Everything You Need to Know About Water Bath Canning Banana Peppers

Love banana peppers? Wondering if peppers can be water bath canned? Fortunately for you, the answer is yes! 

Water bath canning is a fantastic way to preserve banana peppers and enjoy all year long.

Water bath processing involves submerging jars of food in boiling water to kill any bacteria and seal the jar shut. It’s an easy process that anyone can do! 

So today, I want to walk you through how to properly water bath can (and pickle!) your banana peppers with tips to help make it easier.

Ingredients and Tips for Successfully Pickling Banana Peppers

To make delicious canned banana peppers, you’ll need a few basic ingredients. While recipes vary in the type of spices used (and their amounts), the ingredient list is generally the same. 

Banana Peppers

You want to use the freshest possible, and you’ll need about one pound of banana peppers per pint jar. If you want to can more than a single batch, just double the amount accordingly.  

The recipe will work with any size pepper, but I recommend using smaller ones for pickling. They just seem to taste better!  And the larger bell type varieties take up too much space inside jars.

Vinegar

Vinegar is a key ingredient in the recipe. You can use either apple cider vinegar or regular white vinegar. You can also substitute white wine, rice, or malt vinegars, but they won’t provide as much of that tangy flavor we’re going for. 

Water

Water is pretty self-explanatory, but basically you want it to be pure, so filtered is best. 

Pickling salt

Of course you’ll need pickling salt. Any kind will work, but I recommend using a fine grain salt. I really like Morton’s brand Canning and Pickling Salt. 

Seasonings

This is one of the parts of water bath canning recipes that varies widely among home canners.

You can really tailor the taste of your pickled banana peppers here by adding the spices you like. Garlic tastes amazing so does celery seed, mustard seeds and peppercorns.

Pro Tip: You can also add other vegetables like carrots or cauliflower to the jar if you want a more complex flavor profile.

Canning jars

Since you’ll be using the water bath canning method, you want to make sure your jars are safe for this type of canning process. It’s important that your jars are clean and you use new, unused lids. 

How to Can Banana Peppers in a Water Bath 

Ok, we’ve talked about the ingredients you’ll need. Now let’s break it down step by step. 

To can banana peppers in a water bath, you’ll need the ingredients listed above plus a canning pot, jar lifter,  jars, and lids/rings.

Instructions:

Be sure to sterilize your equipment by boiling it for at least 5 minutes first. We don’t want any bacteria in there that will ruin all our hard work! 

Next, chop the peppers into rings (if that’s what you’re going for as opposed to whole). I like to cut them into rings because they’re easier to incorporate into a variety of dishes and recipes later on down the road. 

Now prepare your brine by heating up about 5 cups of vinegar with 1 cup water and 3-4 teaspoons of pickling salt. 

This amount makes about 3 pints, so adjust accordingly considering how many peppers you have. 

Once that’s heated through, pack the peppers into your recently sterilized jars and pour the hot brine solution over them. Add any spices you want (of course, only use seasonings that are safe for canning). 

You’ll want to leave about a half inch of headspace at the top and then seal your jars with the lids and rings (or bands) and place into a pot of boiling water for 15 minutes or so. 

Make sure they are completely submerged the entire time during the boiling water bath. 

Using a jar lifter, remove the jars and allow them to set at room temperature to cool. The “sound of success” as I like to call it is a little pop that you’ll hear as each jar cools and seals shut. 

And just like that, you have delicious shelf-stable pickled peppers. 

How to Pickle Whole Banana Peppers

Canning banana pepper rings is great, but whole banana peppers have their place too. The good news is that canning banana peppers whole doesn’t require any special instructions.

You would follow the same steps above, but just not slice them up…I know, shocker!

You may also want to leave a little more headspace at the top. 

Tips for Canning Crisp Banana Peppers

One of the complaints people have when water bath canning peppers is that they end up soggy. 

For nice crisp peppers, try the following:

• Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the jar. This will help keep them crisp and fresh tasting! It also helps with flavor, so you might want more than one spoonful in there if it’s for long term storage or gifting purposes 🙂
• Leave an inch headspace at top (instead on half) when canning peppers whole. This gives more room as they expand during processing time.
• Try a product called “Pickle Crisp” by Ball. You add it to the jar before processing and it helps keep them nice and crunchy.

What to Do with Pickled Banana Peppers

Now that you have beautifully pickled peppers, you can use them in anything from sandwiches to appetizers to main dishes. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use them:

• Add pickled banana peppers to any sandwich that needs a little kick (think turkey, bacon and avocado) for some extra flavor!
• Just eat them straight out of the jar
• Toss them in pasta dishes for a great, fresh flavor
• Use them as toppings on homemade pizza
• Add them to salads like the classic Greek salad with feta cheese

The possibilities really are endless! They’re good for just plain ‘ole snacking too 🙂

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do banana peppers last in the fridge after opening?

Banana peppers will last about two weeks tops in the fridge after opening. Try to keep them submerged under the brine mixture and replace the lid each time you use.

Why are my canned banana peppers mushy?

Banana peppers, having softer flesh than other types of peppers, can lose crispness when they’re water bath canned. To combat this, you can add a little more canning salt next time or add a crisping agent like “Pickle Crisp” by Ball.