Candied jalapenos (aka cowboy candy) are the ultimate sweet meets spicy condiment.
Candied jalapenos are a great little garnish to have on hand in your fridge. Use them to top fried chicken, in your tacos, heck you could even use them to pretty up a cocktail. You may even find yourself snacking on them just out of the jar. A friend of mine who works at Buc-ees (they have their own candied jalapenos in jars) suggested that mixing them with cream cheese makes for a pretty fantastic dip.
They’re super easy to make and last a couple of weeks in the fridge, and even longer if you follow canning procedures to preserve them long term.
Print
How to make candied jalapeños
- Yield: one quart 1x
Ingredients
Scale
1.5 pounds jalapeño peppers
1 cup cider vinegar
2 cups white sugar
Juice and zest of 1 lemon or lime
Instructions
- Chop jalapeños into 1/4 inch rounds (Pro tip: use gloves for this step and save yourself the pain of stinging hands!).
- Combine vinegar, sugar, zest & juice in saucepan and place over medium flame. Once mixture has boiled, reduce heat and simmer until sugar is dissolved, around 5 minutes.
- Add the jalapeños and let the mixture simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the peppers have all changed color.
- Using a slotted or pasta spoon, remove jalapenos and place in jar or another airtight container. Leave syrup in pan and allow to reduce a further 5-7 minutes.
- Remove syrup from heat and pour into the jar, covering jalapeños completely. Seal the jar and allow to cool. The peppers are ready to eat once cooled, but taste even better after a few days.
Made them for the first time this week. Pretty good. The recipe was simple and easy to follow. I’d like them to be a little sweeter and I think I will remove all the seeds next time.
Any advice on making them sweeter?
You can increase the sugar or try adding some corn syrup (which is sweeter than white sugar)