Homemade pickled peppers using red and green jalapeno peppers. These pickled peppers are perfect for adding to nachos, enchiladas or sandwiches.
Recipe includes step by step directions for canning the peppers using a water bath canner.
Pickled Hot Peppers You Will Love
Sometimes our garden produces an abundance of produce. This year we ended up with lot of hot chile peppers including jalapenos. We also received extra peppers from our neighbors!
Having so much fresh produce is a great thing, but finding ways to use it up can be challenging. We roast and freeze peppers, and this year I also decided to can pickled peppers.
Pickling peppers isn't difficult and if you process them using a water bath canner, the peppers are shelf stable and can be stored at room temperature.
Just imagine pulling out a jar of homemade pickled peppers in the middle of the winter!
These pickled jalapenos are perfect on nachos, tacos, and burritos. Add to a sandwich or in some guacamole or use when making shredded chicken.
If you are new to canning, you'll want to read How to Water Bath Can before you begin!
Pickled Peppers Recipe Ingredients
- Peppers - I used green jalapenos and red fresno peppers. You can use any type of hot chile pepper.
- Vinegar - Plain distilled vinegar. You want at least 5% acidity to make these safe for canning
- Pickling salt - or any salt without iodine or anti-caking ingredients. Canning salt or kosher salt are good options
How to Pickle Peppers
- Wash canning jars and canning lids in hot soapy water. Rinse well and let air dry.
- Wash peppers in cool water
- Slice peppers into evenly sized pieces
- Place peppers in prepared jars
5. Bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil
6. Pour hot vinegar mixture over jalapenos, leaving ½ inch head space from the top of the jar
7. Remove bubbles from jar. I lightly tap my jar and use a plastic knife around the sides of the jar to help remove the bubbles.
8. Wipe down rim of jar with a clean cloth
9. Add lid and ring band
10. Place jars in a water bath canner. The canner should be filled with hot water that covers the top of the jars by 1 inch.
11. Cover canner and bring to a boil
12. Boil pint jars for at least 10 minutes making certain you are adding additional time for your elevation (see chart below)
Canning Pickled Peppers Altitude Adjustment
- You must adjust your processing time according to your elevation. If you are located anywhere above 1000 feet above sea level, please add the following time to your total processing time.
| Altitude Feet | Increase Processing Time |
|---|---|
| 1,001- 3,000 3,001- 6,000 6,001- 8,000 8,001-10,000 | 5 minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes 20 minutes |
Tips For Pickling Peppers
- Wear gloves when handling the peppers. Peppers are hot and the oil from the peppers can sting your hands and if you touch other areas, like your eyes, that area will burn too.
- Use fresh, high quality peppers
- You can pickle one jar or ten jars depending on the amount of peppers on hand, the size of your water bath canner and the amount of storage space available to store the canned jar
- When pouring the hot brine onto the peppers, be cautious when breathing the steam as it comes off the peppers. The heat from the peppers mixes with the steam and is difficult to breath in.
- Select pint sized jars or half-pint sized jars depending on your needs
- Once opened, store pickled peppers along with the brine in the refrigerator for 2-3 months
A Note on Home Canned Food
Improperly home canned food can carry the risk of causing botulism. If eaten, this can cause a serious form of food poisoning that can lead to paralysis or death. Please follow safety procedures and inspect your food before consuming.
- Always inspect your home canned food before eating
- If in doubt, throw it out!!! The FDA recommends throwing out the food and the jar.
- Do not taste if in doubt!
- Throw it out if -
- the can is bulging, leaking or swollen
- the container looks damaged or abnormal
- the container spurts liquid or foam when opened
- the food is moldy, discolored or smells bad
- the seal is no longer intact when you examine the food
How to Store Pickled Hot Peppers
Unopened jars that have been processed in a hot water bath will maintain their quality for up to one year.
If you have extra peppers and are looking for another great way to use them, you may want to try this Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe from Nourished Kitchen.
Pickled Pepper Recipe FAQs
You can eat the pickled peppers right away, but they will be best if you can wait at least 3 weeks before eating. This will allow enough time for the peppers to fully be pickled.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Be certain to check out all my home canning recipes!
