Have a bumper crop of jalapeños? Or do you just happen to have more than the norm in your kitchen? There are plenty of smart and flavorful ways to use these delicious medium heat chilies. What to do with a lot of jalapeños often comes down to how much time you want to spend cooking right now versus how much you want to preserve for later. Below, we break out both immediate-use ideas and longer-term options that stretch the life of your jalapeño haul.
Option 1: Use them fast with fresh jalapeño recipes
If you love to cook, jalapeños are one of the easiest peppers to burn through quickly. They work across every meal of the day, from breakfast scrambles and brunch casseroles to lunches, dinners, snacks, and sauces.
Here at PepperScale, we have more than 40 jalapeño recipes to explore, including jalapeño poppers, spicy soups, fiery sandwiches, dips, and salsas. It is surprisingly easy to go through a dozen or more peppers in a week just by cooking normally and leaning into these recipes.
To find them, click the magnifying glass in our navigation, search “jalapeno,” and check the results under “Ingredient.” That will show every recipe where jalapeños are part of the ingredient list. Or, we also offer our ebook with 50 fantastic jalapeño recipes that you can use as a PDF or ePub via Kindle.
That said, even the most dedicated chilihead does not want jalapeños in every single meal. When that is the case, preserving or semi preserving your peppers is the way to go.
Option 2: Extend the shelf life of your jalapeños
These options are ideal when you want to use a lot of peppers at once and still enjoy them weeks or months down the road. Many of them are beginner friendly and do not require special equipment.
Dry your jalapeños
Drying is one of the most reliable ways to extend the shelf life of jalapeños. Once dried, they can last for months when stored properly. You can dry jalapeños whole, sliced, or diced, depending on how you plan to use them later.
After drying, you have two great options. Store them as dried peppers, or grind them into jalapeño powder to save space and make seasoning easier. Dried jalapeños can be rehydrated later and used in soups, stews, sauces, and salsas. They work best as a supporting flavor rather than a standalone chili once rehydrated.
Follow our instructions on the best way to rehydrate peppers when you are ready to use them.
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Freeze your jalapeños
Freezing is often overlooked, but it is one of the simplest ways to deal with a large quantity of fresh jalapeños. Wash and dry the peppers, then freeze them whole, sliced, or diced in freezer safe bags.
Frozen jalapeños will soften once thawed, so they are not ideal for fresh toppings or crunchy applications. However, they are excellent for cooked dishes like soups, sauces, chili, and casseroles. Frozen jalapeños keep their heat and flavor surprisingly well for up to six months.
Homemade salsas
Salsa is a natural choice for jalapeños and a crowd pleaser at parties and gatherings. You can go sweet with options like jalapeño mango salsa or tangy and herbaceous with jalapeño salsa verde.
The downside is that most salsa recipes only use one or two jalapeños at a time, so you will need to make salsa in bulk to make a serious dent in your stash. Homemade salsa also has a relatively short refrigerator life of four to six days.
You can freeze salsa to extend its life to two or three months, but frozen salsa often becomes watery when thawed. For that reason, frozen salsa works best as a flavor booster for cooked dishes rather than as a standalone dip.
Homemade hot sauces
Hot sauce is one of the most efficient ways to use a large number of jalapeños at once. Compared to salsa, hot sauces typically require far more peppers per batch. They also last much longer thanks to their vinegar content.
Simple vinegar based jalapeño hot sauces can last for months when stored properly in the refrigerator. Fermented hot sauces can last even longer and develop deeper, more complex flavors over time.
Our basic jalapeño hot sauce recipe uses 20 jalapeños and minimal ingredients, making it an ideal solution when you are staring down a bowl full of peppers and wondering what to do next.
Cowboy candy
Cowboy candy, also known as candied jalapeños, is one of the most satisfying ways to use a lot of peppers at once. Sweet, spicy, and irresistibly snackable, these peppers are fantastic on burgers, sandwiches, nachos, and even pizza.
Our cowboy candy recipe uses 20 jalapeños per batch and keeps well for up to two weeks when refrigerated. It is a fast, fun project that delivers big flavor for relatively little effort. Want them extra-spiced? We have a recipe for that, too.
Pickled jalapeños
If tangy flavors are more your style, pickled jalapeños are a classic and practical option. Pickling lets you use a large batch of peppers all at once, and the results are endlessly versatile.
Our pickled jalapeño recipe also uses around 20 peppers and keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator when stored properly. Pickled jalapeños are perfect for sandwiches, tacos, burgers, hot dogs, and charcuterie boards.
Jalapeño jams and jellies
Jams and jellies are designed to preserve, so they are a natural fit for excess jalapeños. These sweet and spicy spreads work well with cheeses, roasted meats, and crackers.
The main limitation is scale. Most jalapeño jam recipes only use three to four peppers per batch, so you may need to make several batches to significantly reduce your supply. Still, they store well and make excellent gifts if you end up with more than you can personally use.
Jalapeño simple syrup
For fans of spicy cocktails and mocktails, jalapeño simple syrup is an easy and creative option. It is quick to make, stores well in the refrigerator, and adds a clean, controlled heat to drinks like margaritas, palomas, and spicy lemonades.
Like jam, simple syrup does not use a large number of peppers per batch, but it is a nice way to put some of your extra jalapeños to work in a different way. Check out our jalapeño simple syrup recipe to get started.
Quick Reference
| Method | Jalapeños used at once | Shelf life | Effort level | Best use case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh recipes | 1 to 5 per recipe | 3 to 7 days | Low to medium | Everyday cooking and quick meals |
| Drying | 10 to 30+ | Several months | Medium | Long term storage and seasoning |
| Freezing | 10 to 30+ | Up to 6 months | Very low | Cooked dishes and sauces |
| Homemade salsa | 2 to 10 | 4 to 6 days refrigerated | Medium | Parties and fresh dips |
| Frozen salsa | 2 to 10 | 2 to 3 months | Medium | Cooking base and flavor booster |
| Hot sauce | 15 to 25 | Several months | Medium | Condiments and preservation |
| Cowboy candy | 15 to 25 | Up to 2 weeks refrigerated | Medium | Sweet heat toppings and snacks |
| Pickled jalapeños | 15 to 25 | Several weeks refrigerated | Medium | Sandwiches, burgers, tacos |
| Jalapeño jam or jelly | 3 to 5 | Several months | Medium | Cheese boards and gifts |
| Jalapeño simple syrup | 1 to 3 | Several weeks refrigerated | Low | Cocktails and mocktails |
Related Posts
- Jalapeño Pepper Guide: Do you know all you should know about this popular chili? Our comprehensive guide will make sure you’re covered.
- Cooking With Jalapeños: There are many ways to use this chili, but do you know the dos and don’ts about cooking with it? We have you covered.
- Our Hot Pepper List: There are hundreds of chilies out there, so much to explore, both in heat and flavor. Learn all about them from our list.