Simple recipe for pickling banana peppers in a traditional manner that preserves enzymes and adds probiotics for a tasty topping for pizza, sandwiches, salads, nachos or any dish that needs a little “zing”.
Pickled banana peppers are one of my favorite condiments. They are spicier than bell peppers but far less hot than jalapeño or habanero peppers.
To me, banana peppers are the perfect amount of spiciness for whatever dish you choose to include them.
Whether I make sourdough pizza bites, grain-free pizza, or sprouted pizza for dinner, banana peppers are carefully placed just under the cheese on my portion!
Unfortunately, the pickled banana peppers from the store are typically packaged with additives, sketchy “natural flavors” and even artificial color!
Note the ingredients of one of the most popular brands at my supermarket:
Banana Peppers, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Sea Salt, Calcium Chloride, Sodium Metabisulfite (Added As A Color Stabilizer), Natural Flavors, FD&C Yellow #5.
These ingredients are completely unacceptable and sadly, not even necessary.
To make your own pickled banana peppers takes just a few minutes so you never have to eat the toxic versions ever again.
The trickiest part is actually finding fresh banana peppers!
I suggest local farms and ethnic grocery stores (hispanic grocers are great!) as the best place to find them.
The rest is easy as you can see from the recipe below.
Pickled Banana Peppers
Simple recipe for pickling banana peppers in a traditional manner that preserves enzymes and adds probiotics for a tasty topping for pizza, sandwiches, salads, nachos or any dish that needs a little "zing".
Ingredients
- 4 cups freshly chopped banana peppers
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup liquid whey
Instructions
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Seed banana peppers and then coarsely chop into rings about 1/8" wide.
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Mix banana pepper rings with sea salt and whey in a large bowl. Use kefir whey for the most probiotically diverse ferment.
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Lightly press the peppers with a wooden pounder in the bowl to gently release a small amount of juice.
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Place the pepper mixture into a wide mouth, quart sized mason jar.
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Press down with a clean hand or pounder to tightly pack the jar until the juices just cover the peppers. The top of the peppers should be about 1 inch below the rim of the jar.
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Cover tightly with a lid and leave on the counter for 2-3 days and then refrigerate.
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The banana pepper ferment will remain naturally preserved in the refrigerator for several months.
I made pickled banana peppers last summer (2025) for the first time and they were crunchy and delicious! I had several family members who loved them. These are people who won’t eat sauerkraut and are generally skeptical of anything I ferment. I wanted to have every family member try the fermented peppers but every jar I made disappeared too fast! I used a simple salt water brine.
Yes, you can definitely do that method instead of whey and sea salt.
I am very much looking forward to trying this. First, though, I need to grow my 2026 crop of banana peppers. I usually freeze them, but have been on the lookout for a simple pickled pepper recipe. Thanks!