How To Pickle Peppers (Hot Water Bath Canning Method)
on Aug 31, 2017, Updated Oct 21, 2024
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A quick and easy guide on How To Pickle Peppers using the hot water bath canning method. Produces shelf-stable pickled peppers you can eat all winter long.
I thought I’d share how to pickle peppers, which is a super simple recipe for you fellow garden growing, home canning, yogurt making friends. Peppers grow like weeds and when they are on, they are on. My tomatoes are oddly slow to turn red this year, so I have tons of peppers and no tomatoes to turn everything into salsa. That’s ok though, because pickled peppers are the best.
We eat pickled banana peppers with our favorite pizza, on veggie + hummus sandwiches, and when we make sandwiches using our favorite homemade sub bun recipe. We eat the pickled jalapeños on everything Tex-Mex like our favorites slow cooker carnitas, black bean and sweet potato enchilada bake, and the best chicken tacos.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- You won’t believe how easy these recipes are. Once you get the canning bug, you’ll never go back. This is a great place to start!
- Pickling peppers using the hot water bath canning method allows you to preserve them for long periods, ensuring you have a supply of flavorful peppers year-round.
- Pickling imparts a tangy, vinegary flavor to peppers, creating a delicious and versatile condiment or snack.
- You can customize the pickling brine to your taste preferences by adjusting the amount of vinegar, sugar, and spices.
Recipe Ingredients
For Canning Banana Pepper
- Banana peppers
- Cider vinegar – 5% acidity
- Canning salt
- Celery seed
- Mustard seed
For Canning Jalapeños
- Jalapeños
- Vinegar – 5% acidity
- Salt – Canning or pickling
- Sugar
- Garlic Cloves – lightly crushed
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Pickle Peppers
For Banana Peppers Recipe
Step #1. Wash and rinse 4 pint canning jars. Prepare lids and bands as per manufacturer’s directions.
Step #2. Wash peppers, remove stems, and slice into rings (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick).
Step #3. Heat vinegar, water, and salt to boiling in a large pan.
Step #4. Place celery seed and mustard seed in jars, add pepper rings, cover with hot vinegar mixture, and process in a boiling water canner. Let cool and check seals.
For Jalapeños Recipe
Step #1. Wash the peppers, remove stems, slice into rings, and wash jars; prepare lids as per directions.
Step #2. Pack sliced peppers into the prepared jars.
Step #3. In a large pot, combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and garlic; bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, then remove garlic.
Step #4. Ladle hot brine into jars, remove air bubbles, clean rims, seal with lids, and process in a hot water bath.
Recipe FAQs
Wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers or wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face.
If properly stored, an unopened jar of pickled peppers will generally be good for about 2 years.
Actually, the opposite is true. The pickling process will reduce the heat of the peppers a bit.
Expert Tips
- Here are a few posts with all the tips you need regarding peppers: Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickled Banana Peppers and How to save green peppers.
- Wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers or wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face.
- Recipe from, tested, and approved by the National Center for Home Food Preservation. You can visit their post here if you have furthers questions.
- Process for 10 minutes unless you are above 1,000 feet elevation, process for 15 minutes and above 6,000 feet elevation, process for 20 minutes.
- New to canning? Here’s a great overview on boiling water canning.
More Canning Recipes to Consider
Canning Recipes
How to Can Food: Learn the Basics
Freezing Foods
How to Blanch Green Beans
Canning and Preserving
Canning Tomatoes in Water Bath Canner | Safe & Easy Method
Canning and Preserving
Tomatillo Salsa Recipe for Canning
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How to Pickle Jalapeño Peppers
Ingredients
- 6-8 pound jalapeños
- 5 cups vinegar, 5% acidity
- 1 cup water
- 4 teaspoons canning or pickling salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
Instructions
- Prepare the peppers by washing them.
- Remove the stem end. Slice the peppers into rings that are 1/4 to a 1/2 inch thick.
- Wash your pint canning jars and prepare the lids according the manufacturer’s directions.
- Pack the sliced peppers into the prepared jars.
- In a large pot, combine the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and garlic. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the garlic.
- Ladle the hot liquid into the jars, leaving a 1/2 inch of head space at the top. Remove any air bubbles and adjust the liquid as needed.
- Wipe the rim of the jars clean and add the lid and ring.
- Process in a hot water bath. Process for 10 minutes. If you are above 1,000 feet elevation, process for 15 minutes and above 6,000 feet elevation, process for 20 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Pickled Banana Pepper Recipe
How To Pickle Banana Peppers
Ingredients
- 2½-3 pound yellow, banana peppers
- 5 cups cider vinegar, 5% acidity
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 5 teaspoons canning salt
- 2 tablespoons celery seed
- 4 tablespoons mustard seed
Instructions
- Wash and rinse 4 pint canning jars. Prepare lids and bands according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Wash peppers well and remove the stem end. Slice into rings that are between 1/4 inch to a 1/2 inch thick.
- In a large pan, add the vinegar, water, and salt and heat to boiling.
- Place 1/2 tablespoon celery seed and 1 tablespoon mustard seed in the bottom of each clean jar. Fill with pepper rings.
- Cover the pepper ring with the boiling vinegar mixture, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust the liquid as needed.
- While the rims of the jars clean and adjust the canning lids.
- Process in a boiling water canner, as recommended (see notes).
- Let cool 12-24 hours and check the seals.
- Shake the jars to disperse the spices before using.
Can you use quart jars? Would you still water bath boil 10 minutes?
I bet they would need 25 minutes for quarts!
Does the hot bath jalapenos recipe need to have sugar?
Nope, it won’t effect the stability of the end product, feel free to skip it.
This sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to try it. Do the banana peppers need to use cider vinegar vs regular? I noticed the jalapenos said regular.
This is the clearest outline I have read so far on canning pickles. A question, can I used this methodology if I only have 1 piece lids? I cannot get 2 piece lids where I live.
Yes, that’ll work great, but just read about how to process using those. You’ll want to make sure that you process 1 piece lids according to their directions.
I should have read the recipe more clearly – I put 2 TBSP and 4 TBSP of the spices into each pint instead of breaking it up. Are these going to be inedible? I was thinking to myself, wow this seems like a lot!
Oh man… I do think it’ll be fine. They might be zesty but since you aren’t directly eating the spices (they are just in the brine) I bet they’ll be fine. I really want to know how they turn out though, so curious!
Can you sub kosher salt?
Yep, it should work great!
I have a few questions. ? 4 pint jars? I tried this recipe for the orginal 2.5- 3lb banana peppers and I had way too much peppers left over. Also if I’m using the quart jars for the canning what pressure and time for those. Sorry for the questions I just want to be safe and my husband lives your recipe. ❤
You don’t need any pressure for these since you are putting them in a brine, just a hot water bath, and just add 15 minutes to the processing time for the bigger jars! Can’t wait until you try them!
Just a very quick question I definitely want to use your recipe and slice some of my banana peppers but I would also like to make a whole banana peppers with this recipe still work for that? I’ll add in A chili pepper or a jalapeño for the hotness in the whole, but would love pickled whole banana peppers .
When I do them hole I just poke a few slits in them with a knife so that they brine can get to the inside of the pepper!
This looks good! And you say you’re trying crabapple jelly for the first time? Once you try it, you’ll never want to Not make it! Nothing compares to the color and flavor, and is sooo good on toasted English muffins!
I am new too canning but don’t you mean “cool” for 24 hours rather than “cook”? (Mean typo).
Typo! It’s fixed!
These pickled peppers sound wonderful. I love canning vegetables from the garden too, it always tastes great in the dead of winter.