by Elise Bauer

Pickled Jalapenos (Escabeche)

Name: Pickled Jalapenos (Escabeche)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Makes about 4 to 5 pint jars
Cuisine: Mexican, Mexican and Tex Mex
Ingredients: 1 lb jalapeño (and/or serrano if you wish) chile peppers; 1/3 cup olive oil; 2-3 medium white or yellow onions, thickly sliced; 2-3 medium carrots, peeled and thickly sliced; Florets from half a small cauliflower (optional); 1 head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled; 4 cups apple cider vinegar; 2 Tbsp Kosher salt or sea salt; 2 bay leaves; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 4 sprigs of fresh marjoram (can sub fresh oregano) or 1/4 teaspoon dried; 4 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried; 1 Tbsp sugar

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Canning Mexican and Tex Mex Jalapeno Pickle

Classic pickled jalapenos or jalapenos escabeche, made with fresh jalapeno chili peppers, white onions, garlic, carrots, cider vinegar and herbs.

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

Pickled Jalapeños

This year I decided to grow jalapeño and serrano chiles—those wonderfully hot and flavorful Mexican chiles that are used salsa, guacamole, and so many Mexican dishes. But I certainly wasn’t expecting each plant to yield over a pound of chiles. What to do with so many?

Make jalapeños escabeche, or pickled jalapeños!

Pickled jalapeños, or escabeche, are served as a condiment with many meals in Mexico. Chiles, onions, carrots, cauliflower are pickled with the jalapeños. My mother used to buy jars of escabeche when I was a child. The chiles can be cut up and used for many dishes.

Pickled Jalapenos (Escabeche) Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: Makes about 4 to 5 pint jars

Ingredients

1 lb jalapeño (and/or serrano if you wish) chile peppers
1/3 cup olive oil
2-3 medium white or yellow onions, thickly sliced
2-3 medium carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
Florets from half a small cauliflower (optional)
1 head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
4 cups apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Kosher salt or sea salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 sprigs of fresh marjoram (can sub fresh oregano) or 1/4 teaspoon dried
4 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1 Tbsp sugar

Special equipment:

4 - 5 pint-size canning jars

Method

1 Prep the chiles: Wash the chiles, leaving the stems intact. Cut a cross in the tip end of each chile so that the vinegar will be able to penetrate the chiles.

2 Fry chiles, onions, carrots, cauliflower in olive oil: Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the chiles, onions, carrots, cauliflower if using, and garlic. Fry over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning them over occasionally.

3 Add vinegar, salt, bay, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sugar, bring to boil: Add the vinegar, salt, bay leaves, dried oregano, marjoram, thyme, and sugar and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Make sure the chiles are entirely cooked through before canning. You will know they are cooked when they are no longer vibrant green, but a dull, olive green.

4 Pack jars with vegetables, top with cooking liquid: Pack 4 to 5 pint-sized sterilized jars with the chiles and vegetables. Top with the vinegar cooking liquid and seal.

5 Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Once opened, can keep for one to two months in the refrigerator.

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Recipe adapted from Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico.

Links:

Jalapeño Bread and Butter Pickles here on Simply Recipes

Michael Simon's Pickled Chillis from Ruhlman's blog

Water bath canning instructions from Food in Jars

If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #simplyrecipes — We love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter!

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.

66 Comments / Reviews

Pickled Jalapenos (Escabeche) Cancel reply

Courtney

I’ve been making your recipe for years! Thought I should finally review it, too. :) This is a must for me every summer. We use them all year on tacos and tostadas and pretty much anything with beans and cheese. YUM! Thanks for the great recipe!

xxxxxyyyyy
- August 26, 2018
- · Reply
Show Replies (1)
- Elise Bauer
  
  I’m so glad you like the recipe Courtney! I love pickled jalapenos with Mexican food.
  - August 26, 2018
  - · Reply
Brian C.

