Transform your ordinary red peppers into a versatile, flavorful condiment that will elevate any meal. Whether you’re looking to spice up a salad, add depth to a sandwich, or enjoy a savory snack, these Roasted Italian Vinegar Peppers are your answer. In Italian, they are called Peperoni Sotto Aceto.
With their tangy marinade and the perfect balance of garlic and olive oil, they’re a simple yet sophisticated addition to your recipe repertoire. Best of all, this recipe is easy to make and keeps well in the fridge, ensuring you have a delicious topping or side dish on hand whenever you need it
My favorite way to eat these? On a sandwich, such as these Italian Sausage Subs (coming soon!). My husband loves them so much he eats them straight out of the jar. There's also good for adding tang to a salad.
Making an antipasto board? You can't skip these!!!
You can also serve them with meat; they give great flavor to roasted chicken and pork chops. They're really perfect on many different dishes, any time of year.
Ingredients
This simple recipe is full of fresh ingredients and a few additional items for flavor:
- Peppers - for this recipe, I recommend your basic red pepper! The ones that are shaped just like green bell peppers, but they're red. (Fun fact - it's the same pepper, but the green peppers haven't been allowed to ripen.) If you want, you can use orange and yellow bell peppers too.
- Garlic - you should definitely use fresh garlic! And as much of it as you like. I use whole cloves, but if you want to slice or peel the garlic cloves, feel free.
- White vinegar - nothing fancy here. No apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar, just your basic plain white vinegar.
- Olive oil - I like extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) but you can use whatever you like
- Salt and pepper.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
The following basic instructions should get you going!
Start by washing your peppers, then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Roast the whole peppers in the oven (or on a grill), Once cooked, peel off the skin and discard,
Slice the now-skinless peppers into thin strips. Place the sliced peppers into a Mason jar or similar container.
Add remaining ingredients, seal, and refrigerate to allow them to marinate.
Hint: you can go ahead and eat these after about an hour, but if you let them marinate longer, the flavors will develop more fully.
Variations
If you prefer spicy peppers, you can easily adapt this recipe to give it more heat. Try adding red pepper flakes, or chopping hot peppers like banana peppers or serrano peppers and adding them in.
To add flavor without heat, try including fresh or dried herbs. Oregano, basil, thyme, and/or rosemary would all be a great addition!
You might also try infusing the peppers with citrus. Try fresh-squeeze lemon or orange juice for a unique flavor addition.
For a more umami flavor, add finely chopped anchovies. A few capers or some soy sauce work in this department as well.
Finally, you can try other peppers. For example, Italian sweet peppers will produce a uniquely different flavor from red bell peppers.
Equipment
You really only need a way to roast the peppers, and a container to store them in.
When I make this, I roast them in the oven on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. I have a set of tongs nearby to turn the peppers halfway through, but you could use a fork instead.
And you'll need something to keep them in to marinate, preferably a glass container. I find Mason jars work very well for this purpose. (I have a bunch on hand, which I have other uses for, such as my Mexican pickled red onions.)
Storage
Jars peppers should stay good for up to six months if you keep them sealed and store them in the refrigerator. Make sure they are completely submerged in the vinegar mixture if you plan to store them for that long.
I haven't tried freezing them, sorry! If you do, let me know how it turns out.
FAQ
Salads and sandwiches are the obvious choices. They go great with cold cut subs, as well as hot Italian sausage subs like you get at the ballpark.
Yep! They count as a daily serving of vegetables (if you eat enough!) and peppers speed up your metabolism!
Recipe
Roasted Italian Vinegar Peppers
Equipment
- 1 Mason jar
- Parchment paper or aluminum foil optional
Ingredients
- 2 red peppers
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place your oven rack in center of your oven. Preheat oven to 425℉ / 220 ℃. Line with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Wash 2 red peppers and arrange them whole on the baking sheet.
- Once the oven has preheated, put the baking sheet and peppers in, and cook for 20 minutes,
- Use tongs to turn peppers over. Cook for another 10-15 minutes. You'll know they're finished when the skin has blistered and started to pull away from the rest of the pepper. It's fine if some of the skin has blackened, but don't burn them.
- After removing the peppers from the oven, allow them to cool enough that you can touch them without burning your fingers. They don't have to come all the way to room temperature.
- Using your fingers, peel the skin away from the peppers, and discard the skin.
- Slice the peppers into long strips and place them into a Mason jar.
- Peel the 6 cloves garlic and add to the jar along with the peppers. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper, and drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil over the top.
- Top with 2 cups white vinegar or as much as needed to cover the peppers. Close the lid, and marinate in your refrigerator for 1 hour or longer.
Jen
I have had roasted red peppers but not in vinegar. I made this and we'll see whether my family likes it! But it was easy to follow and prepare.
Joel K.
Ok, so I'm Italian and my Nonna would LOVE these peppers!!! Made these and put them on some sausages. The sweet/sour just WORKS! I like hot sausage, but mild was good too.