Fermented (naturally pickled) peppers – a step by step guide

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Fermented peppers easy to make and are fantastic for someone just beginning the fermenting journey.

photo of fermented pickled jalapenos

Sauerkraut. Isn’t that where everyone begins with fermented vegetables? I think it must be as there are many, many sauerkraut articles all over the place

I think one of the reasons sauerkraut is such a great place to begin is because it’s easy and it tastes great. At least I think it tastes great. However, my “vinegar hating” husband doesn’t quite get how wonderful it is. {sigh}

I know that if I’m going to win my family over on this fermenting thing that it’s going to be a little at a time and that I’m going to have to start with things they already love. So, in addition to sauerkraut. I’ve been fermenting peppers.

And guess what? They love them! The fermented peppers don’t have a vinegar taste that pickled peppers do and the fermenting seems to make the pepper a little spicier.

While making sauerkraut is easy, fermenting peppers is super easy. All you need is peppers, salt, water and something to ferment them in. I’m using a wide mouth pint size jar and either Fermentools lids or Easy Fermenter lids.

One thing I really like about mason jars for fermenting is that I can try different ferments in small batches until I find out what my family really likes. 

Fermented vegetables are extremely healthy and super easy to make. Most people start with sauerkraut but another easy fermented vegetable is peppers.

To make fermented peppers just slice your peppers in rings or long slices, the shape doesn’t matter. Also, if you are fermenting small peppers you can just leave them whole if you want.

Make enough 2% brine to cover the peppers. This can get tricky and you can do math and weigh your salt and your water to get a 2% brine. Or you can do what I do and just “estimate”.

The idea is to have enough salt to inhibit mold growing but not so much that it halts the fermentation process. I’ve found that using 1 Tbsp of salt (I usually use fine sea salt or Himalayan salt) to 1 quart of non-chlorinated water works just fine.

To calculate a 2% salt brine for fermenting you’ll need a digital scale and a calculator.

  • Put a quart size jar on the scale and set it to zero. You’ll want to measure in grams so set the units to grams.
  • Fill the jar with water (stopping about an inch from the rim).
  • Make a note of the weight (it should be 850-950 grams depending on how full you filled the glass)
  • Grab a calculator and multiply the weight of the water by .02 and add that number to the weight of the water (this will be the total weight of the brine after the salt is added)
  • Add enough salt to reach this number.

Put the peppers in your jar and pour the brine over them. Make sure you have some kind of weight to keep the peppers under the brine as they tend to float. If any of the seeds float above the weight, just skim them off. Add lid and let the peppers ferment in a cool dark place for 5-10 days.

Check your peppers every day or so. The fermenting process is more of an art than a science and there are many variables that will cause your peppers to ferment in just a couple of days or take up to two weeks.

When the peppers are fermented to your liking, remove the fermenting lid and weight. Replace the fermenting lid with a storage lid and store in the refrigerator.

jars of peppers with fermentation lids on them

The process is the same if you are fermenting jalapeno peppers or sweet banana peppers. We like to mix the spicy peppers in a jar, so we usually have jalapeno, poblano, and cayenne peppers all mixed in the same jar.

I don’t care much for hot peppers but I love pickled banana peppers so we ferment the banana peppers all by themselves. We also will usually add a garlic clove or two to the mix.

I have a set of worksheets I print each year to keep track of what I’ve preserved. You can get the worksheets emailed to you by filling out the form below. 

Fermented Peppers

jars of peppers with fermentation lids on them

You can use this process to ferment any pepper - both sweet and hot. Why make vinegar pickled peppers when fermented peppers are easier and much better for your gut health.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 14 days 7 seconds
Total Time 14 days 10 minutes 7 seconds

Ingredients

  • peppers to fill a wide mouth pint mason jar - jalapenos, poblano, cayenne, banana, even bell peppers.
  • 1-2 cloves garlic (optional)
  • 1 tbsp non-iodized salt
  • 1 quart non-chlorinated water
  • wide mouth pint mason jar
  • fermenting lid

