Marinated Canned Bell Peppers have always been a favorite of mine, especially with mashed potatoes; classic. This is another canning recipe so you can make these now and enjoy them all winter long or at least for a couple of months if you are really obsessed with them.
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This is my brother in law’s Mom’s recipe. I tried it a year ago at a party, jotted down the recipe, and then misplaced it. I’m still working on getting organized (if my husband reads this, he’ll probably roll his eyes. You see, he’s very organized and I’m, well, I’m working on it).
P.S. Wait at least 1 week before opening a can and eating it to give the flavors a chance to meld and infuse into the bell peppers. When properly canned, these peppers will keep up to a year at room temp.
Ingredients for Marinated Canned Bell Peppers:
5-6 lbs Red Bell Peppers, seeded and sliced
6 1/2 cups (1 1/2 liters) tomato juice (I used my mom’s homemade juice)
1/2 cup extra light olive oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp sea salt (use iodine free salt)
1/2 cup white vinegar
Home Canning Tools:
- 6 pint-sized jars with lids. I purchased them at Walmart.
- Large Stock Pot (20Qt+) with Rack (or purchase a canner)
- Jar lifter to safely transfer the jars
Cleaning/Sterilizing Your Jars:
Preheat oven to 215˚F.
1. Wash all of your jars and lids with soap and warm water.
2. Place jars in the oven on the bottom rack for 20 minutes or until completely dry. Boil lids in a small pot to sterilize them.
Making the Syrup:
1. In a large pot or dutch oven, combine 6 1/2 cups tomato juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp salt, and 1/2 cup vinegar. Bring syrup to a boil and simmer 10 min
Making the Canned Bell Peppers:
1. In the meantime, slice your bell peppers into 1/2″ wide strips and add them to your pot. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until easy to poke through the skin side (20 -25 min). As your peppers soften, they will be covered with the liquid, just be patient and give it a stir every once in a while.
2. Transfer your piping hot bell peppers to your jars using a canning funnel (it makes the job so much cleaner and easier). I filled the jar with mostly peppers and then filled in the spaces with syrup. Fill the jars to the top with 1/4-inch of space left at the top.
3. Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don’t over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
4. Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and process 15 minutes. Remove from the pot with jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid – it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate marinated peppers and enjoy within 3 months.
Current Canning Guidelines:
We updated the recipe in 2019 to reflect current canning guidelines which recommend boiling rather than the oven canning method. Get up to date on the most recent canning guidelines here. It’s a great resource to answer frequently asked canning questions.
Recipe Tips: Wait at least 1 week before opening the canned bell peppers and enjoying to give the flavors a chance to meld and marinate. These properly canned peppers will keep up to a year at room temp. Yeah yeah!!
Are you canning anything this year?
Popular Canning Recipes:
- Peach Preserves – my Mother’s recipe
- Plum Jam – no peeling required and no added pectin
- Canned Tomatoes – a classic that never goes out of style
- Refrigerator Pickles – delicious all summer long
Marinated Canned Bell Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 5-6 lbs Red Bell Peppers, seeded and sliced
- 6 1/2 cups 1 1/2 liters tomato juice (I used my mom's homemade juice)
- 1/2 cup extra light olive oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp sea salt, use iodine free salt
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
Instructions
Cleaning/Sterilizing Your Jars:
- Preheat oven to 215˚F. Wash all of your jars and lids with soap and warm water. Place jars in the oven on the bottom rack for 20 minutes or until completely dry. Boil your lids.
Making the Syrup:
- In a large pot or dutch oven, combine 6 1/2 cups tomato juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp salt, and 1/2 cup vinegar. Bring syrup to a boil and simmer 10 min.
Making the Canned Bell Peppers:
- In the mean time, slice your bell peppers into 1/2" wide strips and add them to your pot. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until easy to poke through the skin side (20 -25 min). As your peppers soften, they will be covered with the liquid, just be patient and give it a stir every once in awhile.
- Transfer your piping hot bell peppers to your jars using a canning funnel (we bought this at Walmart and it makes the job so much cleaner and easier). We add mostly peppers and then fill in the spaces with syrup. Fill the jars to the top with 1/4-inch of space left at the top.
- Screw the lids on enough to keep the seal in place but don't overtighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
- Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and process 15 minutes. Remove from the pot with jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid - it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate marinated peppers and enjoy within 3 months.
