Refrigerator pickles are a quick and delicious way to preserve the summer harvest, but you don’t have to stick to pickled cucumbers – there are many vegetables you can use, like pepperoncini peppers! This recipe for quick refrigerator-pickled pepperoncini peppers will become a new favorite!
Pepperoncini Peppers for Pickling
When our pepperoncini plant started producing like crazy, I knew we wouldn’t be able to eat them all fresh before they started going bad.
I made up a batch of fermented pepperoncini hot sauce (which is delicious I might add), but I needed something else.
I love the Mediterranean style pickled pepperoncini peppers that you can buy in the store, so I wanted to try and make something similar to that.
I didn’t have quite enough peppers to can them, so I decided to make quick refrigerator pickled pepperoncini’s.
Just like refrigerator dill pickles, quick pickled green tomatoes, and bread and butter pickles, these are super easy to make and taste delicious!
Refrigerator Pickled Pepperoncini Recipe
First gather enough pepperoncini peppers to fill a quart sized jar. You can easily adjust the recipe to make more or less if you’d like.
Then poke 1 or 2 holes in each pepperonicini pepper with a sharp knife before packing them into the jar. Add the coriander seeds, peppercorns, bay leaf, and garlic to the jar.
In a small pot, combine the water, vinegar, sugar or honey, and salt and bring to a boil.
Pour the hot vinegar mixture into the jar to cover the peppers.
Allow the jar to cool slightly before covering with a lid and refrigerating.
The peppers will be ready to eat in 2-4 weeks.
These pickled pepperoncini peppers are so good! They are quick and easy to make and are a great way to use up all those peppers in your garden. Better than store-bought!
This recipe works just as well with other varieties of peppers as well, either mild or spicy. Smaller peppers like jalapenos, mini bells, or banana peppers work best because they tend to fit better in the jar.
Use these refrigerator pepperoncini’s on pizza, salads, or on a charcuterie board or cheese platter. They will add a little zip to anything!
More Pepper Preserving Recipes
Here are more delicious ways to preserve peppers!
- Fermented Pepperoncini Hot Sauce
- Pickled Jalapeño Peppers: Quick Refrigerator Recipe
- Fermented Red Pepper Hot Sauce
- How to Dehydrate Peppers for Food Storage
- Fermented Jalapeno Hot Sauce
- Fermented Chili Paste
Quick Refrigerator Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers
Equipment
- Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- pepperoncini peppers to fill a quart sized jar
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp peppercorns
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar or honey
- 1 Tbsp kosher, pickling, or sea salt
Instructions
- Poke 1 or 2 holes in each pepperonicini pepper with a sharp knife before packing them into a quart sized jar.
- Add the coriander seeds, peppercorns, bay leaf, and garlic to the jar.
- In a small pot, combine the water, vinegar, sugar or honey, and salt and bring to a boil.
- Pour the hot vinegar mixture into the jar to cover the peppers.
- Allow the jar to cool slightly before covering with a lid and refrigerating.
- The peppers will be ready to eat in 2-4 weeks.
Will this recipe work without boiling the brine mixture?
It won’t be as flavorful. Hot brine brings out the flavor of the pickling spices.
Another clarification question on the total time of safe storage in the fridge: if you leave them for 4 weeks to pickle, do you still have 2 weeks to eat them? So, they are safely in the fridge for 6 weeks, regardless of when you start eating them. Is this correct?
It’s not a cut and dry time. Refrigerator pickles can last much longer than 6 weeks in the fridge after they’re made. I have pickled beets in my fridge from last summer. As long as the pickle stays mostly submerged by the brine, they’ll be fine.
My pepperoncini turned brown when I poured the hot pickling liquid over them. Anyone know why this would happen?
Can I use a plastic quart container instead of a glass mason jar?
Hi Pat. As long is it’s sanitized, sure.
I love this recipe but it should absolutely tell you to let the vinegar and water combination cool before pouring it into the jar. I used this recipe twice last year and this year I didn’t let it cool enough and broke a 50 ounce fermenting jar.
You need someone to tell you not to pour very hot liquid into glass? Surprised you were able to use an oven in the first place.
Unnecessary cruel comment, Robert.
You need to heat the mason jar before pouring in the brine. This can be accomplished by packing the peppers directly into a hot jar coming out of your sanitizer or a boiling water bath. You absolutely do NOT want to cool the brine or you’ll eliminate any benefit from sanitation and risk contaminating your peppers.
Can I use Clamp lids Canning Jars instead of doing hot bath canning method?
Hi Greg. This is a refrigerator pickle recipe and is not safe for canning.
Hello. I followed this recipe but when it came time to open and try them, they were kind of soft and mushy. Any suggestions?
How long do these last in fridge ?
A couple of weeks.
By a couple weeks, do you mean 2 weeks after the 2-4 weeks it takes for them to be ready? Or do you need to eat them within a couple weeks of making them, meaning you have just a few days after they are ready to eat to freemasonry before they go bad?
Should the texture when finished be similar to store bought?
Sorry, one last question… Do these end up tasting sweet from the sugar? The ones in the store typically don’t have sugar? Would it be OK to leave out the sugar if you don’t prefer sweet?
Thank you so much!
It takes approx. 2-4 weeks for the peppers to pickle in the fridge. The texture should be however you like it! The great thing about making your own pickles is that you have complete control over when you think they’re ready to eat. Yes, you can leave the sugar out if you prefer, but I feel it balances the acidity of the vinegar.
Can I ask how long these will stay good for?
A couple of weeks.
Would banana peppers be a similar pepper to try? I think I will have more of them to pickle this year!
Hi Lacy. Yes, you could pickle banana peppers.
Hello! I made these and ran short of apple cider vinegar. Could I combine with some white distilled vinegar?
Sure, that should be fine.
Can I use ground corriander instead of corriander seeds?
If so, how much to use? Thank you.
Hi Kristy. I haven’t tried using ground coriander, so I can’t recommend a quantity to add, sorry!
Can I use powdered coriander in place of the seeds? If so, how much? Thank you
I just made this recipe and I’m very excited. I used to smaller containers since I didn’t have a bigger one so I split up the ingredients. I cut a big garlic clove in half and also used a fresh bay leaf since I have one in a pot. I noticed that the garlic is changing color which worried me but read up that it can happen when in an acidic liquid.
Just picked a big batch of peppers yesterday. Going to make this tonight! My husband eats store bought ones almost every day with lunch, but I know these are going to be so much tastier. Can’t wait (but 28 days! ouch… it will pass before I know it)
Wonderful, Cathy! Enjoy!
Any feedback on how these turned out?
My son said they are better than the store bought!
These turned out amazing!
I doubled the garlic (I love garlick), cut the sugar in half (don’t love sweet pickles), & left out the corriander seeds (didn’t have any).
The results are so worth it! Mine turned out a bit hotter than the raw peppers, as well as the store-bought. Not sure if this was due to the peppercorns, or just my variety of peppers but i love them, and will definitely be making more!
Thanks for a great, quick & easy recipe!
I’m so glad you liked this recipe!