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.
Try it on my Easy Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwich recipe, which we love.
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!
This Recipe Is In our Cookbook - FLAVOR MADNESS
Did you know that you can find this recipe in our new cookbook FLAVOR MADNESS? It's waiting for you on PAGE 60.
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.
Lydia says
I want to thank you for this recipe! I have made three batches, so far, and have tweaked the ingredients to better match the Marconi Hot Giardiniera I used to buy at World Market. By this third batch I left out the garlic and celery seed, added sport peppers, replaced the olive oil with canola oil and replaced the olives with sweet gherkins (which I'll probably leave out by my fourth batch though it does add a sweetness that's interesting - too sweet though I think). I've got a friend from Chicago I'm going to have help with the final taste test, but I'm over the moon that I found this. Thank you!!!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome, Lydia! Yes, I LOVE that you've adapted it to the way you like it! It's so versatile, isn't it? Thanks for sharing!
Al says
Does everyone's oil go up and water go down the jar? Seems like the mixture won't combine.
Mike Hultquist says
You might get some separation, Al, if it didn't really combine during whisking. Give it a few shakes, or you might need to re-whisk up the liquids.
Carol says
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! This recipe is AWESOME! Growing up in Chicagoland and living in other parts of the country for most of my adult life, I have SO missed this type of giardiniera. I diced the ingredients smaller so it was more like a relish and added a habanero pepper, as we like the heat. My husband, son and I devoured the batch in a few day’s time. Already made batch 2. Maybe it will last a little longer this time but I’m not counting on it. Thanks for sharing!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Yes, when you grown up in the Chicago area, you NEED giardiniera! Patty is always asking me to make a new batch, LOL. Glad you enjoyed it.
Jérémie says
I'd already tried your Italian version, so it's now the turn of the Chicago one: I can't wait to taste it, but I have to wait a few days!!
Thanks Mike!! 🙂
Hope someday you'll give us your Italian beef sandwich recipe to use the giardiniera in it!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I think you'll love it, Jérémie! Very similar! So perfect on Italian beef sammiches. Enjoy!!
Irene says
I live outside the US, so i can't tell you how happy I was to find your recipe. It is amazing and reminds me of sweet home chicago, but making it at home takes it to a completely different level. I have to admit that i can and have eaten it by the spoonful. I used oil and vinegar and it's just super. My new favorite condiment and dish. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks so much, Irene! Super happy you found the recipe! I hope you find many more you enjoy.
brent says
5 stars.
Used even amount of oil, white vin, and water. Perfect. Had just enough serranos for the heat. I see a lot of recipes that blanch the veggies (to make them more pliable?) but I like the snap of your recipe. I had one thing I'd do again it's dice the carrorts down more. But since I'm eating teaspoons of this now I must not mind!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice. Glad you enjoyed it, Brent!
brent says
Mike I'm doing it your way with overnight brine then 50/50 evoo and white vinegar tomorrow. I had fresh asparagus laying around too and they joined the party along with less than half of a sliced red onion. Looking forward. Thanks for your reply.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice. I'm sure it will be great! Enjoy!!
brent says
Hi Mike, I have a question for you. Am making this later today. Why is it that I never see sliced onion in any giardiniera recipe? Is it inappropriate? It sounds reasonable to me. I can't see it changing the dynamic of giardiniera unless I'm overlooking something? Your thoughts please, sir?
Thanks.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Brent. Onion is totally fine here. Go for it. None of the giarginieras I've enjoyed in Chicago had onion (at least none that I remember), but it would be perfectly at home in the recipe. Let me know how you enjoy it if you do.
Celeste says
Hello! I just finished making a double batch that I processed in the pressure canner. I had a layer of oil in the canner when I removed the jars, so obviously I did not leave enough head space. All lids sealed though. Wondering your thoughts on this, whether the jars are viable for keeping on the shelf? Thanks! Love the recipe.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Celeste, I don't use a pressure canner, but it sounds like you'll be fine. I appreciate it.
Andrea Muscarella says
Can you can the version if you make it without vinegar to store longer than a month?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Andrea, the vinegar helps to preserve it. It won't last as long without it. You can make it with just oil, but it won't last as long.
mikey says
Really? I live in Mexico, and had been bringing Papa's gardiniere down from states when i visit up north. Theirs has jalapeños Cauliflower, Celery Carrots, Soybean oil(boo!) Olive oil, onion salt, oregano, parsley garlic, basil, Salt, and pepper. I asked about refrigeration, they said no need the olive oil preserves it at room temperature.
http://www.papasfoodsinc.com
Mike Hultquist says
Hey, Mikey. Commercial products are preserved a bit differently, usually in pressure canners, which will make products last much longer. For people making giardiniera at home with oil, it's a different thing.
mikey says
Thanks Mike. I know you have to be super safe with advice. Thing is, in the fridge the oil congeals, so do you recommend taking it out of fridge, letting it warm to room temp, using and returning to fridge?
Mike Hultquist says
Mikey, that's what I do, yes.
Heather says
I can't wait to make this!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Enjoy!!
Edward Halverson says
Added a Ghost pepper, chopped up 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. Appreciated.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That'll bring some nice heat, Edward! Awesome. =)
Edward Halverson says
After being in the fridge for a while, the oil seems to get real thick.
That is normal right?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes, totally normal for oil to congeal in colder temps. It will return to normal at room temp.