These Quick Fridge Pickled Jalapeño Peppers are fast and delicious! Skip the store and make your own pickled peppers at home with this easy peasy recipe.
Now that Summer is winding down to a close, I’m partaking in my annual fridge pickle-a-thon.
I should totally just bite the bullet and learn a bit about canning, but this refrigerator method is just so gosh darn easy that I can’t help but go this route. Besides, if I actually did take the time to can a shelf stable batch of peppers I’d probably have it opened and in my fridge within a week anyways! We go through a LOT of jalapeños around here – I love them so!
If that’s not cause for nachos I don’t know what is!
*throws tortilla chip-shaped confetti in the air*
Of course if you’re looking to branch out of the typical jalap-topped plate of nachos, here are some of my favorite recipes featuring jalapeños:
- Baked Jalapeño Popper Phyllo Cups
- Jalapeño Popper Football Cheese Ball
- Cheesy Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Zucchini
- Jalapeno Quiche Cups
You could also whip up a plate of Loaded Mexican Sweet Potato Cheese Fries, a big leafy green Buffalo Chicken Taco Salad, or a plate of Bell Pepper Tacos with these feisty peppers as a topping.
The sky’s the limit!
Well in this case, the bottom of an empty jar is the limit…
Good thing I made two!
Quick Fridge Pickled Jalapeño Peppers
Ready to fridge pickle some jalapeños? Let’s do this!
Quick Fridge Pickled Jalapeño Peppers
Prep
Cook
Total
Skip the store and make your own pickled peppers at home. These easy peasy Fridge Pickled Jalapeño Peppers are quick and delicious!
Ingredients
- 24 oz mason jar
- 2-3 cups sliced jalapeños (see below)
- 3/4 cup white vinegar*
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 TBSP sea salt
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled + minced
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- optional 1-2 TBSP sugar (if less spicy peppers are desired)
* I love using white wine vinegar or rice vinegar for mine!
Instructions
- Wash and dry a 24-32 oz capacity mason jar.
- Slice your peppers into discs, discarding the stem.
- Bring water and vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Add peppers, sea salt, garlic, oregano, and sugar.
- Skip the sugar if you want supremely spicy jalapeños.
- Reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer for about a minute before removing from heat.
- Allow to cool (approx. 10 minutes or so) then pour into your mason jar.
- Slap on the lid and pop in the fridge. That's it!
Notes
My garden jalapeños were on the smaller size this year, so well over 20 made their way into this jar-o-yum.
If your peppers are larger (as most usually are) you'll use less, so instead of focusing on an actual number, I'd aim for almost 3 cups of sliced peppers. Adjust the vinegar mixture as needed depending on how many you'd like to pickle.
For paleo pickled peppers, skip the sweetener or cut the heat with honey in place of sugar.
No swaps and dietary subs are really needed here. Pickled jalapeños are naturally vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and are even paleo if you omit the sugar (though get ready for some SPICY!!! jalapeños if you do. The sugar decreases the spice factor and dulls the heat of the peppers a bit)
:: pin it for later ::
Fingers crossed I get a third jar out of my garden this year.
Though for that to happen I’d be wishing for more sweltering Florida heat and well…. PASS!
Seriously. Is it Fall yet?!
Shaina
Maybe a silly question but I do keep the water/vinegar when I pour it into the jars right?
Jenn
Not a silly question at all, Shaina! Yes you’ll want the liquid in there too 🙂
Sandy Sheffield
I don’t use water or vinegar, I use soy sauce. It’s the best especially on baked potatoes and salads.
Jenn
Interesting!!! That sounds like a fun condiment Sandy 🙂
Tracey
I have Mexi-peppers can I use them along with my jalapeños?
Jenn
Yes absolutely Tracey! They’ll do great 🙂
Paul and Jaci
Good morning from the midwest….. chance of a hard frost later this week. Harvested the last of our crops and made this recipe; Easy…tasty….wonderful recipe. I added some mexican oregano to our batch. Can’t wait for TaCo TueSDaY….ummmm don’t think we can wait that long! Thank you for the recipe🙂🌶🌶🌶🌶
Codi
How long would these last in the fridge?
