This pickled jalapenos recipe makes the best crunchy, spicy pickled jalapenos with a touch of sweet, ready in only 10 minutes, so easy to make! Top your tacos, nachos and so much more!
Homemade Pickled Jalapeños Recipe
You won't believe how easy it is to make your own pickled jalapenos at home. I've been pickling chili peppers for years, and these really are so much better than any store bought pickled jalapeno peppers.
They're crispy and tangy, sweet and spicy, and I have to give fair warning. They're very addictive. I can't help myself from stealing a few straight out of the jar to munch on for a mildly spicy, tangy snack. they're just so good!
And, they only take about 10 minutes to make! It's outstanding for a slow cook like me who takes forever in the kitchen. Even I can whip together a quick batch of quick pickled jalapeños for all sorts of enjoyment.
Let's talk about how to make pickled jalapenos, shall we?
Pickled Jalapenos Ingredients
- Fresh Jalapeño Peppers. Your amount will vary depending on the size of the jalapenos.
- Vinegar. I'm using white vinegar, but you can use apple cider vinegar.
- Water. To dilute the vinegar, though you can use all vinegar.
- Garlic.
- Honey. Or use white sugar, for a touch of sweet. Optional, if desired.
- Salt. Pickling salt is good, or kosher salt.
- Pickling Spices. I'm using Beay Leaf, Mexican Oregano, and Black Peppercorns. You have many flavoring options.
How to Make Pickled Jalapenos - the Recipe Steps
Slice the Jalapenos. Slice your batch of jalapeño peppers into rings and discard the stems. Stuff the sliced jalapeños into a quart sized jar (or large glass jars, or use pint jars).
Make the Pickling Brine. Add white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), water, garlic cloves, honey or sugar, salt, bay leaf, black pepper and Mexican oregano (and other seasonings) to a pot. Bring to a boil.
Remove from Heat. Stir then remove the water-vinegar-sugar mixture from heat. Cool slightly, then remove the bay leaf. Pour the brine over the jalapenos into the mason jar.
I use these Ball Jars (affiliate link, my friends!). They can hold a lot of peppers! Bonus.
Refrigerate. Top the jalapenos with a jar cover and keep them in the fridge after they cool to room temperature. I like to let mine sit in the refrigerator a good week before enjoying them.
The brine and seasonings penetrate the jalapeno slices more deeply, resulting in greater flavor.
Boom! Done! Super easy, right?
FAQ About Pickled Jalapenos
Can I Pickle Whole Jalapenos?
Yes, to pickle whole jalapeno peppers, poke holes with a knife in several places to allow the vinegar brine to more fully penetrate the jalapenos when you pour the brine, then store them in a large jar.
You won't be able to fit as many jalapenos in a jar as sliced jalapeno peppers, but they will last as long.
What Do Pickled Jalapenos Taste Like?
Pickled jalapeños are tangy from the vinegar brine, slightly sweet from the (optional) addition of sugar or honey, and herbaceous from the Mexican oregano and bay leaf.
You can easily add other ingredients to flavor your pickled peppers. Other popular ingredients include cumin seeds, dried basil, mustard seeds, coriander, ginger, allspice, chili flakes and more.
You can also skip the sugar or honey if you prefer less sweet, or increase the amount for sweeter jalapenos.
See my post on Pickling Spices for Pickling Peppers.
The peppers also maintain their crunch factor for a long time. Some pickled peppers can go a bit soft. This is usually a result of boiling the jalapenos for too long, or from processing the jars for too long in a water bath.
The length of heat exposure is what causes them to go soft, so keep this in mind. Don't boil them for too long.
How Long Do Pickled Jalapenos Last?
Pickled jalapenos will last for several weeks in the refrigerator, easily up to 3 months or longer. Vinegar and salt act as a preservative, letting the pickled peppers keep for longer.
If you'd like to keep your pickled peppers for longer outside of the refrigerator, check out my post on How to Pickle Chili Peppers for information on how to can or jar pickled peppers with a boiling water bath.
Quick Note: This is not meant to be a long term preserving method for chili peppers. It is more of a quick pickle to store in the fridge, a short term preserving solution, allowing you to prolong the life of the peppers for many months, which is still a long time.
Enjoying Pickled Jalapenos
Aside from topping nachos and tacos with your peppers, try them out on pizzas, as burger toppings, piles onto grilled hot dogs, brats or sausages, and scattered onto sandwiches.
That's it, my friends! I hope you enjoy your pickled jalapeño recipe! Better than anything store bought.
Try My Other Popular Pickling Recipes and Similar
- Taqueria-Style Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots
- Refrigerator Pickled Peppers Recipe
- Pickled Chili Peppers – A Recipe
- Pickled Banana Peppers
- Chile-Cucumber Chow Chow
- Sweet Chili Pepper Relish
- Hot Pepper Relish
- Green Tomato Relish
- Refrigerator Pickles (Hot Pickles)
- Cajun Pickled Peppers
- Pickled Red Onions
- Pickled Carrots
- Pickled Okra
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this jalapeño recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Pickled Jalapenos Recipe
Ingredients
- 5-6 jalapeno peppers sliced
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 clove garlic smashed
- 1 tablespoon honey or use sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
Instructions
- First, slice your batch of jalapeno peppers into rings and discard the stems. Stuff the jalapeno slices into a quart sized jar (Ball jar or Mason jar).
