You’ll want to pile these sweet and mildly spicy quick Pickled Banana Peppers on everything, when you’re not snacking on them straight out of the jar!
You won't find an easier pickled banana peppers recipe - just 5 simple ingredients. They have a mild heat, but I'll warn you that they're boldly flavorful: tangy, salty and lightly sweetened with honey. I love them just as they are, but you have endless options for embellishment to make them your own.
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Ingredients You Need to Make Pickled Banana Peppers
- Banana Peppers: (also called banana chilies and yellow wax peppers) Look for long, firm peppers with shiny, taut skin. When buying peppers, be sure you're not buying Hungarian wax peppers that have a similar appearance.
- White Vinegar: or apple cider vinegar
- Water: ideally filtered water
- Kosher Salt: or half the amount of fine sea salt or pickling salt
- Honey: or white sugar (you'll want to use about 50% more to achieve the same sweetness)
Quick pickling banana peppers is a great way to accentuate their gentle sweetness and preserve their crunch. It's as simple as pouring hot brine over crisp banana pepper rings that you've piled into a clean jar. They'll be ready to eat the very next day.
Recipe Options
Taste your hot brine to see if it needs adjusting, but note that the flavor will intensify as it cools.
- Add spices to the brine, ½ to 1 teaspoon of one or more of these: coriander seed, mustard seed, celery seed or kick up the spice with some red pepper flakes or swap in some fresh hot peppers like jalapeño, serrano or habanero.
- Toss in 1 or more garlic cloves.
- Add more or less honey to taste or use sugar if you prefer.
- Add more or less salt to taste.
- If you prefer softer peppers, add them to the boiling brine for a minute or two before filling your jar(s).
FAQ
Though they are both in the chili pepper family and look similar, Pepperoncini and banana peppers are not the same. Both are on the lower side of the heat spectrum, compared to the fieriest peppers out there, like ghost peppers and habaneros. And both are considered sweet peppers, but pepperoncini are substantially spicier.
Pickled banana peppers shine for their versatility and wide appeal, particularly for those who are not fond of hot peppers.
They add flare and crunch to sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers and pizza, and you can stir them into soups, pastas and chili. They're also a great addition to cheese and meat boards and small plates tapas-style, including dry-cured meat, sausages, semi-hard cheese, and olives.
Because these Pickled Banana Peppers aren't traditionally canned, plan to enjoy them within 1 month.
More Quick Pickling Recipes to Try
How to Make Pickled Banana Peppers
Slice banana peppers crosswise into thin rings, discarding stems, membrane and seeds. Pile into a sterilized quart jar (or 2 pint jars).
Bring brine ingredients to boil in a medium saucepan. Carefully pour hot brine over peppers, leaving ½-inch of space. Let cool, then refrigerate overnight.
Pickled Banana Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 pound banana peppers
- 2 ½ cups white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Wearing gloves to protect your skin from irritation, slice off the stems of banana peppers and remove any large membrane with a paring knife. Cut peppers into thin rounds and divide between 2 sterilized pint jars or 1 quart jar.
- In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, water, salt and honey; cook and stir over medium heat just until boiling. Remove from heat and carefully pour hot liquid over peppers, leaving ½-inch of space at the top. With the back of a spoon, press peppers down so they are below the liquid. Let cool to room temperature and then screw on the lid and refrigerate overnight. Enjoy as early as the next day and for up to 1 month.
This is an excellent recipe! Simple and delicious. Everyone loved them! I added a little Turmeric to ingredients to enhance the color.
So glad you enjoyed these, Marge! Great idea to add a little turmeric.
I've never tried Banana Peppers as I always thought they were a super hot variety. I'm glad you shared this post and fixed my ignorance haha. I'll give them a try now - thanks for the inspiration.
Can you do this with jalapeño peppers?
Absolutely!
Oooh, these look brilliant, Marissa! My daughter goes crazy for anything pickled and I think she would be super happy to try these. Thanks for the inspiration!
My pleasure, Katerina! I hop you and your daughter will love these.
Yum, Marissa! We put pickled banana peppers on all our sandwiches but I've never made my own! These peppers look awesome! I'm imagining them on a sub with some gooey mozza cheese and salami 🙂
That sandwich sounds perfect to me, Katherine! Thank you!
I love pickled banana peppers! They're great on salads, but we really love 'em on sandwiches with Italian meats and cheeses. We pickled a batch ourselves years ago, but I haven't grown banana peppers in the garden again since then...thanks for the inspiration for next year's garden!!
My pleasure, David!
They look awesome and would be fantastic with some grilled burgers 🙂
Love the way you think, Angie!