Pickled peppers are a favorite of many pepper fans. From hot and spicy to mild and tangy, you can make pickled peppers for virtually every palate. If you’re looking to learn how to make pickled peppers from fresh garden peppers (or store bought), we’ve got options for you.

This pickled peppers recipe is sure to be a hit with those lucky enough to be served by you. We have included both the quick refrigerator peppers pickled,as well as the canned pickled peppers recipe.

Which Vinegar to Use For Pickled Peppers?

Vinegar adds that classic pickling taste that we all know and love. It also prolongs the shelf life, and prevents botulism. The more vinegar you add, the stronger you’ll be able to taste it, but it will also make your pickled peppers last longer. If the vinegar flavor in your pickled pepper recipe tastes too tart, add a bit of white cane sugar.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar leaves your pickled peppers with a sweet, fruity, mellow flavor that beautifully blends with the spices you add. However, it does not have that crisp and acidic taste that classic distilled white vinegar has. It will also darken up your peppers, and they will lose more of their vibrant colors, turning slightly brown. This is completely natural and healthy, though not as aesthetically pleasing.

White Wine Vinegar

Do not use white wine vinegar for canning unless you are absolutely certain of its acid content. You want a vinegar that has five percent acetic acid. Think of white wine vinegar as the stepping stone between apple cider vinegar and distilled white. The flavor is more pungent than apple cider vinegar, but it’s still milder than distilled white vinegar.

Distilled White Vinegar

This vinegar is clear, colorless, and has a neutral, sharp, crisp, and acidic flavor; it will create a more “classic” pickled taste and texture.

Which Kinds of Peppers Should You Pickle?

This recipe is exceptionally accommodating for whatever chillies you have on hand.

If you enjoy a sweet chili pepper, use bell peppers, pimientos, poblanos, sweet marconi peppers, or rocotillos. Like a sweetish tangy flavor? Try a banana pepper.

If you like a kick of heat, go for a traditional jalapeno pepper, serrano, cayenne, fish pepper or Thai pepper. And if you’re a glutton for punishment and heat, use habanero, red savina habanero, or Dragon’s Breath peppers.

Hot pickled peppers will have more spicy peppers, while sweet pickled peppers will use fewer (or no) hot peppers and few (or no) pepper seeds left. If you’d like to take the heat down a notch, remove the seeds; this is where most of the spice and intensity resides.

Should You Add Water to Pickled Peppers?

For these recipes, you can use a cup of vinegar and a cup of water, or skip the cup of water and instead use two cups of vinegar.

The more vinegar you add, the stronger the vinegar’s flavor will be. More vinegar also creates a longer, more stable shelf life.

It is completely up to you to decide what you like and if you should add water.

How Many Peppers in a Pound?

It takes twelve large (or twenty-five to thirty small) jalapenos to make a pound.

There are approximately three large (or six to eight small) bell peppers in a pound.

Three mini sweet peppers are the equivalent size of one medium bell pepper. So it takes fifteen mini sweet peppers to make one pound.

It takes five large (or six medium, or seven small) banana peppers to add up to a pound.

Do you remember Peter Piper and his peck of peppers…? 😊

Optional Add-Ins for Hot Picked Peppers Recipe

There are four additional ingredients that I have included for you to decide if you want to add them in or not. They are:

• smashed garlic cloves
• peppercorns
• celery seeds
• mustard seeds

You may enjoy checking out different types of garlic.

Herb and Spice Additions Enhance Pickled Peppers

Garlic Cloves and Pickled Peppers

Garlic cloves add a layer of interest and flavor to the recipe. It dilutes the spiciness but enhances the flavor.

Mustard Seeds and Pickled Peppers

Mustard seeds have a strong, distinct smell and flavor. They give a spicy yet earthy taste to the pickled peppers. Because of this, they are perfectly incorporated into the recipe.

Celery Seeds and Pickled Peppers

Celery seeds are crisp, bitter, and lightly warm. They work well with distilled white vinegar to create that classic pickle taste.

Peppercorns and Pickled Peppers

Lastly, the black peppercorns smell delicious and make a lovely spicy addition that isn’t too hot for most palates.

How to Make Refrigerator Pickled Peppers

Quick and Easy Fridge Pepper Pickles – Basic Recipe

Here’s the very short version on making fridge pickled peppers:

Heat one part water to one part distilled white vinegar, with a touch of salt and sugar. Once this is well blended, pour it over sliced chili peppers. These peppers will last up to three weeks in the refrigerator.

Or, you can go for more flavorful versions below.

Check out this article if you’re interested in making refrigerator pickles.

How to Can Pickled Peppers

For longer lasting food preservation, canning pickled peppers is the way to go.

*Why Remove Canning Lid Rings from Sealed Jars?

Always remove your rings so they don’t rust there! Also, if your lid comes loose it will be very apparent (stinky). If the rings stay on, there is a chance they could reseal themselves on the shelf despite the food inside being “bad”.

Pickled peppers make great gifts for all kinds of occasions, so for those you may consider more decorative canning jars, bottles and/or labels.

What To Do With Pickled Peppers

Okay so these are delicious and it’s tempting to grab a bite of plain pickled peppers every now and then, but how are you supposed to formally use them? Here are some of the best methods:

• Toss a spoonful into Mexican dishes such as enchiladas, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, or salsa.
• Blend to make a delicious hot sauce.
• Add to flatbread or pizza.
• Scatter atop a fresh garden salad.
• Mix with pimento cheese. Even better, eat it on a cracker with cheese.
• Blend into soups or chilis.
• Add to sandwiches, burgers, melts, or deli wraps.
• Toss into chicken or tuna salad.
• Use it as a garnish on any other meal that needs a kick of flavor.
• Give as gifts

You may also enjoy learning how you can freeze peppers as well as how to dry chili peppers.

We love this image of jar-upon-jar of “happy” pickled peppers. While these appear to be displayed in a country store, we can envision them in a well-stocked pantry! 😊🌶🫑😎

How Long Will Pickled Peppers Last?

This is an important question, but the answer is not clear. We didn’t even find any info on the USDA website related to pickled peppers longevity, so instead, we’re sharing our experience and that of others here for you to make your own educated observations and assessments.

There No One Right Answer

From good blogs to extension service websites, answers on how long pickled peppers will last refrigerated after opening, vary from one month to one year

For example, the psu.edu ext. site says one month. The Colorado state ext. site says: “Refrigerate six to eight weeks for the pickled flavor to fully develop. Keep refrigerated and use within six months.” And this survival freedom website with (reportedly) 50 years gardening experience, says six months! 😜

In our experience, we’ve had pickled jalapeños in a jar in the fridge for up to a year that were perfectly fine with no discernible difference to a fresh opened jar.

What we all know is that whatever food item that’s dated, it could deteriorate before the date, (such as tender salad greens), or well afterwards, and often depending on traveling and storage conditions. So use your best judgement and if it looks good and smells good, it probably is good.