Instructions

    1. Make a brine using 1 Tbsp non-iodized salt and 1 quart non-chlorinated water. Set aside
    2. Slice peppers (you can cut in rings or lengthwise whatever you like best)
    3. Remove seeds if you want to (we don't do this but it seems to be a common practice to remove peppers seeds)
    4. Pack peppers into wide mouth pint size mason jar
    5. Put the peel garlic cloves into the jar if you are using garlic
    6. Pour brine over peppers in jar
    7. Put a glass weight on top of the peppers to submerge them. Try to remove any seeds that float up above the weight
    8. Add fermenting lid to jar
    9. Store in a cool, dark place for 5-10 days. Check your peppers every day or so. The fermenting process is more of an art than a science and there are many variables that will cause your peppers to ferment in just a couple of days or take up to two weeks.
    10. Once the peppers are sufficiently fermented, remove the fermenting lid and weight.
    11. Cover the jar with a plastic storage lid and store in the refrigerator.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

    Here are some other ways to ferment peppers that you might enjoy…

    How to Make Fermented Hot Sauce from Grow Forage Cook Ferment

    The BEST Fire Roasted Jalapeno Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe from Homestead Honey

    Fermented Pepperoncini Hot Sauce from Grow Forage Cook Ferment

    Lacto-fermented Hot Sauce from Joybilee Farm

    Banana Pepper Recipe: Fermented Hot Sauce from Attainable-Sustainable

    Lacto-fermented Hot Sauce with Nasturtiums from Nitty Gritty Life

    The Herbal Academy has a fantastic fermentation course available. You can learn how to make mead, herbal beer and wine, water kefir, and fermented foods.

    image of The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables and jars of home preserved vegetables

    The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables

    If you you’re looking for more preserving inspiration, I know you’ll love The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables. In this book I share how to can, dehydrate, freeze and ferment almost every vegetable. I also share 100 favorite recipes for preserving the vegetables in fun way that will save you time and money later. Get your copy here. Get your copy here.

    image of peppers in mason jars to make fermented peppers

    What have you been fermenting lately?

    Thanks for sharing with your friends!

    47 thoughts on “Fermented (naturally pickled) peppers – a step by step guide”

      • The flavor is the same as a fresh jalapeno, only a little spicier. They also retain their crunch, which doesn’t happen when you can them in vinegar. My favorite pepper is the banana pepper. I can eat those straight out of the jar. 😉

        Reply
      • @Angi Schneider, so funny I come looking for a fermented pepper recipe 9 years later and stumble on this post! Wow! I have been following you for some time. I am having a decent pepper year and we LOVE banana peppers. I thought five plants was enough, but they aren’t. So I am throwing in Jimmy Nardelo and some other snacking type pepper. BTW, I have your canning books and love them. But, my “getting older” eyes can’t handle the small font in the index. So tiny!!

        Reply
        • Time has flown by! I’m so glad your peppers are doing so well. And yeah, the index print is small for old eyes…lol.

          Reply
      • Canning is when you either use a pressure canner or water bath canner to preserve foods that are self stables and will last at least a year in the pantry. Many times large amounts of sugar or vinegar are used to help preserve the produce (esp. if you are using a water bath canner). Fermenting doesn’t use vinegar at all, so the flavor is not vinegar-y. Fermenting uses salt, water (or the liquid from the produce) and the naturally occurring microbes on the produce to preserve it. Fermented foods are not shelf stable and will need to be stored in the refrigerator, they can be kept for 6-12 months most of the time. Fermented foods are able to be canned in a pressure canner or water bath canner depending on the acidity level but then you destroy all the good enzymes and bacteria that you just grew.

        Reply
      • Hi Alice, You’ll need to weigh your water and your salt in grams (not ounces). If you have 400 grams of water which is about a pint of water, you will need 8 grams of salt to make a 2% brine. Hope this helps.

        Reply
        • Place the jar on a weighing scale. Set the scale to zero. Place veg and then unsalted water into jar. Tap the weight of total contents into a calculator. Now times by 0.02 (I Usually do 0.025). Now tip the water into a jug. Place this onto the scales and set to zero. Add the salt in grams that you just calculated. Put water back in jar with veg.

          Reply
          • John – this is incorrect. The brine (water) needs to be 2% salted. You’re adding the weight of the vegetables (peppers) into the equation, and on top of that you’re adding another 1/2 % (.025). Your brine is actually much higher than the article recommended 2% and may interfere with the fermentation process

            Reply
            • Actually either way is fine and within the range for fermenting peppers. Of all the preservation methods, fermentation is both a science and an art.

      • Isn’t that crazy. My husband has brainwashed most of my children into hating pickles. I should have worked harder when they were little ;-). Hope you enjoy them!

