Pickled Peppers with Oregano & Garlic
Here’s a really simple recipe to capture the bell pepper bounty in a jar for your winter pantry. Just slice the peppers into strips, make the vinegar brine and put everything in a jar.
Pickled peppers, or “vinegar peppers” as my family calls them, keep in the refrigerator for a long time. I usually eat them all before I even get close to the end of their shelf-life. These peppers are great as a crunchy snack, on an antipasti platter, on a panino, and as a bright, piquant ingredient in some of my recipes. I always keep some of these peppers around. You never know when you’ll need them.
The hardest part of this recipe is cleaning and cutting the peppers. Everything just goes in the jar. Let them cure for at least 24 hours and enjoy. The pickled peppers just keep getting better as they sit in the brine.
Pickled Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 red and yellow bell peppers
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic, whole
- 2 springs oregano
Cooking Directions
- Wash the peppers, remove the seeds and ribs.
- Cut the peppers into 2 inch strips.
- Mix the vinegar, water, sugar and salt.
- Place the pepper strips, garlic and oregano in a liter or quart jar and add the liquid. Make sure the peppers are fully covered with the brine.
- Seal well and let the peppers cure for at least 24 hours before eating the peppers.
What is the actual shelf life? Just want to know if it is worth making it in large or small batches.
The peppers last a couple of months for me in the back (coldest) part of my refrigerator. Usually they are all gone much sooner but right now I have the last few slices from the batch I made in August. I usually make small batches, about 4 large bell peppers at a time.
Thank you for the info, made them 2 days ago, I added some hot pepper flakes and black peppercorns to the jars, it gave them a little heat as you finished the pepper. Excellent just like Nanna use to make.
Glad the peppers were at hit. I’m with you. Lately I’ve been adding some heat to these and other dishes. Calabrian hot peppers are my “go to” for heating a sparkle these days.
Gianni, I want to thank you for this wonderful recipe. I made them 2 days ago and the jar is almost all gone. It is a great recipe and I plan to use it again. I also made your Sunday Gravy this past weekend and it was a hit with our friends we had for dinner. Thank you for sharing your recipes, they are a great joy!
Ciao Dan. Thanks for sharing your experience with my recipes. Keep on cooking. There’s plenty more joy to share with you family and friends. Buon appetito!
Gianni – wanted to let you know that you have inspired the family here to begin the re-learing process of preserving foods. Not only have we been making these vinegar peppers and giandinari, we resurected the recipes for the garlic and oil preserved eggplant, and the preserved mushrooms in oil, garlic and vinegar. We got together on several Sundays and made them for Christmas gifts and several for our own enjoyment. They were the hit of the holiday season. Thank you once again, for the recipes and inspiration !! Now I am off to make some bread with all these wonderful antipasti !
Ciao – Susan
Ciao Susan.
Thanks for sharing your family experience. I’m pleased that your vinegar peppers and giardiniera were appreciated Christmas gifts. I’m running low on my supply so I’ll be making up some more soon.
I’d love to see your recipes for the eggpland and mushrooms. Will you share them? When I was very young growing up in northern Jersey, I accompanied my Uncle Frank to forage for mushrooms in the fall. My aunt would cook them and put them up for the winter. I’d love to compare what we did each year with what you do now.
–Gianni
Well, I thought I would share my problem with you….I prepared 3 jars of peppers. On Sunday, our grown children came over for dinner and I served these as an antipasti. Well everyone loved them, so much so that now my problem is, they took the extra jars home and I have to start all over again, and make another couple of batches. The good part is, they want to bring peppers and eggplant over for next Sunday dinner, and have me show them how to preserve them. LOL! Thanks again.
Ciao Susan.
I’m sure you love having this kind of problem! Let me know about next weekend. I’d love to hear about you passing on your food traditions to your kids.
Ciao Susan.
Piacere, my pleasure.
I love these vinegar peppers and they’re so versatile. It’s amazing how these traditional foods bring back so many wonderful memories of people and times gone by. Thanks for sharing your experience.
A presto.
Thank you Gianni ! You brought back some wonderful memories. My dad and grandfather would make quarts and quarts of pickled peppers when I was growing up. Now however, they are gone and so are their recipes. I made this on Saturday and we had these with some friends for dinner last nite. Wonderful flavor, we served them as part of an antipasit with some cheeses, salami and bread. Thanks again, for helping me remember some fun time and flavors and for sharing your recipes.