Make your own crispy, crunchy, restaurant style battered and fried Jalapeño Bottle Caps (fried jalapeno pepper slices) at home! Spicy and delicious, they are the perfect appetizer or snack. They're also amazing when tossed onto sandwiches and burgers!
Jalapeño Bottle Caps Recipe
I've seen these wonderful fried jalapeño slices in restaurants for years, but oddly enough I've never made them. Silly me. They're great little bites of spicy crunchiness and they're rather addictive, so beware if you make them.
I probably ate half of them as we were taking the photo for this post.
In restaurants, they are often served as appetizers with a cooling sauce, like ranch or a blue cheese dip, but I enjoy them most when they are included as the crunchy topping of a sandwich.
Jalapeño heaven, my friends. Yes, we're now entering Mike's jalapeno obsession territory. Again. #JalapenoObsession
What are jalapeno bottle caps?
Jalapeno bottle caps are battered and fried jalapeno pepper slices. They resemble bottle caps when they are cooked, hence the name.
They are a great crunchy addition to sandwiches or salads, but they're also ideal for a fun appetizer or crunchy-spicy snack. Serve them with ranch or blue cheese to send them over the top!
Ingredients in Fried Jalapenos
- Jalapeno peppers
- All-purpose flour
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Salt and pepper
- Eggs
- Light beer
- Peanut or vegetable oil
How to Make this Jalapeno Bottle Caps Recipe
Slice the peppers. You start out by slicing up a jalapeño or 10 into rings.
Get your batter going. A bit of flour, seasonings - I used garlic powder and paprika, salt and pepper, but feel free to mix that up - couple of eggs, 4 ounces of beer.
Make the batter. Whisk it all together to form your batter. Adjust the amount to the number of jalapeno bottle caps you'll be making -- and chowing down.
Preheat the oil. heat your oil in a large pot or get your fryer going.
Fry the jalapeños. Dip your jalapeno slices into the batter then fry them in batches, a few minutes each, until they are golden.
Drain the oil. Strain them out and drain them a couple minutes on paper towels.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Buttermilk or beer. You can also include buttermilk instead of beer in the batter for a slightly different texture. I went without and they turned out great. Want to skip the beer? Use fizzy seltzer or clear soda.
- Don't overheat the oil. Don't overheat the oil to the point of smoking. It's perfect when you can drop a tiny drop of water into the oil and it sizzles up right away.
- Don't overcrowd the oil. Work in batches! If you have way too many jalapeños in the oil, the temperature of the oil will decrease and the jalapeños won't quite fry right.
Storage
Once cooled to room temp, you can store any leftover fried jalapeños you have in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
For the very best results, don't use the microwave to reheat them - use the air fryer instead! The air fryer will return that crispy consistency that makes the jalapeño bottle caps so good.
Try Some of My Other Popular Appetizers and Snacks
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.
Jalapeno Bottle Caps Recipe (Fried Jalapeno Slices)
Ingredients
- 3 fresh jalapeno peppers sliced into rings
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ounces light beer (or use fizzy seltzer or clear soda)
- 2 to 3 cups peanut or vegetable oil enough to cover the battered jalapeno peppers
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan to medium heat. Do not let it boil.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, garlic, paprika and salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Add the eggs and beat into a batter.
- Stir in the beer (or fizzy soda).
- In batches, coat the sliced jalapeno peppers in the batter.
- Fry the battered jalapeno peppers in batches about 5-6 minutes each, turning as needed, until golden and crispy.
- Drain on paper towels and lightly salt while they're hot. Serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 5/23/24 to include new photos and information. It was originally published on 6/1/2016.
Michael Sorenson says
Tried this doing a beer batter for the first time with my Carolina Reapers and avocado spears! They turned out great! Crunchy and delicious. Next time I’ll let the beer batter sit for an hour or two though so it can rise more! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Mike Hultquist says
Very awesome!! Thanks, Michael!
Karen says
Made these today, and they are very good. I did add more flour to the batter as it just ran off the pepper. Next time I make them, I will add a bit more flour and a bit less beer. (I like batter! lol)
Mike H. says
Definitely! And thank you for the review, Karen!
Killoran says
Wow, these were good. I used red jalapenos frozen from this past summer. They were a little soggy to work with, but fried up beautifully. They were very hot, so the ranch dressing was perfect with them. I can't wait to buy some fresh jalapenos and make these again. They didn't last long.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome!! Thanks, Killoran! Glad to confirm that YES, you can easily make these with FROZEN peppers. I love it. Thanks for sharing!
Lyle Moors says
These are killing me Mike! So good, I could live on them. The whole family love having these and now want them as a main course for dinner.
regards.
Mike Hultquist says
OMG, I know! These are so good! I make them a little too much, haha. Can't help it!
Paul:-) says
Hi Mike, Patty,
I have tried an Indian version of this recipe (I don’t remember the name) that used a batter made from, if I remember right, 75% Besan (Chick Pea flour), 25% Rice flour and a masala powder with water.
It’ll be interesting to compare the two.
All the best,
Paul:-)
P.s. Rick has just enjoyed a big bowl of Bog! I’ll warm up some more Texas Chili soon. I love that one!
Mike Hultquist says
Yes! I'd love to try that! Sounds like an excellent twist. Best to Rick! Glad he enjoyed my "bog", haha.
Wilma says
Thanks for the AWESOME recipe!! I made these and they were DELICIOUSLY CRISPY AND TASTY. The batter was definitely on point!
Mike Hultquist says
Yes!!! Thanks, Wilma!
Andy says
ok admittedly we Scots deep fry everything (including mars bars and pizza!) but I never thought I'd love deep fried jalapenos so much!
I didn't have fresh jalapenos or beer so I substituted jarred jalapenos in brine and red bull but I can honestly say they are the most amazing thing ever!
such a bizarrely brilliant combination that I'm going to making way more often than I should 🙂
Mike H. says
Haha, thanks, Andy. Glad you've enjoyed it so much!
Mirek says
How about putting the rings into flower before dropping them into the batter? The batter might stick better to the rings.
Mike Hultquist says
You can do that, Mirek, yes, and I've done it in some recipes. It really isn't needed here, though, as you can see the results. A 5-star suggestion, however. Cheers.
Mirek says
Except for the "flower", which should have been "flour". Sorry.
Julian says
Can do in air fryer?
Mike Hultquist says
Julian, you can, though I need to do some testing with the batter to make it the best. Hopefully soon.