Make these pickled jalapeños once, and you'll be hooked. Sweet & spicy, they're great on tacos, burgers & more, or on their own straight from the jar!
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that I’m a huge fan of pickled onions. They’re tangy, they’re sweet, they’re salty – really, they’re just darn good. For the longest time, they’ve been my favorite way to add a bright pop of color and flavor to salads, tacos, sandwiches, and more. But lately, pickled onions have been playing second fiddle to a new quick-pickle favorite: pickled jalapeños!
These guys are the perfect blend of spicy, salty, and sweet. And if you’re not a fan of spicy foods, they’re still worth a try. The longer you leave them in the fridge, the sweeter and less spicy they become. All you need to make them is 6 ingredients and 10 minutes, so let’s get pickling!
How to Pickle Jalapeños
If you’ve ever made another type of quick pickle at home, making this pickled jalapeño recipe is no different. If you haven’t, don’t worry. The process is super easy. Here’s what you need to do:
- Slice your jalapeños and stuff two mason jars full of pepper slices. Then, add a smashed garlic clove to each mason jar.
- Next, make the brine by simmering vinegar, water, sugar, and salt over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Pour the brine over the jarred peppers, let them cool to room temperature, and store them in the fridge for up to two weeks!
That’s it! If you’re feeling fancy, you could add a pinch of cumin seeds, peppercorns, mustard seeds, or a bay leaf to your brine, but I like this quick pickled jalapeño recipe best just how it is.
How to Use Pickled Jalapeños
I made a huge batch of these pickled jalapeños last week, and let me tell you, I’ve been putting them on everything – quick sandwiches, toss-together grain bowls, salads, eggs, you name it. I urge you to try adding them to anything you’re making that could use a sweet, tangy pop of spice, but if you’re looking for specific recipes, here are some ideas:
- Tuck them into your morning breakfast burrito or breakfast tacos.
- Add them to a salad like this Healthy Taco Salad or this Watermelon Salad.
- Top them onto a veggie burger, black bean burger, or grilled portobello mushroom burger.
- Use them instead of regular jalapeño to make extra-tangy guac, pico, or mango salsa.
- Dot them onto sweet potato chili fries, vegetarian tacos, or serve with fajitas or taquitos.
- Use them to finish a spicy sandwich like these chickpea shawarma wraps or top them onto avocado toast.
- Or enjoy them straight from the jar! 🙂
Love these pickled jalapeños?
Try making pickled red onions, pineapple salsa, cilantro lime dressing, or tomatillo salsa to add another extra pop of flavor to your favorite dishes.
Pickled Jalapeños
Ingredients
- 10 jalapeños, thinly sliced
- 2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 cup white distilled vinegar
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
Instructions
- Divide the jalapeños into 2 (16-ounce) lidded jars and place a garlic clove in each jar.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, simmer the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Pour the brine over the jalapeños. Let cool to room temp, then cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Can you process this for longer shelf life
Thank you so much for a quick and easy recipe. I made jalapenos a few weeks ago and now I’m going to try carrots pickled.
Fantastic! Our favorite pickle to have on hand! They don’t last two weeks in the fridge because we eat them so quickly! We reboiled (only do this once!) the juice and added it to cucumbers and it gave them a great flavour. Thanks so much!!
I’m so glad you loved them!
These were so easy and delicious. Only problem is I didn’t grow enough jalapeños because these are no going to last long.
I’m so glad you loved them!
Is this recipe safe for water bath canning? The pickles look lovely, and I have family members who would LOVE them for Christmas!
Hi Susan, I’m not sure, I don’t really have experience with canning recipes so I’m not clear on what the necessary acidity level needs to be.
Can the pickled jalapeños stay in the refrigerator for longer that 2 weeks? Can I mix carrots with the jalapeño in the pickling jar? Thank you!
they can, and yes, carrots would be great. Eventually they will start to lose their flavor.
Do these stay crunchy , not soggy? I’d like to try them since the reviews are great but nothing about them being crisp. is mentioned.
They stay pretty crisp. The longer they sit, the softer they get. I’d also let the brine cool fully before pouring over to keep them at their crispy peak (otherwise the hot brine would start to cook them slightly). Hope that helps!
Can this recipe be used if I want to store them in my cold cellar?
I love the simplicity of your recipe.
I just bought a 1/2 bushel of jalapeños and want to make a lot of jars but need to be able to store them.
I don’t think I can eat that many in 2 weeks…lol
I’ll never buy pickled jalapeños again!! I am a heat seeker and love pickled jalapeños. I bought a bag of them from my local market and needed to preserve my haul. I found your recipe & gave it a try. These are by far the best I’ve ever had! I make my own hot sauce and was anxious to try making my own homemade pickled jalapeños too. So good! Thank you!
I would think if you sealed the jars, you could preserve them. I am hoping to.
Angie – if you like heat try pickling habaneros with this recipe. I have made many jars of habaneros and they turn out amazing.
I had a bag of frozen jalapeño’s in the freezer from our garden just waiting for a recipe like this. I just made it.
Thanks
I hope you enjoy them!
I just made these can not wait till I try them.
Can you leave the jalapeños whole and can you use red jalapeño peppers or other kinds of peppers?
In this house we have an issue with pickled peppers never being hot enough (crazy heat tolerance) can I make this without the sugar or is it necessary?
You can reduce it, if you’d like. I think it adds some flavor but these aren’t really sweet at all. You could also try using hotter peppers like serranos, and/or mix in some habanero.
I would like to preserve the pickled jalapeños so I can give them out at Christmas. My husband has three plants and they grow year around. So we always have them!!
S
I love your recipes. I used to cook mostly Indian food before I found your blog because I’m vegetarian. There are so few really good vegetarian food blogs!
Would I need a mason jar or could I just a glass container with a plastic lid? This will be my first pickling.
Hi Shannel, any jar will work! Just make sure the jalapeños are submerged in the pickling liquid.
Quick question-are these similar to bread and butter pickles? That’s what I’m going for. Please let me know if I should bump up the sugar. Thanks!
Nope, bread and butter pickles are made with cucumbers not jalapeños. I would search for a specific bread and butter pickled recipe. Hope that helps!
Pretty sure they meant is the sweetness similar to bread-and-butter. Bc I’m wondering the same thing. Like are they really sweet? Or does the sugar just cut the heat?
They’re not sweet, the sugar just slightly cuts the heat.
Thank you for this recipe. I make it in double batches and hand them out to friends. They are so addicting. I will note that I added monkfruit sweetener instead of sugar and they worked well with that.
Hi Mallory, I’m so glad these have been such a hit! Thanks for the note about the monkfruit sweetner!
I used monkfruit also:)
Why not classify this recipe vegan?
It’s vegan!
wow, such a great twist to jalapenos, now applicable pickled to even more stuff like your link to sweet potato chili fries, thank you
Will these taste sweet and spicy? I Cannes some earlier and they are very vinegar tasting.
They’re spicy and tangy – they’re not very sweet. You could always add more sugar if you want them sweeter.