Pressure Canning Recipe for Diced Sweet Bell Peppers
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Today we’re going to can up diced sweet bell peppers. Canning sweet peppers this way is amazing for using in any recipe that calls for a cooked bell peppers. Pasta dishes, soups, casseroles, you name it. Those recipes you need the flavor but not necessarily the crunch and texture because canning peppers tends to get pretty soft.
I choose to dice them up instead of quarter and can because I’d be dumping the whole peppers or quarters out and cutting them up anyway, so cut out the middle man, right?! One piece of advice with canning bell peppers is to try and put like colors together. Keep the green peppers in a jar and you can mix and match the red bell peppers, orange, and yellow peppers. If you mix the greens with the reds, they get this rather unpleasant brown color in the liquid that just doesn’t look pretty.
Canning Bell Peppers
Bell peppers are considered a low acid food, meaning their pH is above 4.6, meaning that the recommendation is to process them using a pressure canner instead of water bath canning. I add some white vinegar to each jar just for maintaining texture of the peppers a bit better and it is by no means to raise the acidity. If you would prefer to process these with a water bath canner, by all means do if that’s your thing, just find your own times and know that it’s rebel canning and depends on your comfort level with canning. I firmly believe you can water bath everything, it’s just takes a while!
Rebel Canning
The following methods in this recipe can be considered rebel canning. This means this exact shape of bell peppers has not been evaluated nor approved by the USDA or NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation). Does the mean this recipe is unsafe? Sure doesn’t, as its one I and many others use and consume. What it does mean is as with any home canning, you should can at your own risk and use common sense. Make your own decisions because what I do and say I’m doing in my own home should not affect what you do in yours. If you are not comfortable with rebel canning, please don’t follow this recipe. In the end, you will have canned something you are afraid of and you will not eat it or use it and you will have essentially wasted your time and money.
Let’s can some bell peppers!
Equipment You Might Want
- Stock pot
- Slotted spoon
- Pint canning jars
- Lids and screw bands
- Jar funnel
- Jar lifter
- Pressure Canner
Ingredients
- Fresh bell peppers, any color
- 5% white vinegar or lemon juice
- Salt
- Water
Step 1: Prep
Plan on around 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of bell peppers per pint jar. Cut all measurements in half if you’re using half-pint jars.
Select ripe, firm fresh peppers free from large blemishes. If you do have little bug spots, cut them off. It’s fine.
Wash peppers with cold water, halve and remove stem and seeds.
Using a food chopper or sharp knife, cut into dices of your size preference. Set aside in a bowl as you work.
Step 2: Heat
In a stock pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
Working in batches, blanch diced bell peppers for 1 minute.
Using a slotted spoon, remove peppers from boiling water and place peppers straight into canning jar topped with a jar funnel. Fill each pint or half-pint jar to 1 inch headspace with blanched peppers. Save the blanching liquid.
Once all peppers are blanched and jars are filled, add 1 Tablespoon of 5% white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt (optional) to each pint jar.
Ladle the hot blanching liquid to 1 inch headspace, remove air bubbles, and add more liquid if needed to maintain headspace.
Wipe rims with a damp cloth and add lids and secure with screw bands.
Step 3: Canning
Place jars in your pressure canner filled with the specified amount of warm water.
Process pints and smaller jars at your elevations recommended weight for low acid foods for 35 minutes.
Once processing time is complete, shut off heat, and allow pressure canner to completely depressurize.
When the canner has depressurized, remove weight and lid, and using a jar lifter remove jars and place on a heat proof surface lined with a clean towel to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
Step 4: Storage
Once cooled, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Room temperature is fine, just keep jars away from extreme temperatures.
Any jars that did not seal should be refrigerated and used soon. Reprocessing is not recommended due to it overcooking the peppers and causing an undesirable texture.
Shelf life is ’til you use them. If the seal is good, they’re good. Aim to use canned goods within 2 years for best flavor and nutritional value, but they’ll last longer than that if needed.
Notes:
You can add spices, like a clove of garlic, to each jar if you would like. This doesn’t change the processing time. I prefer plain peppers with a little salt so I’m not married to a certain flavor profile.
You can use this method for any type of peppers, like spicy peppers, I have just found I don’t really prefer them canned this way for my on preferences. Mild peppers are what I use most of in this application. I save the spicy peppers for pickling, hot sauce, and fermenting.
Happy canning! Be sure and admire the finished product on your shelves because they’re really pretty!
Equipment
- stock pot
- slotted spoon
- pint canning jars
- lids and screw bands
- jar lifter
Ingredients
- 1-1 1/2 pounds Fresh bell peppers any color
- 1 tbsp 5% white vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 4 cups Water
Instructions
- Wash peppers with cold water, halve and remove stem and seeds. Using a food chopper or sharp knife, cut into dices of your size preference. Set aside in a bowl as you work.
- In a stock pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
- Working in batches, blanch diced bell peppers for 1 minute.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove peppers from boiling water and place peppers straight into canning jar topped with a jar funnel. Fill each pint or half-pint jar to 1 inch headspace with blanched peppers. Save the blanching liquid.
- Once all peppers are blanched and jars are filled, add 1 Tablespoon of 5% white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt (optional) to each pint jar.
- Ladle the hot blanching liquid to 1 inch headspace, remove air bubbles, and add more liquid if needed to maintain headspace.
- Wipe rims with a damp cloth and add lids and secure with screw bands.
- Process pints and smaller jars at your elevations recommended weight for low acid foods for 35 minutes.
- Once processing time is complete, shut off heat, and allow pressure canner to completely depressurize.
- When the canner has depressurized, remove weight and lid, and using a jar lifter remove jars and place on a heat proof surface lined with a clean towel to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
- Once cooled, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Room temperature is fine, just keep jars away from extreme temperatures.
- Any jars that did not seal should be refrigerated and used soon. Reprocessing is not recommended due to it overcooking the peppers and causing an undesirable texture.
- Shelf life is 'til you use them. If the seal is good, they're good. Aim to use canned goods within 2 years for best flavor and nutritional value, but they'll last longer than that if needed.
