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.
Just made a batch and put in the fridge. Now anxiously waiting to try them!
And we’re anxiously waiting to hear what you try them with, Judy!
While you wait for Judy’s accompaniment I’m happy to report that I found a ground beef recipe that they worked well with (no no no beef casserole): Cuban-ish Picadillo.
Hah! Silke, thanks for keeping my casserole aversion in mind! That sounds lovely. E and I have had these pickled peppers alongside Momofuku Fried Chicken and thought it a swell match. E also has topped nachos and chili with them, as well as his morning huevos. Anyone else care to share how they indulge?
Thank you for this recipe, my husband is crazy about them.
Martha, it’s sincere pleasure.
I happen to have an abundance of jalepeno peppers in my freezer from last summer’s crop. Is it possible to do this after thawing them?
marybeth, we didn’t try it with thawed frozen jalapeños, so we can’t assure you with certainty that it’ll work. but i do think it’s worth a try. the texture of the thawed jalapeños is my only concern, but the peppers lose their crunch anyways a few days after being thinly sliced and pickled, so i can’t imagine there being an appreciable difference. let us know how it goes…i think you’re going to really fall for these pickles.
Thanks, Renee. I’m going to give it a go! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
You’re quite welcome, Marybeth. Standing by, waiting to hear what you think…!