Fresh Jalapeño Relish
If you love pickled jalapeños, this easy homemade jalapeño relish is for you! Dollop this versatile jalapeño sauce onto sandwiches, nachos, eggs, etc.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
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Forget everything you know about pickled relish! This jalapeño relish is fresh, bright and spicy, but not too spicy. It’s unsweetened, but the apple cider vinegar does tame the jalapeño heat a bit. This relish is for more than sandwiches and hot dogs—think nachos, quesadillas, tacos and burritos, too.
Jalapeño relish will liven up your Fourth of July leftovers, and it makes staples like scrambled eggs and beans and rice much more exciting. Basically, anywhere you would add pickled jalapeños, you can use this homemade relish instead.
If you’ve ever tried pickling your own jalapeños, you know that hot vinegar combined with spicy peppers makes you cough and fills the kitchen with the undesirable fragrance of vinegar.
So, this relish is the perfect homemade alternative to pickled jalapeños. This no-cook, hands-off version is irresistible, and keeps well in the refrigerator for a week or two. Are you as excited about this as I am?
This “relish” idea came from a Mexican restaurant far from Mexico, near Glacier National Park in Montana. My family and I found ourselves there after a big hike and we were famished. The place was packed, which was a good sign. But the bartender gave me a funny look for requesting a glass with a salted rim for my Mexican beer, which was a bad sign.
After surveying the tables around me and reviewing the vegetarian options on the menu, I settled on the vegetarian nachos. To my delight, I found their “jalapeño purée” nestled between the chips and the cheese, and I loved it. So much so that I asked if we could eat there again the next night. Options were limited, and I was obsessed with the jalapeño purée!
“Purée” is not a Spanish word and the sauce wasn’t completely smooth, anyway. I was almost tempted to call this stuff “chunky hot sauce” (not cute). Relish seemed like the best descriptor, since the jalapeños are chopped up very small in the food processor.
This jalapeño relish is perfect for your jalapeño garden surplus, and it’s super simple to make. I’ve gone through a whole jar myself within a week—I like it that much.
Looking for Mexican dips to serve with this relish? Check out my favorite red salsa, vegan sour cream, creamy avocado dip and easy refried beans.
Craving more spicy sauces? Don’t miss my shatta recipe (Middle Eastern hot sauce) or zhoug recipe (spicy cilantro sauce, also from the Middle East).
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! I’m excited to hear how you put this fresh and spicy relish to use.
Fresh Jalapeño Relish
If you love pickled jalapeños, this easy homemade jalapeño relish is for you! Dollop this versatile sauce onto sandwiches or hot dogs, nachos, eggs, rice and beans, etc. Recipe yields about 16 ounces, so it’s perfect for a pint-sized mason jar.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh jalapeños
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
Instructions
- To prepare the jalapeños (wear food-safe gloves if you have them or just try to avoid skin contact with the cut jalapeños): Cut off the tops of the jalapeños and discard the stem ends. Halve the peppers lengthwise, then remove the seeds and membranes (reserve the seeds to add later if your relish isn’t spicy enough). Set aside.
- Place the garlic in your food processor, and process until the garlic is chopped into small pieces, scraping down the sides as necessary. This should just take about 10 seconds.
- Place the jalapeños in the food processor. Process until the jalapeños are chopped into a teeny tiny pieces, but stop before they are a wet purée. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and salt. Taste, and if it’s not spicy enough for your liking, stir in some of the reserved jalapeño seeds.
- Transfer the mixture to a pint-sized mason jar and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve as desired. Store leftover relish in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 to 2 weeks (it tastes best fresh).
Notes
Recipe inspired by Serrano’s Mexican Restaurant in East Glacier, Montana.
Can I can it? This recipe has not been validated for canning safety, so please do not can these jalapeños. They will keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks.
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.
Could you can this recipe and dish out in a few months?
Hey Kevin, that’s a good question. Unfortunately I’m not a canning expert, and this recipe has not been validated for safety, so please don’t can this recipe.
Kate, thank you for all the incredible recipes! This relish is amazing! It’s great with eggs, beans, cheese, salads, or even spread on toast. I make it whenever my Misfits Market box includes jalapeños, and I’m tempted to go buy more in between deliveries.
