Refrigerator Pickled Banana Peppers (No Canning)
Pickled Yellow Banana Pepper Rings, right out of your own fridge!?! Yes, you can! These refrigerator pickled banana peppers take about 15 minutes of work, a hot brine, one jar and 24 hours of brining time before they’re ready to enjoy. No canning, no special equipment, and no waiting for weeks. They’re ready to eat the next day and keep for weeks in the fridge!
If you’ve grown a bunch of banana peppers or bought some at the market because they’re pretty and you don’t know what to make, keep reading. These easy peppers are exactly the recipe you’re looking for because you don’t need a lot of equipment OR experience in the pickle making field keep reading because I’m about to make you look like a pickle expert to all your friends.
if that’s too much for you and you’re not ready to make pickles with your banana peppers, try this easy stuffed banana pepper recipe. It takes banana peppers to another realm, poppers but bigger and better!
Why Make Refrigerator Pickled Banana Peppers
Homemade pickled banana peppers taste fresher and snappier than the jarred kind, and you get to decide how sweet, garlicky or spicy they are. It’s also a great way to use up a big bag of peppers from the garden or the farmers’ market before they go soft.
And in my opinion the BEST reason to make is because they’re refrigerator pickles. Which means ANYONE can make them. There’s specialty equipment needed! No canning pot, no two part lids, no tongs, no boiling syrup, and nothing to be nervous about. If you can boil water, you can make these!
Blue Garlic and How To Avoid it
That’s probably NOT what you were expecting the next paragraph to say, right? But we have to talk about it because if you make these pickles and the garlic turns blue you might not know why. And the why is just a chemical reaction between the sulphur in the garlic and vinegar. There’s nothing wrong with your pickles OR even the garlic. It’s a natural reaction.
You can cut down on the chances of it happening by NOT smashing the daylights out of your garlic and just slicing it in half. The less it’s cut or broken down the less chance of the blue reaction. But the less it’s cut or smashed the less garlic flavor you get. You could swap the fresh garlic for dried minced garlic, just sprinkle it into the jar over the pepper rings.
Ingredients For Refrigerator Pickled Banana Peppers
Just a handful of pantry staples and a pound of peppers. A quart jar holds the whole batch. Want to doubled or triple the recipe? It works perfectly, just use a gallon jar or keep them in quart jars! But remember they absolutely positively MUST be stored in the refrigerator once they’re done being made.
- banana peppers
- apple cider vinegar, it must be 5% acidity for best results, you can use white vinegar as well but I prefer apple cider
- water
- kosher or pickling salt
- sugar
- garlic
- red pepper flakes, optional because they’re spicy
And you will also need:
- one quart jar for each batch made
- sharp knife
- wooden spoon
- saucepan
- cutting board
- canning funnel, no needed BUT it make pouring the brine so much easier
Change It Up
Make them hotter by using the red pepper flakes in the brine. Or slice a few jalapeños or habaneros with pith and seeds into the jar. Red pepper flakes AND hot peppers sliced into the jar will really bump up the heat.
Taste the brine as you’re making it and decide if you want them sweeter or more sharp. Add more sugar or vinegar to the brine as desired.
How To Store Pickled Banana Peppers
These are refrigerator pickles, which means they live in the fridge, not the pantry. They’re not canned and they aren’t shelf stable, so keep the jar cold the whole time. They’ll keep for up to 2 months in the fridge, and they get more flavorful the longer they sit in the brine.
Always use a clean fork to pull peppers out of the jar, and keep the peppers covered by the brine so the ones on top don’t dry out. If the brine ever smells off, looks slimy or shows any mold, throw the whole jar out and make a fresh batch.
Refrigerator Pickled Banana Peppers
Equipment
- quart jar
Ingredients
- 1 lb banana peppers
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 5% acidity
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp kosher or pickling salt
- 1-2 tbsp sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed or sliced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, add only if you want hot peppers
Instructions
- Wash the peppers, trim off the stems, and slice them into rings about 1/4-inch thick
- Shake out the loose seeds if you want less seeds
- Pack the rings into a clean quart jar with the garlic
- Bring the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and red pepper flakes, if using, to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve
- Pour the hot brine over the peppers until they're covered, leaving about 1/2 inch at the top
- Press the rings down with a wooden spoon to push out air bubbles
- Let the jar cool to room temperature
- Put the lid on, and refrigerate
- They're ready to eat in 24 hours and best after 2-3 days
- Keep them in the refrigerator for up to 2 months