        Reply
    1. Is there a reason you use the plastic storage lids instead of the metal ones? I have been using the metal lids with bands for my ferments

      Reply
      • You can certainly use the metal lids and bands for ferments, just make sure there’s plenty of room in the jar and the ferment doesn’t touch the lid. Over time the ferment can actually break down the metal so you don’t want it in constant contact. Because I’m not the only one rummaging around in my refrigerator I prefer to just use plastic (either the plastic storage lids or the Tattler reusable canning lids with a metal band) and not worry about it. Hope this helps.

        Reply
      • @Angi Schneider, Just a quick hint — I’ve discovered that the lids from mayo jars and the smaller peanut butter jars work perfectly for covering (regular mouth) jars of pickled veggies and fermented veggies in the frig. No “rust”. This has been really helpful to me — always save those plastic lids.

        Reply
    2. I’m a successful home sauerkraut fermenter; that being said, I should have luck following the same basic recipe & process for peppers, right?

      Reply
      • Pretty much. You’ll need to add water to the pepper which you don’t have to add to most cabbage for sauerkraut though.

        Reply
    3. My granddaughter wants to learn to fernent . This is something I have never done therefore I need advice. Could you go thru the process for us please

      Reply
      • Not a ridiculous question at all. The first few days you’ll see bubbles in the jar which is good and the brine will begin to cloud which is also good. Some of the brine might bubble up out of the jar and that’s fine, just clean it up. If it gets into the airlock, I wash and refill the airlock with clean water and put it back on. After a few days open the jar up and taste a pepper. If it tastes salty, put the weight and lid back on and let it ferment more. If it tastes sour, you can let it ferment a little more or if you like the flavor, they’re done. Hope this helps.

        Reply
    4. Hi! Thanks for this clear, easy recipe! One question: Where do you get non-chlorinated water? Seems like most municipal water systems add chlorine. I have an under-sink filter that removes most of the chlorine *taste*, but I can’t be certain there’s not still chlorine in there. Do you use bottled spring water?

      Reply
      • It get’s peeled and put into the jar if you want garlic in your peppers. I’ve corrected the recipe. Thanks for catching that!

        Reply
    5. Do you need fermentation lids? When I make sauerkraut, I use a crock and a bag filled with water for the weight and the crock lid. Want to try peppers and want to know if I can do them the same way without the lids

      Reply
      • Hey Bud, yes, you can ferment without a fermentation lid. I recommend the lids for those who are new to fermenting as it takes away some of the user error issues. The only difference between fermenting sauerkraut and fermenting peppers is that you’re going to make saltwater brine.

        Reply
    6. Hi. Thanks for the post! I noticed you keep the seeds in the pepper. Can you make it either way? What is the difference in keeping seeds in or not? Also, can banana peppers be done whole?
      Take care
      Misha

      Reply
      • Yes, the seeds can be removed. It’s really just a personal preference whether to remove the seeds or not. Some believe that by removing the seeds it makes the peppers less spicy, but it’s really the membrane that that holds the seeds that has the capsicum in it. When you remove the seeds, you also remove some of the membrane therefore removing some of the spice. Banana peppers can be fermented whole but I would put a slit in them to allow the brine to get into the pepper and fill the airspace.

        Reply
      • If it’s only the garlic, then it’s probably the anthocyanins (water soluble pigments) in the garlic turning blue. I’ve had that happen a few times and it’s perfectly safe. Usually, but not always, the blue fades as they sit in cold storage.

        Reply
    7. Thank you for the nice article! Funny — just like you said, I started with plain sauerkraut, started adding spices, and now I’m looking forward to trying all sorts of veggies. Hot peppers sound great. Cheers!

      Reply
    8. It looks like you never use a water bath to finish your fermented vegetables. Aren’t you afraid of bacteria?

      Reply
      • There are good and bad bacteria, when done properly fermented vegetables are full of good bacteria. That bacteria would be destroyed if finished by canning. Instead I store my fermented vegetables in the refrigerator. As long as the vegetables stay under the brine, there is no risk of mold or bad bacteria growing. The environment of the brine is very acidic and botulism cannot grow in an acidic environment. Fermentation is one of the oldest forms of preserving food, along with dehydrating, and has been safely done for thousands of years before canning was invented.

        Reply
    9. I really want to learn how to ferment foods (vegetables) for the gut health benefits. I have high blood pressure so I try to be careful of my salt intake. Is there a fermentation process that is low sodium? Can it be done without salt?

      Reply

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