How to Pickle Peppers
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Canning Jars - 16 oz
- Large Canning Pot
Ingredients
- 3 pounds peppers (jalapenos or other hot peppers)
- 6 cups white distilled vinegar (at least 5% acidity)
- 2 cups water
- 4 teaspoons canning salt
Instructions
- Wash canning jars and canning lids in hot soapy water. Rinse well and let air dry.
- Wash peppers in cool water3 pounds peppers
- Slice peppers into evenly sized pieces
- Place peppers in prepared jars
- Bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil
- Pour hot vinegar mixture over jalapenos, leaving ½ inch head space from the top of the jar6 cups white distilled vinegar, 2 cups water, 4 teaspoons canning salt
- Remove bubbles from jar. I lightly tap my jar and use a plastic knife around the sides of the jar to help remove the bubbles.
- Place jars in a water bath canner. The canner should be filled with hot water that covers the top of the jars by 1 inch.Cover canner and bring to a boil
- Boil pint jars for at least 10 minutes making certain you are adding additional time for your elevation (see chart below)
Notes
- Wear gloves when handling the peppers. Peppers are hot and the oil from the peppers can sting your hands and if you touch other areas, like your eyes, that area will burn too.
- Use fresh, high quality peppers
- You can pickle one jar or ten jars depending on the amount of peppers on hand, the size of your water bath canner and the amount of storage space available to store the canned jars
- When pouring the hot brine onto the peppers, be cautious when breathing the steam as it comes off the peppers. The heat from the peppers mixes with the steam and is difficult to breath in.
- Select pint sized jars or half-pint sized jars depending on your needs
- Once opened, store pickled peppers along with the brine in the refrigerator for 2-3 months
- 1,001- 3,000 ft. - add 5 minutes
- 3,001- 6,000 ft. - add 10 minutes
- 6,001- 8,000 ft. - add 15 minutes
- 8,001-10,000 ft. - add 20 minutes
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Marla Singer says
Can you add Onion to the peppers and still have it be safe?
Kathy says
Hi Marla,
I did a bit of research through the National Center of Home Food Preservation and I am not getting a clear answer for you. I find recipes for pickled onions and pickled relish with peppers and onions. However, each of the ratios of the brine are slightly different. When I can't get a clear answer from what I consider the experts, I am hesitant to say it's okay. If you have a local extension office, you might reach out to them and ask.
Kathy
Robin says
Can I use this recipe with whole jalapeno or habanero peppers instead of slicing?
Kathy says
Hi Robin,
Yes, you can use whole peppers. Just pierce the peppers so the brine will fill the cavity of the pepper.
Enjoy!
Kathy 🙂
Tiffany Raines says
Can you add sugar to this recipe?
Thanks!
Kathy says
Hi Tiffany,
Adding a small amount of sugar shouldn't be a problem.
Kathy
Lidia says
Hello Kathy. Brand new canner here!
For the peppers: if some of them are starting to look a little wilty, or sad haha, can they still be used for pickling? And can I add other veggies to your recipe like carrots?
Thanks in advance!
Lidia
Kathy says
Hi Lidia,
You'll want to use your best peppers so I'd discard the sad looking ones. The process for pickling carrots is a different process so I wouldn't combine them.
Nick says
Am new to all of this so excuse my rookie talk lol, I saw that when it comes to canning peppers of any kind there is no safe way to boil can them. Also I am using quart sized jars as I have many peppers. I am also confused as it says to take the skin off of them before I poor in the hot liquid. Can I not just de-seed and stem my peppers leave the skin on put them in the jar and throw in the hot brine. Also i feel like I should mention my intentions are to can them to have a long shelf life and as I run out of stock through the year open them stuff them with provolone cheese and prosciutto and put them in the fridge with olive oil. I am confused sorry your help would be greatly appreciated!
Kathy says
Hi Nick,
I'm not certain you are referring to my recipe. Nowhere do I mention removing the peel of on the peppers. These peppers are pickled, so they are safe for water bath canning. NCHFP. Please read through my entire article as well as the recipe. I would also suggest you read these articles which includes everything you need to know about water bath canning and pressure canning.
