Easy Pickled Jalapeños Recipe

Want to preserve some of your summer jalapeño harvest? This quick and easy recipe for pickled jalapeños will walk you through everything, from when to pick your peppers to canning the jalapeños.

I’m definitely not a master gardener, but one thing I can grow? Jalapenos.

My only problem is what to do with the bounty after I’ve picked the peppers. Enter this recipe for easy pickled jalapenos.

We’re going to walk through canning the pickled jalapenos in this recipe, which means you get to enjoy summer’s produce all year long! It’s not a hard process–just make sure to read the post and have fun canning!

Love Pickles? Try this recipe for Canned Dill Pickles!

Recipe Ingredients for Pickled Jalapeños

• Jalapeños — These need to be fresh. You want firm peppers with smooth skin that isn’t shriveled.
• Distilled White Vinegar— Just any plain white vinegar from the store will do the job.
• Filtered Water— Good ol’ H2O. Not much to explain here!
• Pickling Salt— Pickling salt is necessary for shelf stable canning. Table or mineral salt doesn’t have the preserving properties that help prevent food-borne bacterial illnesses like botulism. Read more about pickling salt here.

When to Pick Jalapenos

If you’re growing your own jalapenos, it can be tricky to know when to pick them. Because they’re slow growing, it can feel like they should be picked sooner than they’re actually ready.

When picking your jalapenos, look for them to widen at the top and the skins to transition to a dark green. Some (but not all) varieties of jalapenos will start turning red when they’ve ripened, though even those kinds can be picked when still green.

Look for firm, smooth flesh on the jalapeno. If you start to see small splits in the skin (they usually are a dry, tan looking line) you know your pepper is ready to pick!

Tools for Canning Pickled Jalapeños

Because jalapenos can be pickled in a water bath, there’s no need for a pressure canner for this recipe. There’s a note at the end of this post on canning food safety if you’d like to learn more about when it’s safe to water bath your canned goods.

The list of things you do need is pretty short! You’ll need:

• Jars — Any size works well. If you don’t eat a lot of the jalapenos at a time, consider canning them in smaller jars so that a jar is less likely to spoil in the fridge before it’s finished. Be sure that the mouth of your jars is a standard size so that you can find new seals and rings for safe canning.
• Ring lids and unused canning seals, one for each jar of jalapenos. These come in two sizes- wide mouth and regular- so make sure you have the appropriate size for your jars. You’ll need new seals (also called lids sometimes) to make sure you get a good seal that will keep bacteria out of your pickled jalapenos.
• A large stock pot or canning pot — This needs to be deep enough that your jars can be completely covered in boiling water for the water bathing process.
• A small pot for preparing the brine
• A sharp knife and cutting board to slice the jalapenos.

Optional (but helpful!) Canning Tools

These are a few things that may make your canning easier, but aren’t strictly necessary if you aren’t planning to can regularly. I’ve listed an alternative that you probably have in your kitchen already also.

• A Canning Funnel This is to help you get the pickling brine in the jars as cleanly as possible. It’s essentially a regular funnel with a wide mouth. You can also use a regular funnel or ladle.
• A Jar Lifter will help you easily and quickly lift jars out of the hot water. However, you can also use a pair of sturdy tongs-just make sure you get the edge of the tongs under the lip of the jar for a good grip.

Preparing the Jars and Lids for Canning

Fill a large pot with enough hot water to fill and cover the jars by about an inch. Bring the water to a steady simmer.

Use a large pair of tongs to lower the jars into the simmering water. Simmer them for 10 minutes.

With the tongs, carefully lift the jars from the water and empty them into the sink. This leaves the correct amount of water in the pot for when you water bath the jars.

Note: If you have particularly hard water, add a few tablespoons of white vinegar to the water. This helps prevent mineral deposits from forming on the jars.

To prepare the lids and rings, wash them all with warm, soapy water. Rinse well and dry. You can also pop them in the boiling water for about a minute.

