Candied Jalapeños Recipe for Canning

How to make and can candied jalapeños.  Chopped peppers as a sweet hot pickled condiment. Yes, you read that right. And they’re so good!  Much like sweet pickles, but spicy and a bit savory all at the same time, these also go by the name “cowboy candy”. No matter what you call it, they’re surprisingly good. Easy to adapt to mild peppers for less spice!

In this article, you’ll learn how to cut up the hot peppers, cook them in a sweet brine, pack into pint or half pint jars, and preserve in a water bath canner.

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how to make Candied Jalapenos

Quantity

This recipe makes about 4 pint jars. Quart jars are not an option. 

If you want to reduce the jar size for a smaller batch, that is fine. You’ll still want to process for the same time as pint jars.

You’ll need about 4 pounds of jalapenos, which is quite a few peppers. I used a mix of green and red jalapeños just for a bit of color thrown into the mix too.  I also mixed in some mild peppers just to keep the heat at a level my family will use.  See adaptations below for more on how this can be adjust to taste. 

Know Your Canner

Before you start this project, if you are not familiar with using a water bath canner please read How to Use a Water Bath Canner. This will familiarize you with how your canner works and what steps to take to get set up for any canning project, including this one. Steam Canning is another great option and the one I go to more and more.

The process of making candied hot peppers is fairly straightforward.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups vinegar (5% acidity, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups sugar
• 6 cloves garlic (optional – I didn’t use)
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional – I didn’t use)
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 4 pounds jalapenos, sliced into ¼” rings (other pepper varieties are fine too)

Preparing the Peppers

Wash your peppers and slice them into ¼-inch rounds—seeds and all. If you’re working with hot peppers (and especially a lot of them, like in this recipe), wear gloves! The oils can burn your skin. Ask me how I know… yep, my hands burned all night once. Don’t be me. 😉

You’ve got a couple of options for chopping:

• Slicing by hand gives you those nice little pepper rings.
• Using a food chopper is quicker, but skip the fine chop—it should be chunkier than relish. Aim for fairly uniform pieces; they don’t have to be perfect, just close.

I like using my french fry blade for this—it makes good, chunky pieces that aren’t too thin. I also use it when canning onions in a honey wine sauce. Just note: you’ll lose the round pepper look with this method.

A mandolin slicer? Not the best choice here. It slices too thin, and the peppers can turn mushy after processing.

I use my french fry blade for this recipe for canning onions in a honey wine sauce as well. The blade makes nice chunky pieces. Not too thin. But you won’t have the nice appearance of little rounds of peppers.

Preparing the Brine

Combine the vinegar with garlic, spices, salt, and sugar.  I opted out of adding garlic. In addition, I also didn’t use cayenne pepper because I didn’t want to add any more heat, but you could include it if you love spicy foods.

Bring the brine to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.

How to Can Candied Jalapenos

Once your brine is boiling, add the sliced peppers. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, until the peppers darken and soften.

Now it’s time to fill your jars:

• Ladle the hot peppers and brine into hot jars, leaving ½” headspace. This recipe is written for pints, but half-pints work just fine too.
• If it’s easier, use a slotted spoon to add the peppers first, then pour the brine on top to fill.

Remove air bubbles by slipping a bubble tool (or, if you’re like me, the handle of an orange peeler!) down into the jar and gently moving things around.

Wipe the rims with a damp paper towel, place lids and rings, and set the jars in your prepared canner.

Process the jars as directed in the chart below, making sure to adjust for altitude if needed. – read more about altitude adjustments and why they are needed.

Tip- Leftover Syrup

If you have some syrup leftover save it to use with other things. Pour it over a roast in the crock pot. Or add to a chicken dish for some spicy flavors.

Adaptations for This Recipe – What Can I Change?

• Feel free to adapt the dried seasonings. For example if you don’t like turmeric you can leave it out.
• Feel free to use hot or mild peppers. The first time I made this recipe I used all jalapeños… and realized it was far too hot for our tastes. (A cousin of mine loved it and got a few jars from us!) So now I mix in mild peppers to lessen the heat. Just use the same total quantity.
• As for vinegar, you can use either apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. You’ll just want to make sure that whatever vinegar you’re using is 5% acidity, which is what makes this pickle safe for water bath canning. I used the apple cider vinegar.

Can I Make Candied Hot Peppers Without Sugar?

This recipe is for candied jalapenos… which is a pickled product, but with lots of sugar to make it sweet. Thus the name ‘candied’. If you just want pickled jalapenos there are some options here that are not as sweet. Pickled Peppers.

If you prefer a sugar-free but still sweet alternative, honey serves as a safe substitute for sugar in canning. Since this recipe involves pickling, I recommend adjusting the recipe to use ¾ cup of honey for every 1 cup of sugar originally called for. This might slightly alter the flavor profile.

While there are numerous candied hot pepper recipes available online, the one provided here is from Ball, a trusted source for tested recipes.

Frequently Asked Questions About Candied Hot Peppers

Recipe Card

Candied Jalapenos

Did someone say…candied jalapenos? Yes, you read that right. And they’re so good! 

Print Recipe

Prep Time:25 minutes mins

Equipment

• Water Bath Canner
• Steam Canner optional
• Canning Jars
• Canning Lids and Rings
• Funnel, Jar Lifter, Bubbletool
• Ladle
• Large Pot
• Sharp Knife 
• Food Processor optional
• Cutting Board
• Disposable Gloves

Ingredients

• 3 cups Vinegar 5% acidity, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
• 2 tsp Salt
• 4 cups Sugar
• 6 cloves Garlic Optional – I didn't use
• 2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 4 pounds Jalapenos sliced into ¼” rings

Instructions

Candied Hot Peppers

• Wash and slice peppers into ¼” rings.
• Combine the vinegar with spices, salt, and sugar.
• Bring brine to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
• Once the brine is boiling, add sliced peppers. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, until peppers have turned darker and have begun to absorb some of the brine.

Packing the Jars

• Ladle hot mixture – peppers, brine, and all – into hot jar, leaving ½” headspace.
• Remove air bubbles, wipe rim clean, and place on seal and ring. Place the jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars.

Processing with Water Bath Canner

• After all jars are in the canner, lower rack into the water. Bring to a full rolling boil.
• When the water comes to a rolling boil, start your time.

Processing Time

• Pints are processed for 15minutes.

   Be sure and adjust your time for altitude.

  0-1,000 ft – 15 minutes

  1,001-3,000 ft – 20 minutes

  3,001-6,000 ft – 25 minutes

  6,001-8,000 ft – 30 minutes

  8,001-10,000 ft – 35minutes

  Process for the full time indicated, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a boil for the entire processing time.

Cool Down Time

• When processing time is completed turn off the heat.
• Remove the canner lid and wait 5 minutes.
• Remove your jars. (optionally you can wait another 5 minutes if the contents appear to be bubbling so hard it is coming out of the jars)
• Put the jars a few inches apart on a thick towel and allow them to cool to room temperature undisturbed. 12 hours is suggested.
• When the jars are cooled, remove the metal bands, check the seals, wash jars, dry completely, and store in a cool dark place.

Servings: 4 Pint Jars

Author: Sharon Peterson

Before You Go…

If you have an abundance of hot peppers, you’re probably thinking about making your own salsa too! Here are some things you need to know for canning it safely. There are so many other things you can do with peppers too, including dehydrating, canning, freezing, and even freeze drying!

Sources

• Ball Canning,
• National Center for Home Food Preservation
• https://extension.psu.edu/salt-in-canning