These 8-Minute Sweet Pickled Banana Peppers are incredibly easy and delicious. They have a wonderful sweet tang with a nice finishing crunch. They go well on pizza, sandwiches, nachos and just about everything else. Try them, and you’ll be planting or buying banana peppers in the near future! One jar will NOT be enough.

When my husband, Graham, and I were introduced to these sweet peppers, it was love at first taste. Originally, a recipe and staple of our Aunt Linda’s kitchen, she generously shared them amongst friends and family, including our parents. The original recipe has since undertaken few adaptations, as my father tinkered with a few ingredients to suit his taste buds. The first time we received a jar we devoured this tasty condiment in all of three days! My parents couldn’t believe their ears… ‘you guys ate ALL of them?’ ‘Yes… and if you love us you’ll send more!!!’ we said jokingly through the phone. On their next visit, 8 quarts worth these delicious jarred peppers appeared from their trunk! While its not feasible for us to share jars with all our readers, we’d like to share this delicious recipe!

Banana Peppers and Red Pepper On Cutting Board Before Slicing

What Is A Banana Pepper?

If you have never encountered a banana pepper, I imagine you are wondering what it is. First and foremost, they most definitely do not taste like bananas. The reason they are given that name is because they have a bright yellow color with a long banana-like shape. They are a very mild pepper and bring very little heat, unlike their evil twin the Wax Pepper. On the Scoville spiciness scale, they range from a 0-500, where as a Poblano ranges from 1,000 to 2,000, and a Wax Pepper is hotter than a Jalapeno at 10,000. You’ve most likely seen banana peppers in jars in the pickle aisle, already pickled and ready to put on a sandwich (but no store sells the sweet pickled kind like this recipe!). If you want to know more about banana peppers, check out this article here from AllRecipes.

Tuna fish sandwich with red onion and 8-minute sweet pickled banana peppers on top. — Tuna Sandwich with 8-Minute Sweet Pickled Banana Peppers

Why Can’t I Just Buy These Sweet Pickled Banana Peppers?

A few years back our stockpile of Banana Peppers went dry! In the midst of winter what’s a girl to do without a plethora of her beloved sweet peppers? So, I undertook a mission to pickle a huge batch! Determined, I scoured the produce section of every local grocery store and the internet, yet to no avail… It became quite apparent that my mission was going to be fruitless. It seems they are literally near impossible to find out of season. Therefore the following summer, I was like Peter Piper hoarding pecks of peppers! I grew banana peppers in my garden, and had absolutely no idea just how many peppers these small plants produce! I had TONS of banana peppers – yay! And after my first attempt at making these sweet, pickled peppers, I realized just how easy the recipe was and that it was just asking to be shared.

Two completed jars of 8-minute sweet banana peppers after their lids sealed.

So, How Do You Make The Sweet Pickled Peppers?

Essentially, you put your jars in the dishwasher, chop the banana/red peppers into slices, and take as many seeds out as you can. Once the jars are sanitized from the dishwasher, you jam as many peppers into each as you can. Boil vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds and celery seed. Fill the jars, seal the lids and then tip them over. The jars should seal and then (the hardest part), you let them sit for a week. After that, eat at your leisure! You don’t even have to refrigerate the unopened jars (we generally don’t but see Tips and Tricks for Safe Canning Techniques). And they keep for about 3-4 months.

Two jars of banana peppers ready to be filled with the pickling liquid

Tips and Tricks for Making 8-Minute Sweet Pickled Banana Peppers

This recipe is adapted to the way we like to eat our banana peppers, but if you enjoy them a bit sweeter, you can add up to 1 cup of sugar. Also, feel free to add up to 1 Tbsp of celery seed & 1 Tbsp of mustard seed if you want to increase those flavors. You’ll enjoy what you make with using the ingredients anywhere in that range.

If you like spicy, then add a few serano or jalapeños peppers into the mixture. You can replace the red pepper or add them on top. Their heat will infiltrate the entire contents in the jar…(insert evil laugh)

If Banana Peppers are difficult to find, your next best option would be fresh Pepperoncinis and secondarily fresh Anaheim Peppers.

We sanitize our jars by running them through the dishwasher, but here are the official guidelines for the canning process. We have always had success with having our cans seal and stay good on the shelf for up to 6 months. If this intimidates you or makes you nervous, you are welcome to follow the same directions and store them in your refrigerator.

Immediately dispose of any jar if there is pressure build up and the lid is bulged.

My parents like to mass produce these, and now use their food processor to make quick work of cutting the peppers. Don’t know how to do it or what to use? Check out this kitchen aid video. You may not have this model, but it will give you a good idea of what attachment to use and how to use it safely.

Many recipes for Italian beef call for banana peppers and these are an AMAZING substitution for your regular old banana peppers. They still bring the tang, but they add this wonderful sweet undertone that makes you want to eat more and more Italian beef. They’re also great for topping an Italian beef sandwich. And to top it off, add some to a bbq chicken pizza! If you need a Gluten Free Crust Recipe, we’ve got you covered!

You can cut the banana rings into any size you would like, but we like them on the thicker side. They stay crunchy a little bit better and don’t fall apart when you grab them out of the jar.

If you can’t get all the seeds out, it’s okay! These are mild peppers so having a few seeds in the jar won’t do any harm.

Here are Some Other Recipes You May Like!

This Oaxacan Chocolate Mole Carnitas Enchiladas is so darn good, and our banana peppers would suit them well!

These Instant Pot Weeknight Spiced Ribs are incredible and easy! The leftover taste SOOO good on nachos and can be topped with our peppers.

Okay, it’s good on almost anything… But don’t put banana peppers on this: Gluten Free Decadent Chocolate Cake with Salted Browned Butter Frosting!