Quick Pickled Jalapenos

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s quick and easy. The total time is about 20 minutes from start to finish!
• It’s fun to DIY kitchen staples for your family.
• It’s not a “canning” recipe so you won’t need any special equipment.

🍳 Kitchen Tools You’ll Use

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Since this is not an actual canning recipe, you can use any container you like to store your finished pickled jalapeños. I used a canning jar simply because I had one available. An old pickle jar or mayonnaise jar would work just as well. We’re not making a product that needs to be properly sealed for shelf storage so any old thing will be fine.

👉 What is a “non-reactive pan?”

For cooking the brine, you do need a non-reactive pan. What’s that you ask? Well, some metals react with acidic ingredients (like lemon, vinegar, or tomatoes) and that can cause an off-taste or color. Pots and pans made of cast iron, copper, and aluminum are reactive whereas ceramic, glass, stainless steel, and enameled pans are non-reactive. 

🛒 Ingredient Notes

To make one standard pint jar of Quick Pickled Jalapeños, you’ll need:

• About 8 nice plump jalapeno peppers – I often grow my own jalapenos but they are readily available at any grocery store and are very inexpensive.
• White vinegar – Plain old distilled vinegar. Nothing fancy.
• Water
• Garlic – About three cloves, peeled.
• Sugar (or honey) – Either one works fine.
• Bay leaf, salt, oregano, and black peppercorns – The spices that give the jalapenos all that great pickled flavor.

You probably have most of that in your pantry right now!

🔪 How to Make Quick Pickled Jalapenos

Prep the Jalapenos

Now that we have the equipment and ingredients sorted out, let’s get started on this recipe!

👉 PRO TIP: Before you do anything else, just trust me and put on a pair of disposable kitchen gloves. Jalapeños contain oils that remain on your skin for several hours and can transfer to your mouth, nose, and eyes if touched. If you’re a contact lens wearer, you’ll thank me later for insisting on the gloves.

1. Start by thinly slicing the jalapeno peppers using a sharp knife or mandolin. Discard the jalapeno stems and set the slices aside. Peel the two cloves of garlic.

👉 PRO TIP: I always use the mandolin because it makes really quick work of this step and creates slices with uniform thickness. Use caution with a mandolin however because they’re really, really sharp, and will take the end off your finger before you even know it happened. Use a guard with your mandolin, if you have one, and pay attention to what you’re doing.

Make the Brine

2. Add all the ingredients, except the jalapeño slices, to a medium non-reactive saucepan.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Add the Jalapenos

3. Stir in the jalapeño slices and remove the pan from the heat.

Cool the Jalapenos Slightly

3. Allow the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes or until you see the peppers start to turn a pretty olive green color. You’ll recognize the color from the commercially produced pickled jalapeños you’ve seen. 
4. Remove and discard the bay leaf. You can remove the garlic if you like or leave it in. Removing the garlic will give the finished pickles a bit of a milder flavor. I always leave it in because I like garlic!

Transfer the Mixture to a Container

5. Once the peppers have changed color, use a slotted spoon to transfer the slices (and garlic if keeping) to a clean storage jar.

6. Strain the pickling liquid into the jar filling with enough liquid to cover the jalapeño slices. 

🍚 How to Store

7. Close the jar and store it in the refrigerator. You can use your pickles immediately if you like, but their full flavor won’t be developed for about a week. They’re best used within about two months but will likely keep much longer.

🌶️ How to Use

I use these Quick Pickled Jalapenos as a topping on tacos, nachos, burritos, quesadillas, or any other southwestern or Tex-Mex style recipes. They’re also really good just as an accompaniment to a sandwich or on top of a hamburger or hot dog. 

❓ Can I Make More Pickled Jalapenos?

Of course, you can! Just multiply the ingredients to make as many pints as you like.

📖 Recipe

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Quick Pickled Jalapenos

These quick pickled jalapenos take just a few minutes to make and their tart, spicy flavor will complement all your favorite southwestern style meals.

5 from 6 votes

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Course: Condiments and Extras

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 30kcal

Author: Lana Stuart

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 large jalapeno peppers
• ▢ 1 cup white vinegar
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic peeled and lightly crushed
• ▢ 3 tablespoons sugar
• ▢ 1 whole bay leaf
• ▢ 1 tablespoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Instructions

• Thinly slice the jalapeno peppers using a sharp knife or mandolin. Discard the stems. Set the slices aside.
• In a medium non-reactive pot, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil.
• Stir in the jalapeno slices and remove the pan from the heat. Allow to cool for approximately 5 minutes or until the peppers begin to take on an olive green color.
• Remove and discard the bay leaf.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the jalapeno slices to a clean storage jar.
• Strain the pickling liquid into the jar filling adequately to cover the jalapeno slices.
• Close the jar and store in the refrigerator.
• Allow about a week for full flavors to develop. Best used within two months.

Notes

Makes 1 standard pint jar of pickled jalapenos. Nutritional information is calculated based on a serving size of 1/4 cup.

• I always recommend wearing disposable gloves when working with hot peppers. The oils can remain on your skin for several hours and can transfer to your mouth, nose, and eyes if touched.
• Adjust the sweetener to your taste. The sweetener mutes the heat of the peppers, so the more you use the more muted the peppers will be. If you like a lot of heat, go with just 1 tablespoon.  I like the heat fairly muted so I use 3 tablespoons.
• The garlic may be removed before transferring the jalapenos to the jar for a milder flavor.
• You can use your pickled jalapenos immediately but full flavors won’t develop until about a week later. Lasts several months in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Information

Serving 0.25cup | Calories 30kcal | Carbohydrates 6g | Protein 1g | Fat 1g | Saturated Fat 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat 1g | Monounsaturated Fat 1g | Sodium 875mg | Potassium 49mg | Fiber 1g | Sugar 5g | Vitamin A 159IU | Vitamin C 17mg | Calcium 13mg | Iron 1mg

Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.

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