Preparing the Fresh Jalapeños for Canning

First, wash all of the jalapeños well. Then, with a pair of food-safe gloves on, slice them about 1/4″ thick.

Don’t skip the gloves, or some other form of hand protection. Jalapeños (especially the seeds) have a hot oil in them that will make your skin burn, and gloves will protect it. And make sure to remove the gloves before touching any part of your face, especially your eyes.

Packing the Jalapeños in the Jars

With the gloves on, place the slices jalapeños in the sterilized, cooled jars. Fill the jar, then shake it gently to help the jalapeños settle.

Fill in any space at the top with more slices, leaving at least 1/2″ of head space at the top of the jar. Gently press down on the slices to pack them in. Don’t push too hard, as it’ll cause the jalapeño slices to break up.

Preparing the Pickling Brine for the Jalapeños

In a small pot, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring it all to a boil and let it boil for about a minute. Stir to make sure all of the pickling salt has dissolved.

Allow the brine to cool completely after boiling it. If you pour it into the jars while hot, it will start cooking the jalapeños.

Note: This amount of brine will make about two pints (or four half pints) of pickled jalapeños, depending on how tightly you pack the jars.

Pouring the Brine in the Jars

Using a ladle or canning funnel, pour the cooled brine into the jars. Fill them until the brine fills the jar, but leave 1/2″ headspace at the top.

Press down gently on the jalapeños with a spoon to release any air bubbles that may be trapped in the brine.

Canning the Pickled Jalapeños

Now for the fun part–canning the jalapeños! This is the process of making the jalapeños shelf stable, and it’s also how they become pickled.

Begin by using a clean, damp cloth to wipe of the rims of the jars. Any salt (like the salt you can see on the jar in the photo above) on the rim of the jar could prevent a complete seal with the lid. This allows bacteria to get in and grow in the jars and causing the pickled jalapeños to spoil.

Next, place the clean, dry lids on the tops of the jars. Screw the rings on top, tightening with two fingers.

Bring the water in the pot back to a rolling boil. Using the jar lifter or tongs, carefully set the jars of jalapeños into the water, making sure that the water is completely covering the lids on all of the jars.

Allow the jars to boil for 10 minutes. When the time is up, remove the jars with your tongs to a rack or towel to cool.

Let the jars sit without moving them as they cool. As they cool, the air inside will contract, creating suction and pulling the lid down.

You will hear a little pop sound as each lid seals–this is a good thing!

Once all of the jars have cooled, gently press on the center of the lids with one finger. If there is any give, place that jar in the refrigerator. However, if the center is firm when touched, congratulations! The jar has sealed.

Remove the rings from the jars. Store the canned pickled jalapenos in a cool, dry place that doesn’t get hot or a lot of sun.

Notes on Food Safety and Canning

Food safety can be a concern with home canning, and for good reason! Food born illnesses can be serious, so here are some tips for insuring that your canned foods will be shelf stable and safe to eat.

• Only water bath high-acidity foods — for lower acidity foods, use a pressure canner. However, pickles are highly acidic, thanks to the vinegar, so you can safely can them with the water bathing method.
• Use pickling salt — pickling salt is specifically made to help ward off bad food bacteria.
• Clean and sterilize your tools and jars — Kill the bacteria before it can even get to your food!
• Leave enough space at the top of the jar –This allows for air to expand and contract during the canning process, allowing for the suction that creates the seal. But don’t leave too much space–about 1/2″ is a good amount.
• Remove rings from jars after they have sealed –having the rings on the lids can falsely maintain the appearance of a good seal. Also, don’t stack jars on top of each other.
• Throw away any jars in your cupboard if the seal has popped — if the seal between the jar and the lid has released, air (and bacteria) can get into the jars of food. If you press on the center of the lid and there is any give, the seal is bad and the food should be thrown away.

Canned food that has gone bad should be pretty obviously spoiled. Food that has a bacterial overgrowth will smell, and the cans will not hold their seal.

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