How to Ripen Unripe Peppers
Yes, you can still ripen unripe peppers you’ve pulled from your pepper plants due to frost or other reasons. Here is how.
It’s the end of the chili pepper harvesting season and I’ve just pulled all of the remaining peppers off the plants. Sadness reigns. It was necessary, though, because the weather is calling for frost and frost will destroy anything that is left.
The problem now, though, is I’m stuck with a bag load of green, unripe chili peppers. Should I eat them green? Sure, they are still edible, but they have a raw, green flavor that some may not enjoy. Whatever you do, don’t toss them out because you can still ripen those green peppers.
The Windowsill Method. This is easiest if you only have a few unripe peppers. Simply leave your peppers on a sunny windowsill in a warm room for a few days. They will begin to turn color and ripen in the sun. Once ripened to your liking, store them in the refrigerator or use them right away. If they start to go soft, throw them out.
The Paper Bag Method. Store the unripe peppers in a paper bag with a ripe tomato or apple. This also works with green tomatoes. The ripe fruit will speed the ripening process and your peppers (and tomatoes) should ripen in a week or longer.
Note that temperature is an important factor when ripening your peppers indoors. The peppers will ripen more quickly at room temperature, and more slowly at cooler temps.
Realistically, peppers do continue to ripen on their own after you’ve picked them, so even if you keep them in a small bin at room temperature, they should ripen up for you in about a week or two, though be sure to check on them periodically to make sure none of them goes bad.
Let me know what methods work best for you!
Enjoy your bountiful pepper harvest! Check out other methods for Preserving Chili Peppers.
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Can the seeds be saved still for planting if it has to finish ripening off of the vine?
Erik, you can, though you’ll have more success with ripe pods. Check out my Saving Chili Pepper Seeds for Growing Later page. I hope this helps!
Hi,
I’m in Dallas and it was a hot summer with little rain. I was growing Habenaro’s Ghost Peppers, 7 Pot Douglahs, and Chocolate Carolina reapers. Didn’t get any flowers until the heat broke and that was September. I got plenty of peppers but hardly any ripened. Picked all the green ones today as we are getting a freeze. I will try the apple in a bag method. I would hate to lose all these peppers. 16 plants in all. My chocolate reapers are the size of a plum to peach.
Hey, Carlo. Yeah, that’s a lot of peppers. I hope you can save some of them. You can still process some of them green, but they won’t be as good as ripe. I hope they ripen up for you! Good luck.
Thanks for the tip! I have two plants full of ghost peppers, and a pretty good bundle of halbaneos, which are still on the plants, here in Delaware. I’ve managed a total of about three red ghosts this year, and while the halbaneos have yielded like crazy, I still have plants full of green peppers. That’s my high-class problem. The japapaneos, bells, and poblanos barely had any fruit this year.
Glad to help, Dave! Gotta save as many peppers as we can!
Help! While I was in the shower my toddler ripped off all my peppers, I promised them to some friends who want to make spicy mead. Can I still save them? Half of the peppers had already turned red but a bunch are still completely green. It took so much work to save the plant during a huge drought this summer so I’m pretty bumbed out..
Sanne, bummer! Refrigerate them right away, and for the unripe ones, try the techniques on this page. You can still use them green, however. Best of luck!
I pull out the whole plant, shake off excess soil, and hang by the root (this just makes for easy access to the peppers) in the pantry.
Great tip!
Hi, does the peppers go red and ripen better on the plant?
I have so many green peppers on my plant, I think they’re Serrano. I have tried both just windowsill and paper bag techniques, but all that happened was they’ve dried out? Especially the window sill ones. All wrinkly. No idea how to ripen as none are even close to ripening. Any help welcomed! I’m in London. MANy thanks.
Ankit, sometimes the peppers just won’t ripen any further, unfortunately, or they’ll only continue to ripen a bit for a day or 2, then they stop. You need to watch them. If you notice any signs of beginning softness or withering, refrigerate them right away and try to use them green.
I purchased 2 pounds of jalapeño at grocery store. Left them in the plastic bag and 1 turned orange overnight. Just one. After 2 days, it was red. Just one. Why just one?
Jan, peppers can definitely ripen at different rates. You’ll see that on plants as well. I would take the ripe ones and refrigerate them as they ripen. I hope this helps!
Hi, if I use any of this techniques to ripe my Carolina rippersor or my ghost pepper will the heat be affected?
Alejandro, no, this won’t affect your ghost pepper heat. Good luck!
Hi! It is that time of year to make my salsa and my ghost peppers are still very green. My garden did not get a lot of sun this year and have had lots of rain. I was wondering if picking the peppers still green and setting them on my deck in the sun will ripen them to red within a week? Will they lose there heat if picked early?
Sue, the peppers will continue to ripen in the sun. You just need to keep an eye on them. They may stay green, depending on a number of factors. Make sure they don’t rot. You can still use them green. I like to make a green hot sauce sometimes with my unripened peppers at end of season. They will still be pretty hot. FYI.
What causes blossom rot?
Nancy, Blossom End Rot is caused by a calcium deficiency. You may need to add some calcium to your soil.
Will this still work if the peppers we’re bought fresh and then frozen?
Matt, once you freeze the peppers, they will no longer ripen. I would ripen them first, then freeze them.
Hi Mike, I have found that just by placing the peppers on a plate with a paper towel underneath them, they will ripen just dandy. If they sit on a plate by themselves, oils come out and could soften the bottoms. The paper towel soaks it up and they will ripen whether in a window or not. I haven’t tried the paper bag method as I like to see and watch them ripen. I get to use them whatever shade I want. This method is also a great prep prior to dehydrating them, especially if you have a bunch of them. When I pick a bunch, I let them soak in a bowl/large butter container for a bit, then rinse each off and place directly onto the paper toweled plate. They then air dry and will continue to ripen until I am ready, be it that day or the following weekend.
A sunny window always works for me!
Hi Mike, many thanks for all your information and knowledge in the world of chillies, I’ve used and loved your recipes for some time. This year, I was looking forward to a bumper harvest from my chilli plants – they were covered in flowers during early summer. However, the majority of the fruits have failed to develop to their full size. The plants have hundreds of tiny chillies, about the size of a raspberry. The ones mainly affected include the bhut jolokia, scotch bonnets, Carolina Reaper, and Big Sun. I live in the UK and I grow the chillies in an unheated greenhouse. Have you ever experienced this problem and have you any idea what causes it? Many thanks for your help, Mike Moore
REPLY: Thanks, Mike. Yes, I have actually had this problem before. It could be the plants are not getting enough water, or it could just be a climate issue and how you planted the peppers. Since it is an issue with all of them, you might adjust your watering schedule and work in some fertilizer. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Thanks Mike and Patty – I use the paper bag method in a dark space – prob is that I forget to check and sometimes they go bad.
Keep up the recipes – love them.
Cheers
Noel.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’very done this for green tomatoes for years but it never occurred to me that the same thing applied to chili peppers! I’m going out to pick all mine cause it’s starting to get pretty cold here in Oregon. I love your site!
REPLY: Thanks, Rita! — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.