Spicy Pickled Green Tomatoes

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Spicy pickled green tomatoes are a bold, tangy way to use up end-of-season tomatoes, packed with heat and classic pickle flavor. Firm green tomatoes are sliced or wedged, packed into jars with spicy peppers and warm pickling spices, then covered with a hot vinegar brine and processed in a water bath canner for a shelf-stable pantry pickle. They’re perfect alongside sandwiches, burgers, BBQ, or chopped into relish trays when you want something crisp with a kick.

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Canning Time10

Total Time25

Course: pickles

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Green Tomato Canning Recipes

Servings: servings, makes 7 to 8 Pints

Equipment

Water Bath Canner

Ingredients

3 lb green tomatoes cored and cut into eighths
1 lb hot banana peppers Hungarian wax, yellow, green, and orange, cut into 1/2-inch (1-cm) rings
1 lb Anaheim peppers cut into 1/2-inch (1-cm) rings
1 cup onion sliced
4 tsp pickling salt divided
3 cups white vinegar 5% acidity
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp pickling spice
4 tsp mustard seeds
8 cloves garlic crushed

Instructions

Prepare canner and jars. Prepare a boiling water canner and heat pint jars. Keep jars hot until ready to fill.
Salt the vegetables. In a very large bowl, toss together green tomatoes, both peppers, onion, and 1 Tbsp (15 mL) of the pickling salt. Let stand 20 minutes, then drain well.
Make the brine. In a large (about 12-qt) stainless steel or enameled pot, combine vinegar, water, sugar, and remaining 1 tsp (5 mL) pickling salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Season the jars. To each hot pint jar, add 1/2 tsp pickling spice, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, and 1 crushed garlic clove.
Pack the jars. Using a slotted spoon, pack drained vegetables into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Add brine and seal. Ladle hot brine over vegetables, maintaining 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, apply lids, and adjust bands to fingertip-tight.
Process. Process pint jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove canner lid, and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool undisturbed 12 to 24 hours.

Notes

Do not reduce the vinegar or increase the amount of water, and use vinegar at 5% acidity. White vinegar, cider vinegar or any other vinegar standardized to 5% acidity will work.

The pepper varieties are flexible. Aim for about two-thirds sweet peppers and one-third hot peppers for a moderate heat level, adjusting hotter or milder to suit your taste. If you can’t find Anaheim chiles in your area, a good stand-in is about 1½ cups chopped green bell peppers plus ½ cup jalapeños, which gives a similar overall level of heat. If you want less heat, swap the Hungarian wax peppers for sweet red bell peppers to mellow the spice.

Once opened, store jars in the refrigerator and use within several weeks for the best flavor and texture.

Altitude Adjustments

Canning times are slightly longer above 1,000 feet in elevation. Standard altitude adjustments for pints of pickles are as follows:

0 to 1,000 ft: 10 minutes
1,001 to 6,000 ft: 15 minutes
Above 6,000 ft: 20 minutes

Nutrition