If I were cut the jalapenos in half to remove the membrane and seeds to cut down the heat should
I cut down on the cook time too?
- April 27, 2018
- · Reply
Show Replies (1)
- Emma Christensen
  
  Hi, Brian! Emma here, managing editor. No, I don’t believe cutting the jalapenos in half or removing the membranes and seeds would change the cooking time. Enjoy!
  - April 30, 2018
  - · Reply
Jacque cloud

Please need a recipe for quarts of this amazing stuff ! I do can and adjusting my time for water baths.
- · Reply
Sharon Bechtold

The vinegar was overpowering and my whole house smelled for days. I will try it again but tone down on the vinegar. Does anyone know if white vinegar is less acidic than apple-cider vinegar? I still plan to dilute it with water but I’m wondering if there’s a way to soften flavor a bit. The vinegar was so strong I couldn’t even taste the jalapenos or vegetables.
- · Reply
Show Replies (1)
- Becky D Ganzhorn
  
  I am no expert, but I know the amount of acidity in the canned product has a direct impact on its safety. I do not reduce vinegar in canning. Generally white and apple cider vinegar have 5% acetic acid. If you dilute the vinegar with more water, you will affect the over all acidity & that is not recommended. I have heard of adding sugar if one finds the acidity too strong.
  - · Reply
dezryder

I don’t get not peeling garlic? I pickle jalopeno and raw garic all the time. I’ll try it though.
- · Reply
Show Replies (1)
- Elise Bauer
  
  More flavor when you pickle them with the skins on. And when you eat them, the garlic just slides right out of the skin.
  - · Reply

Billy

This looks great! I have been wanting to try pickling jalapenos for a long while now. I’ve tried them once before and was in awe with the flavor. I definitely want to do my best to try and recreate that flavor at home! I am excited to try this recipe, thank you for sharing!
- · Reply
Stella LV

Hi, I’d like to try this recipe with adding sliced jicama, would that work? slicing the jicama either a bit thick or thin? have you ever tried it?
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Stella, I haven’t tried pickling jicama this way so I don’t know what to tell you about how well it would work. If you try it, please let us know how it goes!
  - · Reply
- Adam
  
  Yes you can add jicama. Trader Joe”s makes a version of this (found in refrigerated section) that has jicama included. Of course homemade versions are better, not just because TJ’s charges $4 per 20oz container, but you can add other veggies if you want and slice your veggies to your own liking (I prefer to make jalapenos en ecabeche with my jalapeno’s pre-sliced lengthwise).
  - · Reply
Sandra

Will it be okay if I use half white vinegar and half apple cider?
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Sandra, I assume you mean apple cider vinegar, not apple cider, right? If so, then yes, you can sub half of the apple cider vinegar with white vinegar.
  - · Reply
Monica Musgrave

Thank you for the simple recipe, I can’t wait to try them!
What is the recommended time they should sit before enjoying? This is my first year pickling jalapenos and read that some let them sit longer to ease up the potency of the vinegar. Also, my batches have veggie volume for 6 pint jars, but not enough liquid. I had to add more vinegar to make up the veggie volume and 6th jar.
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Monica, you can start using them as early as the next day, though I find the pickles improve with time, and mellow with time too.
  - · Reply
Ella

Elise you say to process for pint jars 10 minutes if I was to do quart jars how long do I need to process
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Ella, oh, I would say about 15 minutes.
  - · Reply
Sarah

Could I use raw veggies if I use a pressure canner? My husband prefers them crisp.
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Sarah, I don’t really know. You might want to consult a resource on pressure canning vegetables.
  - · Reply
Annalisa

This is a lot like what my neighbor makes. I couldn’t remember it exactly and didn’t want to call her; so I looked online for something similar. But I’m curious about one thing. If my peppers are red, how do I know when they are cooked?

