When I was pregnant with Janna I craved pickled pepperoncini peppers, and I ate a ton of them throughout my pregnancy.
One of the women my husband worked with at the time told him that our baby would have a lot of dark hair because I ate so many peppers. We kind of laughed at this because all of our other kids had very little hair when they were born.
Imagine our surprise when Janna was born with a head full of dark hair that was about an inch long. While I know it really wasn’t the peppers that caused this it was kind of funny how accurate that wive’s tale was. 🙂
Anyway, fast forward 3+ years to this year’s garden. I planted some pepperoncini peppers for the first time and they have grown really well. I decided I was going to figure out how to pickle them without canning them like my refrigerator dill pickles.
I wanted to wait until I was sure that they worked before sharing the recipe. Today I am happy to report that they worked and they taste great.
If you would like to make your own pickled pepperoncini peppers here are the steps you need to take. The following instructions, and recipe at the end of this post, will make enough to fill one pint jar. If you would like to make more you will just need to double, triple, etc. the recipe accordingly.
The first thing you will need is some pepperoncini peppers, obviously. 🙂 Rinse them to remove any dirt.
Use a knife to poke one or two holes in the peppers. For a pint jar I used 20-24 peppers.
Place the peppers in the jar and add 1 coriander seed, 1 peppercorn, 1/2 a bay leaf, and 1/2 of a garlic clove.
In a pot combine 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of water, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp. pickling salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir to be sure that all of the salt and sugar have dissolved.
Pour the vinegar mixture over the jar of pepperoncini peppers.
Allow the jar to cool slightly before placing a canning lid and ring on top (or even a peanut butter jar lid works on canning jars).
Place the jar in your refrigerator for 2-4 weeks before using to give the peppers time to get pickled. I like to write on the jar when I made the peppers so I know how long it will take before I am able to use them. It also lets me know which jar to use first.
The peppers are a bright green when they are picked but after they have been pickled they turn a more olive green.
I have eaten several of these already and they are really good. Here’s the printable recipe.
- 20-24 Pepperoncini Peppers
- 1 Coriander Seed
- 1 Peppercorn
- ½ of a Clove of Garlic
- ½ of a Bay Leaf
- ½ Cup Water
- ½ Cup Vinegar
- 1 tsp. Sugar
- 1½ tsp. Canning/Pickling Salt
- Use a sharp knife to poke 1 or 2 holes in each pepperonicini before placing them into a pint canning jar.
- Add the coriander, peppercorn, bay leaf, and garlic to the jar.
- In a pan combine the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil.
- Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar to cover the peppers.
- Allow the jar to cool slightly before adding a lid and refrigerating.
- The peppers will be ready to eat or use in recipes in 2-4 weeks.
Do you like pickled pepperoncini peppers? Have you ever grown them?
