Pickled Banana Peppers
This pickled banana peppers recipe delivers crisp, crunchy, sweet banana peppers that are perfect for snacking or topping salads and sandwiches. Learn how to pickle banana peppers with Chili Pepper Madness.
My banana pepper plant went crazy this year and produced a ton of banana peppers. It’s difficult to eat them all up before they go bad, so it is best to preserve your peppers in various ways so you can enjoy them after the season has long ended.
There are many ways to preserve your peppers, but one of my favorites is pickling. Pickled peppers last a long time in the refrigerator, and even longer if you run them through a water bath. Banana peppers are perfect for pickling because they have somewhat thicker walls, which helps them stay crunchy for longer.
I’ve pickled banana peppers for many years and they remain crunchy in the jar months after pickling. Talk about delicious! Pickling is easy, and while there are various seasonings and ingredients you can add to your pickled peppers, I have a few preferred ingredients, though the recipe is easily adaptable.
About Banana Peppers
Banana peppers are great for growing. The plants are productive, and the peppers are rather mild, measuring in at only 0-500 Scoville Heat Units on the Scoville Scale. It’s a mild, medium-sized chili pepper with a tangy, slightly sweet taste, much milder than your typical jalapeno pepper. They’re awesome for every day cooking, but especially for pickling, making them quite popular.
Let’s talk about how we make these easy pickled banana peppers, shall we?
Ingredients Needed
- 6-7 banana peppers (or as many as you can fit)
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon pickling salt
- 1 clove garlic, smashed (or more as desired)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
How to Make Pickled Banana Peppers – the Recipe Method
- First, slice the banana peppers into ¼ inch pepper rings and discard the stems. If you’d like, you can core out the banana peppers first. I usually do not. Set them aside for now.
- Next, add the vinegar, water, salt, garlic, honey, oregano, basil and peppercorns to a large pan.
- Bring to a boil, then add the sliced banana peppers. It should be somewhat of a rolling boil.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir. Let the mixture cool slightly. You can let the mixture cool to room temperature before pouring into the Ball or mason jars if you’d like.
- Pour the pickled peppers, brine and all, into 1-pint jars or a larger quart jar and screw on the cap.
- Refrigerate for 24 hours before using to develop the flavors, though they can be eaten right away.
Makes 4 cups. Such a great recipe!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- This is a refrigerator pickle recipe, which means it is meant to be stored in the refrigerator. If you want to preserve it for longer, remove the garlic and run the jar through a water bath then store in a cool, dry place, like your pantry.
- Ingredients and Seasonings. I’ve used a number of my favorite ingredients here to season the banana peppers, but you are free to use others that you love. Do you enjoy mustard seeds? Go for it. Want some dried oregano? Sure thing! A bit of fresh dill? Yes! I love it. Make this recipe your own.
- Best Salt for Pickling. Use pickling salt, kosher salt or pure sea salt for pickling. Most salts will work just find, as long as they do not contain any additives, like anti-clumping agents.
- The Crispness Factor. Your pickled banana peppers will stay nice and crisp in the jar because we’re not boiling them or processing them. They may soften slightly, which is natural, but you’ll still get that satisfying snap and crunch.
- Vinegar. I’m using a simple white vinegar for this recipe, though you can use apple cider vinegar for a slightly sweeter, tangier version. It works great.
- Heat Factor. Banana peppers are not hot and spicy. However, you can spice thing up by including a hot pepper or two into your pickling mix. The heat from the hot pepper will permeate your brine and will add heat to the overall mixture. I’ve made this with a habanero pepper added in and the whole batch had a nice heat level.
How Long Do Pickled Banana Peppers Last?
Pickled banana peppers will keep at least a month or longer in the refrigerator, often 6 months or more. If you’d like to preserve them for longer, omit the garlic from the recipe and process the jar through a water bath for 15 minutes (20 minutes above 6,000 feet elevation, according to USDA guidelines). Cool, then store in a cool, dark place. Processed peppers can last 2 years or more, though once opened, they should be refrigerated.
Learn more about How to Pickle Chili Peppers, including more detailed information on processing and jarring for longer term storage.
5 Ways to Serve Pickled Banana Peppers
Quick pickled banana peppers are perfect for adding a bit of salty, tangy crunch to many meals. Here are some suggestions for serving them up:
- Chop them up and serve them on top of a sandwiches
- Spoon them over a Greek salad – or any salad – for a bit of crunch and tang
- Use them as a pizza topping
- Top your grilled sausages or hot dogs with pickled banana peppers
- Eat them out of the jar as a simple snack
That’s it, my friends! That’s how you make quick pickled banana peppers. It’s such an easy recipe, right? Crazy easy, and you can enjoy them in so many ways! I love that. Pickled peppers on anything. Let me know how you like them!
Try Some of My Other Popular Pickling Recipes
- Refrigerator Pickled Peppers Recipe
- Pickled Chili Peppers – A Recipe
- Pickled Jalapenos
- Taqueria-Style Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots
- Hot Pepper Relish
- Hot Pickles
- Pickling Spice for Pickled Chili Peppers
- Cajun Pickled Peppers
- Pickled Carrots
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. 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.
Pickled Banana Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 6-7 banana peppers or as many as you can fit
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon pickling salt
- 1 clove garlic smashed (or more as desired)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Instructions
- Slice the banana peppers into ¼ inch rings and discard the stems. If you’d like, you can core out the banana peppers first. I usually do not. Set them aside for now.
- Add the vinegar, water, salt, garlic, honey, oregano, basil and peppercorns to a large pan.
- Bring the mixture to a quick boil, then add the sliced banana peppers.
- Remove from heat and stir.
