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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Christy
Delicious recipe!
Patrick
Thanks Christy!
Ellen
Patrick these are fabulous. And it fit my quart container, I mean to the brim. I’ve never done this before so your directions were spot on. Thanks so much.
Patrick
Ahh that's good to hear, thanks much for your note Ellen! I love running out of brine right when you get to the brim 🙂
Kristen
Plan on using this recipe and technique on jalapeños I am picking out of my garden this weekend.
Do I need new jars and lids or can I reuse some that I already have?
Patrick
Hi Kristen! You can reuse old jars -- and since I'm not doing any long term preserving with this recipe I just stick 'em in the fridge knowing that the acidity in the jar will keep them edible for weeks at a time. Cheers.
Kristen
Thanks!! Made them can’t wait to try them!!
Patrick
🙂
Yirg
I've made your recipe twice, and thank you for it. But while the jalapeños come out looking like from the taco trucks--lots of taco trucks here in the Bay Area!!--they don't have the heat that I expect from them. I buy the standard jalapeños here and if I slice them and put them on food there's more heat.
Am I doing something wrong? On the other hand would it be in keeping to add chili flakes or, I was thinking, cutting up serrano peppers. If the latter can I just drop them in the brine or do I have to first follow the steps of the recipe?
Thanks!
Patrick
Hey Roy it's always good to meet people who need more heat! You're not doing anything wrong, most likely it's just the acidity covering up a bit of the heat that you're expecting.
There was a guy in these comments who was in the same boat as you and experimented with adding habanero. I said start with 2 and he ended up using 8 🙂 Somewhere in the middle would probably be a good starting point.
I think the habaneros will be most effective if you add them in when you saute the jalapenos, but you could also experiment with adding them in after the fact and you'll still probably notice a bump in heat.
Okay I hope this helps a bit. Cheers.
Ange Norris
I am anxious to try this recipe. I make my own giardiniera mix & can it which we enjoy in addition just found last year the candied jalapenos which everyone raved about. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Patrick
Hey thanks for your note Ange, I'll think you'll love these Pickled Jalapenos as it is easily one of my favorite recipes on the site 🙂 Cheers.
KANDI J NIETO
I love pickeled jalapeno carrots but they very in hotness. I don't want my mouth burning and concerned with the amount of pepper it's too hot. I did not see andy comments on how hot the carrots get.
Patrick
Hi Kandi! Yeah the carrots will definitely pick up some heat! If you're concerned with it being too fiery then you could always adjust the jalapeno to carrot ratio in favor of carrots. Cheers.
thelma cook
Can these be canned in a water bath or will it make the veggies soggy? I have a LOT of peppers this year!
Patrick
Hi Thelma! I don't really do any canning so I can't say for sure how it will affect the veggies -- sorry!
Mike
Can't wait to try it.
Gee Gee
I knew I would love this recipe and I did. I always wanted to make my own carrots & jalapenos because I want to make them the main course when I go to our local Mexican fast-food restaurant! My only concern was that they were VERY heavy on the vinegar taste and smell. I thought the heat might get to me, but it was the strong vinegar - I ended up adding some sugar and a bit more water and oil to tone it down a bit. I also cut the veggies too small, so the peppers were too soft - but that's on me; I'll cut them bigger next time. I saved the extra "brine" and I'm going to use it to make more carrot coins. I really enjoyed this recipe - I can't wait to try some of the other pickled veggies on this site. THANK YOU!!
Patrick
Thanks Gee Gee, I'm so glad you found this recipe! Cheers.
Steven Meir
No sugar?
Patrick
Hi Steven, almost all of the pickled goods on my site are made without sugar, but you are welcome to add a pinch if your palate prefers that. Cheers.
Roy
Patrick, thank you for your reply! While I was awaiting it a little frustration for heat seeped in and I just decided to ask some Korean chile flakes--what I had around--for a bit of help. A modest sprinkling did the job!
I'm still wondering though why it seems that the pickled jalapeños off the food trucks always have heat. I can't remember seeing other than jalapeños but it's been months since I've been to one and will be months and possibly months more, due to you-know-what. Next time, whenever next time is, I'll take a closer look.
Patrick
Yeah this is kind of interesting Roy thanks for mentioning it -- there's definitely a chance that some places are adding additional ingredients to the brine for some amped up heat. Cheers.