Kathy
Brooks says
I used this recipe 2 years ago for home grown Sierra Nevada Chileno (Italian Wax) peppers, but I did not do the boiling water bath. They came out good and I have one jar left and all the jars were good. For this year I am doing the same, but I water-bathed the jars.(The first batch as a test). It cooked the peppers, made them ready sooner, and I think the flavor improved. But the peppers are soft. Still good but a little soft. I do not want to add Calcium Chloride. I was thinking to not boil them for so long, or do them at reduced temp. 185 f. ?? Got any advice?
Kathy says
Hi Brooks,
The amount of time for processing in boiling water is needed to make the jars safe and shelf stable. Reducing the time or the temperature is not safe.
Kathy
Jerry says
I always cold pack my hot peppers in the jars then add the cold brine mixture to cover them and then I vacuum seal the jars like they do it in a factory. I never heat up the brine or the peppers as they would come out sort of mushy texture. I mix up vinegar, oil, salt and some sugar then some chopped fresh garlic and in each pint I add 1/8th teaspoon of pickle crisp. I then put the lids on but do not tighten the rings on them yet. I put them in my chamber and turn on the vacuum. When I release the vacuum you hear the lids all clicking and sealing. They are crisp and fresh three years later as if they were just picked and sliced up. Also I do up my jars first in a hot cycle in the dishwasher to sterilize them and I boil the lids too before putting them on the top of the jars.
Kathy says
Hi Jerry,
Many people do use a similar method. However, this does not ensure that the contents are shelf stable.
Brooks says
I think a problem I am having is the Sierra Nevada Chileno peppers are usually pickled and canned when the peppers are immature.. young and green. After the water bath they are soft.. not falling apart, but melt in your mouth soft. This next batch I am letting them turn yellow.... and will have a tougher skin...spicier, and I will cut them into nacho rings so I can get more in the jars. What about adding Pickle Crisp? My recipe is same as you have posted but I add 1/4 teaspoon oregano and 1 clove garlic per pint jar.
Kathy says
Adding the oregano and garlic shouldn't be a problem and will definitely add flavor! Water bath processing does heat the peppers and will often soften them, but if you want them to be shelf stable, they need to be processed. You could put a jar or two directly into the fridge without processing them. Pickle crisp might be your answer, but I have not tried it. You might need to experiment and see how it works!
Keep me posted!
Kathy 🙂
Joye says
Does the time change if using half pints ?
Kathy says
No. Keep the processing time the same for half pints.
sarasota hog hunting says
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Kathy says
Hi! Thank you so much! Which post are you inquiring about? I'd love to tell you more, but I just need a bit more info!
Thanks and so happy to have you here!!! 🙂
Laks says
Oh..another Qs ..can I use clean, wide mouthed bottles to pickle the peppers? 🤔
Kathy says
I suggest using only jars that are specifically made for canning.
Laks says
I got most part of your well explained recipe except the elevation part of it. 🤔
What does that imply?
Also can I use any deep pot with lid for the water bath canning ? Lastly, what's the proportion of water to vinegar if I use 1 lb of pepper? Thanks in advance 🙏
Kathy says
Hello,
- The elevation refers to how many feet above sea level you are located. There is a chart explaining how to adjust your processing time depending on where you are located.
- You can use any deep pot as long as the you can cover you jars with at least one inch of water. It is best practice to have some sort of rack in the bottom of your pot too. I have canned before without a rack, but you do risk jars breaking when placed directly on the bottom of the pot.
- My recipe calls for 3 pounds of peppers. If you're wanting to do one pound, the ratio will stay the same. Use 2 cups of vinegar and 2/3 cups of water.
Kathy
David @ Spiced says
So the first thing I thought of when I read this post was Peter Piper and his picking of the peck of pickled peppers. Of course, you can't really pick a pickled pepper, but still. 🙂 I do love pickled jalapeno peppers on sandwiches and nachos, and jalapenos grow quite well here in New York. I normally just freeze them, but I should try pickling them next year!
Kathy says
Oh trust me...that has been on repeat in my mind too! We freeze a lot of peppers, but these are another way to use up that crop of peppers...or should I say peck of pepper! 🙂