Jenn
Hey Codi 🙂 We usually devour ours within a month or so but I’ve read somewhere they last a few months when you fridge pickle!
Caroline
Would you have considered boiling the water and vinegar with the garlic and spices, while slicing the jalepenos and putting them uncooked into the jar … then pouring the brine over them … I’d like them to keep their bright greenness. I don’t know if they would keep any of their crunch. Or do you need to flash boil them to get any bacteria out of them?
Jenn
Hey Caroline! Their bright green hue is eventually fleeing either way (it’s as the cell wall breaks down I believe the color dulls) but I think it can be prolonged the most by skipping the boiling water together entirely and just combining all the ingredients as is and putting it in the fridge. I have a reader who does this every Summer and says the peppers stay crunchy much longer this way. You’re free to try that technique! He mentioned he doesn’t dig in until a few weeks later because of that but if you like extra crisp peppers you could totally dive in sooner I’d imagine 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Leah
I’m so excited to try this recipe!
I’ve already got three bags of diced jalapenos in the freezer for use over the winter. (We like to fry up chopped onions and jalapenos with ground beef, some Worcestershire, and some steak seasoning just to change up our “taco meat” every once in a while. We love putting it on nachos!!) But I still have so many jalapenos in the garden. So excited to try your pickling recipe! Going out to pick today!
I’ve tried a refrigerator dill pickle recipe before and have some canning salt from that. Can I use canning salt, or does it need to be sea salt?
Jenn
Hey Leah! So super stoked for you to try it and I’m ridiculously jealous you still have jalapeños! Mine are on their last leg but I do have some bell peppers and basil at least 🙂 I’ve never used canning salt before but I’d imagine you could use that as well! Is it more salty than regular salt or sea salt? I’m sure you’re pretty experienced having used it before so I’d say just add to taste! xoxo
Carolyn
I used a mandoline to slice my peppers & it worked fantastic! Since all you are really touching is the skin, your fingers only come in contact with minimal hot pepper oils.
Jenn
Carolyn that is brilliant! I actually have one too and never though to use it – thanks for the tip! 🙂
pat
mine were sooo hot, and I did add sugar…I seemed to have a bizillion seeds though, I wonder if I should have rinsed some out?
Jenn
Hey Pat! I haven’t tried sweetening mine after the fact but I’m willing to guess it’s possible if you’d like to increase the sweetness to counteract the heat. I might be a bit biased though because I looooove them spicy! When the peppers are super spicy to start (I’ve heard the less water they get while on the plant, the spicier they are!) you’re going to for sure have some spicy peppers. Some seasons ours are a bearable face-fanning spicy while other seasons we basically fear that they will melt our faces off. It’s the luck of the draw with jalapeños!
Raschell | MissHomemade.com
Love this. Thanks so much for sharing!
Christy
Hi! Can I freeze these?
Jenn
Hi Christy! I’ve frozen chopped and sliced fresh jalapeños before (great for soups and chilis!) but I’ve never tried freezing pickled jalapeños before. I hit up Google and people actually freeze pickles and defrost 8-12 hours before serving. It says they can be frozen for a few months and once thawed, to use them within two weeks. Let me know if you try it with jalapeños!
Billy
These look amazing! What sort of affect does pickling have on the flavor of the jalapenos? Does it change the flavor or affect the heat at all? Thank you for sharing your recipe! Your pictures are beautiful!
Jenn
Hi Billy, thank you! The pickling has them taste a bit brinier (which I love topped on cheesy nachos and as a condiment for so many different dishes) and the addition of a wee bit of sugar in this recipe takes the edge off the heat. To make them less spicy, simply add a bit more sugar. Want them wicked spicy? Skip the sweetener entirely! Hope this helps – happy pickling! 😉
Leslie
Hi Jenn, Does the sugar add sweetness or just tone down the heat? I made some yesterday and skipped the sugar because my husband doesn’t like pickled anything too sweet. They ended up a bit too hot.
