Candied Jalapeños (Cowboy Candy)
These sweet & spicy candied jalapeños are incredibly easy to make & go great in sandwiches, with fried chicken or on nachos.
Like chillies? You’ll LOVE this recipe!
To make candied jalapeños, we slice up a load of chilli peppers then cook them in a syrup made with vinegar, sugar, garlic, cayenne & black peppercorns until they’re soft & sticky. Also known as “Cowboy Candy”, candied jalapeños are great served in burgers, on nachos or with fried chicken.
They’re sweet, spicy & delicious! A fantastic condiment to have sitting in your fridge…
Check out our ever growing collection of side dish recipes for more pickles, sauces, slaws, fries & more!
What You’ll Need
- Jalapeños – Jalapeño peppers are available to buy in most supermarkets. I like to leave the seeds in for extra flavour but feel free to remove them if you’d prefer your candied jalapeños to be less hot.
- Vinegar – Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar will work for candied jalapeños.
- Sugar – Caster or granulated sugar can be used for the syrup. Candied jalapeños require a lot of sugar, so I wouldn’t recommend using less than is specified in the recipe!
- Flavourings – You can flavour your candied jalapeños however you like. For my syrup, I used black peppercorns, garlic granules & cayenne pepper.
How To Make Candied Jalapeños
The full, printable recipe card for these candied jalapeños can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…
- Slice Jalapeños
First, we need to cut our jalapeños into 5mm thick slices & discard the stems. I’d recommend wearing gloves to do this (and don’t touch your eyes!). - Make Pickle
To make our pickle, we place vinegar, sugar, black peppercorns, garlic granules & cayenne pepper into a saucepan, set over a low heat then cook to dissolve the sugar. We then turn the heat up to medium-high & boil the vinegar for 3-4 minutes, until syrupy. - Cook Jalapeños
Next, we add the sliced jalapeños into the pickle then cook over a low heat, until they’ve softened & have darkened in colour. This will take 5 minutes or so. Once our jalapeños are cooked, we use a slotted spoon to take them out of the pickle and place into a clean jar. - Reduce Syrup
Finally, we place the pickle back over a medium-high heat & boil for another 4-5 minutes, until reduced & syrupy. We pour the hot syrup over the jalapeños then let them cool completely. - Storage
Once cool, the candied jalapeños should be stored in the fridge & will keep for 3-4 weeks. I find it best to leave the jalapeños for at least a day in the fridge, before using.
More Sides & Sauces To Try!
- Tahini Garlic Sauce (Kebab Shop Style)
- Sweet Pickled Red Cabbage
- Cherry Cola Whiskey BBQ Sauce
- Asian Slaw With Sesame & Lime Dressing
- Baked Beans
- Beer Battered Onion Rings With Buttermilk Ranch
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Candied Jalapeños (Cowboy Candy)
Equipment
- Large Kilner Jar
- Medium Saucepan
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
- 250 g Jalapeños (Roughly 12 Peppers)
- 300 g Vinegar (White Wine Or Apple Cider)
- 400 g Caster Sugar
- 6 Black Peppercorns
- ½ tsp Garlic Granules
- ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, cut the jalapeños into 5mm thick slices, discarding the stem. Set to one side.I'd recommend wearing a pair of gloves to do this!
- Next, add the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, garlic granules & cayenne pepper into a medium saucepan then set over a low heat.
- Cook the pickle until the sugar has dissolved, stirring occasionally then increase the heat to medium-high & bring to the boil.
- Boil the pickle for 3-4 minutes, until reduced & syrupy then turn the heat back down to low & add in the jalapeños.
- Cook the jalapeños, stirring regularly until they have started to soften & darken in colour. This will take around 5 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the jalapeños from the vinegar & transfer into a clean jar.
- Set the pan of vinegar back over a medium-high heat & bring to the boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until syrupy then pour over the jalapeños.
- Let the candied jalapeños cool completely then refrigerate for a day before using.
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