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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Dan
Patrick, these pickled jalapeños/carrots/onions have played a significant role in getting me through the pandemic. I found your recipe back in April during lockdown and made my first batch and I’m now on my fifth. Each batch I find myself a) eating more straight out of the jar, and b) putting them on 3–5 new things. I find they make or break a grilled cheese, breakfast tacos of course, and they’re at least worth a try in a peanut butter sandwich (after all, there’s a whole cult about PB and pickles!). Just yesterday these pickles put Thanksgiving over the top, since we had turkey but no gravy or cranberry sauce, so instead of dry boring turkey I had turkey loaded up with pickled jalapeños, carrots, onions, garlic, and brine. They’re amazing on everything! I might have to try them on ice cream…
Anyway, thanks! Only now exploring the rest of the site, and can’t wait to try other recipes.
Patrick
Hey thanks much for your note Dan, so glad these are a hit for you! Okay I will try them with peanut butter based on your suggestion 🙂 Cheers.
Marjorie
Can you use apple cider vinegar? I have a gallon of the stuff and I’m trying to use it up! Thanks in advance.
Patrick
Hey Marjorie! Yeah you can and I have in the past, but I could taste the cider in the final product and didn’t like it as much as batches made with plain old white vinegar. Still works though, so if that’s all you have available though then I would go for it. Cheers.
Jeff Carpenter
Wow! Finally… I’m from Tucson AZ , but now living in Beaufort SC…and Mexican food, real Mexican food is my number one food group and your recipes are fantastic…spot on stuff…thanks.
Patrick
Hey thanks much for the feedback Jeff. Cheers.
Randy Von Hatten
Excellent Recipe. Easy to do Great taste
Patrick
Thanks Randy!
Noah
This recipe is spot on! I eat a ton of these when I go out to a taqueria. Reading the recipe I was worried they wouldn’t be crunchy because of the simmering step, but I went ahead with it and was pleasantly surprised. They turned out so well! Thank you.
Patrick
Thanks Noah, so glad these are a hit for you! Cheers.
Diana Snyder
Patrick, Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. When I was 5-6 years old in San Francisco my sitters husband would make this. So at a young age I tasted the best, I’m now 64 . I’ve tried many recipes for the Jalapeno and Carrots and they where just ok. But I’m very pleased with this recipe it brought me home. I’ve made 2 batches now. I eat it right out of the jar. Thank you. Diana
Patrick
Ahh that’s great to know Diana, I’m so glad this recipe tasted familiar to you! I especially love how the hints of cumin and Mexican oregano make their way into the carrots 🙂 Cheers.
Kelsey
Do you know if this recipe is safe to can?
Patrick
Hi Kelsey, I don’t do any long term preserving so I can’t say for sure — sorry I can’t give a better answer. Cheers.
Sherri
This is the second year I made these they come out so well my boyfriends family begs for them .
Patrick
Thanks Sherri!
Lyle
The best spicy carrots I’ve ever had – and I live in SoCal, home of a million quality taquerias/Mexican restaurants. Thank you, Patrick, for sharing your recipe. I can’t stop munching on these and then wiping the sweat off my brow and eating some more!
Patrick
Hah thanks much Lyle, I’m so glad you are enjoying the often overlooked but equally delicious sidekick in this recipe 🙂 Cheers.
Neil
Happy I used my homegrown jalapenos for this! Easy and super tasty! Thanks for sharing.
Patrick
Thanks Neil!