Sweet & Spicy Pickled Jalapeños

Dietary: For Everyone!

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 5-6 jalapeños

• ¼ cup apple cider or white vinegar

• ½ cup granulated sugar (I use raw, granulated cane sugar)

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 cup boiling water

• 1 tablespoon chili sauce (like Sriracha or Sambal Oelek) 

  • Hot: 1 tablespoon (DO IT!)

  • Medium: 1/2 tablespoon

  • Mild: No chili paste

• 2-3 whole garlic cloves (optional)

Directions

1. Finely slice the jalapeños into coins.

   • I start at the bottom end and stop right before the stem. Toss the stems.

2. Pack the jalapeños into a 16 oz canning jar (this is the average size of a canning jar). If you decided to include garlic cloves, add those as well. The jalapeños should be heaping out of the jar—they will shrink a lot so you want it to be packed! Set aside.

3. Combine the remaining ingredients (except for the water) into a small pitcher or glass and stir until combined.

4. Pour 1/4 cup boiling water over the ingredients in the pitcher while you stir it. Continue to stir until the salt and sugar dissolve (about a minute). Once dissolved, immediately pour the mixture into the jalapeño jar. You may have a little bit of liquid leftover that doesn’t fit—that’s okay! Push the jalapeños down into the jar and see if you can add any more liquid. Secure the top of the jar with a lid.

   1. Some liquid may overflow when you secure the lid— finish tightening it and then rinse and dry the jar.

5. Magic time! Leave the sealed jar on the counter overnight (or for 12 hours) and then store it in the fridge! Make sure to let the jalapeños marinate for at least 24 hours total before you begin to enjoy them.

   • These never last more than a week at our house but they should be safe to eat for at least a month, if not more, as long they are stored in the fridge.

6. Enjoy! These spicy, sweet, and juicy jalapeños pair well with most foods—salads, nachos, tacos, mac & cheese, pizza, crackers, chips, added to guacamole, chopped into a salsa, and more!
   

The Story

I never thought I would be creating a pickled jalapeño recipe. As a die-hard jalapeño fan (I go through at least a pound of fresh jalapeños a week), I always viewed pickled jalapeños as the no-good, not-spicy, knock-off version. I am that annoying person at restaurants who always asks if the jalapeños listed on the entree are pickled or fresh.

Alas, curiosity killed that cat when I picked up a jar of Trader Joe’s Sweet & Spicy jalapeños.

OH. MY. GOODNESS!

I had never tasted a pickled jalapeño I loved until then. Unfortunately, Trader Joe’s isn’t particularly close to where I live (15-minute drive isn’t bad, but feels far compared to my 5-minute trek to Grocery Outlet). Me being stubborn about paying over $3 for a little jar of jalapeños, I decided to task myself with figuring out how to make them myself.

My first batch of knock-off Trader Joe’s pickled jalapeños was way too vinegary and lacked any contrasting sweetness. Two batches later and dare I say, this recipe is finally perfect!

What I love most about these pickled jalapeños is the flavor balance. These have a crunchy bite (not mushy like a lot of pickled jalapeños) and a whole lot of heat followed by a whole lot of sweet.

Happy pickling!