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Making homemade pickled jalapeños is easier than you think. With a few simple ingredients and a couple of mason jars, you can easily make this recipe any time!

I love hot and spicy anything. If you have known me for any length of time, then you know that Nashville Hot Chicken is my favorite chicken dish, and my favorite coffee is a Spicy Cowgirl coffee from Pioneer Woman.

I eat hot sauce on everything, including my spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. Whenever I have tacos, I top them with fresh pickled jalapeños that I make in the comfort of my own home!

These pickled jalapeños are one of the easiest recipes I have ever made. After learning how simple it is to make these, I don't think I will be buying them from the grocery store again. The flavor is packed full of tangy vinegar and is far superior to any I have ever had before.

How to Make Quick Pickled Jalapeños

The spice level for these pickled jalapeños depends on the peppers themselves. You might end up with a super spicy batch, and then, you might also have a mild batch. Either way, they are so delicious.

For this recipe you will need —

• 1 pound fresh jalapeños stems removed and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar (you can also use apple cider vinegar)
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

To start, wash and thinly slice 1 pound of jalapeño peppers, discarding the stems.

Please make sure to wear plastic gloves when handling this many sliced jalapeños. Touching your face or eyes after touching hot chiles is VERY painful, and needs to be avoided. This is where gloves can help.

In a pan, combine vinegar, water, sugar, kosher salt, and a couple of peeled garlic cloves in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Once the mixture begins to boil, remove it from the heat. Add your sliced jalapeños, pressing occasionally to submerge them in the liquid. Let them steep for 10 to 15 minutes in the hot brine, mixing once or twice to ensure all the jalepeño slices are submerged.

After about 20 minutes, the jalapeños will change color from bright green to a more muted green.

Some of the slices will still have some green color, which is ok. As they sit in the jar with the pickling liquid, they will continue to pickle.

Use a large slotted spoon to transfer your jalapeno peppers into your mason jars. Pack them in, but make sure to leave a 1/4″ headspace at the top. Now it's time to add the vinegar-based brine into the jars.

Using a strainer, take the pickling brine and strain it from the saucepan through a small fine-mesh strainer into each of the jars to cover all the jalapeno slices with the brine. I do this to remove a few of the seeds.

Allow the jars to cool to room temperature, then cover with lids and refrigerate. This is a great way to use up all those jalapenos coming in at the moment in your garden.

Before digging into these peppers, let them sit for a few days in the fridge for the best results. These pickled jalapeños will store in the fridge for months!

If you love pickling veggies, next time make these delicious Ranch-flavored quick pickles.

Optional Add-Ins For Jalapenos Recipes

Whenever you make pickled jalapenos, you can bump up the flavor by adding additional add in spices. Some of my favorites are mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, chili peppers, white wine vinegar, and black peppercorns — the possibilities are endless.

Use Your Pickled Peppers in these recipes —

• Grilled Brat Tacos with Horseradish Lime Slaw
• Tex Mex Migas
• Mongolian Ground Beef Noodles
• Restaurant Style Mexican Cheese Dip