Pickled Jalapeños
Learn how to make the best pickled jalapeños with this recipe! Enjoy pickled jalapeños that are fresh, crisp and spicy—but not too spicy.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 3, 2024
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I consider myself a pickle connoisseur, and I dare say that these pickled jalapeños are the best. These pickled jalapeños are fresh and lightly crisp, with the perfect level of heat. They’re so much better than their store-bought counterparts, which have been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long.
To make this recipe, you’ll need fresh jalapeños, vinegar, water, an optional garlic clove, and salt. That’s it—the rest of the magic is due to the method.
These pickles will taste fully pickled after a four-hour rest in the refrigerator, so make them earlier in the day or the night before you need them. They retain their lovely flavor for about one month in the refrigerator.
These pickled jalapeños offer the perfect spicy pop to my meals! I hope you love them as much as I do.
How to Make the Best Pickled Jalapeños
This recipe required a research deep dive on jalapeño spice levels and five attempts to get just right. These pickled jalapeños, like my famous dill pickles, are refrigerator pickles. They benefit from room temperature—not hot—brine and a rest in the refrigerator. Thanks to the cool temperature, they better retain their crisp texture, vibrant green color, and fresh flavor.
Like my other pickle recipes, the brine is made from equal parts vinegar and water. It always tastes just right—bold and puckery but not overwhelmingly pungent. I love the refrigerator pickling method because it spares my kitchen from the stink of hot vinegar!
I wanted to make pickled jalapeños that were spicy but not overwhelmingly so, like store-bought pickled jalapeños. Most other homemade pickled jalapeño pepper recipes, including my original recipe for pickled peppers, call for sweetener to tame the heat.
Store-bought jalapeño pickles are typically unsweetened, however, and I thought surely I could find a way to avoid it. You’ll find all my heat-taming tricks in the section below, and the recipe at the bottom of the post.
Watch How to Make Pickled Jalapeños
Pepper Selection Tips
The ideal jalapeños offer plenty of bold pepper flavor without being so hot that you cry actual tears. Choosing peppers that meet this criteria is not an exact science, but I’ve found some guidelines that will help steer you toward the right peppers for this recipe.
Choose larger jalapenos.
Capsaicin is the compound in chili peppers that yields their signature burning sensation. Capsaicin is the most concentrated in the seeds and membranes of the peppers. Larger peppers have relatively more flesh, so they’re a better bet.
Choose smooth, shiny green jalapenos.
In other words, avoid peppers with white stripes, which could indicate that the pepper is older and encountered more environmental stressors that potentially increased its spice level. Peppers with reddish spots are wild cards—they were on the vine long enough that they are becoming mild in the red spots but may still be spicy elsewhere.
How to Mellow the Spice Level
Even when you choose your peppers carefully, they may taste hotter than you want your pickled jalapeños to be. The pickling process helps a bit and distributes the spice more evenly amongst the peppers that share a jar, but we can do even better.
Remove the seeds and membranes.
To maintain the signature pepper ring shape found in store-bought pickled jalapeños, use a grapefruit spoon or other small spoon to release the membranes where they attach to the inside of the pepper. Gently scoop or tap until the membranes and seeds fall out of the pepper. Then, slice your peppers into thin rounds.
Soak the sliced jalapenos in cool water for 30 minutes.
This is optional, but I generally find it necessary. Sample a few tiny bites of your peppers first. If they’re much too spicy, soak the sliced jalapenos in a bowl filled with cool water. Soaking removes a bit of the pepper flavor but significantly reduces the heat level, so it’s worth it if it makes your jalapeños more palatable. In my tests, soaking was more effective than rinsing the peppers under running water and maintained more of their flavor.
How to Serve Pickled Jalapeños
Pickled jalapeños offer a welcome punch of spicy pepper flavor to many meals. You can roughly chop them before serving to distribute the spice more evenly.
Try them on Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes like tacos, burritos, black bean bowls and fajita veggie bowls. Enjoy pickled jalapeños on egg-based dishes like Fresh Huevos Rancheros or any combination of scrambled or fried eggs and tortilla chips.
Sprinkle pickled jalapeños over pizzas, like this Barbecue Pineapple, Jalapeño and Feta Pizza or improvised tortilla pizzas.
Use these fresh pickled peppers in any salad recipe that calls for fresh jalapeños, like my Garden-Fresh Corn Salad. They would add a briny punch to my favorite guacamole.
