Candied Jalapeno are the perfect combination of sweet and spicy! Perfect on burgers, sandwiches, nachos, or just by themselves!
This candied jalapenos recipe has rapidly become a true family favorite! Perfect on sandwiches and so much more. We also love easy condiment recipes like my Creamy Beer Cheese, and Refrigerator Dill Pickles.
I don’t know about you, but this time of year I go condiment crazy. Give me all the pickles, all the bbq sauces, and all the candied jalapenos!!
If you’ve never had a candied jalapeno, boy oh boy are you in for a treat my friend. They’re truly the perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness. The sugar tames the sharp heat from the jalapeno, turning it into this mouthwatering little gem.
They’re great on so many things… I’d be hard pressed to list them all! Nachos, pulled pork/chicken, burgers, sandwiches, chopped up on hot dogs, in potato/macaroni salads, in egg salad, on a cracker or bagel with some cream cheese, or just with a fork.
I found a similar recipe in an old church cookbook I’d had for a long while, and did some tweaking to our tastes a couple years back… and ever since then, it’s been a staple in our refrigerator!
And don’t worry if you’re nervous about canning or worried you don’t have the necessary supplies to can, as there’s actually no canning going on here! Just like my Refrigerator Dill Pickles, these babies just hang out in the refrigerator. No water baths necessary!
Of course, you can actually can them if you’d like. They’ll have a much longer shelf life that way, but I wanted to share the shortcut way here today 🙂
How to make candied jalapeños
- Slice peppers. You’re looking for slices about 1/4 inch thick. Set them aside for now.
- Bring syrup mixture to a boil. Add vinegar, sugar, and spices to a large pot and heat until boiling. Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. If you notice your mixture starts to foam up a lot, like the picture on the right, decrease your heat and stir it a bit to get it to calm down.
- Bring back to boil, then add peppers. Increase the heat and bring the mixture back up to a boil. Once boiling, add your sliced peppers, and allow to come back to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 4 minutes.
- Transfer peppers to jars. I like to use a slotted spoon to leave as much of the liquid in the pot as possible. Fill the jars to within about 1/4-1/2″ of the top of the jar.
- Boil the syrup and add to jars. Increase the heat again and bring the syrup to a full rolling boil. Boil for about 6 minutes. Either ladle, or transfer syrup to a pitcher to pour into the glass jars with the peppers. Fill the jars to within about 1/4-1/2″ of the top of the jar.
- Wipe rims, seal and refrigerate. Wipe the rims of jars with a damp paper towel and screw on canning jar lids. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 weeks (3-4 weeks for optimal flavor and texture).
ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS
- Fresh is best – The best candied jalapeños are made with the freshest jalapeños. The pepper skin should be firm, with no deep blemishes. Try to find consistently sized peppers, so your slices will be uniform in size.
- Slicing – since you’ll be slicing 1.5 lbs of peppers, you’ll want a sharp knife and steady hand, a food processor with the slicing blade attached, or a mandoline.
- Gloves – jalapeños are notorious for varying in heat level, so to error on the side of caution, I like to wear disposable gloves when working with them. The oils from cutting peppers can get onto your skin and cause burning and skin irritation. And god forbid you do something like rub your nose or eye before you’ve THOROUGHLY washed your hands. Don’t ask me me how I know just how bad it’ll hurt… So trust me, glove up.
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- Double – as crazy as it may sounds, once you try these sweet and spicy jalapeños, you might want to make a double batch the next time. This recipe is easily doubled… just make sure to double ALL the ingredients, but keep the cooking process and times the same.
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If you hover over the serving size number in the recipe card down below, a slider bar will pop up. Just slide the bar in either direction, until the number of servings you want shows, and it’ll automatically calculate the correct amount of each ingredient!
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- Peppers – technically you can “candy” any pepper, so if you’re up for it, you can try using hotter peppers, like serranos or habaneros! Keep the process the same.
- Milder – while candying tames the heat of the jalapenos quite a bit, if you’re really worried about the heat, you can core the peppers before slicing.
Making candied jalapeños ahead of time
This is a natural make-ahead recipe, as the jalapenos need a good couple of weeks to plump back up and for the flavors to mellow out and mesh together.
If I’m patient enough, I like to wait for 3-4 weeks before opening a jar, but let’s face it… sometimes I just want the sweet-heat goodness before then. 1-2 weeks is a good middle ground.
Storage
Candied jalapenos should be sealed in an airtight container and refrigerated. They should last about 2-3 months when kept refrigerated and the lids are sealed after each use.
I like to take a permanent marker and write down the date I made the pickles on the lid, so I’ll know when it’s been 2-3 months. Honestly, our’s never last that long before we devour them!
If you wanted to can them via a traditional water bath, they can last a good year in the pantry. But again, that’s only if you’ve canned them.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Pint-sized Jars – I prefer these wide-mouth jars, as they’re easier to fill.
- Large pot – you can use any large pot, but I like to bust out my trusty dutch oven for this.
- Disposable gloves – your grocery store will likely have a much better price on these, but I wanted to show you the kind I like to use.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs fresh jalapenos (about 30 peppers)
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp celery seed
Instructions
- Remove and discard stems from peppers, then slice into 1/4" slices. Set pepper slices aside.
- To a large pot, add cider vinegar, white sugar, garlic powder, turmeric, and celery seed and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to about MED LOW and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Raise the heat to about MED HIGH to bring mixture back to a boil. Once boiling, add the pepper slices. Allow to return to a boil, then reduce the heat again (to about MED LOW) and simmer for 4 minutes.
