The old nursery rhyme says, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” As we know, peppers don’t grow already pickled. But to pickle, or ferment them, is too easy to pass up. Read on for Abigail’s delicious recipe for fermented bell peppers.
If you are clearing out the end of your garden, or you just have an excess of bell peppers, you may be looking for ways to preserve them. Bell peppers can easily be chopped and frozen for cooking or roasted and pressure canned. However, if you want to fill your belly with good bacteria and preserve your peppers at the same time, I would suggest fermentation.
Fermented bell peppers have a similar texture to roasted peppers, they are soft and noodle-y, making them an excellent topping for all sorts of food. They maintain some sweetness, but they also carry that distinctive fermented tang. I find them a good introductory food for fermenting, as they are not nearly so strong tasting as a traditional sauerkraut.
The best news? Fermenting peppers is simple, and the ingredient list is short.
7 Delicious Ways to Enjoy Fermented Bell Peppers
How can you enjoy your newly fermented red peppers? Try some of these ideas:
- A topping for your scrambled or fried eggs
- In place of regularly cooked peppers on a sausage and pepper sub
- In place of roasted red peppers on a bistro-style sandwich or Panini
- Added to a stir fry at the end of cooking
- A pasta topping
- Chopped up into a salad or salad dressing
- Eaten straight out of the jar. This is my five-year-old son’s favorite; he calls them “zingy peppers.”
Just be sure that you add your peppers right at the end of cooking time and heat through only until warm. If you cook them until they are hot, you kill all that good bacteria you just took time culturing.
An Easy Recipe for Fermented Bell Peppers
You will need:
- Bell peppers, sliced into long, narrow strips.
- Himalayan sea salt
- Filtered water
- Fermentools lid and airlock system.
The method:
- Pack sliced peppers into a wide-mouth pint or quart mason jar.
- Dissolve 3 Tbsp of salt in 1 quart of water to make a brine.
- Pour brine over peppers, making sure that the peppers are completely covered and there is at least one inch of headspace at the top of the jar. Place a glass weight in the jar if necessary to hold down the peppers.
- Install the lid and airlock on top of the jar. Fill the airlock halfway with water and cap it.
- Let the peppers ferment at room temperature for 3-4 days, or until the desired flavor is reached.
- Remove airlock, replace Fermentools lid with a regular lid, and put peppers in the fridge or other cold storage.
I hope you enjoy the taste and health benefits of fermented bell peppers as much as we do!
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In the Fermentools store, you will find fermentation lids for Mason jars, glass weights, and that special Himalayan Powder salt that dissolves in cool water. Better yet, get a kit! Everything you need in one package.
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Abigail is an aspiring homesteader, homeschooler, and music-maker. She lives with her husband and three children on her acre-and a half homestead in scenic Pennsylvania. You can visit her blog about living the homegrown life (and seeking contentment while doing it) at They’re Not Our Goats.