What are the best peppers for pickling?
What kind of peppers are used in pickling?
Most peppers work great for pickling, but some of our favorites for pickling include:
Banana Peppers
Hot Hungarian Wax Peppers
Sweet Hungarian Wax Peppers
Cascabellas
Sweet Cherry peppers
Hot Cherry Peppers
Fresno peppers
All Jalapeno Peppers
All Wax Peppers
Pickling peppers is a great way to use up a lot of peppers and preserve the harvest!
You can even mix and match different peppers like jalapenos and make eye-catching jars of pickle peppers like the ones above.
How long does it take for peppers to pickle?
Pickled peppers can take anywhere from 24 hours to 3+ weeks to become fully pickled, depending on how you make them. The depth of flavor and texture depends a lot on how they are prepared.
Fastest Pickled Peppers:
Refrigerator pickled peppers are also are easy to keep nice and crunchy as they are not cooked in a water bath, and can be enjoyed in less than 24 hours (it's nice to chill them first in the fridge before enjoying.) In fact, to maintain the peak crispness and color of your pickled peppers, you should skip heat-processing or water-bath canning and instead use the refrigerator method: Simply pour a boiling vinegar-based brine over peppers in a glass jar, and allow them to marinate in the refrigerator overnight or for a few days. These will stay crisp and fresh for a couple months in the fridge, though they usually get eaten long before that.
Water-Bath "Canned" Pickled Peppers:
While these may not be as crispy as their refrigerator counterparts, this is a great way to preserve your peppers for shelf-stable long-term storage. Adding a leaf from Raspberry, Horseradish or Grape can add tannins to help keep these type of pickled peppers more crisp.
Longer method for Pickling Peppers:
You can ferment peppers to pickle them, which is a great way to keep them extra crunchy. Fermenting pickles uses salt and natural bacteria rather than vinegar to "pickle" the peppers. These can ferment at room temperature for 1-3+ weeks and develop a complex, deep tang while staying exceptionally crunchy. You can also use fermented pickled peppers to grind into a delicious, slightly pro-biotic fermented hot sauce.
Here are some of our favorite pickled pepper recipes:
Easy Refrigerator Pickled Peppers Recipe
Pickled Jalapeños Recipe
Pickled Fresno Peppers Recipe
Copycat Mezzetta Hot Pepper Recipe
Fresno peppers are bright red 2” long conical-shaped peppers that grow upright on very productive plants. Hamlin named the chili "Fresno" in honor of Fresno, California. They are grown throughout California, specifically in the San Joaquin Valley. The Fresno pepper is often confused with a jalapeño but contains thinner walls and often milder heat with 5,000 Scovilles. They are delicious pickled!
Did you know that Cascabella peppers are the ones that Mezzetta uses for their Mezzetta™ Hot Chili Peppers? Those are the jars of spicy yellow pickled peppers you see at the grocery store. They are hot and delicious, but you can also grow your own for an all-natural treat! The plants are fast growing and super productive, so they are great for beginner growers and experts alike.
Check out our Pickled Cascabellas Recipe »
Peppers for Pickles:
Of course you can also use peppers to spice up cucumbers for the most delicious spicy pickles! Here's a couple of our favorite spicy pickle recipes:
Spicy Pickles Recipe
Spicy Refrigerator Pickles Recipe
How to pickle jalapeno peppers:
Pickling jalapeno peppers is one of our favorite ways to use up a large harvest of jalapenos from the garden. Here is one of our favorite recipes: Pickled Jalapeños Recipe
How to pickle peppers and keep them crisp?
Marinating Peppers
Peppers are a great addition to any foodie garden – they add color, flavor, and often heat – and they can be preserved by drying, pickling, canning or even freezing to enjoy the harvest year round.