- Pour the pickled banana peppers, brine and all, into 1-pint jars or a larger quart jar and screw on the cap.
- Refrigerate for 24 hours before using to develop the flavors, though they can be eaten right away.
Video
Notes
Pickled banana peppers will keep at least a month or longer in the refrigerator. If you’d like to preserve them for longer, discard the garlic and process the jar through a water bath for 15 minutes (20 minutes above 6,000 feet elevation).
Nutrition
36 comments
Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I made two pints in September, put them both in the refrigerator (didn’t can, just pickled) right away. One has been opened, the other has not. It’s now December. Are either any good two months later?
Michelle, yes, pickled foods last quite a long time, especially in the refrigerator.
Oh yeah, this recipe was such a hit in the family! We’ve had banana peppers coming out of our ears; who knew that two plants would produce so many. Anyway, I made a quart jar of these pickled peppers last week thinking it would last a few months . . . and now I’m making two quarts’ worth since, well, the quart jar lasted a whole week. Thanks for a great recipe!
Great! Thanks, Jennie!
Great recipe! Didn’t add the dried herbs or garlic, but pepper flakes, peppercorns, and mustard seed. Didn’t have quite enough banana peppers, so added some sliced Shishito peppers for a full pint. Overall flavor reminds me of pepperocini on an antipasto salad, which is what I wanted. Thank you!
Excellent, Kim! Glad you enjoyed it!
Looks like a great recipe, and I want to try it, but I wonder why you say to omit the garlic if I want to water bath or pressure can it. I see many other recipes for sweet peppers that are similar and do use the garlic cloves even when water bathing? I , myself have canned them that way with no ill effects.
Wayne, you can keep the garlic if you’d like. Some people worry that garlic can spoil more quickly and can cause contamination, but you should have no problem. Just leave it in.
If you want to make pickle banana peppers to use later in the year like in the winter time. Do you do you have a boiling water bath or pressure cookAnd for how long
Hesthet, you can process your jars in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes to make them shelf stable for longer term storage, or use a pressure canner per your product specifications.
I will be using this recipe for the first time but I don’t have peppercorns. Is there a substitute or is it a must.
Robin, peppercorns are not a must. You can use some black pepper, or just skip them. Use your favorite flavors. Enjoy!
Followed the recipe with no changes and it is AMAZING!
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed them. Thanks, Jason!
I tried this…peppers got a little soft from the hot brine…any suggestions?
Raymond, it’s the heat that really softens the peppers. Next time, try cooling the brine a bit before pouring. Let me know how that turns out for you.
If I want to add a little heat to the pickling version, do I add a whole cayenne or jalepeno or dried crush red pepper flakes?
Lisa, you can add either. A whole cayenne will provide the most heat, as it is quite a bit hotter than a jalapeno. Dried flakes will give some decent heat as well, depending on your preferred spice level. For context, I dropped one Devil’s Tongue pepper (about a hot as a habanero) into a batch of pickled carrots and that really lit them up! Loved them. Let me know how it goes!
I’ve been looking for a good pickled banana pepper recipe and I finally found it! Thank you!
I did omit the basil and oregano because I wanted just the flavor of the peppers. And I substituted sugar for the honey. I also added just about a quarter of a jalapeño pepper for heat. Mmmmmmmmm!
I have more peppers in the garden. They just keep on coming!
Nice! Glad you enjoyed it! Absolutely, easy to adapt as desired. Take care!
Yum! Pizza has been a weekly tradition in our household lately and I’ve been wanting to pickle banana peppers. Thanks for sharing!!
Sure thing, Ashley! Perfect for pizza!
Love your recipe for pickling banana peppers. Do you have a recipe for making ghirardelli? Love the stuff but I am unsure how to make it. I wish to can it for longer storage. Do you use pickle crisp in any of you canning recipes? Thanks! Sheree
Thanks, Sheree. Ghiradelli is a chocolate, isn’t it? Do you possibly mean giardiniera? I have a recipe for the condiment here – Chicago Style Giardiniera. https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/hot-sauces/homemade-chicago-style-giardiniera/. Let me know. I have not canned pickle crisp, but you should be able to with a pressure canner.
Is it possible to omit the honey?
Absolutely, Cassie. You can just skip it. It’s just for a touch of sweetness. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Hi Michael. I saw the link to this recipe connected your Hungarian Chili page.
If I pickle Hungarian chilis this way can I still cook with them in stir fries as well as other cooks, or once you pickle them can you only use them that way?
Cheers
Rob
Hi, Rob. Most pickled peppers are made to enjoy as they are. However, you can still cook with them. You’ll still get the vinegary taste, though, so plan accordingly.
Hi Mike. Can I use banana peppers that are starting to turn red and are slightly soft. I’d hate to see them go to waste. Also like to say I love receiving your recipes. Can’t say the same for my wife and kids. Thanks. Barry.
Barry, you can use banana peppers that are turning red. Be careful if they are going soft. Some can be used, but if they show any signs of rot, I would skip them.
I know it’s controversial but I love pizza topped with pickled banana peppers and pineapple.
I greatly enjoy pineapple on my pizza. Happy to declare it! One of my very favorite combinations is pineapple, pepperoni and jalapeno. YUM!
I canned some banana peppers for the first time four days ago (10 min hot water bath), but I put 1/4 clove of garlic in each jar. I see here that you say not to include garlic. Do my peppers need to be stored in the fridge? Are they still okay after 4 days at room temperature?
They’re totally fine, Karen. With garlic, you run the risk of botulism, so it isn’t recommended for longer storage.
is the garlic true with even dry garlic
Ronald, no, dry garlic is no problem at all.