This relish is fantastic and lasts much longer than 2 weeks!! Outstanding combo of flavors!!
omg, I am obsessed w/ground jalapenos… There’s a local Mexican restaurant near my office and literally the only reason I go there is to get their Mexican pizza which has dollops of ground jalapenos on it. It’s also vegetarian with beans and cheese on it, but the JALAPENO’s make it! Theirs are not pickled, and this sounds so much better. It’s the beginning of jalapeno season around here too, so I can see myself picking up quite a few jalapenos from the farmers market in the coming weeks and making a few jars of this stuff! YUM!
Thank you for sharing! I appreciate it.
I love spicy and anything in the salsa realm so this looks amazing and I am soooo “in” Ü
Just picked up ½ pound of jalapenos yesterday to make a new escabeche recipe I found. I think I’m going to wait on that one and try your recipe instead. YUM!
Let me know what you think!
this looks and sounds soo good. Making some for sure! thanks for the recipe!!
You’re welcome!
I canned it lol
This looks GREAT. I always keep a good chili pepper relish around for quick toppings or swirling into dishes for a bit of zing. This one is a keeper for sure.
Thank you!
Instead of the vinegar, would lime juice work?
You do really need the vinegar for this recipe, but feel free to try it.
Ok you are my jalapeno HERO! I always buy that big bag of them from Trader Joe’s and never know what to do with the rest of them!
Ha, well thank you! Let me know what you think, Abby.
Need to keep a jar of this in my kitchen!
:)
So many things you can use this on!! :)
Right! Very versatile.
I made this the other day, and am now putting it on everything!
Next time, I would add the vinegar a little sooner and pulse in processor instead of stirring it in afterwards.
Thanks for sharing, Lynn!
We’re having a banner jalapeño season, so I just went out to the garden, picked a batch, and made your recipe. Yum! It was all I could not to eat it all before sharing with my husband ;) Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Fresh from the garden! Love that. Thanks for sharing, Tammy.
Can’t wait to make this relish! Seems super easy. I dislike canning and have been looking for a recipe so I can use up my extra jalapeños!
Let me know what you think, Denise!
Made the jalapeño relish yesterday. It really is, not only easy and simple to prepare, but delicious! I do not like the canning process and never know what to do with extra jalapeños, so thank you! My husband, a huge fan of jalapeños, really enjoyed it. We used the relish on top of corn cakes. It gave them subtle heat! I also added an extra garlic clove.
I imagine it will be even better today after marinating for 24 hours!
This stuff is the bomb! Spoon, jar, mouth! That good! I leave 1or 2 jalapenos with all the good stuff to give it a kick.
The bomb?! Love that! Thanks for your review.
This food is life! Wow
Ha, thank you Ryan!
Every time I look for a tasty recipe, I end up choosing yours!
You rock!
Music to my ears! Thanks for sharing your feedback, Dan.
Very delish! Made it twice with my own crop of jalapenos. Great on veggie burgers and burritos! Thanks for the tip to skip the pickling. Xo
You’re welcome! Thank you for your review.
Love this recipe!!! I also made a batch with one fresh habanero added – fantastic if the original doesn’t have enough zip. Just made my fourth batch this season…
Thanks for sharing, Dave!
I made this. I used the whole pepper. Wow it’s hot. But so good. Can I freeze this?
I’m glad you enjoyed the heat! I’m not sure about freezing it, sorry!
I was reading up on how to freeze it. You can and it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months! Will be doubling the batch I make and freeze most for the cooler months!
Love this recipe! I grow my own jalapenos every year and usually have a ton of them. I make the sliced pickled jalepenos, canned, and pico de gallo as a fresh item that will stay good in the fridge for a couple of weeks. So I am always looking for good recipes for jalapenos. This is perfect! And I agree it’s more like a relish and best on hot dogs and mexican wraps. Wonderful addition to my annual jalapeno produce recipes!
I made something similar but with white vinegar/water instead of apple cider vinegar. I canned it and let it sit for about a week outside of my fridge, then opened it and stored it in the fridge when I wasn’t using it. It will can just fine, although not sure about the timeline after it’s been opened.
Try this with sweet mint, and touch of honey… yum.
That sounds interesting, Harold! Thanks for sharing.