More Homemade Jalapeño Condiments
- Baked Jalapeño Poppers
- Fresh Jalapeño Relish
- Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing
- Shatta (Middle Eastern Hot Sauce)
- Zhoug (Spicy Cilantro Sauce)
Please let me know how your pickled jalapeños turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Pickled Jalapeños
Learn how to make the best pickled jalapeños with this recipe! Enjoy pickled jalapeños that are fresh, crisp and spicy—but not too spicy. Recipe yields about 1 pint.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh jalapeños (about 5 large or 1 ¾ cup sliced—choose larger jalapeños for less spicy pickles)
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed (optional)
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- First, prepare your peppers: You may want to wear gloves to protect your fingers from feeling burned. Slice off the stem ends of each jalapeño. For less spicy pickles, use a grapefruit spoon or small spoon to release the membranes where they attach to the inside of the pepper. Gently scoop or tap until the membranes and seeds fall out of the pepper, then discard those pieces. Slice the jalapeños into thin rounds with a mandoline or chef’s knife.
- To test the spice level of your jalapeños, sample tiny bites from several peppers. If they’re much too spicy, place the sliced jalapenos into a bowl and fill it with cool water. Let the jalapenos soak for 30 minutes, then drain them well. (You could even sample again at this point and soak for another 30 minutes if they’re still terribly spicy.)
- Pour the vinegar, water, garlic (if using), and salt into a medium-sized glass jar. Stir to combine. Add the jalapenos to the jar, securely fasten the lid, and give the jar a gentle shake. It may seem like you don’t have enough liquid, but the jalapenos sink over time.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours for fully pickled peppers. If you think of it during that time, give the peppers another gentle shimmy to help distribute them into the liquid. Pickled jalapeños will keep for up to 1 month in the refrigerator.
Notes
Quicker pickles: Warm the vinegar, water and salt in a small saucepan until it comes to a simmer. Pour it over the peppers, tuck in the smashed garlic (if using), and let the mixture come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. At that point, the peppers should taste pretty well pickled. Refrigerate for later.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Thank you so so much! I have a crisper drawer filled with them oh my God thank you so much I never thought to pickle them love you!
Perfect!! Please let me know how they turn out! I’m obsessed.
Yep I made them and oh my. So easy so quick so so delicious and you’re right they are so so addictive!! You are my go-to for everything!! Thanks again!
You’re welcome, Linda!
Do you pickle cabbage and can I get recipe
I don’t have one, sorry!
Very simple and quick method. Thanks
Thanks Laurie!
These sound delicious! Can they also be waterbath canned?
Hi Debbie, this recipe has not been verified for canning safety and I’m not a canning expert, so please do not can these!
Can’t buy Jalapeños easily in UK unless you live in London. Indian grocers usually sell deadly green chilli’s like Jolokia. I will keep looking.
Good luck to you! We’re lucky that we can find them year-round (I’ve grown them in our garden, too).
Kate, do your pickled jalapeños maintain their bright green colour for a length of time after brining and refrigerating? The only ones I’ve seen go a dull green colour. I’m wondering if the cold brine helps maintain the colour vs. using a hot/arm brine that has been poured over the peppers. Thanks!
Eventually the color will likely breakdown as they sit in the refrigerator and pickle more.
Hi Kate
Luv ur recipes, TY. Im about to make these. Do you think I can add red onions (understand I may need to adjust the liquid etc..)?
Nancy
Thanks for the answer to my question, Kate. I will NOT attempt to waterbath can the pickled jalapeños until I can possibly find info on the USDA Food Safety ste. Thanks again!
Followed the recipe and they came out great!
Great to hear, Jason!
My jalapeños are red with little striations which I think means they were left on the vine too long and could be super spicy. What is the ratio of liquid and a sweetener that you would recommend?
I’m not sure without trying it. You could try this ratio and adjust from there in the future. Sorry to not be of more help!
This recipe for pickled jalapenos is excellent! Quick, easy, and very tasty. I added some sliced onion and sliced sweet red pepper, and they all turned out yummy! Thank you, Kate!
You’re welcome, Michele!
Pickled jalapeños are a fantastic way to add a spicy, tangy kick to any dish! The balance of heat and acidity elevates everything from sandwiches to salads, and they’re so easy to make at home. A must-have for spice lovers!