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Lucina’s Miniature Stuffed Peppers

A pile of yellow, red, and purple bell peppers

Seed Savers Exchange member Lucina Cress has been canning miniature stuffed peppers for decades using peppers from her own garden. Lucina’s Miniature Stuffed Peppers were a hit year after year at her local hospital bazaar. Keep reading for the recipe!

In the 1980s, Lucina listed three varieties of miniature bell pepper seeds on the Exchange. An elderly neighbor had given Lucina ‘Miniature Red Bell’ pepper and ‘Miniature Yellow Bell’ pepper seeds. But her favorite, the ‘Miniature Chocolate Bell’ pepper, arose from a crop of full-size chocolate bell peppers in Lucina’s own garden. To fine-tune this variety, she saved seeds from the smallest fruits of each chocolate bell pepper crop.

Lucina Cress told SSE co-founder Diane Ott Whealy, “An elderly lady grew these peppers in Ohio and passed them on to me. The chocolate is still my favorite, always so mild and sweet and all the plants would produce early and kept coming on till frost.”

A pile of miniature deep red/brown peppers on a rock surface
Shop ‘Miniature Chocolate Bell’ Pepper Seeds
A pile of miniature round red peppers on a rock surface
Shop ‘Miniature Red Bell’ Pepper Seeds
A pile of miniature yellow/orange round peppers on a rock surface
Shop ‘Miniature Yellow Bell’ Pepper Seeds

About Miniature Bell Pepper Seeds (All Three Varieties)

  • Organic
  • Sweet pepper
  • Fruits grow up to 2 inches
  • Plants are stocky and short
  • Tend to ripen faster than full-size bell peppers

Lucina’s Miniature Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Lucina has been making the stuffed peppers for decades. “I think I first listed the pepper seed in the 1981 Seed Savers Exchange [Yearbook]. I always offered to send the recipe for stuffing and canning with the pepper seed. Each year, our hospital auxiliary branch stuffed miniature peppers for the hospital bazaar. We canned over seven hundred jars and some years, and we were sold out by 11 a.m.”

two jars with globular red and yellow pickled vegetables inside
Lucina’s Stuffed Peppers

Instructions from Lucina:

Makes 15 pints

Shred cabbage fine (SSE staff recommend theĀ Early Jersey Wakefield’ cabbage). For each 3 quarts of cabbage, add 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and let stand for 20 minutes.

A close up of a green leafy cabbage plant
Shop ‘Early Jersey Wakefield’ Cabbage Seeds

While the cabbage is soaking, wash enough of Lucina’s Miniature Bell peppers of all colors to make 15 pints. Cut a small opening on top and take out the seeds. Learn how to save pepper seeds.

Squeeze the liquid off the cabbage and discard.

Add to cabbage:

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seed
  • 2/3 cup vinegar
  • 2/3 cup sugar

Mix cabbage and stuff inside the peppers. Place in jars. Boil together:

  • 4 cups sugar
  • 4 cups white vinegar
  • 2 cups water

Pour over peppers in jars and seal. Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.

Note on canning: peppers are considered a low-acid food and require a pressure-canner to preserve the peppers safely. However, the process of pickling increases acid levels and makes the peppers safe to can with a hot water bath. For more details on canning, Ball Mason Jars has a great guide.