What we’d give to have a peck of these pickled jalapeno peppers on hand at all times. They’re beguilingly complex in terms of taste yet take just 20 minutes of easy effort to create.
As a happy result, we’ve been rather promiscuously strewing them over everything. Tacos. Grilled chicken. Home fries. Machaca. Eggs. We just can’t help ourselves.–Debbie Lee
Pickled Jalapeno Peppers FAQs
Some folks are more sensitive to peppers than others, but we suggest using food-safe gloves and a mandoline – and perhaps glasses or eye protection. The mandoline will give you the evenest slices and less hands-directly-on-peppers time.
If you opt not to wear gloves, be very certain to wash your hands thoroughly after handling the peppers, because anything that you scratch, itch, or touch while there are traces of pepper juice on your hands and fingers can make life pretty uncomfortable.
If you happen to inadvertently get jalapeno juice in your eyes, do a cold water rinse until the heat subsides. We’ve also heard of folks soaking cotton balls in milk and placing that on their eye – the capsaicin in the pepper will break down in the milk fat.
If you love spice, use all of the pepper’s membranes and seeds. If you like the flavor of jalapeno, but would prefer to have less heat, follow the instruction in Step 1, cutting the peppers in half and scraping out the seeds.
Stored in the refrigerator, these pickled peppers will last for 4 to 6 weeks.
Pickled Jalapeno Peppers
Equipment
- 1-quart glass jar or several smaller jars
Ingredients
- 8 jalapeños
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
- 3/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar, (unseasoned will work in a pinch)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, (from 1 lime)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, (from about 1/2 lemon)
- 1/4 cup lemon-lime soda, such as Sprite
Instructions
- Slice the jalapeños crosswise into thin rings about an 1/8-inch thick using a sharp knife or a handheld slicer. If you prefer a less-than-incredibly-spicy pickle, scrape out and discard the seeds. Place the jalapeño rings in a jar.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the soy sauce, garlic, rice vinegar, and sugar to a gentle boil and let it bubble for a few minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the citrus juices and soda and let cool until no longer piping hot, about 5 minutes.
- Pour the warm soy mixture over the jalapeños. Tightly seal the jar with the lid. Immediately refrigerate the pickled jalapeño peppers for at least 1 day and up to 2 weeks before strewing or scattering them onto anything and everything.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Oh, these pickled jalapeno peppers are addictive! Tangy, salty, little nuggets with a little heat, but not too much to keep you from eating more and more. I really enjoyed the flavor of the soy sauce and the mellower rice vinegar instead of regular white vinegar.
They’re delicious on their own, but I found they’re also great with fried potatoes, eggs, vegetable spring rolls, and skillet enchiladas. Will need to make another batch and try them with other foods. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of places these little morsels will fit right into.
It seemed odd to buy a soda just to use such a small portion of it only and to toss the rest. Can’t imagine what else I’d use it in before it went flat, and I don’t drink the stuff. There is already lemon, lime, and lots of sugar in the recipe, so surely these ingredients could just be adjusted to cover what the soda adds, right?
These pickled jalapeno peppers is a versatile topper for any kind of food. We now use these with vegetarian stir-fries, bacon cheeseburgers, grilled chicken, and grilled cheese sandwiches. The soy and vinegar and sugar give the pickles a perfect tang.
I might try the recipe another time with finger hot peppers. Yum yum.
The pickled jalapeno peppers recipe is easy to follow and comes together quickly. At first, I was skeptical about the addition of the Sprite soda, but I think it added a nice sweetness to the mix with a different flavor than the sugar. I’m not sure how or if the carbonation affected the whole thing, but I’m curious about that.
As a word of warning, if made with all the seeds in the peppers, the result is not just spicy, but incredibly spicy. I consider myself able to handle a lot of spice, but these were nearly at my limit, and way beyond the limit of others who tried them.
I was so ready to love these, but the spice level, as I mentioned earlier, is almost a bit too much for me to use them on everything I wanted. I would definitely remove some of the seeds from the jalapeños next time, and then this could become a regular condiment in my house.
I could see putting these on nearly everything! I really enjoyed the pickling liquid. I think anyone with a beginner’s interest in pickling would find this to be interesting and fun to try.
What a snappy addition to pepper and egg sandwiches, salads, eggs, you name it! We used these tasty peppers alongside grilled chicken sausage and in a mixture for beef lettuce wraps.
Over the weekend, we had a variety of takeout items and these were wonderful on a pulled pork sandwich. They even ended up on fish tacos. T
his is the ultimate combination of hot, salty, sweet, sour, and citrus. I think that the lemon-lime soda adds a little spark to these peppers and I will try using this same pickling liquid on other vegetables.
These are phenomenal – we’ve been adding them to everything from burrito bowls to tacos to stir-fry! On their own, they are a bit hot for me, but they add SO much flavour when used as a condiment. They were super fast and easy – I will certainly ensure I always have a jar of these in the fridge.
I’m so pleased to hear this, Daniela! Thanks so much for letting us know.
How long do these last in the fridge?
Atom, since these aren’t hot water processed but instead just slid in the fridge, 2 to 3 weeks would be our safe recommendation. Although good luck getting them to last that long…
Can you water bath these?
Molly, yes, absolutely. You can use standard water bath timing for pickles made from cucumbers for these jalapeño pickles. The vinegar, citrus, salt, and sugar in this recipe is sufficient for water bath canning.
Thanks, Melissa!
Thanks so much for your canning expertise, Melissa. One of our super-testers!
Leaving to shop in a few minutes, and put Jalapenos on my list. I will rush home to make these! Exactly as written, sans seeds. Then…on another batch, I am going to use my wonderful Chinkiang Vinegar! How do ya like me now?
We love ya, Andi! We love ya!