Pickled Banana Peppers

Pickled banana peppers are one of the easiest ways to preserve a bumper crop of peppers. We grew them specifically to can, and their mild heat and natural sweetness make them perfect straight from the jar. I love them piled onto sandwiches, tossed into salads, or stirred into soup for a pop of bright flavor. This recipe is simple, reliable, and a great starting point if you’re new to canning.

Pickled banana peppers are one of my favorite pickles to can—and one of the easiest too. We grew a whole row of banana pepper plants just so I’d have enough for a big batch of these, and it was absolutely worth it. They have a naturally bright, slightly sweet flavor that shines through even after pickling. I love them straight from the jar, but they’re also perfect tucked into sandwiches, stirred into pasta salads, or added to soups.

They even show up in one of my all-time favorite canning recipes: the Southwestern Vegetable Soup from the Ball Blue Book.

This simple recipe is adapted from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. I’ve left out the mustard and celery seed that are in the original for a cleaner, pepper-forward flavor, but I’ve included them as optional add-ins if you want more spice and complexity.

Either way, this is a reliable, safe, small-batch canning recipe that’s great for first-time picklers and seasoned canners alike.

Ingredients for Pickled Banana Peppers

This recipe makes about 4 pint jars. It’s scaled for a modest harvest, but you can easily double it if you have a big garden haul.

• Banana peppers: Mild and sweet, they’re ideal for pickling. Slice into ¼-inch rings after removing the stems.
• Cider vinegar: Provides acidity for safe water bath canning. Stick to 5% acidity, and don’t substitute with lower-acid options.
• Water: Dilutes the vinegar slightly for a balanced brine.
• Canning salt: Adds flavor and helps preserve the peppers without clouding the brine.
• Mustard seed (optional): Adds warmth and a little pop of texture. Traditional, but not required.
• Celery seed (optional): Gives the pickles a more savory, spiced profile. Feel free to include it if you enjoy a more complex flavor.

How to Make Pickled Banana Peppers

Start by washing your peppers thoroughly. Remove the stem ends. I like to remove the seeds from my peppers, as I think it makes them a bit cleaner in the jar and the texture is better when I’m using them in recipes.

Removing the seeds is optional, of course. You can skip this step, but if you do want to remove the seeds it’s a lot easier to do while they’re stemmed but still whole. I run a chopstick around the inside of the pepper and it loosens the seedy core. After that you can just tip it out of the pepper.

Seeded or not, the next step is slicing. Slice the peppers into rings about ¼ inch thick. Set the prepared peppers aside while you make the brine.

In a large non-reactive saucepan, combine the cider vinegar, water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. If you’re using mustard seed or celery seed, add them directly to the bottom of your sterilized jars—½ tablespoon of celery seed and 1 tablespoon of mustard seed per pint jar is the standard ratio, but it’s entirely optional.

Pack the sliced banana peppers tightly into hot, sterilized pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Once the brine is boiling, carefully ladle it over the pepper rings, still maintaining that ½ inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles using a chopstick or bubble remover, wipe the rims clean, and apply two-part canning lids.

Process the jars in a boiling water bath canner—10 minutes at elevations up to 1,000 feet, increasing the time for higher elevations (see below). After processing, allow the jars to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check the seals, label, and store.

Is This a Safe Pickling Recipe?

Yes—this is a tested and reliable recipe adapted from the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s “Pickled Yellow Pepper Rings.” It follows all safe water bath canning practices and uses a properly acidified vinegar brine to preserve the peppers.

You may reduce or omit the spices if you prefer a cleaner flavor, but do not reduce the vinegar or increase the water. The acidity of the vinegar is what makes the recipe safe for shelf storage. You can scale the pepper quantity slightly as long as you keep the brine ratios the same.

This is a raw pack recipe, so the peppers go into the jars uncooked. That helps them stay crisp and flavorful after processing.

Recipe Tips

• Spice it up: This version skips the traditional mustard and celery seeds for a cleaner flavor, but you can add them back in if you’d like a more classic pickle. Use 1 tablespoon mustard seed and ½ tablespoon celery seed per pint jar.
• Keep it crisp: Since this is a raw pack recipe, the peppers go into the jars uncooked, which helps them stay crunchy after canning.
• Use fresh peppers: For best results, use firm, freshly picked banana peppers. Overripe or soft peppers can lose texture during processing.
• Scale as needed: You can easily double or halve the recipe. Just keep the vinegar, water, and salt ratios the same for safe canning.
• Let them sit: The flavor improves after a few weeks in the jar. They’re good right away, but even better after curing for 2 to 3 weeks.

Pickled Pepper Recipes

If you’re working with a bumper crop of peppers, there are plenty of other ways to put them up.

Try Pickled Jalapeños for a spicier option, or make a batch Pickled Habaneros for even more heat.

Pickle Canning Recipes

If you love crisp, tangy pickles, these recipes are worth adding to your canning list. Try making Kosher Dill Pickles or Classic Dill Pickle Slices for a true deli-style crunch. For something sweet, try Sweet Cucumber Pickles or the more involved but deeply flavorful Sweet Gherkin Pickles. And if you’ve got a garden surplus, Danish Asier Pickles are a great way to use oversized cucumbers.