Vinegar and peppers,- sure it can be home canned and I’m gonna do some this afternoon using Habaneros and Jalapenos. Your idea sounds superb. Later, when my pepper harvest increases, I’ll make habanero jelly. I made 4 pints 5 years ago and just finished it. That stuff was hot but very delicious. Oh and I left the seeds and pulp in instead of removing it as the recipe said to do lol.
I love this stuff and have made it for years. My kids always call it the “green stuff”. The only difference is that I use a grinder on my stand mixer and I include onions in the mix.
i use one onion 8 peppers 8-9 big cloves garlic 1/2c vinegar n salt in good amount
ive made 3 times in as many weeks
cant stop eating it
eggs burgers potato salad bean
everything tastes better with it
That looks good and spicy!
You had me at “pickled”… I love pickled anything! Once I went plant based, pickled and that sour fermented tang became my new go to flavor to fill the void from sharp cheeses etc. And I adore pickled jalapenos!! So excited to try this. I make hummus “quesadillas” a lot and this sounds like it would go great on them. Thanks!
Hi there! I follow a strict low fodmap diet and was wondering if the garlic can be omitted. Or if in its place I could add chives or garlic infused oil. Thanks so much!
Hi Holly, you can omit it if you like. Let me know what you think!
Strict low FODMAP here, too. Just made it using garlic-infused olive oil. I used slightly less ACV and maybe 1-2 tsp of the olive oil. It’s delicious!!!
Awesome! Sounds like a plan, thanks so much for sharing!!
Hi there, just made a batch and its spicy… I toned it down just a touch with a good sprinkle of lighthouse brand dehydrated salad blend herb mix and a tablespoon of honey… its awesome!!!!
This recipe has become a staple for me. I use a dollop of the relish on salads, corn, guacamole, and grilled fish and meats (I’m not vegetarian)…anything that needs a zing. Thank you for sharing this one. I have come close to overchopping it in my little food processor, I need to learn to go easy on this step!
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Lynne. I appreciate your review.
Contrary to popular belief, the seeds do not increase the heat level of the peppers. It is the membrane that increases heat. if you want to spice it up, keep some of the membrane to give it that extra little kick
I am just about to start making my third batch. I have been cutting the recipe in half each time and not adding any of the seeds to keep the heat down.
So far we have used it on enchiladas, omelets, and BLTs. Holy cow -try this on your BLT and you will be very happy!
I have made several of your recipes and they are always a winner!
I’ve made this, with the addition of onions, in larger quantities and canned it for the past 30 years. I make a brine with a 2 cup to 1 cup ratio, vinegar to water, and a third cup pickling salt (the same as I use for canning pickled whole or sliced jalapenos). It’s a strong brine, but ensures the preservation and prevents spoilage. Water bath process quarts for 17 minutes. It’s so convenient to have on hand to spice up whatever we’re eating or preparing.
I like a little heat. I tried this for the first time to accompany the caldo de res I make (as an addition). I never want to have jalapeños another way again! SOOO amazing! I didn’t have the highest expectations for this, but it was SO good. I’m particular. Just try it!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing, Kate.
Can you use something else instead of jalapeno
Hi, I’m not sure what you are looking for here. Can you provide more insight? Are you wanting to do a different type of pepper?
Hello my dear! I made this recipe and I have to tell you it is absolutely outstanding! What everyone says about it being addicting is absolutely true. I am eating it on literally everything. It is the perfect balance of hot and sour. I will be making this recipe all Winter long as well!
Hooray! I’m glad you loved it.
I know you say dont can, but honey I can everything. Everything. The secret is the seal. If you dont have jars lid and ring all hot at same time, it wont seal. Im 70 my grandma wasv86 when she died 20 yrs ago and I’ve been canning w her since I was 6 yrs old. Now take a corn pipe fill it w your likings and prove me different. Have fun canning..RedRiver Country Girl signing out. Peace out.
Kate, the Spanish word is “puré! ;)
Loving your recipes.
This is a wonderful and easy way to get some kick to any dish. Its easy to make, no cook, and the heat can easily be adjusted. I made it as presented my first time, and it was really good. I finished the whole jar in a week. It just kept getting better every day. Mu second batch I added 1/2 a white sweet onion, and 2 bit T of cilantro. Wow. So good. This relish is a keeper.
Thank you, Bill! I’m glad you enjoyed it.