The Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots recipe is still one of the most popular recipes on the site, and recently someone left a comment noting that their local taqueria adds papas to their Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots.
Pickled Potatoes?! Sold!
That’s really all it takes for me to start fiddling with something new — and while kitchen experiments in general seem to have about a 50 percent success rate, this one was a total keeper and I’m thrilled with the results.
How To Make Pickled Potatoes
A single pound is a perfect amount for a quart-sized jar full of marvelous Pickled Potatoes.
Note that I went heavy on the potatoes for these batches — if you want more jalapenos and carrots in your first run I’ll list some suggested ingredient amounts at the bottom of this post.
I used Gold potatoes for this batch, but there’s plenty of leeway on the potato variety.
A large Gold potato weighs about a pound. Feel free to simply cube your potato, but I went for the fries cut and had to use two potatoes to get a pound worth of these slivers.
I gave these slivers a few minutes in some boiling water to give them a headstart on the cooking.
Meanwhile, roughly chop:
1/2 small onion
4 garlic cloves
And get them cooking in a glug of oil over medium heat.
As the onion cooks you can gather the spices:
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano What is Mexican oregano?
8-10 black peppercorns
I usually give the spices a quick crush in the Molcajete but this is definitely optional. And if you don’t have seeds on hand you can use powdered spices for this recipe and still get a good result.
Once the onion has softened you can add the spices to the pan and give ’em a quick saute.
Then adding the remaining ingredients:
the drained potatoes
1-3 sliced jalapenos
1.5 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon salt
I used 3 jalapenos and this will give your papas some zip! Feel free to use less for a milder batch.
Give it a good stir and bring this mixture up to a boil.
All of this will fit nicely in a quart-sized Mason jar, but you could also use two pint-sized jars. Load up the jar with the potatoes and jalapenos, and then fill it to the brim with the vinegar mixture.
I usually let these sit on the counter for a bit to cool down, then cap them and put them in the fridge.
You can take a taste now to get a preview, but your papas will need to rest overnight in the fridge to get full pickle.
The next day you’ll have some tangy potato delights that are bursting with flavor! I’ve been munching on them for the past couple weeks and am completely sold on their potential.
You can dice ’em up and use them on tacos, salads, or even next to your morning eggs, but the beauty of cutting them fry-style is being able to spontaneously pull one out of the jar and munch on it 🙂
Yum 🙂
If you’re new to this quick pickling technique, keep in mind that it works with just about anything! Here are my other favorite uses for it:
Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots
Pickled Tomatillos
Easy Pickled Onions
Curtido — Pickled Cabbage Slaw
More Mexican Pickled Recipes
And for reference, your starting point in the original Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots recipe also happens to be a single pound of jalapenos. If you’d like to meet somewhere in the middle and make a mixed batch then you could use the following amounts:
1/2 pound jalapenos (around 5-6 jalapenos)
1/2 pound potatoes (about half of a large potato)
2 medium-sized carrots
Buen Provecho.
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Pickled Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 lb. potatoes (I used Gold potatoes)
- 1-3 jalapenos
- 1/2 small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 8-10 black peppercorns
- 1.5 cups white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- A single large Gold potato is usually around a pound. You can either cube a single potato for this recipe, or you can use two potatoes to get a pound worth of fry-style slivers.
- Add the chopped potato to some boiling water and cook for a few minutes. I give them just a quick swim to get a headstart on cooking, about 3-4 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set them aside until you need them.
- Peel and roughly chop the 1/2 onion and 4 garlic cloves.
- Heat a glug of oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.  Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes until the onion has softened.
- Add the spices to the onion-garlic mixture: 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 8-10 black peppercorns. I usually give the spices a quick crush in the molcajete but this is optional. And feel free to use powdered spices if you don't have seeds or peppercorns on hand. Cook briefly.
- Rinse and de-stem the jalapenos, chopping them up into coin-sized slices. I used 3 jalapenos but you can always use less for a milder batch. Add the sliced jalapenos and drained potatoes to the pan. Cook briefly and then add the remaining ingredients: 1 tablespoon salt, 1.5 cups white vinegar, and 1 cup water.
- Give it a good stir and bring this mixture up to a boil. Once it's boiling you can transfer the mixture to a quart-sized Mason jar (or two pint-sized jars). I usually use tongs to add the veggies to the jar and then pour the vinegar mixture all the way to the brim. You can give the papas a taste test now for a preview, but they won't have full flavor until they rest overnight in the brine.
- I usually let the jar cool on the counter for a bit, then cap and store it in the fridge where it will keep for weeks at a time.Â
Notes
Want to see the latest recipe? It’s this batch of Dark Birria.
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E K
I made these pickled potatoes and I was surprised at how delicious they are! Yummmm. I will make these again. I sincerely appreciate your recipe.
Patrick
Ahh good to know, thanks EK!
BENNY
My first attempt at pickle’ing anything! I ended up pickle’ing potatoes, carrot and cabbage. I wanted a dish for the vegetarians I was hosting, to go with the cheese and onion enchiladas. This was a hit with everyone! I made the night before and it was pretty straight forward to make – especially with the detailed instructions provided, thanks!!
Patrick
Thanks Benny, so glad to hear this one was a hit for you. Cheers.
Jill
Just an FYI, there are at least two different plants called Mexican oregano. One has small leaves and lovely lavender-pink tubular flowers, the other doesn’t. I’ve never found out the difference between the two as far as taste goes, though.
Patrick
Ahhh that is news to me, thanks much for mentioning this Jill!
Teresa Martinez
My grandmother was famous for her potatoes in vinegar selling to all the children in her hometown in Mexico. Her recipe is very simple ,boiled potatoes then dice them and pickle them with white vinegar. She would add rock salt and her homemade red chili salsa which is a family secret. I haven’t found anyone who makes it like she did.
Patrick
Hey thanks for your note Teresa, that method is new to me too.
Becky Turner
Oh Yah… thats going on the list!
Quick question do you think that Jicama would work in this pickle?
Patrick
Thanks Becky! Yeah most likely Jicama would work in this brine, but I haven’t tried that yet — will put it on the list though. Cheers.
Beth
Hi, Patrick,
This looks great. I’m not sure how long to cook these potatoes for, after bringing mixture to a boil.
(Seeing this recipe just reminded me that I haven’t made Blue Masa Harina sopes in a while; gotta get to that; love your sopes recipe!)
Thanks,
Beth
Patrick
Hey Beth I hope this one treats you well! Once you bring the vinegar mixture up to a boil you can jar them right away — I’ll make this a bit clearer in the recipe box. Cheers.