Spicy pickled green beans are a flavorful, versatile condiment that brightens many dishes. These spicy dilly beans are an easy way to preserve summer’s harvest and add a crisp, tangy crunch to snacks, sandwiches, salads, or charcuterie boards. Adjust the amount of dried red peppers to suit your preferred heat level.
Best Pickled Green Beans Recipe
This recipe uses plenty of fresh dill and dried red peppers for balanced flavor and gentle heat. It’s not overwhelmingly spicy, but you can increase or decrease the peppers to make it milder or hotter. The result is crisp, garlicky beans with a bright vinegar bite and a hint of dill.
We planted only a couple of short rows of Blue Lake stringless pole beans this year, and they produced more than enough. While other garden crops struggled with weeds, the beans thrived — so pickling became the perfect way to preserve the surplus.
Old Fashioned Pickled Green Beans
This is an old-fashioned hot dilly green bean pickle, made the way many grandmothers did. The jars are processed in a hot water bath for ten minutes. Because vinegar is added, the pickling liquid provides enough acidity to safely can these otherwise low-acid vegetables using the water bath method. It’s a reliable, straightforward preserving technique.
After several batches, you’ll have plenty to gift to friends or enjoy throughout the year. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place for at least three weeks to allow flavors to develop fully before eating.
Ingredients Needed for Hot and Spicy Pickled Beans
Prepare the following ingredients for this recipe.
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for exact measurements and full details.
- Fresh green beans
- White vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- Water
- Pickling salt
- Fresh dill
- Small dried red peppers
- Fresh garlic cloves
How to Make Spicy Dilly Beans
Below is a concise overview of the process. Refer to the printable recipe card for exact amounts and step-by-step timing.
- Sterilize canning jars and keep lids warm.
- Make the pickling brine by heating vinegar, water, and pickling salt.
- Place fresh dill, green beans, dried red pepper, and garlic into each jar.
- Pour hot brine over the packed jars, release any air bubbles, and leave proper headspace. Wipe rims and seal with lids and bands.
- Process jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes once the water reaches a rolling boil (adjust processing time for altitude).
- Remove jars and allow them to cool undisturbed; check seals. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place for at least three weeks before using.
Hot Dilly Green Bean Pickles
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh green beans
- 2 ½ cups white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 ½ cups water
- ¼ cup pickling salt
- 8 heads fresh dill
- 4 small dried red peppers
- 4 to 8 garlic cloves peeled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to its lowest temperature. Rinse jars, bands, and lids, then place jars in the oven to keep hot and sterile until needed.
- Rinse green beans with cold water, drain, and dry on a clean towel. Trim the stem ends; tails can be left on. If beans are too long, cut to fit jars and save trimmings for cooking.
- Warm lids and bands in simmering water, but do not boil lids so the sealing compound remains intact.
- Prepare the brine: combine vinegar, water, and pickling salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Add a head of dill to each hot jar, pack the beans vertically in neat stacks, tuck a dried red pepper between glass and beans, add 1–2 garlic cloves and another dill head on top.
- Pour hot brine into each jar to cover the beans, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Slide a clean knife along the inside to release trapped air bubbles. Wipe rims, place lids and bands, and tighten moderately.
- Place jars on the water bath rack and lower into the canner. Water should cover jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil and process for 10 minutes (start timing when the water boils).
- Turn off heat, remove jars carefully, and cool on a clean towel. As jars cool, lids should ping and seal. A lid that moves up and down is not sealed and should be refrigerated.
- Store sealed jars on a cool, dark shelf for at least three weeks before opening to let flavors mellow and develop.
Notes
- 1001–3000 ft: add 5 minutes
- 3001–6000 ft: add 10 minutes
- 6001–8000 ft: add 15 minutes
- 8001–10,000 ft: add 20 minutes
Nutrition estimates are based on 10 servings per pint and should be used as an approximation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
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