These sweet & spicy Candied Jalapeños are going to go perfectly on your cheese and cracker platter! We add these candied jalapeños on sandwiches and nachos too!
Check out our How To Build The BEST Cheese Board for some easy tips and ideas on making an appetizer platter perfect for parties! All that’s left to do after that is make the perfect signature cocktail and it’ll be time to party!
What Is Cowboy Candy?
Candied Jalapeños are also known as Cowboy Candy. The name candy coming from the process of “candying” the jalapeños and well, cowboys? They must like jalapeños. But feel free to just call these delicious sweet & spicy jalapeños Candied Jalapeños if you like.
These jalapeños are a perfect addition to a cheese board for appetizers or piled on sandwiches or nachos. When we make these candied jalapeños they don’t last too long in the refrigerator, everyone just loves them. Having taco night? Add some of these jalapeños right on top. Chopped Salad more your thing? Pile these babies right on top.
How To Make Candied Jalapeños
These tasty jalapeños couldn’t be easier to make! Start out by boiling the jalapeños in a mixture of sugar, vinegar, beer and some seasonings. You can play around with the spices as you like, we opted for crushed red pepper and mustard seed.
The addition of the spicy jalapeños and spices along with white and brown sugar is what makes these jalapeños sweet and spicy at the same time.
After simmering for 10 minutes, remove them from the pot to a separate bowl and continue to reduce the glaze for another 15. They’re going to look like this –
After the jalapeños have simmered and the glaze has been reduced, you can add them to an airtight container or a mason jar along with the reduced glaze. You’ll need to let these candied jalapeños sit in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours to let the flavors blend together and the peppers mellow out.
Now it’s time to start thinking of all the ways to use these jalapeños…
Looking For More Recipes With Jalapeños?
PrintCandied Jalapeños
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
These sweet & spicy jalapeños are the perfect addition to your cheese and cracker platter! These candied jalapeños are also a great sandwich topper or nacho topping!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. jalapeños, sliced
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup beer (any kind you like drinking)
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 /4 teaspoon mustard seed
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Bring the vinegar, beer, sugar, pepper flakes, mustard seed and salt to a boil. Stir and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Add the jalapeños, stir and cook while simmering for 5 minutes.
- Remove the jalapeños with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
- Bring the liquid back to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes to reduce the glaze.
- Remove from the heat and cool completely.
- Add the jalapeños to a covered container or mason jar. Pour the glaze over the jalapeños and chill in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before serving.
Recipe Notes
You can store these jalapeños in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American / Tex-Mex
Are you able to boil them in a water bath?
Could you process them in a water bath for later use?
Do you think I could substitute hard apple cider for the beer, to make this Gluten free?
Yep, that would be fine, although they will have a vinegar taste, but I think that would be good also.
BRAVO!!!! Gracias
These sound amazing! What is the recipe yield? I’d like to make a batch big enough to share with my family!
You’ll get about 3 cups, plenty for the family!