This Chicago-style giardiniera recipe is the ultimate condiment with fresh peppers and veggies in oil and seasonings, an absolute must for Italian beef sandwiches!
Hot Giardiniera (Chicago-Style)
Today we're bringing you a taste of Chicago, my spicy food loving friends, with a condiment that belongs in your recipe box favorites. It's called Chicago-Style Giardiniera, and I think you're going to love it.
Patty and I were both born and raised in the Chicago area, and Chicago is well-known for its selection of beef sandwiches.
If you're from Chicago or anywhere near there, you can't order a beef sandwich without giardiniera. It's a "must try", the perfect condiment for roast beef or any type of sandwich.
You can get mild giardiniera or hot giardiniera, and I always go for the "hot".
I personally love it piled onto a hot dog or over a crispy toasted sub sandwich, and enjoy it on my pizza. We had several beef joints to choose from, and giardiniera was always on the menu. It's a must have for me, so I make homemade giardiniera all the time.
Let's talk about how to make giardiniera, Chicago style, shall we? Hot giardiniera for me!
Chicago-Style Giardiniera Ingredients
- Peppers. My recipe calls for 5 jalapeno peppers and 5 sport peppers or serrano peppers for more of a "hot giardiniera". If you'd prefer a "mild giardiniera", use 2-3 large green and/or red bell peppers instead.
- Vegetables. Use 1 cup chopped cauliflower, 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs and 1/2 to 1 cup of olives (from the jar), all thinly sliced or chopped.
- Oil (and Vinegar, if desired). Use 1 cup of good quality olive oil and 1 cup of white wine vinegar. Some Chicago style giardiniera brands use only oil. If you prefer no vinegar, replace it with water or more oil.
- Seasonings. I use lots of minced fresh garlic, dried oregano, celery seeds, crushed red pepper flakes and a touch of freshly ground black pepper.
How to Make Giardiniera (Chicago-Style) - The Recipe Method
Brine the Vegetables. To a large bowl, add peppers with cauliflower, peppers, carrots and celery. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with cold water and refrigerate for 12 hours, covered. I often brine for 24 hours.
Drain and rinse away the brine. Set aside.
Make the Giardiniera. In a separate bowl, add garlic, oregano, celery seed and ground pepper to taste. Add oil and vinegar (or water, if using) and whisk to combine.
Add to your vegetable mixture.
Add in the chopped olives and mix well.
Jar and Refrigerate. Pack the vegetables into Mason jars, ensuring the vegetables are covered with your oil mixture. You can add extra olive oil if needed to cover the mixture.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 days before using, to allow flavors to mingle with the pickled vegetables. A week is better!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Vinegar. Many Chicago-style brands do not include vinegar in their recipes, and instead use only oil or oil with some water. Feel free to use either. Your giardiniera will last longer in the refrigerator with vinegar, however, as vinegar is a preservative. The choice is yours.
- Other Ingredients. As the name indicates, you can use any garden fresh vegetables for this recipe. Others you might include are radishes, gherkins, olives and more.
- How Long Does Giardiniera Last? Giardiniera will keep several weeks in the refrigerator, covered, due to the acidity of the vinegar. If you use only oil, use it within 2 weeks.
- Preserving. Home canning is not recommended for recipes with oil. However, you can skip the oil and use a brine of vinegar and water. Then you can process the jars in a hot water bath of boiling water for longer keeping as long as the acidity is high enough. Shoot for 3.5 or lower pH.
- Italian Vs. Chicago-Style Giardiniera. Chicago giardiniera or "hot giardiniera" is meant to be a condiment, with more of a focus on the peppers, where Italian Giardiniera serves larger cut vegetables and is meant to be an appetizer or antipasto.
Storage Information
Store your homemade Chicago-style giardiniera in the refrigerator in sealed containers. It should last you several weeks this way.
It is normal for some types of oil to congeal in the cold. Simply bring the jar to room temperature and it will thin out again.
Best Giardiniera Peppers
Sport peppers are the traditional chili pepper that make Chicago-style giardiniera "hot". Home cooks can skip the hot peppers and use only bell peppers for the popular "mild" version.
I make homemade giardiniera frequently, though you typically need to make a larger batch, so plan accordingly. I call for jalapeno peppers in this recipe, as well as serrano peppers.
And if you REALLY want to kick this up a notch, go for the habanero pepper, or be like Mike and add in some superhots.
Yeah, baby. Bring on the heat! I know you want to, you crazy chilihead, you. I love hot giardiniera.
This is certainly Chicago at its finest, though, and won't blow your taste buds with heat. You'll get a nice kick and plenty of flavor. Enjoy!
Serving Chicago-Style Giardiniera
Chicago mild or hot giardiniera is a must for Italian beef sandwiches or roast beef, though you can serve it over any type of sandwich, hot dogs, sausages or brats, pretty much any type of sandwich or on anything off of the grill. We love it on our pizza. It truly is a wonder condiment.
I also love it mixed in with lots of olives to make this amazing muffaletta sandwich. So good!