- Next, add the vinegar, water, honey, garlic, bay leaf, salt, Mexican oregano, black peppercorns, and salt to a pot. Bring the brine mixture to a quick boil.
- Give it a quick stir, then remove the brine from heat. Cool slightly.
- Pour the brine into the jar over the jalapeno peppers. Secure with a lid and let come to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 8/26/22 to include new information and video. It was originally published on 5/10/19.
Patty R says
I absolutely love this! I followed your recipe and added about a half teaspoon of cumin to give it a Mexican flair. My favorite uses are cutting them up and adding them (along with a little of the juice) to store bought pimento cheese and putting on hamburgers instead of pickles. Making my third batch today. These go quickly in my house. Thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes, Patty! I think this is AWESOME in pimento cheese! Nice with the little extra kick! I love it.
Herb says
Hi Mike,
Do you think this recipe would work well pickling red onions?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Herb, yes, you can use this. I have a Pickled Red Onions Recipe on the site you can check out here: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/pickled-red-onions/. Enjoy!
Alan Montauck says
Hi Mike, great recipe. twice now I've had a possible issue, thought you could shed some light on this. After the peppers have been in the fridge for about a month, I notice these little (1/4 inch) white "worms?" floating in the jar. I don't know if that's what they are, that's what they look like. They peppers look and smell fine, but I'm concerned. Have you ever run into this? Is there an email address so that I can send you a picture?
- Alan
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Alan. I got your email on this and emailed you back. I believe those are just seed bits, which I have seen before. It is highly unlikely anything would grow in the highly acidic environment. However, if you see them moving, you could have an infection if the pH is not low enough. I hope this helps.
Charles Pascual says
Just finished making my second batch using this recipe. Six jalapeños - about 12 ounces. I cut out the seeds and ribs after I slice them on a mandolin - it adds considerably more time than the 10 minutes the recipe requires but I don't mind - this is recreation as much as it is food prep. I used jarred minced garlic - and I'm not stingy with it. I don't remove any of the pickling spices - in fact, after I've transferred the pickled chiles to the jar, I strain the brine, dump all the spices in the jar and then add as much brine as I can fit in the jar. (The first time I removed the bay leaf - this time I used pieces of bay leaf and I couldn't find them - they're in there somewhere.) Shake up the jar to distribute the spices and I'm done. I can fill a 16 ounce jar with the chiles, spices, and most of the brine. Keeps for several weeks in the fridge and, no surprise, it keeps getting better with time - so good, you're sorry to see the last little bit get eaten and can't wait to start a new batch.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Wonderful, Charles. Glad you enjoyed it, and I agree that cooking is a perfect recreation. I love it!
Marty says
Hi Mike,
First time on your site - looking for a Jalapeno pickle recipe and found this - sounds great and will try it out as soon as my Jalapenos are ready (first year growing them) - can you add other chilli's to it as well? I was thinking of adding an orange Habanero to it to give it a bit of a hit. Would this work?
Cheers
Marty
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Marty. Absolutely. This will work with any peppers. Enjoy!
Sandra says
These are hot! And, delicious. I made this recipe on Friday. There's actually enough brine for two jars. I gave one to a friend and she put some on a hotdog; she loved it! I put two garlic cloves in the brine (and put one clove in each jar). After putting the jalapeños in the hot brine, I let it come to another boil before putting them into the jars. I used 7 big jalapeños and 2 smaller ones to fill the jars. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Sandra. Glad you enjoyed them.
er says
Can you re-use the brine?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
ER, some people do reuse their brine and just toss extra peppers into it. I prefer to make new brine for each batch. However, you can use the brine for other things, like as a marinade or for spicing up other dishes, soups, stews, making dressings, etc.
Derek says
no need to boil the jalapeños in the brine actually a cold bring won’t cook you peppers marking them crunchier and these will last
months in the fridge
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Some people enjoy a cold brine. Heating the brine assists with blending the overall flavors. I don't have any issues with softening peppers, though if you boil the peppers too much, you do risk softening.
Cleo says
Do I water bath these and for how long? Can I add carrots -sliced?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Cleo, you can process these for 10-15 minutes in a water bath, possibly longer, depending on your elevation. Yep, you can add carrots as well. I have a recipe for that, too - Taqueria Style Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/pickled-jalapenos-and-carrots/
Jewels says
I got ahead of myself and minced the garlic . . . not so easy to remove now. Will this make them too garlicky? Any suggestions or just deal with it?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Jewels, I love garlic in mine. However, you can try to pick them out or just strain the whole batch to remove the garlic solids, then put it all back into the jar.
Gary says
Can you use cider vinegar instead of the white vinegar?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You surely can! Enjoy!
Jason Gillman says
Just a quick question. About how much did your jalapenos weigh? My jalapenos in my garden are quite a bit smaller than yours, so I don't want too much or not enough brine. Thanks in advance!
Jason
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Jason, jalapenos can vary in weight from .5 to 1 ounce or even outside of that range, so weighing them is a good way to judge amounts. Good luck!
Val says
Love this recipe, and really appreciate how NOT sweet it is! I’ve already used it several times! Quick question - I have everything BUT fresh garlic ready to make these, can I use jarred minced garlic? Will it overpower the final product if the minced garlic stays in the brining liquid with the peppers?
Thanks so much!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Val. Yep, you can definitely use jarred minced garlic. If you're concerned about overpowering with garlic flavor, limit it to a tablespoon or so. Enjoy!