How To: Pickled Jalapenos Recipe

Pickled jalapenos are probably my favorite thing to can because they are quick, easy, and delicious. For the past 3 years we have been organically growing (this variety) of jalapeno’s in our garden.

This variety produces large amounts of peppers through the growing season. We get a few throughout the summer and then starting in late August they grow like crazy up until the first frost. Note: pick all of your peppers before the first frost comes. Our jalapenos do not have much heat when they are picked fresh from the garden. However, something magical happens when you pickle them, and they get KNOCKED UP with heat! We slice, freeze, and pickle them or add them to salsas raw.

Now, we are not HUGE spicy lovers. We were indifferent about jalapenos until we started making our own. These have a sweet and salty flavor and remain crispier than the kind you buy at the grocery store. Add them to pizza, nachos, salsas, soups, chili, burgers, chicken – you name it and you can probably add jalapenos to it. Cereal anyone?

Kidding!

We used this recipe as a starting point for ours.

The first time we followed the exact recipe we found that the jalapenos were too sweet and ended up throwing away a lot of the liquid. So, like most recipes, you adapt to what meets your taste.

As a general rule, we pull away from added sugar in our foods. We do add sugar to the pickling liquid but use a third of what the recipe calls for. Our thought is –

#1 We aren’t drinking the liquid
#2 We aren’t eating THAT many jalapenos

Another thing that we change is the number of jalapenos that this recipe calls for. 10 large jalapenos were not nearly enough for the amount of liquid the recipe calls for.

We make pickled jalapenos in a large batch and can them. You can follow the recipe below and store them in a glass container in the fridge.

Without further anticipation… here is our pickled jalapeno recipe.

Pickled Jalapenos Canning Recipe

Makes about 2 1-pint jars of pickled jalapenos.

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon pink Himalayan sea salt
½ teaspoon organic oregano
2 cups sliced (rings) jalapenos *for every 2 cups of sliced jalapenos, adjust your liquid ratio. We use approximately 1-1/2 cups of liquid for 2 cups of sliced jalapenos
4 cloves of garlic

Combine water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and oregano to large pot (size depends on how many you are making) and bring to boil. Stir in jalapeno peppers, cover with lid and remove from heat.
Let mixture sit for 10 minutes
Add 2 crushed garlic cloves to each glass jar. Add hot jalapenos and liquid to jar.
Store in fridge once they are cooled

Recipe adapted from: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/221961/quick-pickled-jalapeno-rings/

Canning Pickled Jalapeno Peppers:

We have a secret… okay, it isn’t that big of a secret. We sterilize canning jars and lids in the oven and have never actually canned anything in a “water bath.” Anytime we are canning, we make sure that the jars are sterilized in the oven. We take the hot jars out of the oven and immediately fill them with the hot item we are canning. We have followed this for about 5 years and have never had an issue with our jars not sealing nor food going bad.

The recipe is the same as above but follow these steps:

Sterilize canning jars and lids in a 225 F oven for 25 minutes. We add them to a pan so they are easily moved in/out of the oven.
While the jars are being sterilized in the oven, slice your pickled jalapenos and prepare garlic.
About 15 minutes from when the jars are set to be done: Measure and combine water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and oregano to large pot (size depends on how many you are making) and bring to boil.
Stir in jalapeno peppers and remove from heat. Let mixture sit for 10 minutes
Add 2 crushed garlic cloves to each hot canning jar. Add hot jalapenos and liquid to jar. Leave about 1.5 inches of room between liquid mixture and the top of the jar. Complete this step rather quick to ensure that the jars and mixture remain hot.
Add lids to the canning jars and loosely tighten.
Cover with a towel. This will allow the peppers to cool slowly.
Once cooled, tighten lids.

and that is it!