What’s a girl to do when she plants way more jalapeños in her garden than she can possibly eat? Make pickled jalapeños obviously! These are absolutely perfect on nachos, burgers, hotdogs and chili. It’s a great beginners canning recipe. It only takes a few minutes of prep work and your ready to go.
I love this pickled jalapeños recipe because it is super versatile. You can use just about any chili pepper you have lying around. My garden changes every year. Sometimes I have Jalapeños and sometimes Anaheim chilies. So just use your favorites.
The hardest part about this recipe is waiting to eat them. You can eat them within a few days, but they are way better after a they have sat a few weeks.
A Word About Pickle Crisp
If you have never used Pickle Crisp fear not! Pickle Crisp is basically just Calcium Chloride. It’s a type of salt that looks like white granules. It keeps things like pickles from getting soft and soggy in the jar. The Pickle Crisp is not required. Just know that if you choose not to use it, your peppers will be soft and not crisp. Also, be aware that adding too much Pickle Crisp or extra salt will cause your recipe to taste like the sea. Use wisely.
Water Bath Canning
You do not have to water bath can these pickled jalapeños if you are planning on eating them within a few days. I like to can them so that I have them all year long. They will last up to a year which is perfect since chilies are ripe about the same time every year.
If you have minimal or no prior experience with water bath canning please make sure to read my post on it. You can find step by step instructions here:
Water Bath Canning Basics w/ Free Printable Guide
You can find additional canning information on the National Center for Home Food Preservation Website
Feel free to let me know how the recipes go.
Easy Water Bath Pickled Jalapeños (4 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 1½ Lbs Jalapeño Peppers spicy anaheims work well too, if they are on the smaller side
- 3¼ Cups White Vinegar Must be 5% acidity
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 Tbs Kosher salt sea salt will also work
- 1 Tbs Sugar I use organic cane sugar
- Ball Pickle Crisp (See Notes Below on use)
Instructions
- Wash your peppers. Then use a mandolin and slice into 3/16” inch rings. I don’t bother to cut the stems off. I use them as the handle which I hold when slicing. Make sure to use the proper protection when slicing. If you don’t have a mandoline, you can use a knife but it will take longer And you won’t have even consistency.
- Prepare your canning jars. If using brand new canning jars they will be pre-sterilized. Make sure to clean them first with soapy water.
- Fill a large pot with water and fit a canning rack (I use a circular cookie rack) in the bottom. Put 1 Tbs of vinegar in the pot with water if you are not using distilled water.
- Put canning jars inside and heat to a boil. Leave at a simmer for 10 minutes to sterilize if re-using jars. If jars are new simply heat for 1 minute.
- Put canning lids in a separate small pot and heat on medium heat.
- Mix the vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a pot. Simmer for 5 minutes on the stove.
- Remove the jars from the water using canning tongs. Add ⅛ tsp Pickle Crisp to each jar.
- Pack jars tightly with peppers. Leave 1/2” headspace and check. By using a headspace tool. Then add hot brine. Leave 1/2” headspace. Use a chopstick or bubble tool to remove bubbles in each jar by putting the tool in each jar and touching it to the bottom. Add more brine if needed.
- Wipe down the rim of each jar and place your lid on. Screw on a canning band. Make sure it is only “finger tight”. Do not overtighten.
- Process the jars in boiling water for 10 minutes. Make sure that the water covers the jars by 2 inches. Make sure to cover the pot with a lid. Water must be boiling the entire time.
- After 10 minutes turn off the heat. Allow to rest for 5 minutes then remove from stove.
- Lift jars out and allow to cool completely before removing the bands. Do not store jars with bands on.
- Check seals of the jars to ensure they are completely sealed. The center of the lid should be flat and you should not be able to make it “pop”. If any do not seal properly, place them straight into the fridge.
- Place these in a cool place and allow them to cure. They will taste good in a few da are best after 4-6 weeks. They last 6-12 months.
Notes
