Fermented peppers are a bold, tangy way to preserve the vibrant flavor of fresh peppers—and they’re surprisingly easy to make at home. If you love adding heat and depth to your meals, this is one recipe you’ll want to keep on hand.
Fermented peppers aren’t just about making spicy foods—they’re about layers of flavor that only time and beneficial bacteria can create.
With just a few simple ingredients, you can create a jar full of bright, complex peppers that add a kick to carnitas tacos, poached eggs, sunny side up eggs, potato soup, and grilled cheese sandwiches – or anything really!
This fermented pepper recipe is a sweet spot between simplicity and flavor. It’s the best way to use homegrown peppers, and the final product is rich in beneficial lactic acid bacteria and delicious, living pepper flavor.
In fact, we love fermenting just about everything here at the farmhouse – even fresh fruit!
I also love using these fermented peppers for making your own hot sauce. Homemade fermented hot sauce has a rich, probiotic flavor that’s far more nuanced than anything from the grocery store.
Whether this is your first time testing the fermentation process or already have a bubbling glass jar of homemade sauerkraut on your counter, these fermented peppers are a delicious and versatile recipe every whole food kitchen should have.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple & small batch friendly – This simple recipe is great for using up fresh produce! All you need are your favorite peppers, a fermentation vessel, and a few days.
Gut friendly probiotics – Probiotics are great to add to your diet! Thanks to the natural lacto-fermentation process, this recipe is good for both your taste buds and your belly. It is rich in probiotics that support gut health and digestion.
Versatility – The natural fermentation of good bacteria creates a deeper, more complex heat without added vinegar or preservatives. The flavor is perfect for lacto-fermented hot sauce. And since any peppers will work, you can keep it mild or go really spicy with ghost peppers–one of the highest on the Scoville scale for heat!
Fermented Peppers Ingredients
Whole peppers – You can use any pepper you like–hot peppers, sweet peppers, bell peppers. For a lovely color, choose a mix of orange, yellow, and red peppers. For spice, use chili peppers, serrano peppers, or ghost peppers. With chilies, the heat is found primarily in the ribs, so you may want to remove those for a milder final product or for a hot sauce recipe.
Non-iodized sea salt – Use non-iodized salt or kosher salt and not table salt for best results. Peppers do better with a 3% salt water brine solution rather than the typical 2% salt concentration because peppers are more prone to mold growth.
Filtered water – I like to use my Berkey water filter. Filtered water is necessary for the natural process of lacto-fermentation as it doesn’t have chlorine like tap water.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
Glass fermentation jar – Choose jars that are tall enough to accommodate the size of the peppers. I like wide to use a wide mouth mason jar.
Kitchen scale – I use a kitchen scale for fermenting vegetables, because it takes out so much of the guesswork and cuts down on food waste from ferments that go south.
Glass fermentation weights – Glass weights help to keep the peppers below the brine in the glass jar.
Pickle Pipes – I love these that turn a regular jar into a fermentation jar and let out carbon dioxide so easily.
How to Make Fermented Peppers
Step 1: Choose which peppers you’d like to ferment. I chose a combination of Anaheim peppers and yellow hot peppers because they make the best hot sauce! Fresno and jalapeño are another great choice. Remove stems, slice in half, remove seeds if you wish. Remove the ribs and seeds if you want a milder end product.
Step 2: You will need 3% salt solution of water to have a successful fermentation when fermenting peppers. Add one cup of water at a time to cover the peppers, up to about 3 cups. Using a kitchen scale, weigh your peppers and filtered water (minus the weight of the jar) to determine how much salt you need. Example: If the peppers and water combined weigh 900 grams, then you’ll need to add 27 grams of salt. (900 x .03 = 27). Add the needed amount of salt for the salt brine.
Step 3: Add a fermentation weight and ensure the peppers are below the brine.
Step 4: Seal the jar loosely or use a pickle pipe, to accommodate for bubbles during fermentation. Place in a dark place at room temperature and not in direct sunlight. Taste your ferment after three days to see how it’s progressing. Depending on the temperature of your house, it may take anywhere from three to seven days.
Tips
- It’s important to keep the peppers submerged in the brine. Use enough brine to cover the peppers and place a fermentation weight in the top of the jar, especially if this is your first time fermenting vegetables.
- Store the jar in a 8×8 baking dish as the peppers ferment. This is a great way to catch any liquid if the fermentation liquid bubbles out of the jar.
- It is a good idea to “burp” the jar once or twice a day to prevent pressure build up. Simply open the lid to allow pressure to release.
- If you choose really hot peppers, be sure not to touch your eyes and wear gloves.
Recipe FAQs
Something called Kahm yeast may appear at the top of fermentation recipes. It looks like a thin white film and it is typical in vegetable ferments. A cloudy brine is also completely normal.
Peppers will be fermented after about the first week, though you can let them continue for a long time. Most people like to ferment for a month or up to three months. Ferments that go too long are not very tasty and can mold.
These have a pretty long shelf life when refrigerated. These will last up to 6 months in the refrigerator. Before using, look for any signs of mold or off-putting smells. If in doubt, toss it out.
No. Because peppers have enough natural sugar, there is no need for added sugar with this ferment.
Pickling relies on the addition of vinegar, such as apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar, to prevent bad bacteria from growing. Fermentation uses a brine solution where the natural, beneficial bacteria create their own lactic acid and prevent the bad bacteria from growing.
More Fermented Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Lacto-Fermented Salsa
- Homemade Fermented Ketchup
- Easy Fermented Lemonade – Probiotic Soda
- Fermented Beet Kvass
- Easy Fermented Carrots
- Traditional Vinegar Pickle Recipe
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Fermented Peppers
Ingredients
Fermented Peppers
- Hot peppers – Anaheim, Fresno, jalapeño, or a combination
- Non-iodized salt
- Filtered or distilled water
Instructions
- Choose which peppers you’d like to ferment. I chose a combination of Anaheim peppers and ‘yellow hot’ peppers. Fresno and jalapeño are another great choice.
- Remove stems, slice in half, remove seeds if you wish. Remove the ribs and seeds if you want a milder hot sauce.
- You will need 3% salt solution of water to have a successful fermentation when fermenting peppers. Add one cup of water at a time to cover the peppers, up to about 3 cups. Using a kitchen scale, weigh your peppers and filtered water (minus the weight of the jar) to determine how much salt you need. Example: If the peppers and water combined weigh 900 grams, then you’ll need to add 27 grams of salt. (900 x .03 = 27). Add the amount of salt needed.
- Add a fermentation weight and ensure the peppers are below the brine.
- Seal the jar loosely or use a pickle pipe, to accommodate for bubbles during fermentation. Place in a dark place at room temperature and not in direct sunlight.
- Taste your ferment after three days to see how it’s progressing. Depending on the temperature of your house, it may take anywhere from three to seven days.
Notes
- Keep the peppers submerged in the brine. Use enough brine to cover the peppers and place a fermentation weight in the top of the jar.
- Store the jar in a 8×8 baking dish as the peppers ferment. This is a great way to catch any liquid if the fermentation liquid bubbles out of the jar.
- It is a good idea to “burp” the jar once or twice a day to prevent pressure build up. Simply open the lid to allow pressure to release.
- If you choose really hot peppers, be sure not to touch your eyes and wear gloves.
- Use these delicious fermented peppers to make fresh, simple hot sauces!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
