By far, my favorite obsession this summer is pickling. I've pickled jalapeños, radishes, and onions. Next on my list are beets, garlic, and ginger. And even though it's excessively easy, I'm sharing how to make pickled jalapeños in today's post!
I posted a quick-and-easy tutorial about pickled jalapeños on Instagram a while ago, and it ended up being a hit. It only makes sense to take prettier pictures and post the recipe here, right? That way, it's easier for you to find and reference.
Quick note: a lot of these pictures show pickled radishes, too. I'll be publishing a second post about those—the basic method is the same, but I did switch it up a little bit. Plus, there are just too many pretty pictures for one post!
Let's jump right in, shall we?
First thing's first: you'll need a lot of jalapeños. About a dozen for a yield of one pint. Luckily, jalapeños are very inexpensive in the summer...or chances are, you're growing some in your backyard. So gather up those jalapeños and slice them thin.
If you leave the seeds in, the pickled jalapeños will be spicier. And when I say spicy, I mean 1-2 pickled jalapeño slices are more than enough for taco night at my house. Then again, I don't tolerate spicy as well as others...but just know that leaving the seeds in means spicy pickled jalapeños.
Next, jam all those jalapeño slices into your pint-sized mason jar. Really pack 'em in. You'll want to leave enough space for at least half an inch of headroom. If you plan on adding any additional spices/herbs for flavor (dill, garlic, etc.), here's where you'll add it in.
In a small saucepan, combine the water and vinegar and bring to an almost boil. It should be simmering, dangerously close to bubbling into a boil, but just not quite there. Turn off the heat and add the honey/sugar if you're using it (note: the sweetener helps tone down the spice of the jalapeños, so I recommend using it). Stir until dissolved.
Once the pickling liquid has cooled slightly, pour into the jar over the jalapeño slices. Make sure all of the jalapeños are covered! Cap it off.
At this point, you can either throw the jar into the fridge for "refrigerator" pickled jalapeños or get your canning on and submerge the jar into boiling water to seal the cap on. What's the difference between the two?
The refrigerator method skips a step and the jalapeños will be properly pickled in a couple days, but the shelf life is not as long (they'll last a few weeks) and they have to take up your fridge space. If you go with canning, you can store the pickled jalapeños on the shelf and open them when you need them (though they have to be refrigerated after they're opened).
I'm lazy and I like near-instant gratification, so I always go with the refrigerator method. Sorry, canning diehards.
Put A New Spin On It:
- Add a couple smashed garlic cloves to the mason jar with the sliced jalapeños
- Experiment with herbs and spices, like dill, oregano, mustard seeds or peppercorns, to add flavor to the jalapeños by adding sprigs of herbs or whole seeds/peppercorns to the mason jar
- Mix up the veggies—try a combo of jalapeños and radishes or make spicy pickles using jalapeños and cucumbers
How To Pickle Jalapeños
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 pint 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: pickled
Ingredients
Instructions
- Clean the pint-size mason jar you're using in warm soapy water and set aside to dry or hand dry.
- Slice all the jalapeños into thin rings. If desired, discard the seeds (leaving them in will result in spicier pickled jalapeños). Pack all the sliced jalapeños into the dried mason jar, leaving at least ½ inch of head space.
- Add the vinegar and water to a small saucepan. Heat over medium to medium-high heat until it's just about to boil (but not quite boiling). How do you know when it's just about to boil? You should be able to hear the water audibly "roaring" and there will be bubbles forming in the bottom of the pot. They may try to make their way to the surface, but they don't pop on the surface. If they're popping on the surface and splashing, the water is boiling—just reduce heat to bring it back to just-before-boiling.
- Remove from heat and add the sugar or honey, if using. Stir until the sweetener completely dissolves. Let the pickling liquid cool for up to 10 minutes.
- Pour the pickling liquid over the sliced jalapeños, making sure they're all immersed in liquid. Cap off the jar and let cool a bit before putting it in the fridge.
- The jalapeños should be pickled and ready to use after a couple days, and will last for months when kept refrigerated!
Keywords: How To Pickle Jalapeños
Feisty Eats says
Yum. Pickled anything is my favorite. These really make me want a taco!
Chelsea says
I totally agree - pickle anything and I'll eat it!