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Bratwursts deserve something feistier than relish or a zucchini pickle, so I am sharing my recipe for quick pickled sweet peppers with shallots and thyme. This reminds me of Italian giardiniera, and my grandmother’s refrigerator pickles, but is just the zesty, vinegary topping that every good sandwich, homemade pizza, or brat needs.
If you love using summer veggies in tasty recipes, you’ll love my recipes for Jamie Oliver’s mothership salad and this summer squash antipasto.
Quick Look: Pickled Peppers with Shallots & Thyme Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 15 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 30 minutes (plus 1 day of pickling time)
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 24 servings (makes 1 quart of pickled peppers)
- 🌽 Cuisine & Heritage: Classic Southern/American
- 🍽️ Calories: 28 calories per serving (more nutritional info in recipe card)
- 🥦 Dietary Info: Vegan
- 🟢 Difficulty: Easy
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Pickling (cooking the brine, then combining with the fresh vegetables)
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: These pickled peppers have a crisp, crunchy texture with a vinegary punch and lots of warm nuances to include garlic.
- 🔑 Top Tip: Chill for at least 1 day before serving to allow the peppers to ‘pickle’ and get a vinegary flavor.
- ❄️ Storage: These pickled peppers keep in mason jars in the fridge for up to 1 month. Do not freeze.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Vinegar Pickling Method: There are two methods of pickling: fermentation pickling and vinegar pickling (which is the technique used in this recipe). These pickled peppers are vinegary and crunchy!
- Perfect Balance of Vinegar & Spices: The brine has a strong vinegar punch with a great flavor from red pepper flakes, sugar, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Quick & Easy: With just 15 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cook time, these pickled sliced peppers are easy to whip up in a short time. Let them sit and enjoy!
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Pickled peppers automatically make any sandwich or brat so much better. This recipe is fantastic with a nice blend of spices, garlic, and sugar. Plus, it’s quick and easy to assemble!”
– Emma
Table of Contents
- Quick Look: Pickled Peppers with Shallots & Thyme Recipe
- Why This Recipe Works
- A Bratwurst’s Best Friend
- Ingredients
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Make Pickled Sweet Peppers with Shallots & Thyme
- Recipe FAQs
- Serving Suggestions
- Expert Tips
- Other Pickle Recipes You’ll Love
- Pickled Peppers with Shallots and Thyme Recipe
A Bratwurst’s Best Friend
I have been on a non-stop grilling kick for over two weeks now, charring up and sizzling everything from fresh red peppers and eggplants to perfect grilled steak and rock shrimp. I don’t care what anybody says: a homemade, grilled dinner is so much more enjoyable since it’s less than half the cost of a restaurant in downtown Charleston!
I wanted a brat in a bun this week so badly, but they wouldn’t be complete without a hot-n-sweet pickle of some sort to accompany the condiments and diced onions. A brat is a stand-alone quasi sandwich whose toppings need to be as stand alone as it does, and these pickled peppers with shallots fit the bill perfectly!
Ingredients
Curious what ingredients you need to whip up these pickled peppers and shallots? Grab these key ingredients, along with a few others, and you’ll be ready to make these in no time!
- Sweet Peppers: Move over jalapeno, use mini sweet peppers or simply cut red, orange, and yellow bell peppers into wide strips. These sweet peppers have a great flavor that only gets better once they’re pickled.
- Shallots: This mild aromatic is even better when pickled than onions are! If you can’t find shallots, try using a sweet onion instead.
- Vinegar: You’ll need 2 cups of distilled white vinegar. This ingredient is easy to find at your local grocery store and makes the perfect vinegar liquid for pickling. The acidic nature keeps bacteria from growing in the pickles, and it brings a punchy flavor that’s just right.
- Thyme: I recommend using a small bunch of fresh thyme to add a wonderful flavor to the pickled peppers. You can substitute with a different herb (like rosemary) if you prefer.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Alternative Pepper Varieties for Pickling: If you want more heat, use a mixture of sweet bell peppers, Italian peppers, banana peppers, jalapeños, or pepperoncini.
- White Wine Vinegar may be substituted for distilled white vinegar for a more pungent bite.
- Adjust the Sweetness or the Spice: For a sweeter pickle, add a bit more sugar or a splash of honey. For spicy pickled peppers, toss whole peppercorns, mustard seed, cayenne, and even a fresh chili pepper sliced down the side.
- Can’t Find Shallots? Use thinly sliced red onion or sweet onion instead.
How to Make Pickled Sweet Peppers with Shallots & Thyme
Scroll down for the full printable recipe or stick around for the step-by-step breakdown with photos to walk you through every delicious detail.
1
Brine
Pour the vinegar, sugar, water, thyme, garlic, red pepper flakes, whole black peppercorns, and kosher salt into a pot and place over medium heat.
Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar and salt has dissolved, then remove from the heat. The mixture will smell its most pungent at this point but will lessen.
2
Slice
Thinly slice the shallots crosswise and separate them into rings.
Cut the mini sweet peppers into ¼-inch rings, and remove the seeds.
3
Submerge
Place the shallots, peppers, and thyme into a non-reactive (aka glass) bowl. Grab a plate the same diameter as the bowl.
Carefully pour the vinegar mixture over the veggies, cover with the plate, and let all stand for 5 minutes.
4
Refrigerate
Transfer the veggies and brine to a quart-size jar (or 2 pint jars), ensuring that the peppers are submerged in the brine. Cover and chill for at least 1 day before serving.
5
Struttin’
Top your brat, French bread pizza, roast beef, or burger with these pickled peppers and shallots, and you’ll be struttin’ around like you just won the blue ribbon at the county fair.
Recipe FAQs
For extra-crisp pickled peppers, add a couple of crumbled bay leaves to each jar. The tannins from the leaves will help the pickled peppers stay crunchy as they sit in the brine.
Yes, shallots are excellent for pickling! Some people actually like shallots better than regular onions when they’re pickled. I think they pair perfectly with this sweet peppers.
It’s best to use distilled white vinegar for pickled peppers and shallots. It’s easy to find and brings a strong flavor that’s perfect for pickled veggies.
When sealed properly in mason jars, pickled sweet peppers will stay fresh in the fridge for several weeks. This particular recipe is not meant to be shelf-stable, so you shouldn’t keep it at room temperature in the pantry. As with any pickling project, always check the jar lid and seals before eating, since a broken seal can shorten storage time.
Seasoned home canners often reach for a water bath canner when making shelf-stable pickles. However, this recipe is designed for refrigerator storage, not long-term pantry storage. The jars and brine still benefit from proper filling—avoiding air bubbles and ensuring a tight jar lid seal—but the finished peppers are meant to be kept chilled rather than processed for room temperature keeping.
Serving Suggestions
These tangy and sweet pickled peppers are by no means a topping for a bratwurst alone, so be creative! These make a wonderful addition to hearty sandwiches like buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich, Alabama chopped chicken sandwich, or leftover beef tenderloin sandwiches. Or enjoy on salads, cheeseboards, grilled bratwurst, hot dogs, hamburgers, or any grilled meat.
Expert Tips
- Aim for uniform thickness and size when cutting the shallots and peppers so they pickle evenly.
- Don’t skip the salt. It’s not just about flavor; salt preserves the pickles and keeps them crisp and flavorful.
- Use very clean jars to prevent any bacterial growth, to preserve freshness, and to extend its shelf life in the fridge. Wash in very hot water with soap and rinse well, or run the jar through the dishwasher.
- Chill the pickles for at least 24 hours before serving. For an even more vinegary flavor, wait 3-4 days.
Other Pickle Recipes You’ll Love
Pickles & Pickled Vegetables
3 Ingredient Charleston Flash Pickles
Southern Classics
A Recipe for Charleston Pickled Spiced Shrimp
Pickles & Pickled Vegetables
Sweet and Spicy Pickled Red Onions
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Pickled Peppers with Shallots and Thyme
Equipment
- sterilized jar with tight-fitting lid
Ingredients
- 1 pound mini sweet peppers, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch thick rounds, seeded
- 2 large shallots, thinly sliced, separated into rings
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, I use up to 2 teaspoons
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- pinch coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- Place prepared peppers and shallots in medium non-reactive bowl.
- Pour the vinegar and the remaining ingredients into a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.
- Remove brine from heat; carefully pour over peppers and shallots. Cover bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Uncover; cool to room temperature.
- Transfer to quart-size jar (or 2 pint jars), pressing peppers into brine. Seal with a tight-fitting lid and chill at least 4 hours and up to 10 days. Enjoy!
Notes
- Aim for uniform thickness and size when cutting the shallots and peppers so they pickle evenly.
- Don’t skip the salt. It’s not just about flavor; salt preserves the pickles and keeps them crisp and flavorful.
- Use very clean jars to prevent any bacterial growth, to preserve freshness, and to extend its shelf life in the fridge. Wash in very hot water with soap and rinse well, or run the jar through the dishwasher.
- Chill the pickles for at least 24 hours before serving. For an even more vinegary flavor, wait 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How long can they be kept in the fridge?
Char, they are best after “curing” for 2 to 3 days and eaten within 12 days after curing. When it feels like they are getting slightly soft, I chop them into relish for brats and hot dogs after that and try to eat it up 🙂 Jenny
Pickled peppers automatically make any sandwich or brat so much better. This recipe is fantastic with a nice blend of spices, garlic, and sugar. Plus, it’s quick and easy to assemble!