It is best served at room temperature, as the oils can congeal from refrigeration as you store it.
Patty's Perspective
It is amazing how versatile this recipe can be. You don't only have to use it for sandwiches, especially a good beef sandwich. We made some flatbread pizzas with it, and even tossed it over grilled salmon. Think of it as a vegetable sauce. Think outside the box!
Check Out Some of My Other Popular Condiment Recipes
Try it On Some of These Popular Recipes
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Homemade Chicago-Style Giardiniera Recipe (Hot Giardiniera)
Ingredients
- 1 cup cauliflower florets chopped (about 1/4 head of cauliflower)
- 5 jalapeno peppers diced (use bell peppers for mild giardiniera
- 5 serrano peppers diced (or use sport peppers - optional, for hot giardiniera)
- 1 medium carrot diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 cup olive oil (extra virgin is best, though you can use vegetable oil)
- 1 cup vinegar (or use water, like many Chicago giardiniera brands - see the Recipe Notes)
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (or to taste)
- Ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1/2 cup green olives chopped
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add peppers with cauliflower, peppers, carrots and celery. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with cold water and refrigerate at least 12 hours, covered. I often brine for 24 hours.
- Drain and rinse away the brine. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add garlic, oregano, celery seed, crushed red pepper flakes and ground pepper to taste. Add oil and vinegar (or water) and whisk to combine.
- Add to your vegetable mixture.
- Add chopped olives and mix well.
- Place it all into jars, ensuring the vegetables are covered with your oil mixture.
- Refrigerate at least 2 days before using, to allow flavors to mingle. A week is better! Should last you 2-3 weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 6/14/24 to include new information, photos and video. It was originally published on 5/3/15.
VI says
Been looking for a giardinera like that Italian grocery's on Grand in Chicago, this is the best I've tried.
Agnostic as to salt -just sprinkle and hand mix until it feels coated, like all pickles. Water to cover.
The herbs, to taste, are more important.
Great website great resource!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Thanks, VI! Glad you like it! This is always in my fridge. I love it!!!
Karen says
i love this and so does my family. I always have some in the fridge. We add whatever peppers we have on hand and it always turns out great. Thank you for this awesome recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad to help, Karen! I know, I need this on hand at all times.
Kartik Gada says
Since a lot of the nutrients are in the brine, I think a better approach is :
i) Use less salt.
ii) Use little to no water (maybe a tablespoon)
iii) Stir it well.
Stirring reduces the amount of salt, AND the amount of water you need, so you don't have to discard anything that is full of nutrients.
Remember to use vegetables like Leeks, Poblano Peppers, Parsnips, etc. All of those are valid.
Mike Hultquist says
You can do this, Kartik, but it's a very short brine and you won't lose anything. But go for it.
Patty says
I live for ginardiniera and am a spicy loving woman - but have a family of mixed spice levels. What is your recommendation for jalapeños? Seeded or seeds? Also how would I use frozen cauliflower and carrots?
Mike Hultquist says
Patty, you can core the jalapenos if you're concerned about heat. I don't think they're very hot, but everyone is different. Frozen is OK for this, just thaw them out and proceed with the recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Jen says
I also had an issue with the saltiness- 1/2 cup of salt did not even dissolve in the amount of water required to cover the vegetables. I cut it down to 2tbs the second time. For those who have an issue with overly salted vegetables you can soak your brined vegetables in clear water for 20-30 minutes at a time and change out the water a few times until the salt level tastes acceptable.
Kris says
How do you get the salty brine off? Is it suppose to be salty and after it sits in oil does it calm down? I must have rinsed 5 times, I even soaked in fresh water to attempt to get salt taste down a bit? I will wait the 3 days of being in oil to see if it is still to salty. Next time I may take the salt down to a quarter cup instead of 1/2 cup. I didn't use the same peppers as you. my garden was stock full of Habenero's so I only used 4 peppers total.
Mike Hultquist says
Kris, I've never had a problem with saltiness, sorry to hear. Yes, rinsing should have done the job completely. For you, yes, I would greatly reduce the salt in the brine.
Doug says
Since I've made this fantastic recipe about 20 times, it's time to pay some respect to the source. I moved to the pacific northwest and was missing my common Chicago-style giardiniera, so i had to make some. I LOVE chili pepper madness as my go-to for anything chili. Also made your chili jam and chili relish with really good results. Thanks for sharing your passion with us all.
One question - do you use all oil for long term storage of the Giardiniera? Being frugal, I tried to go with some oil and some vinegar and I think that messed up my storage life. If i have to go all oil, is there and acceptable and cheaper oil than olive oil? I usually go with Partanna, not super expensive. Keep up the great work Mike (and Patty, I believe?)
Mike Hultquist says
Nice!! Thanks, Doug! No, oil really isn't meant for long term storage for home preservation. It's best kept in the fridge with a recipe like this. You can use a less expensive vegetable oil that won't congeal in the fridge, though it can affect flavor. The acidity of the vinegar helps keep it much longer. I hope this helps, and I greatly appreciate it!