Papa Murphy's Banana Peppers

Papa Murphy's Banana Peppers are high in histamine, because these are pickled peppers rather than fresh ones. Pickled peppers are consistently rated high, and that single component sets the level for the whole topping.

Why papa murphy's banana peppers are rated high

A banana pepper picked fresh and a banana pepper out of a brine jar are not the same food on a histamine list. The version at the counter is the preserved one: peppers packed with water, salt, acetic acid, calcium chloride, distilled vinegar, and citric acid, then shelf stored for a long stretch before it reaches a store. Pickled chili peppers land in the high column, and since the pepper is the only real food in this topping, there is nothing else in the jar to pull the rating down. The brine components are there to preserve and acidify, not to add histamine themselves. Peppers also carry the liberator tag, which means some people react to them beyond the histamine they contain.

What changes your risk

• Pickled versus fresh is the whole story — the fresh banana pepper is the low form of this food, and the jarred, brined form is the high one. The counter version is always the jarred one.
• The brine is not the driver — water, salt, acetic acid, calcium chloride, distilled vinegar, and citric acid are the packing medium. It is the pickled pepper itself that carries the rating, not the sharpness of the liquid.
• Long shelf life before it reaches the pizza — these arrive already packed and can sit for months. Nothing about that storage time brings the level back down, so there is no fresher batch to hope for.
• Baking does not undo it — this is take and bake, and oven heat kills bacteria without removing histamine that is already in the pepper. A well baked pizza with these on it is still a pizza with pickled peppers on it.
• Once it is on, it is on — the peppers sit on top, but their brine soaks into the cheese and crust underneath during baking, so picking them off later does not give you a clean slice.

Lower-histamine alternatives

Papa Murphy's builds to order, so this is one of the easier ones to handle: choose toppings from their lower items instead. Chicken, Onion Mix, and Zesty Herb Blend are what the chain has rated lower, and between them you can get savory depth and a bit of bite without reaching for a pickled pepper. If it was the tang and heat you wanted, Zesty Herb Blend is the closest thing on the lower list, though it is a different flavor rather than a substitute for the peppers.

How to lower the risk

Because you pick components at the counter here, decide on toppings before you order rather than after the pizza is built. Ask for Chicken, Onion Mix, or Zesty Herb Blend and simply do not add banana peppers to the order. If you are sharing with people who want them, ordering two pizzas is more reliable than a half and half, since the brine spreads while the pizza bakes. And if a pizza comes home with the peppers already on it, treat the whole thing as off limits rather than trying to lift them off.

Common questions

Are banana peppers high in histamine?

Pickled ones are, and the peppers used as a pizza topping are the pickled kind. A fresh banana pepper is a much lower food than the same pepper out of a brine jar.

Is it the vinegar that makes them high?

Not really. Salt and vinegar are there to preserve the peppers. The rating comes from the pickled pepper itself, which sits high on histamine lists.

Will baking the pizza make the peppers okay?

No. Baking kills bacteria but does not remove histamine that is already present in the pepper, so oven time does not lower the level.

What toppings can I choose instead at Papa Murphy's?

Chicken, Onion Mix, and Zesty Herb Blend are the lower-histamine options the chain lists. Zesty Herb Blend is the nearest thing if you were after a bit of a kick.