Notes
Signs of Spoiled Canned Food:
With any type of canning, we follow this advice: “When in doubt, throw it out”
Discard and do not eat or taste any canned food if you notice any of the following:
- the jar is leaking, bulging, or swollen
- the jar looks damaged, cracked, or abnormal
- the jar spurts foam or liquid upon opening
- the canned food is discolored, moldy, mushy, slimy, or smells bad
Could you tell me a recipe you use the marinated peppers in? The recipe sounds great but I just don’t know how to use them.
Hi Beth! This is served as a side. It can be eaten alongside any meal really. We like to add it to our table spread over the holidays or even just for everyday meals. I don’t have a specific recipe to use this in, but I’m sure it would be great as a salad topping or in a sandwich.
Hi does the process time for the water bath increase or decrease if I’m living in battleground Washington?
Hi Luda, I’m assuming you’re asking this due to elevation? We live in Idaho at 2500 ft elevation. I recommend using local guides for elevation differences for canning.
Found this recipe a year ago and my family just loves this! Thank you for sharing!
Yay, thanks for sharing that with us! I hope you and your family will enjoy all the recipes that you will try from my website.
Oh my word!!!!! I just tasted the batch I canned about 2 weeks ago using V8 juice. This may be the best Thing I’VE ever put in my mouth!!!! Headed out tomorrow to get another crate to do it again!!!! Thank you!!!!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Connie!
There is not enough acid in this recipe to safely can by water bath. You should consult the source you cite in your recipe. nchfp
The tomato juice should have enough acidity, I thought?
Hi Natasha! Super thrilled about trying out this recipe. Saw many people requesting your mom’s tomato juice and i’m here with the same question:) could you share it please???
Hi Karolina, we haven’t canned tomato juice in awhile but I will definitely keep that in mind when we are harvesting this years tomatoes 🙂
What do you mean” cover with 1-2 inches of water”, like jars should be totally submerged in the water?
Hi Jessica, yes that is correct.
Hi can you share a tomato juice recipe, please? I saw a lot of requests for it, but didn’t see the actual recipe.
Hi Helen! That will have to be on a to do list! Thanks for the great idea!
Is there any way you would share your mothers tomato juice recipe, that you mention in this recipe, please? Thank you!
Hi Karen, we haven’t canned tomato juice in awhile but I will definitely keep that in mind when we are harvesting this years tomatoes 🙂
I feel like adding minced garlic to this recipe will give it a special kick!
That’s a great suggestion Lana! Please let me know how it worked out!
Natasha-
Could i use tomato sauce instead of juice?
Hi Ari, I haven’t tried that so I can’t really say, but I love how well it works with tomato juice that I probably would not experiment with sauce – the sauce may be too thick and it may alter the flavor.
Can i use green peppers?
Hi Inessa, I have always used red peppers because I feel they have the best flavor. I think it could work with green peppers though. If you test it out, let me know what you think of it! 🙂
Is there any way to make these so there would be no skin on them?
It isn’t necessary in this recipe as the skins soften with canning and they also help the strips of peppers to keep their shape, but I suppose if you wanted to that you could blanche the peppers ahead of time to be able to peel the skins.
Ok thanks!
Try roasting them, remove skins and then do the rest. Would not need to leave in sauce to cook as long, as they are now partially cooked and will also cook more in the oven or water bath canner.
Thank you for sharing your method! 🙂
Hi,
Do I need to add a water in the oven?Thank you!
Vera
Hi Vera, you do not need water in the oven. I placed the jars in that pan to make it easier to take them in and out of the oven 🙂
Hi Natasha do u have a recipy for canning cabbage? Thanks
I only have marinated cabbage that holds well for a long time in the refrigerator, but not at room temperature. Which kind are you looking for?
Do you have a linked to that cabbage? I make ur saukraut cabbage a lot and I really like it, but I was looking for something that you can canned it and it can stay for a while! I buy it in russian store all the time and though maybe you had something similar so I can make it my self, Thank you so much for ur recipys I love them
I have this sauerkraut (kvashana kapusta): https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/09/29/homemade-sauerkraut-recipe-kvashenaya-kapusta/ and this cabbage salad which is really really really yummy! https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/12/10/marinated-vegetable-salad/ – it looks bad in pictures I know, but it really is super good 🙂