok, you know I am a big proponent of growing your food, and growing peppers is actually quite easy. Check out my post on the best peppers to grow in your garden. This simple recipe is one of my favorite ways to preserve the harvest.
- Remove the seeds! Most of the heat is in the seeds and ribs of the pepper. You can remove the seeds by using a paring knife and cutting out the guts of the pepper before slicing.
Recipe FAQs
Banana peppers are about 500 Scoville Heat Units. They have some heat, but it’s not overbearing and won’t burn your taste buds. Compare that with Jalapeno peppers which are about 4,000-8,000 SHU.
This specific recipe is not tested for canning, so I would recommend you prepare it as is with the intention of keeping it in the fridge. There are other tested recipes out there if you want to use a water bath canner. Check out Ball, Kerr or Bernardin for tested recipes.
The sliced peppers should be ready in 2 days, but you can start eating them after 24 hours. The longer they pickle in the fridge, the softer they will get.
Because of the acid content, the peppers should last quite a while in the fridge. I recommend you keep them no longer than 4 weeks. Use clean utensils to avoid cross-contaminating the jar, which could lead to early spoilage.
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Pickled Banana Peppers Recipe (Quick and Easy)
Equipment
- ¾ quart mason jar
Ingredients
- 1 cup White vinegar
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tbsp Kosher salt, pickling salt or sea salt
- 2 tsp Sugar – Use less if you prefer
- 1 tsp Black peppercorns
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1 lb Banana peppers – Slice peppers into ¼ inch rings, discarding the seeds if you prefer
Instructions
- Make the brine. In a measuring cup, combine the vinegar, water, salt and sugar. Stir or whisk to dissolve. You can also warm up the liquid in a microwave or on a stovetop to help dissolve the salt and sugar, but it’s not necessary.
- Pack the jar. To your clean mason jar, add black peppercorns, mustard seeds, and garlic. Pack in the sliced peppers.
- Pour the brine. Pour the pickling brine over the peppers, making sure to cover them up all the way.
- Cover and pickle. Cover your mason jar and place it in the fridge. The peppers will need at least 2 days to pickle. They will soften over time into that soft banana pepper consistency you see in packaged pickled banana peppers.
Notes
- Peppers: This is a banana pepper recipe, so use either sweet banana peppers or hot banana peppers. You can even use a combination based on personal preference. But if you don’t have banana peppers, don’t worry, this will work with any pepper.
- Spices: A combination of black pepper and mustard seed adds that classic pickle flavor profile.
- Vinegar: I use plain white distilled vinegar to make my pickling solution. But you can use white wine vinegar or even champagne vinegar. Don’t use dark colored vinegar for this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