Jenn
Hey Leslie! If you add a lot of sugar (way way more than the recipe calls for, for instance) it can lend quite bit of sweetness and nix all heat entirely. Adding around 1-3 TBSP of sugar really just acts as heat control, dulling the fiery nature of the peppers. I’ll typically add a tablespoon or two and it makes the peppers more bearable without making them at all sweet, if that helps!
Julie
Can I use this recipe with banana peppers?
Jenn
Yes absolutely! I’ve done this with a garden full of banana peppers too and it works great 🙂
Dennis M Wage
So I make pretty much this same recipe. However I don’t cook anything. Everything goes in the jar and in the fridge it goes. It takes a few weeks or maybe even a month before they are ready. And they are magnificent. I am on my last jar right now and good thing my plants are just beginning to yield.
What is the reason you cook them?
Jenn
Hi Dennis! I’ve made them both ways and there is truly no wrong way to pickle a jalapeño 🙂 A wee bit of heat means you can dig in as soon as possible, which is great for excited chefs who want to start using their jalapeños the next day! The brief heating breaks down the cell wall of the jalapeño and blanches it, allowing all that delicious flavor to be soaked up right away without resulting in a soggy pepper. It works great for us! Last year I went through each jar before a month’s time had even passed – we love jalapeños!
Dennis M Wage
The last jar I am eating right now was done 9 months ago. Still good. I love them too. I put a couple in nearly everything I eat. Try in mashed potatoes.
Here is another thing I do with my refrigerator jalapenos.
I empty a quart jar in the Vitamix with equal amount of homemade tomato sauce or roasted tomatoes. I then use this as a hot sauce. I also dehydrate the concoction. Put in a coffee grinder have a shaker full of the salty hot goodness for sprinkling on nearly everything.
Jenn
Ohmygosh in mashed potatoes?! Dennis I am totally trying that… maybe with some cheddar and a dollop of sour cream? So excited! The dehydrated shaker tip is amazing too – thanks for all the great ideas 🙂 Jalapeños for the win!
Ryan
I use them in my tuna sandwiches with mayo and onion! Check it out
Jenn
Ryan that combo sounds AMAZING! Totally trying it!
Holly N @ Spend With Pennies
I made these today and I have to say, they’re life changing! I love jalapenos, these took me about 5 minutes to prep and were absolutely perfect!! I don’t think I’ll ever buy store bought jalapenos again!
Jenn
So happy to hear it Holly – thank you!! Easy peasy jalapeños FTW! 🙂
Stephanie
Have you ever varied the vinegar? ACV? or stick with white distilled?
Jenn
I did rice vinegar once and didn’t hate it! I *think* I like white distilled best but you know what.. I’m tempted to do half white vinegar half ACV next time — I bet that would be good!
Connie
Are these jalapeños still on the crunchy side? If not, is there a way I could ensure that crunch without jeopardizing shelf life?
Jenn
I feel like they are! They’re on the firmer side yet still tender; though not quite as much crunch as a fresh pepper. You could always skip the heating entirely and pour the peppers and the pickling mixture into the jar and pop it in the fridge right then and there to get even more of an al dente feel to the peppers. They will have the same fridge life but must stay refrigerated unless canned the old fashioned way.
Kristi
Can these be processed in a canner? If not how long do they keep in the fridge?
Jenn
Hey Kristi! You can absolutely can this traditionally for a shelf stable jar of peppers! I’ve never braved canning before but really want to try it out 🙂 The fridge pickled peppers here last a few months in the fridge from what I’ve read and from personal experience. The acidity from the vinegar helps keep them fresh! <3
Jenni
That does it. I’m sold!
Lizzie
Thanks for the idea — The Honey will love these! Maybe he’ll slice ’em up for me!! OK it’s off to the Jalapeno store for me!
Stacy
Did you use a food processor to slice the peppers? I can’t imagine hand slicing that many without killing my eyes :). I have a plant full of peppers that I’ve been wondering what t do with and this is perfect! Can’t wait to make it this weekend
Jenn
I hand sliced them! I think I’m building up a tolerance oooooor I’m clearly just a glutton for punishment haha! 😉 Though hands-down onions are still the worst thing for me to cut ever – eek! #allthetears
Estelee
I also hand slice mine. I have no problem with them..
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