I'm on a pickled craze lately so I'm re-posting these Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots. Have you tried these yet?!
These beauties work wonders on tacos, tostadas, eggs, even sandwiches, and there's also a good chance you'll find yourself munching on the pickled carrots throughout the day.
The quick pickling technique is so simple and you can apply it to loads of other veggies. There are 9 recipes on the site that use this technique -- I'll list them all at the bottom of this post or you can always type "pickled" into this recipe search box.
Please give these a go if you're new to them, I think their little burst of acidity will brighten up any dish (or kitchen) 🙂
How To Make Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots
This recipe will make enough to fill a quart-sized Mason jar to the brim with pure zip -- you can also use two pint-sized jars if you want.
Note: these instructions are not designed for long term canning.
Please consider the following ingredient pic a reference point only. The veggies and vinegar are doing most of the heavy lifting, so if you don't have all the spices on hand go ahead and make them anyway; most likely you'll be happy with the results.
Start by giving the jalapenos a good rinse and peeling the carrots, cutting both into 1/4 inch sized coins.
It's always best to use caution when handling hot chili peppers, and that includes jalapenos! A final hand washing is usually enough for me, but some peeps with sensitive skin may prefer gloves. More info on working with hot chiles.
Saute a sliced onion and 4-6 roughly chopped garlic cloves in a glug of oil over medium heat.
As this the onion softens you'll have time to gather the dry ingredients.
So in the above pic you've got:
8-10 cracked black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 bay leaf (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano What is Mexican oregano?
I usually give the spices a quick crush in the molcajete and then briefly saute them before adding the jalapenos, but this is optional. And if like me you're frequently out of bay leaves then just skip it, as I've made this recipe without a bay leaf dozens of times and it still turns out awesome.
Add the jalapenos and carrots to the saucepan.
Along with the spices if you haven't added them yet.
Saute briefly and then add:
1.5 cups of white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Kosher or sea salt
Note that Kosher or pure sea salt are most commonly used for pickling. The additives in iodized salt will sometimes affect the brine so it isn't recommended.
Let this simmer for a few minutes or until the jalapenos turn army green.
Once the jalapenos are changing color you can load up the jars. Glass jars work best for this vinegar-based brine so I always default to Mason jars.
Each jar gets loaded with the jalapeno-carrot mixture and filled to the brim with the brine.
You should have plenty of brine but if you run out you can always top them off with a splash of water.
I usually let the jars cool on the counter a bit before capping and storing in the fridge.
You can take a taste now and you'll get a good preview of their final flavor, but the jalapenos won't be fully pickled until they rest in the brine overnight.
And the next day you'll have some serious zippppp!
They're so good and they act as the perfect final garnish on your tacos, tostadas, sandwiches, etc.
These pickled jalapenos will keep in the fridge for a month or so, after which you can take the afternoon off of work to make a new batch. Priorities right?
And if you like these Pickled Jalapenos then you can use this quick pickling technique to make any of these:
Extra Hot Pickled Jalapenos with Habaneros
Buen Provecho!
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Taqueria Style Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots
Ingredients
- 8-10 jalapenos
- 2 carrots
- 1 small onion
- 4-6 cloves of garlic
- olive oil
- 1.5 cups white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon salt (Kosher or sea salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 8-10 black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
Instructions
- Give the jalapenos a rinse and then cut into 1/4 inch slices. Peel the carrots and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
- Peel and quarter the onion, chopping into thin slices. Peel and roughly chop the garlic.
- Heat a glug of oil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes.
- Add the spices: 1/2 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.
- Add the jalapenos and carrots. Briefly saute and then add 1.5 cups white vinegar, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt, and 1 bay leaf (optional). Simmer until the jalapenos are just turning army green in color.
- Fill two pint-sized Mason jars with the veggies and fill to the brim with the vinegar mixture. You can also use a single quart-sized Mason jar. You can give them 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 jars cool on the counter for a bit, then cap and store in the fridge where they will keep for weeks at a time.
Notes
You can easily modify the above recipe to make a tiny jar of Pickled Serranos:
And here's an easy way to make some Pickled Onions.
Or you can use a similar technique to make some Pickled Tomatillos.
Still hungry?!
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Jen
I'm currently making my second batch because the first disappeared so quickly! We've been eating these on everything. We haven't had a bay leaf either time but the results are still delish!
We recently moved from Dallas to Iowa and these are giving us a bit of our Texas life in the Midwest! Thanks! <3
Patrick
Ha thanks Jen for your note, I'm glad they are going quick!
Jean-Francois
Thanks Patrick for this recipe.
I travelled often to various parts of Mexico for work and ate these pickles like candy whenever I was served them. Every Mexican has its own recipe, more or less hot.
I made yours a few times already, using what ever i had on hands. It is truly Mexican!
They dont last long.
Many thanks,. I must admit however, that navigating Your website is hard with all these pup ops and advert inserts. I guess this is what you get to have free content. 😋
Jean-Francois
Patrick
Hey thanks much for your note Jean-Francois! Glad to hear these pickled jalapenos are ringing the authentic bell for you 🙂
I'm always trying to find the optimal level of ads that will keep the site humming along, so thanks for offering up feedback on that aspect of my site. Cheers.
Andrew Buschmann
Do these get mushy or still have a crunch?
Patrick
Hey Andrew, I'd say somewhere in between. Once they rest in the liquid overnight they will lose of that snappy crunch that a raw jalapeno has, but they still hold together well and don't turn into mushville 🙂 Cheers.
CHris
Love the updates!
Patrick
Thanks Chris!
Edward Alfonso
Wow just made a half batch. Way better than your local taco shop. Thanks for the recipe will be my go to recipe going forward.
Patrick
Cheers Edward 🙂
Steffanie
Yum! Can I process these using standard canning practices for longer storage? Thanks again for a great recipe.
Patrick
Thanks Steffanie! Sorry I can't give a better answer on that one but I've never done any long term canning with this recipe.
Patt Brower
If you want to can them for longer, don't chop the onions and garlic and remove them after cooking the veggies. Then you can do a 10 minute water-bath canning.
Humberto
Hi Patrick, Thank you for making these recipes so easy and tasty. I already made your previous jalapeño recipe and it was wonderful, can't wait to cook this one. I have tried most of your published recipes and to tell you the truth, I have not been disappointed, even my wife who doesn't eat spicy food has become an avid Mexican food fan. Thank you again. Salud!
P/S. I have not bought Mexican food in the supermarket in over six months!
Patrick
Ahh that's great news Humberto, thanks much for your note! Cheers.
Bill
This looks wonderful. Do you have any plans to publish instructions for canning these for longer shelf life. Would the only difference be the usual boiling and sanitizing the jars for a tight seal? Thanks.
Patrick
Thanks Bill! Yeah I wish I could give a better answer on this but I haven't tried any long term storage with this recipe so I can't say for sure how it would react. I usually point people to this site if they want to go down that route:
https://www.freshpreserving.com/canning-guides
Toby
Great. My third batch included 2 serranos. The awesomeness just increased. Thanks!!
Patrick
Ahh awesome thanks for your note Toby, I've been meaning to try something similar. Cheers.
Jonathan
Delicious recipe and very easy to make. Very flavorful and spicy but not overwhelming. I recommend using large diameter carrots in order to get a more even balance of carrots and jalapenos.
Patrick
Thanks Jonathan, so glad you found this recipe! Cheers.