- Transfer the peppers using a slotted spoon to clean glass canning jars, filling jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar.
- Only the syrup should remain in the pot at this point. Increase the heat to bring to a full rolling boil. Boil like that for approximately 6 minutes.
- Ladle the syrup into the jars with the jalapeno slices. If you notice any air pockets, take a clean spoon and insert it into the jar to get rid of the trapped air. Fill jars to within 1/4-1/2" from the upper rim of the jar.
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel, then screw on canning jar lids. Label if desired and refrigerate for at least 1-2 weeks (3-4 weeks for optimal flavor). Candied jalapenos are good for up to 3 months if kept properly refrigerated.
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Chef Tips
- Recipe makes enough to fill approximately 2 pint sized jars.
- This recipe has not been tested with sugar substitutes or with reducing the amount of sugar – make changes at your own discretion and using your best judgement.
- Leftover syrup can be stored in glass jars as well. I love to add it to my macaroni/potato salad. It’s also amazing brushed on bacon!
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Steve says
Left over syrup made a great “honey” substitute for honey mustard. Need to wait a week to try them but based on the flavor of the liquid no doubt they’ll be good.
Shirley says
Do these become candied. I hard boiled the syrup for 8 mins. But it was still thin. Does it become thicker in fridge. They taste great but I expected the syrup to be thick
The Chunky Chef says
These don’t get candied in the sense that they have a thick candy coating or anything, they just have that sweet heat thing going on 🙂
Whitney says
Awesome recipe!
Shannon says
So so good!
Double or triple the recipe, trust me. They’re good on everything! I especially love to top pulled pork sandwiches and pulled pork nachos with them, yummmm! And my son loves to steal them to bring back to school, all the boys love them! These things fly off of my shelf!!
Veronica Jordan says
Well, the cooking is done. I have a bunch of jalapeño plants in my garden and rather than just picking up my thought I’d try this recipe. I’m excited about how they’re gonna taste. I cut the recipe in half because I only had about 17 jalapeños. My question is what leftover sauce. I wish I had leftover sauce. I’m curious about that. But I will send more information after four weeks of waiting.
Murray Mckechnie says
So I’did 6lbs of jalapeños, but I also added two small Habinaros for some heat,it’s amazing.
Murray Mckechnie says
Cowboy Candy was amazing. Going to make more.
Elicea Christensen says
So excited to try this!! What an excellent gift these would make for a few cowboys in the family.
I was wondering, do you know if they freeze well? I’d like to make a few extra jars for home and would prefer to freeze until we use. 🤞
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tried freezing these, although I’m sure they’d freeze well 🙂
Venetia A Flowers says
Excellent directions!
Janice Lowe says
I am about to make this but I was wondering what kind of apple cider vinegar you use? Today I am going the economical way rather than expensive organic vinegar. I’m curious and a tad worried if it will make a difference?
The Chunky Chef says
I usually make this with cheap store-brand apple cider vinegar, not the organic and more expensive kind 🙂
Nona says
I really was not sure what to expect. I only had about 10 peppers and had no idea what i was going to do eith them. Then i saw your recipe. I had to adjust the ingredients and then followed the recipe. i think it turned out pretty good. But i guess I’ll have to wait for the real test. I put the date on the lid and on the calendar . So now the wait begins. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Olinka says
Silly question but do you let the jars cool before you put them to the fridge after pouring the hot sauce in it and closing the lid?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, it’s best to let them cool a bit, just like you would with any leftovers 🙂
Tracy Koss says
Can you process this and keep on the shelf instead of the fridge?
The Chunky Chef says
While I’m sure it could be water bath canned, I don’t have the canning expertise to advise you on the specifics. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Zelda says
Hey there i doubles the recipe and barley got 3 wide mouth pint jars… wasnt it supposed to make more???
The Chunky Chef says
As indicated, this recipe makes approximately 2 pint jars. However it all depends how much you pack them in there, and if you went by weight with your peppers (vs just getting 60 peppers, since they can vary greatly in size).
Pam says
I weighed the whole peppers first, then prepared them and weighed them again. I had to prepare another double handful to reach the desired weight of peppers. They made exactly 2 pint jars full after this process!
Jamie Mills says
Thanks for publishing your receipe
So easy to follow your instructions
Tastes So good!
Wanda Jones says
How long do you boil in a hot water bath to can?
The Chunky Chef says
While I’m sure it could be water bath canned, I don’t have the canning expertise to advise you on the specifics. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Sandee Lukitsch says
Yours is the best one I have found online. Your instructions are beautifully easy to follow. Thank you!
Lindsey says
Is this recipe safe for water bath canning?
The Chunky Chef says
While I’m sure it could be water bath canned, I don’t have the canning expertise to advise you on the specifics. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Linda says
I make this recipe every year I plant extra jalapeños to do so love it five stars
Rachel Isabel Ritzman says
Do you have measurements for a small batch? I only have a few jalapenos that I wanted to use up.
The Chunky Chef says
If you hover over the servings number, a toggle bar will appear. You can slide it either way, but in your case you’d want to slide it to the left until shows the weight of the peppers you have. Then the recipe card will automatically calculate the new ingredient amounts 🙂 Keep in mind, this may result in some unusual decimal amounts, so you’ll have to just measure the best you can.
Deborah Anne Wylie says
Excellent. I am hooked