A pantry staple, homemade Pickled Jalapeño Peppers are so easy to make! Whether you’re canning jalapeño peppers or quick pickling them, this simple recipe will have you preserving jalapeños in no time!
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Extending the Season
Like my Pickled Banana Peppers, preserving jalapeños couldn’t be simpler. Whether you grow your own or spy those bright green beauties at the farmers market or grocery, late summer is the perfect time of year to enjoy pickling in season jalapeños.
Enjoy this quick pickled jalapeño recipe within an hour or canned jalapeños the following day. Their flavor improves with a little time.
Ingredients for Pickled Jalapeños
A short list of ingredients for these pickled peppers, here’s what you’ll need to make em’ (see recipe card for details):
- Distilled White Vinegar
- Water
- Salt
- Sugar
- Garlic
- Jalapeños
How To Preserve Jalapeños
Preserving jalapeños is super easy. With just a few ingredients and fresh jalapeños, homemade pickled peppers can be enjoyed throughout the year. Here’s how to quick pickle jalapeño peppers (refrigerator pickled) and how to can jalapeño peppers (see recipe below for details):
- First, sterilize the jars and lids.
- Second, throughly wash the peppers.
- Third, chop the peppers into rings. To protect hands from those burning pepper oils, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands throughly after handling the peppers.
- Fourth, bring the vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a boil. Add the peppers and garlic to the vinegar water, stir and remove from heat. Allow to set for 15 minutes. You’ll notice the color of the pickles turn from bright green to a duller shade.
- Next, pack the jars with cut peppers, while also pouring the brine into jars. Use a spoon to gently pack the rings if needed, to make room for more. Top with brine and more peppers as needed. Leave about a 1/2″ head space at the top of each jar. Lid the peppers.
- *At this point for quick pickled jalapeños, simply place the jars in the refrigerator. They’ll last for several months and be ready for snacking in about 24 hours, or in an hour for the quickest pickle!
- Last, to can the peppers, in a large pot of boiling water, process the jars for 10 minutes. Remove, and cool. *See Makers’ Notes Update Below.
If your jalapeños are canned, listen for the lid to pop – this means your jars are sealed and ready for long term storage at room temperature. If you’re going for a refrigerator quick pickle, the lid doesn’t need to pop, rather your peppers are ready to be refrigerated right after lidding the jar.
How Hot Are Jalapeño Peppers?
Jalapeño’s Scoville rating, a measurement of a pepper’s heat, ranges between 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville heat units, with the upper end resulting in major mouth burn! By comparison, banana peppers are mild with a Scoville range of 0 to 500 and Anaheim, medium from 500 to 2500 Scoville units.
Jalapeño’s heat can vary from pepper to pepper. But removing the white parts (ribs) and seeds from a jalapeño reduces their fiery notes while retaining their flavorful, less spicy parts.
Quick pickled banana peppers are simple to whip up too. Check out my Pickled Banana Peppers recipe and give these flavorful peppers a try!
Does Pickling Jalapeños Make Them Less Spicy?
Pickling jalapeños tend to calm the spice a bit, but not entirely. It all depends on how spicy the jalapeños are to start with. Pickling only tames the heat so far!
If a less spicy pickling is desired, first, remove the ribs and seeds of the peppers by cutting the peppers in half. Scrape out the ribs and seeds with a spoon or slice with a knife. Then, slice the peppers into 1/2 rings. If the pepper is large and straight enough, you can simply cut off the stem end and scrape out the ribs and seeds. The pepper ring shape will be retained!
What Do You Do with Pickled Jalapeños?
Treat these spicy, briny, flavor popping peppers as a condiment. Enjoy them on all things Mexican food and more like:
- Nachos
- Skillet Enchiladas Verde
- Tofu Enchiladas
- Spicy Sofritas
- Black Bean Walnut Burgers
- Stir them into mac and cheese (!!).
- Dice em’ up and add to Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread or Gluten Free Cornbread
- Slow Cooked Pinto Beans
- Crock Pot Vegetarian Chili
How Long Do Pickled Jalapeños Last?
Quick pickled jalapeños can last several months in the fridge (update 3/22: this year my quick pickled jalapeños lasted eight months in the fridge), or if properly canned, up to one year at room temperature. An open jar of canned or quick pickled jalapeños will last months in the refrigerator.
Equipment for Canning
To make canning easier, I use a few pieces of special equipment, specific for canning. The stockpot I use to process the jars is my largest soup pot. It’s on the small side for canning, but it works! (These are affiliate links).
