Pickled Banana Peppers
How to Pickle Banana Peppers – This easy recipe is great for making homemade pickles in the refrigerator or using traditional canning steps. Perky pickled banana peppers are perfectly palatable to pile onto your preferred plates. Or enjoy as a snack right out of the jar!
Why We Love This Pickled Banana Peppers Recipe
We love making stuffed banana peppers with cheese and sausage. But our other favorite way to enjoy a fresh haul of banana peppers is to pickle them. Today we’re sharing our favorite Pickled Banana Peppers recipe… It’s simple and makes a TON of tangy and delicious banana peppers!
You can “can” jars of these peppers in a hot water bath for longer storage, or let them pickle and store in the refrigerator for shorter shelf life. Any way you prepare them, they likely won’t last long! These peppy peppers are delightful to share with friends, snack on by themselves, or pile onto everything in sight.
Banana Peppers vs Pepperoncinis – What’s the Difference?
Great question! Banana peppers are longer peppers and have a waxy, smooth yellow skin. They look like, well, bananas! These peppers are not really hot and have more of a punch-y taste.
Pepperoncinis are short and more wrinkly, and a darker yellow-green color. You usually find the whole pepper pickled, and not sliced into rings like banana peppers. The smaller pepperoncins are a bit spicy… Not super hot like a jalapeños, but spicier than banana peppers.
Ingredients You Need
- Banana peppers – choose sweet banana peppers or hot banana peppers that are ripe but not overly soft
- Garlic – whole cloves, peeled
- Italian seasoning – store-bought or homemade Italian seasoning blend
- Celery seeds – for a mild earthy flavor that cuts the heat of the peppers
- Vinegar – your choice of white vinegar, or a mix of white and apple cider vinegar to cut the bite of white vinegar
- Water – the base of the pickling liquid
- Sugar – granulated white sugar is best
- Salt – use coarse kosher salt or pickling salt
How to Pickle Banana Peppers
First, set out 5 clean quart jars, or 10 pint jars. Then wash and drain the banana peppers. Use a mandolin slicer to carefully slice the banana peppers into 1/8 inch rounds.
Pro Tip: This is best done with mandolin slicer because it’s fast and slices the peppers very evenly. However, you can also slice them with a chef’s knife if needed. (Be careful, either way!)
Stuff the banana peppers in the jars, packing them down if needed so they all fit.
If using quart jars, place two garlic cloves in each jar, followed by ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning and ½ teaspoon of celery seeds.
If using pint jars, place one garlic clove in each jar with ¼ teaspoon of Italian seasoning and ¼ teaspoon of celery seeds.
Set a large pot over high heat. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, and kosher salt to the pot. Stir and bring the vinegar mixture to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat.
Ladle (or pour) the hot pickling brine into the jars. Fill them to the top, covering the peppers, but leave ½ inch of room at the very top of the jar. Screw the lids on tight.
Get the Complete (Printable) Pickled Banana Peppers Recipe + Video Below. Enjoy!
If canning in a water bath to make them shelf-stable, continue on to official canning procedures. Check out our easy steps for How to Can in this post!
If you plan to keep them as refrigerator pickles, allow the jars to cool to room temperature and then place them in the refrigerator. Either way, let the banana peppers pickle for at least 48 hours before serving.
What to do with Pickled Banana Peppers
Oh. My. Goodness. There are SO many fabulous ways to use pickled banana peppers! Well, first off there’s snacking… Pop them straight from the jar into your mouth!
One of my favorite things to do with slices of pickled peppers is to add a forkful (or two) onto sandwiches and wraps for a tangy kick. They are delicious on a New Orleans muffaletta, warm and gooey patty melts and pesto sandwiches, Italian-style cheeseburgers or Greek burgers, gyros, veggie hummus wraps and more!
They add a significant bit of crunch and pep to salads, too. Sprinkle them onto a beautiful antipasto salad, greek salads, or a Mediterranean fattoush salad. Or even a simple bed of greens and some fresh veggies are perfect for some pickled peppers.
And they make a great extra touch on top of, and as a side with, all kinds of other savory dishes. You are going to love our red pepper pizza with pickled peppers. These peppers go well with just about any pizza! I also highly suggest serving them with pepperoni pizza rolls, helpings of Italian beef, or any dish that could use some pizzaz!
Frequently Asked Questions
They do tend to have a bit of heat, but are more tangy and not really considered a spicy pepper. For reference, jalapeño peppers are about 4-5 times spicier than banana peppers.
If you follow proper canning procedures, jars of pickled peppers will keep well for at least a year at room temperature. Whether you can or quick pickle them in the refrigerator, once opened the banana peppers will stay good for up to 2-3 months or so in the fridge.
Technically yes, but I wouldn’t… Fresh banana peppers will lose their lovely crisp and firm texture when thawed. It’s best to make this recipe with fresh banana peppers.
Yes! You can make pickled Hungarian Wax Peppers, Pepperoncinis, or Cubanelle Peppers using the exact same method.
Sure, you can. Although we love this simple flavor-packed brine, consider adding mustard seeds, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, or cloves.
Looking for More Easy Pickling Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- Quick Pickled Jalapenos
- Pickled Green Tomatoes
- Preserved (Pickled) Garlic
- Pickled Radish Recipe
- Pickled Watermelon Rind
Pickled Banana Peppers
Video
Ingredients
- 4 pounds fresh banana peppers
- 10 cloves garlic
- 2 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 ½ teaspoons celery seeds
- 6 cups vinegar white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or a mix of both
- 6 cups water
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Set out 5 clean quart jars, or 10 pint jars.
- Wash and drain the banana peppers. Set out a mandolin slicer. Carefully slice the banana peppers into 1/8 inch rounds. *This is best done with mandolin slicer because it's fast and slices the peppers very evenly. However, you can also slice them with a chef’s knife if needed. Either way – BE CAREFUL!
- Stuff the banana peppers in the jars, packing them down if needed so they all fit.
- If using quart jars, place two garlic cloves in each jar, followed by ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning and ½ teaspoon of celery seeds. If using pint jars, place one garlic clove in each jar with ¼ teaspoon of Italian seasoning and ¼ teaspoon of celery seeds.
- Set a large pot over high heat. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, and kosher salt to the pot. Stir and bring the vinegar mixture to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat.
- Ladle the hot pickling liquid into the jars. Fill them to the top, covering the peppers, but leave ½ inch of room at the very top of the jar. Screw the lids on tight.
- If canning to in a water bath, continue on to official canning procedures.
- If planning to keep in the refrigerator, allow the jars to cool to room temperature and then place in the refrigerator.
- Either way, let the banana peppers pickle for at least 48 hours before serving.
I am into canning right now and these made the list! I love banana peppers and these were easy to pickle and taste amazing!! We use these on our sandwiches and salads!
These banana peppers were so yummy! I loved making these, and my whole family loved it!
Perfection!! I love adding these to sandwiches & wraps. This recipe makes the most tasty peppers!!