Also, for a slightly less spicy version, remove some/all of the seeds.
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Annalisa, you’ll be able to tell if the red peppers are cooked. Their color will be a slightly different shade.
  - · Reply
Ella

Hi Elise l have one more thing to ask your recipe is for 4 5 pints. I plan on doing 15 pints should I do this in small patches are triple the recipe. Also can I use canning salt instead of kosher salt. Thank you so much helping me out. Ella
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Ella, I think I’ve made a double recipe once before. Don’t see why it wouldn’t work with a triple recipe. With jams and jellies it’s better to do single batches, but you don’t have a setting issue with these pickles. Just make sure that the peppers are completely cooked through before canning. No idea on the canning salt, I haven’t used it.
  - · Reply
  - Robin
    
    You just always have to use salt that has NO iodine, it will make the liquid cloudy and the vegetables will be soft.
    · Reply
Ella

Elise you say if you are using serranos cook for five mins jalapeño ten mins do I nead to cook the jalapeño first then add the serranos l would also like to add some chillie peppers and sweet peppers this is my first time to every try to can peppers any advise would help me so much. Thanks ELla
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Ella, the serranos will cook faster than the jalapenos because they are smaller. Just add them all together and make sure that they are all cooked, no matter how long it takes. I think I will change the recipe so it says 10 minutes for both, just to avoid the confusion.
  - · Reply
Ella

Hi again can I mix other types of peppers in this mix sweet peppers Pablo
- · Reply
Ella

Can I use pickle crisp in this recipe
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Ella, I had not heard of pickle crisp until you mentioned it here. Interesting product. Haven’t tried using it yet, so if you do use it with this recipe, please let us know how it turns out for you!
  - · Reply
  - Robin
    
    I think this may be alum.
    · Reply
    - Philip
      
      Pickle crisp is calcium chloride, not alum, and I’m not sure this would have any relevance to cooked veggies like it does for canning raw, like cucumbers.
      
      July 13, 2018
      
      · Reply
Vickie

how much water do i use for the bath
- · Reply
- Elise Bauer
  
  Enough water to cover the jars that are sitting in a rack (so they don’t touch the bottom of the pan) in a large pot, by one inch.
  - · Reply
Terry Rosenbaum

If you are trying to achieve the flavor profile found in commercially canned jalapeños you’ll need to cut the acidity (e.g. 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water). If you don’t cut the acidity the flavor will be mostly vinegar. Unfortunately, it it not always easy for home canners to safely can foods with such low acidity (commercial canners achieve this with special techniques and equipment including an on-site lab for microbiological analysis). If you make low acid pickled vegetables, make them in small batches, refrigerate them, and use them within a few weeks. Botulism doesn’t grow at refrigerator temperatures.

An interesting article about canning and botulism: http://www.nwedible.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/botulism3.pdf
- · Reply
KimH

Wow!! You’ve made my day Elise!! :) I made this today with a few changes.. I didnt use the cauliflower and I used all of the ingredients & your ratios with the exception of the marjoram. I was fresh out. I also put a little bit of cumin in mine and I also put a piece of bay & garlic in each jar instead of in the simmering pot. I had some leftover syrup from making pickled jalapenos last night (vinegar, water, sugar, tumeric mainly) so I added that to the pot too.. I wound up with 35 half pints of pickled peppers.. I water bath canned them for 10 minutes to make them shelf stable.
I added 2 cups of water too, to tone down the vinegar a little bit.. I tested the liquid before I canned them & they were still very acidic at 2-2.5ph..

They taste amazing.. thanks so much for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Blessings!!
- · Reply
Anne

I first made this recipe about 5 years ago and have never tried another after finding this one. By far, the best jalapeno escabeche this side of Mexico. Someone ahead of me commented that they let them sit until at least Christmas. I find this to be the best thing too. The longer they sit, the more mellow the vinegar becomes and the hotter the peppers become. Since I’m not a chemist, I have no reasonable explanation for this, but since I love HOT, I couldn’t be more thrilled. I’m getting ready to pickle another batch and this time I’m using a combo of serranos and green and red jalapenos. I have no doubt, they will be wonderful.

For everyone just wondering if its worth the trouble, let me assure you that, following these simple instructions to the T, and having the patience to wait for a great pepper, and you won’t be sorry with this recipe.
- · Reply

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9886	Jalapeño Bread and Butter Pickles	15.50	14.00	1.50	0.00	Jalapeno,Pickle	Canning,Condiment
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Pickled Jalapenos (Escabeche)

Classic pickled jalapenos or jalapenos escabeche, made with fresh jalapeno chili peppers, white onions, garlic, carrots, cider vinegar and herbs.

Pickled Jalapeños