- Wide Mouth Funnel
- Jar lifter
- Canning Jars – I like 16oz jars for jalapeños
- Large 10 Quart Stockpot (or 9.5L) – my largest soup pot
- Four Cup Measuring Glass
A Few Recipe Notes
- Make sure your jars are sterilized before preserving jalapeños. The National Center for Home Food Preservation shows us how.
- This pickled jalapeño recipe yields three 16oz jars as written, but the recipe doubles with ease.
- Use latex gloves to protect hands from hot pepper oils. The burn tends to linger otherwise, even after washing hands with hot soapy water!
Makers’ Notes Update
August 2021: I’ve received a few notes regarding the pickled peppers being soft or mushy after canning. Here are some tips I’ve gleaned about this:
- Use the freshest jalapeños you can get your hands on. Look for jalapeños at farmers’ markets, fresh from the garden, or through a CSA.
- Make sure you’re canning in the water bath for no longer than 10 minutes. Set a timer and watch it closely.
- A tip I learned from Chili Pepper Madness in the comments and on another forum is there’s a product called Pickle Crisp that may help (I’ve not tried this).
- If you’re worried about soft peppers, simply enjoy the peppers as quick pickled. They’ll last for months in the fridge (update 3/22: this year my quick pickled jalapeños lasted eight months in the fridge).
More Recipes to Enjoy Jalapeños With
- Mexican Inspired Tofu Tacos
- Chipotle Style Sofritas Bowls
- Quinoa Enchilada Bake
- Roasted Cauliflower Tinga Tacos
- Tangy Lentil Sloppy Joes
- Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers
- Sourdough Pizza Crust
- Gluten Free Pizza Crust
Pickled Jalapeño Peppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs (675g) Jalapeño Peppers
- 2 C (530g) Water
- 2 C (515g) Distilled White Vinegar
- 2 Tbs Fine Sea Salt
- 2 Tbs Cane Sugar
- 2 Fat Cloves of Garlic minced
Instructions
- Sterilize three, 16oz jars and lids. The National Center for Home Food Preservation shows us how.
- Throughly wash the peppers and chop into rings. To protect hands from those burning pepper oils, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands throughly after handling the peppers.
- In a medium sauce pot, bring the vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a boil. Add the peppers and garlic to the vinegar water, stir then remove from heat. Allow the peppers to set in the brine solution for 15 minutes. You'll notice the color of the peppers turn from bright green to a duller shade. Meanwhile, decide if canning or quick/refrigerator pickling the peppers and prepare by reading A or B below.
- Once the peppers have changed color, pack the jars with the peppers, while also scooping the brine into jars. Use a spoon to gently pack the rings if needed, to make room for more (they can be packed in pretty tight). Top with brine and more peppers as needed. Leave about a 1/2″ (1.3cm) head space at the top of each jar. At this point, you have two options. Can the peppers or quick/refrigerator pickle them.
- A. If Canning: Bring a large canner or your largest stock pot of water to a boil (at least a 10 quart (9.5L)) pot. You want the pot large enough to cover the jars with about one inch of water and hold as many jars as can fit for processing. Place the jar lids in a shallow pan and pour boiling water over the lids. This softens the rubber seals and readies them for canning. Allow the lids to set until you're ready to lid the jars. Lid the peppers and gently twist the lid rings on the jars. Once the stock pot water is boiling, gently place the jars in the water and set a timer for 10 minutes and process the jars. After 10 minutes, remove the jars from the water, dry off with a towel and set aside to cool. B. For Quick/Refrigerator Pickled Jalapeños:Simply place the lidded jars in the refrigerator. They'll last for several months and be ready for snacking in about 24 hours, or in an hour for the quickest pickle! They taste better with a little time on them.
- If your jalapeños are canned, listen for the lid to pop - this means your jars are sealed and ready for long term storage at room temperature. If the lid doesnt pop or seal, place them in the refrigerator and treat them as quick pickled Jalapeños.If you're going for a refrigerator quick pickle, the lid doesn't need to pop, rather your peppers are ready to be refrigerated right after lidding the jar.
- Quick pickled jalapeños can last several months in the fridge or if properly canned, up to one year at room temperature. Once a jar is opened, store in the refrigerator. An open jar of canned or quick pickled jalapeños will last months in the refrigerator. (update 3/22: this year my quick pickled jalapeños lasted eight months in the fridge)
